A whole lot of randomness

This month I had good intentions of doing something every day with the boys to teach them about the Christmas story.  I downloaded this preschooler advent book called Truth in the Tinsel .  It is really good, and we did a few days of it, but missed over a week worth of days and I could never seem to catch up. Oh well. There's always next year when there's not a newborn in the house to care for.  

Our Christmas is a simple one.  Just 3 gifts each for the kids. Homemade gifts for everyone else.  I didn't step foot in a store to buy a single gift.  No stress or anything.  Our gift making was a family effort.  Trying to teach Josiah that it's not about him, it's about the great gift Jesus gave and it's about loving and giving to others.  He does not like this concept much at all! My 4 year old thinks everyone and everything revolves around him.  I'm praying for his little heart.

Justin received the biggest gift of all. The gift of sight without corrective lenses!!! He had been having terrible problems with his eyes being severely dry, the dryness causing visions changes, and he couldn't wear his contacts anymore.  They thought something more serious could have been wrong, so he had a topography of his eye done at the Lasix surgery center.  He didn't think he was a candidate for the surgery, but it turns out he was, and the only issue with his eyes were dryness.  After the doctor put him on a medication eye drop regimen for several weeks, his eyes cleared up and he had the surgery last Thursday.  He is so pleased with the results... he can see!!  He went from 20/200 vision to 20/15.  Quite the difference!  Best Christmas gift ever for him!  

Every evening this week people from our church are serving free coffee and hot chocolate to mall shoppers.  It's such a cool way to share the love with our community, and opens to door for neat conversations. It's so exciting how God is working in the hearts of those coming to our church.  This past Sunday, 2 ladies were baptized, and it was a wonderful celebration of new life!  One of the ladies who was baptized was the young woman I spoke about in this post- To Your Knees.

  

We made a Gingerbread house together. The boys ate most of the candy before it ever made it on the house! 

Paul eating the candy straight off of the house! 

Leah is 5 weeks old and is starting to smile and coo when we talk to her.
It is the sweetest sound!!
We have been battling thrush for over a week and she has not enjoyed nursing.  I think we are finally on the tail-end of getting rid of it, now if we can just keep it away!

She's still sleeping a lot most days.  At night she hardly wakes up, only to eat 2-3 times, then goes right back to sleep.  The boys on the other hand have forgotten that night-time is for sleep. I remember when (pre-children) I used to think I needed 10 hours of sleep every night to be able to function... haha.  God has a funny sense of humor.  Now I'm happy if I sleep 4-5 hours.  I do not know how moms who work outside of the home function at their jobs.  I would not be a good employee if I had a job, my brain is in a constant fog! Thankfully cooking, laundry, and playing cars on the floor doesn't require much brain power.

Big smile! 

Aww! They love each other!  

                                               

And this sort of thing happens often now... 

Me (while upstairs nursing Leah): Boys what are you doing downstairs & what was that noise?
Josiah: What? What? Nothing Mom, nothing!
Me: I heard something fall, was it the lamp? Are you crawling on the table? Get down please!
Josiah: I can't hear you! We can't hear you! Paul, we can't hear mom, don't say anyfing? Hurry pick up the lamp.

A lot of mischief happens while I'm nursing or changing Leah.  Once they came upstairs smelling like Vicks vapor rub. Once I found Paul on the counter eating a stick of butter and pouring maple syrup on his face. Once Paul was cleaning the toliet with all of our toothbrushes. Once Josiah ate 15 pieces of homemade candy that we made for gifts while I was in the shower. Once they were both standing on a chair with the fridge open licking up a container of whipped cream with their hands.  I'm afraid to go take a shower now.  It's amazing what they can do in 5 minutes. haha!