Quite the Charmer

Lucas really really wanted me to take his picture the other day. When I agreed he rewarded me with this:

Giant Gingerbread Men!

Thank goodness for Trader Joe's and the fun stuff to be found there -- like these Giant Gingerbread Men kits I thought would make a great project over the Christmas break. And I was right! The kids thought I was a super fun mom and there was no prep work involved for me -- a real win/win situation! We had lots of fun and I think they did a great job



It just struck me as funny seeing them in their various stages of consumption:

Christmas Tree 2010

We finally got our tree all decorated (and lighted -- thanks Jake!) and I think we did a pretty good job ;)





And I think an update on Daniel is in order; thank you to anyone who kept him in their prayers -- they totally worked and we are so thankful! I took him to the doctor and he was diagnosed with a major sinus infection. The pediatrician said the sinus infection was the cause of all of his symptoms, which was actually really good news. I thought we were in for treatment of about three different ailments (strep throat/pinkeye/ear infection). The wonderful thing is that she was able to prescribe an antibiotic and a steroid (he was so congested he needed it to help bring the swelling down) and within about 6 hours of starting these medications I was noticing definite improvement. What a miracle!

And by the next afternoon he was able to join us on our trip to the Christmas tree farm,. That was pushing it a bit since it wore him out for the rest of the evening, but we felt it was worth it as he (and I) would have been so sad to have missed out. Anyway, great news overall and he is doing really well by now. So much better than when I took that sad picture!

Behold, I [ have ] a dry tree

Other than two weeks ago (when I mistakenly thought it was too early to get a Christmas tree), we've had nothing but constant rain and storms. Although I wish I could have gotten a Christmas tree a week ago, I didn't want to get one in the rain and then have to let it dry out in our garage, leaving a car outside to defrost in the morning. Fortunately, we got our big break yesterday and the weather was clear!

Sensing a memory we could create, I found a tree farm not far from us and we all went as soon as I got home from work. The boys loved that it was a real farm, with cows eating the last pumpkins of the year. Lucas ran around so much it was tough to get a clear shot of him:


This was the first time I've ever been to a tree farm, let alone cut my own Christmas tree! Unfortunately, I hadn't thought of how much harder it is to saw through a trunk as close to the ground as possible, and Leslie picked out a tree with a thicker than average trunk. Fortunately, the farm provided a good sharp saw and having my family there motivated me to keep going without help.


Joshua decided to help pass the time by singing O Tannenbaum, which he learned in its original German in school. Daniel thought he was a bit rusty:


After some persistence, I felled the tree and we got it baled and tied to the roof of the car. It's a bit heavy, so I was surprised that it fit easily in the stand, which is holding it quite steady. With some assistance from Joshua, I got it settled and it looks great!


We'll decorate it tomorrow night.

My poor sweet Daniel is sick

He's pretty darn sick, alright. He hasn't made it to kindergarten yet this week and I doubt if he'll make it at all. It's a real shame since he'll miss his class Christmas party (but hey, at least Jake can make it since it'll be his day to volunteer!). I'm taking him to the doctor tomorrow so we'll see if there's anything they can do. Daniel says he has the "worst sore throat ever." Poor guy. It is so hard to see him sleeping around like this during the day, so different from his usual self. Any prayers on his behalf would be greatly appreciated!