Ten on Thursday

1. 4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 2. A business I drive past on my way to work each day has a sign that reads: “How Can I Make This a Happier Christmas?” I hope we all take the time to consider and act on that thought.

3. 8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

4. I am excited to attend the candlelight service at church tonight. It is so magical to sing about Christ’s coming surrounded by simple candlelight. What a beautiful way to remember the greatest gift we could ever receive, and the true reason we celebrate Christmas.

5. 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

6. I keep imagining how precious it will be to see Kendry in his Christmas pajamas by the tree tomorrow morning, his very first Christmas. We are so blessed to have our baby boy.

7. 1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east[b] and have come to worship him."

8. T minus three hours until we depart for Quincy and our good old fashioned family Christmas. And in my head I keep hearing: “Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go…”

9. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever shall believe in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” ~John 3:16~

10. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care..."

Three years ago, Justin bought me my very first sewing machine for Christmas. Its just a little Brother machine from Wal-mart, but it has been a great starter model for me. These days the high-tech sewing machines by Singer and Bernina seem to have hundreds of different features and tools, not to mention their computer capabilities. As much as I would love to have a fancy machine that can make almost anything, the very thought of even glancing at the user manual of one of those machines is enough to make me break into a sweat. We have had our new digital camera for over a year now and I still can't really tell you how to use it. That should give you some indication of how motivated I am to tackle new technology.

The very first pattern I bought was for a Christmas tree skirt and stockings. I tackled the stockings first, making them with corduroy fabric dotted with snowflakes. Justin's is blue, mine is red. They turned out beautifully, especially for a first sewing project. This year it took me a little while to get Kendry's stocking done. Who knew a baby could take up so much of the time I used to allocate to crafts, decorating and sewing? I decided to make Kendry's stocking out of corduroy as well, but picked out a different fabric color and pattern.

Something about each of us having unique handmade stockings is so precious to me. If you look at them closely you will see that each one has a few little sewing errors here and there, and they vary slightly in size, but that is what makes them so special. At last, we are a family of three this Christmas.

I finally got the stockings hung above the fireplace last night. Hey, they only need to be up by Christmas Eve, right? Beforehand, I let Kendry do a quick inspection of his stocking:

He likes it!Then he got distracted by a present...

As for the tree skirt pattern I have had for the last three years, I think I might finally get around to buying the fabric on clearance after Christmas. Check back with me in another year to see if its finished.

Screaming Out Loud

As of yesterday, our first official disciplinary action with Kendry has begun. Sure, we've had little things that we give him a gentle "no" about, like pulling mommy's jewelry or hair, grabbing his spoon while we are feeding him, or grabbing daddy's glasses off his face. Those have been no big deal, mainly because Kendry quickly gets distracted with another item, and, let’s face it, the consequences of him doing those things really aren’t that bothersome. But lately Kendry has developed a little bit of an attitude. If you take an item away from him, like the magazine he somehow got a hold of yesterday morning and promptly took a few bites from, he busts out his angry cry. Likewise, when he wants attention and you don’t give it to him, he has discovered that screaming gets a reaction out of us. Up until now we have let it slide a little because, as most babies do, he tends to squeal with delight when he laughs, and sometimes it is hard to determine when that laughing is turning into frustration squealing. But now, the frustration squealing has become frustration screaming and it is not very pleasant to listen to. Of course, this usually happens when we have left him to play on the floor, or in his jumperoo, so it takes you awhile to get across the room to tell him “no” and/or give him a little swat. We have tried giving him a firm "no" from across the room, and then face to face, but that does not work. And go ahead, call the blog police on me because the secret is out: we are swatting parents. Deal with it.

The thing is, I am amazed at how humbling this experience is. Now I am beginning to add up all those times Justin and I have critiqued how other people handle (or fail to handle) their own children, and I realize that discipline is so much easier said than done. Mind you, we have NEVER critiqued the parenting of any of you currently reading this blog.

We have been fortunate that these screaming incidents have only taken place in the comfort of our own home thus far. But alas, we are headed to Grandpa Richard and Grandma Mikki's this Christmas for four days, so the rest of the Gimlin family could witness it firsthand for themselves.

Having said all this, however, Kendry is still an amazingly content baby. When the screams subside and we can hear ourselves think, we believe we are quite blessed.

First Snow

On Sunday, December 13th, Kendry got to experience his very first snow. Justin was so excited to take him outside he kept asking when he could wake Kendry up to get him dressed and ready.

Did you see Justin hit Kendry with his first snowball at the end?

I don't think Kendry was all that impressed with his snowsuit, but we sure thought he looked cute. This photo brings a whole new meaning to snow angel:



The snow promptly melted just two days later, and we haven't seen any since.

Future Pianist

When I was younger I took piano lessons from second grade until about my junior year of high school. I had an incredible teacher named Mary Ellen. I haven't seen her in years, but she is still so dear to my heart. She instilled in me such a love for playing. But my mother deserves a good portion of the credit too, as she was the one who required that we practice for 30 minutes every morning before school. She even made us set a timer. Usually we would practice around 6am, before everyone else in the house was even up. And you know how it is with mothers. If we skimped and only did 25 minutes of practice instead of 30, she was right there at breakfast asking why our practice session was shortened that morning. Not only do mothers have eyes in the back of their heads, and a sixth sense (aka mother's intuition), but they can apparently keep track of time in their sleep. Who knew!?

Some day soon I hope to have my own piano. I still have most of my music stashed away, just waiting for the day it can accompany me plunk out a tune or two. I say "plunk" because that is probably what it will sound like at first, as I am a bit rusty, but I have no doubt my fingers will remember the tunes eventually.

Just before Thanksgiving, Justin's Nana dug out this little toy for Kendry. He just loved that he could make so many sounds with it. Could he be my future pianist? Or will those incredibly long fingers prefer palming a basketball instead?