Christmas Cards

Oh Christmas Card season, are you already here again?  It's around Thanksgiving that I start "conveniently" dressing my children in matching colors so that I can snap the perfect photo of them all.  It never seems to happen.  This year, however, one of my best friends from high school took some amazing pictures of my family when we were in town for a wedding.  She had her work cut out for her that day, I had one exhausted baby who hadn't napped, one squirrely 2 year old who never sits still, and a 3 year old who was on his way to getting a fever.  The fact that she got a shot of all of us was a miracle.

I love sending photo cards.  They are easy.  They are fun.  And they are reasonably priced.  I know of a few families who receive the cards and put them in a basket and pick one out each night and pray for that family.  Isn't that a great idea?

I've used different companies every year that I've made Christmas photo cards.  I'm not going to lie, I'm usually looking for the most affordable option.  However, I am so thankful for the advances some companies have made in letting you be creative in designing your card.  This year I am going to use Shutterfly for this very reason.

Some of my favorite designs that they have available are these.  I love that you can include more than one photo on this one. 

And I love the design of this one.  

You can check out their entire selection here.  

This year I have used Shutterfly to create some photo books and have been so pleased.  The quality is outstanding and they almost always have a deal on them which makes them very affordable.  One of my favorite ways to use this feature is to take pictures of an event that the kids and I participate in and then recreate it in storybook form with pictures and captions.  Caleb even authored one of the books we made this year. 

I also used Shutterfly this year to create some personal thank you notes.  You can make some like it here.  Again, they were good quality and the price was right. 

How about you?  What kind of Christmas cards do you like to send?  What kind do you like to receive?  If you're on my list, you'll be getting a photo card that I made on Shutterfly for free.  Would you like to do the same?

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Deep Sea Diving

It all started a couple of months ago when Caleb asked Ben how much a submarine costs.  He had decided earlier in the day that he wanted to drive one when he grows up.  After explaining that they are very expensive Caleb promptly told me, "Mom.  I can't spend any more of my money buying icees at Target.  I need to save all of my money up for a long time so I can buy a submarine."   (Isn't it incredible how he has a long term saving plan already????  Ha!) 

So when I asked Caleb what kind of costume I could make him last week he quickly suggested scuba diver.  So that is what we did.  It was a very inexpensive option with the base of the costume completely reusable for the rest of the winter.  Awesome!

The boys dressed up in their costumes to give out candy yesterday.  They had a blast!  We encouraged them to give generously (and in return we let them eat a bunch of candy while they were doing it.)  It was a fun night! 

Without further ado, here are my little Scuba men:

Looks like he found a treasure while he was under the sea--two bags of skittles!

And here is my little pumpkin man.  I didn't make him a matching costume (though I was tempted) but isn't he so cute?  He melts my heart!

Blood Test Update

Praise God!  The nurse called from my doctor's office today to give me the results from my blood test.  That was earlier than expected.


First of all, I do not have lupus (the auto-immune disorder).  I cannot tell you how thankful I am to hear this news.  Thank you, God, for sparing me from that particular trial.  Thank you! 

The other test, however, still yielded elevated results and I have been referred to a specialist for further testing.  Since this test was to determine a blood clotting disorder, I will see a hematologist and proceed from there.  She did indicate to me that my levels were still just slightly elevated (normal is 19-30 and mine came back 33).  I am grateful the number is small, though I have faith God could heal me even if the number was astronomically high.  But it isn't and for this I am thankful. 

Please pray with me that God would continue to heal my body.  If there is anything to keep you posted about, I will.  In the meantime, thank you for all your previous and continued prayers.   Our God hears and He cares.  Whether He chooses to heal me or not from this blood disorder, may He be glorified in me. 

The World's Best Grandpas

I'm not going to lie.  My boys have some pretty rockin' grandpas.  Take your pick from either side and what you'll find is nothing but top notch grandfathers.  I mean, seriously, take a look at what my boys have gotten to do just this month alone with these fine men:

First it was this with Grandpa Kenny:

And then it was this with Grandpa Lyle:


Need I say more?????  (Ok, if you want me to and I get time I will recount in more detail at a later date!)

What he says...

Elliott said like 3 words at 18 months.  Not kidding.  And they were mostly variations of the same sounds.  "Stuck."  "Tucker." and "Duck."  For a few months he said "Daddy" but then he stopped.  And he never said "Mommy." 

Shortly after his 18 month check-up he started saying all kinds of words.  And now, right at 2 years, he talks all. the. time.  And clearly, I might add.  Like the other day when I walked in his room to get him up for the day and he said, "It's not really very dark out anymore, mommy."  Slightly taken aback by the number of words in that thought I replied, "Well, no, no it's not, Elliott."

I'm glad he talks now.  Mostly because he says the FUNNIEST things.  His littly spunky personality finally has a little spunky mouth as well. 

Here are some conversations we had today:

(This was in the middle of a conversation after he got disciplined for running into the street.)
Me:  "Elliott, you are a sinner.  You need a __________." (this is where he should say "Savior")
Elliott:  "Binky."

(This was as he was crawling down the stairs on his belly, face first while I was reading a book to Caleb.)
Elliott:  "I'm not gonna kill myself mommy."
Me, as I look up to see what he is doing:  "Huh, Elliott?  Oh my goodness, be careful."
Elliott:  "I'm not gonna kill myself.  I'm ok." 

Indeed, he did not kill himself.  But I about died laughing.

Hope for the best?

Well, I wasn't anticipating this post. 

But I do believe that prayer makes a difference so I'm asking you to pray. 

After Gabe was born my doctor told me my placenta had some blood clots in it.  She wanted to run some tests to rule out a few unnamed medical conditions.  Though tempted to worry (and dig for information on google so that I could figure out what to worry about) God helped me just put it to the back of my mind and wait for August and my  yearly exam where I'd get tested.  I had the lab work done (thank you, kind phlebotemist, for sucking what seemed like 14 gallons of blood out with a teeny tiny pediatric needle).  The nurse called last night to report.  Unfortunately, I missed the call.  Seeing as how she didn't leave a report but told me to call her back, I knew the result was probably not good.  I immediately returned her phone call.  It was 7:01.  Office closed at 7:00. 

Ben was out of town so I had more than enough to keep my mind occupied.  It's like a 3 ring circus trying to get my crazy clowns to bed.  Thankfully 3 of my favorite people in the world (you know who you are and seriously, you are the best!!!!) came over to make my children even more hyper help.  After the circus was over and the ring leaders left, I was tempted to worry again but then convinced myself to push it to the back of my mind not knowing what she was going to say. 

The office opened at 9:00 this morning and I called at 9:01.  Voicemail.  Bummer.  She called back a few hours later and very sweetly said, "Angie, I just wanted to let you know that your blood work has come back and it's normal...."  {insert a very long pause which I know is going to end with the word but} "....but there were 2 tests that came back with slightly elevated levels that Dr. Alexander would like to repeat.  They could still be elevated from your last pregnancy so she'd like to wait another month and retest.  Don't worry.  Just schedule a lab appointment and come back in a month.  Any questions?" 

Yes, thank you.  I have a lot of questions.  Like "What tests came back elevated?  What are you looking for?  How am I supposed to not worry?  Can you be a bit more specific?  Am I going to die?  " 

I did inquire further and she gave me a bit more information.  They are investigating an autoimmune disorder and a blood clotting disorder.  I got off the phone kind of suprised, slightly in shock, and tempted to fear.  It's only been a few hours since I heard the news (which, let me just remind you really isn't news since I don't know anything for certain) and I've been through the gamut of emotions and thoughts. 

I am tempted to worry about right now.  I am tempted to fear what this means for the future.  I am tempted to dismay.  I am tempted to fear sudden disaster.  I am tempted to be anxious about more medical expenses for more medical tests.  I am tempted to dwell.  I am tempted to desire a different result. 

And even with all those temptations, God has helped me to pull my gaze away from those and focus on the Cross--the absolute, objective, reality that He loves me.  That He is for me.  That He is with me.  AND that He already knows. 

That said, temptations are coming quick and I'm having to actively work to fight them off with the Truth of God's word.  And here is the realization He is giving me: 

My flesh wants to hope for the best, hope in good reports from doctors, hope in comfortable circumstances.  He wants me to hope in Him. 

I have seen a pattern of this in my life since Gabe was born.  Unless I am actively seeking to hope in Him, my default is to hope in something else.  I default to hoping that Gabe's medicine is working because his heart rate is staying in the range they want it in.  I default to hope in a good report showing no arrhytmeas each time he wears the Holter monitor.  When I was told to wait until August, I hoped everything would be ok and just pushed it aside until the test came.  When the test time came, I resolved to just wait until the results came.  Now the results came, but they are unclear.  Part of me would like to know right now so that I can research and find information to hope in or the best doctor in the field to hope in.  My default even allows me to hope in clarity.

Trying to meditate on God's word as I was rocking (Small aside: I was actually sitting in a chair rocking; he let me sit down!  You should be excited!  It's a big step!)  my sweet baby to sleep, I had an idea.  Since I won't know anymore news for another 6 weeks (one month until retest and two weeks waiting for results) it would be easy for me to just push it aside like I've done in the past.  No sense thinking about what I don't really know yet.  But I think then I will be missing the point.  I think then I will have missed an opportunity to put into practice all He has been teaching me about trusting Him with my little heart-condition boy.  I think He is calling me to serve Him right now with my response to the news.  Remember, the only thing He is calling me to at this moment is to serve Him???  I would be remiss if I didn't apply this truth to this new situation.

I want to hope in Him.  I want Him to be my only hope.   

Will you pray with me? 
Will you pray that He would accomplish the good purpose He has for this season, these 6 weeks of waiting?
Will you pray for active strength to fight temptation as it comes?  
Will you pray with me that my levels would return to normal?
Will you pray that even if I actually do suffer from these two ailments that He would see fit to heal me from the things the doctors are investigating for His glory?

The verses He has brought to mind since talking to the nurse:


 Psalm 56 (emphasis mine)
3 When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?....
....8 You have kept count of my tossings; [3]
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call.
This I know, that [4] God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

Psalm 69
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.


Psalm 42

11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

Lamentations 3
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; [2]
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

So do I hope for the best?  Of course!  But with my hope IN GOD, I know that whatever He brings is most definitely best.   

 

Brotherly Love

I carried the little boys downstairs, one in each arm, the other morning and sat them in daddy's big chair while I went to fill a sippy cup.  When I came back, big brother was sitting between them loving on them. 

I quickly snapped this picture:

Satisfied that I'd caught the beautiful moment on camera, I turned to put the camera away.  Walking away I hear Caleb lovingly remark, "Awwwhhh.  I love you guys!"  It suddenly became even more beautiful...