10

1) Christmas is one week away. I am excited, as usual. It is my favorite time of year. Sadly, there is so much I wanted to do with & for the kids & even other people that I am not going to get done. For some reason it is hard for me to get going on the Christmas stuff early. Maybe I should do all of my decorations & such right after Christmas and that way they'll be done for the following year. I may just do that this time around.

2) Part of the reason I haven't gotten on the ball is that for the last month I have been sick with this and that. Thanksgiving weekend I was not feeling well. Then a week later I started having excruciating pain in my right ear and jaw. It was so bad that I couldn't even touch my face without it bringing me to my knees. After about 4 days of that, I realized that my far back tooth was really hurting. So off to the dentist. Yep. I had an abscessed tooth. So he put me on an antibiotic and five days later I got the thing pulled. It felt much better but I still was not able to eat much as I then had a gaping hole in my mouth. Then I really started to feel good until Saturday. It was that day that I just was overcome with unexplainable crabbiness. It lasted through the weekend and then yesterday afternoon I got sever aches and shakiness along with a terrible headache. I was so pathetic that I could barely carry Rhett across the room as I was so shaky and my headache would make me very dizzy. Today my aches have subsided for the most part but my head still feels terrible.

3) Rhett has his first tooth! I noticed it this morning. It may explain why he has been sleeping so much. I think the other one is about to pop through as well. It is his bottom right that came in first.

4) Rhett is also crawling. He is two months ahead of the other three in that department. He is still slow & awkward at it but he gets around. It is pretty stinkin cute I might add.

5) Rowan turns 6 on Thursday. It is so amazing how time flies and how quickly they change. I will post more about my favorite-almost-six-year-old on his birthday.

6) Avril has started expanding her vocabulary. She now uses words like "impossible" or "stupid". Ah, such positive thoughts from that one. She typically uses them when we are trying to get her to eat her food. Example: "Mommy! It is impossible for me to eat this food with this stupid fork!"

7) Is anyone else delighted with the falling snow? I am really holding out hope for a pretty, white Christmas this year. Plus it gives my kiddos fun stuff to do outside.

8) If I feel better, I plan on going stocking stuffer shopping for Jay tomorrow. The kids should have fun helping. Hopefully they don't blab! Not that stocking stuffers are a big deal but for me they are one of the highlights of the gifting part of Christmas. It's just fun to unload a big sock full of little goodies. They're my favorite kind.

9) I received my new Taste of Home Magazine today. It is one of my Christmas gifts from my grandma every year and I love it. So many yummy recipes and most of them can be adapted to be healthier. There's a couple I really want to try before the holidays are over.

10) One of the Christmas presents I wanted to do for Jay were the 12 Daytz of Christmas. It is 12 pre-planned dates for you & your husband, one occurring each month of the year. Everything is planned & paid for in advance and on the first of the month he opens the envelope & finds out when & what you are doing for your date. I love the concept but I am struggling with finding ideas that can be planned out in advance. I would love to hear your ideas. I still want to try & do it if I can but I'm running out of time! So hit me with your best ideas!

BONUS: I just can't post without reminding everyone to remember the families in Newton in your prayers. I cried & cried after my mom told me about it. Not only for the children & their families but also for this young guy who felt so desperate that he acted in such a way. We must remember that he, too, was loved by someone and was once someones baby boy. And let us not forget that his family must be deeply saddened by this event. And please pray that all of these families may come to know their Savior through this awful time. Pray it is not in vain but that God uses it for good as only He can.