hair.stylist

This is what your hair looks like when you do it yourself and you're 5! I thought it was pretty good for her first try.

Then, if you can convince your sister to let you do her hair, it will look like this....

You know, I could save myself a good 10 minutes every morning if I let Claire do everyone's hair. Hmmm...you know, I'll have to think about that one. :)

 

crossword.puzzle

Claire was doing a crossword puzzle for fun the other day. She doesn't know how to spell very many words yet, so I was helping her.

#1 across: The place where pizza was first made. 5 letters (not that it matters to someone who can't really spell)

I always have her guess even if I'm pretty sure she won't get it right.

She confidently answered, "Pizza Hut."

Unfortunately, it didn't fit. So, we went with Italy instead.

amelia.9.mo

Look who's drinking out of a sippy cup...my big girl!

Let me start by saying that Mom and Josh can't guess because they already know the answer. Secondly, I'll tell you that she's a complete peanut. Her poor little head isn't growing very quickly. The doctor isn't too concerned because she's doing everything she's supposed to be doing (eating, crawling, almost cruising, babbling, cooking, emailing, driving, etc.). But she did say that if Amelia's head hasn't gotten bigger by her 12 month appointment, she might have to be seen by a neurologist just to make sure that everything is ok.

Josh and I were brainstorming ideas to make her head bigger. We thought about playing a recording of statements through the night to give her a bigger head, such as: Amelia, you're the smartest baby in the world! You crawl better than every other baby we know! You're way stronger than Daddy! ...you know, things to give her a big head. :)

Ok, back to the guessing. Whoever is closest, by Thursday night when I go to bed, you will win! At 6 months, she was 13 pounds 7 ounces....what is she now??? Remember...tag blanket on the line people!!! #2.

it's.alive

....the furnace, that is!!! And there was much rejoicing....seriously.

My favorite furnace man, Judd, came over this afternoon to give us another quote on the new furnace (that will be going in soon, mind you). He peeked at the old one and lead Josh right to the part that needed fixin'. $20 and 10 minutes later, we cheered aloud! So, we're praying that old unfaithful will keep plugging along for a week or two more.

Our house was down to 54 today....too cold for my liking. As I type, I hear the furnace kicking on. I've not heard such a sweet, sweet sound in quite some time!!! And there was more rejoicing!

Thank you, Judd!

b.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.

The morning started at 57 and we've risen to 59. It may actually get up to 60 today in here!

Let me start by saying that I think I need to call Ralph.

And today, I'd like to thank the following people:

My mom and dad...for letting us borrow the little space heaters.

Josh's mom and dad...for giving Josh Christmas money a couple of years ago to purchase the Mr. Heater.

Claire, Meredith, and Amelia...for not seeming to notice that it's cold in the house. (Meredith is searching for her tutu as I type.)

Josh...for putting doors up in the house to keep the warm air inside the bedrooms at night.

Aunt B, Aunt S, and Cousins K and D...for pooling your money together and giving us a warm down comforter for our bed as a wedding gift many years ago.

Old Navy...for making a warm hat, scarf, and gloves for me to wear in my house.

Kevin at Josh's work...who said that he can bring home heaters that were sitting in the office so that we can continue to live in our home.

And most importantly, the Lord...for giving me the patience to deal with the fact that our furnace died yesterday and we won't have heat for another week.


And today, I'd like to give dirty looks the following people (but I won't because that would just be mean):

The people who put the furnace in...it hasn't been working right for 3 weeks now, and it finally died yesterday. RIP 17 year old furnace.

The people who disconnected the ceiling heat in the house while they lived here...we had it in our last house, and we really liked it.

The people who installed the duct work...it all has to be rerun before the new furnace is installed because it wasn't done right in the first place.

And most importantly, to Josh...who talked me into buying this house that I've actually grown to love...even with spiders, ants, snakes, lack of heat, lack of air conditioning, disgusting attic, water leaks, icy driveways, unpainted walls, and more dust than I could ever ask for. I love you, honey, and I promise that I will never let you talk me into anything like this again. We're in it together, and I do know that we will, in fact, look back on this and laugh some day :)!

Patience is a virtue and heat is overrated.

smiles.

This picture makes me smile :) I love you, Meredith!!

 

number.3

Christmas night is always spent with Josh's family. There are 11 (soon to be 12) grand kids on that side of the family that are 9 and under...oh, and 7 of them are boys. Let's just say that it gets a little rowdy at times. There is always a TON of food...Jenn and Jess would just love it. Anyway, even though it is crazy, it is a lot of fun!

My in-laws have two family room type rooms in the house. One is very spacious (they added on to it while Josh and I were dating to accommodate the growing family), and the other is a family room of typical size with one couch and one love seat. Where do you think we all gathered? You know it, the small one. We (all 19 of us) were all literally sitting on top of each other watching The Incredibles. It was super-fun! And I just love that movie.

Here are a few pics from the evening...


Meredith in her hat and apron from Aunt K.

Amelia reading her new book...she was talking to it and everything!

And who can resist one more adorable picture of Amelia? This is Josh's new fav.

All in all, this was probably the best Christmas yet! The kids are at such fun ages, and everyone was in a great mood through all of the family gatherings. Although, as I'm typing this, I remember that Meredith puked like 4 times on Christmas morning. We don't think she was sick, she had just eaten a lot of sweets on Christmas Eve. Once we made it through breakfast, she was fine. But, obviously it wasn't that big of a deal....I almost forgot!

So, the gifts have all been opened. The tree is out in the burn pile. The decorations are in the boxes (which are still in my kitchen). It was such a joy, once again, to celebrate the birth of Christ. It is truly one of my favorite times of the year on so many levels. Each Christmas since I've become a mom, I've really thought long and hard about Mary and her experiences as Jesus' mother. I know the pure joy of holding my own child in my arms. I can't even imagine the feelings that she had knowing that she was not only holding her child, but knowing that she was also holding the savior of the world. She was holding God in flesh. Simply incredible.