Our Christmas

This Christmas was insanely busy but SO good! It all started last week Tuesday the 22nd, when my sister + brother-in-law arrived from faraway lands.

Art + Jenene with their niece + nephew

We spent the afternoon and evening together. On Wednesday the 23rd, we had a gathering on my Mom’s side of the family. Here’s Kiera in her Christmas dress

Blake in a cute outfit

On Thursday the 24th, we had Christmas with my immediate family. Here’s Kiera in another Christmas dress with pigtails that she left in for about 10 minutes, which I think is a record. Normally, she pulls them out in about 20 seconds.

Blake looking at his Grandpa G

Kiera liked that the tree played Silent Night

One of the noisy toys she got for Christmas

Blake wearing his “My First Christmas” outfit

I got a Baby Trend Sit n Stand double stroller from my parents, which I ordered in November, so it wasn’t a surprise. Thanks Mom + Dad! It can be used as either a regular double stroller or it converts to a sit and stand.

All of our stockings that my Mom cross-stitched (she hasn’t made Blake’s yet)

On Friday the 25th, we had Christmas with Jared’s immediate family

Kiera got a guitar

I got a down-filled winter coat which I was shocked about because I had put it on my list thinking it was way too expensive! It’s so nice and warm! Thanks Mom + Dad!

Blake with wrapping paper on his head and lying beside some of his Christmas presents

Smiling at his Poppy

Blake got 2 pairs of Robeez

On Saturday the 26th, we had a gathering on my Dad’s side.

On Sunday the 27th, my Mom, Art, + Jenene came over in the afternoon. We played games and ordered pizza for supper. Jared worked that evening, so I took the kids to a games night at a friend’s house. Here’s Jenene reading to Kiera

On Monday the 28th, we met my family for supper at the Olive Garden. It was VERY yummy! On Tuesday the 29th, Art + Jenene’s last day here, they came over with my Mom and hung out. We played Quelf which is a hilarious game! I highly recommend it.

Jared + I decided that instead of buying each other a present, we would buy a new bathroom faucet as our Christmas present. Here's the old one

This is the new brushed nickel one

Christmas flew by so quickly, which I knew it would, but it was one of the best Christmases I have ever had! It was so wonderful to have our family altogether and I found it very hard to say good-bye this time. I love watching my kids bond with their aunt + uncle, especially Kiera. Jenene was very good at rocking Blake to sleep, so my arms + back got a break! We were so blessed to have them here…they were my favorite “Christmas gift!”

Our Anniversary

Last week Thursday, the 17th, we celebrated our 4th anniversary! I've been busy, so I haven't had time to type a sappy, romantic post about it. This year, our anniversary was not sappy or romantic, but it was still good. Every year, we've gone south of the border to a hotel for a night (we even left Kiera for a night when she was a newborn), but this year, we decided to stay home and not go anywhere at all. The reasons were:

1. We had just gone out for supper at a restaurant a few days prior to that
2. Blake likes to breastfeed all evening long, which makes it difficult to take him out to places like a restaurant
3. I don't like pumping and I don't give Blake formula

So, we stayed home. Jared made waffles and I made white sauce for the first time to go with them and the sauce turned out very well! After supper, we spent the evening watching the So You Think You Can Dance performance + results finale that we had missed the 2 days before that. It was a good evening and the guy who we wanted to win the show did win, so that was an added bonus! Jared, I love you more + more every year!

Love146

Right now, Cake Wrecks is featuring one charity every day and asking people to give $1. I read this one with tears streaming down my face. If you want to give, you can do so through Cake Wrecks website. They featured this one on Friday, December 18, under "Seasonings Greetings." I ask that you pray for these children, for the people doing horrible things to them, and for the people trying to rescue them. I was totally reminded that Christmas and life in general isn't about me and that there are many hurting people out there who need help and need to be shown God's love. Lord, help me to remember that.

OUR NAME IS HER STORY

"The number pinned to her dress was 146..."

In 2002, the co-founders of Love 146 travelled to South East Asia on an exploratory trip to determine how they could serve in the fight against child sex trafficking. In one experience, a couple of our co-founders were taken undercover with investigators to a brothel, where they witnessed children being sold for sex. This was their experience. This is the story that changed our lives.


"We found ourselves standing shoulder to shoulder with predators in a small room, looking at little girls through a pane of glass. All of the girls wore red dresses with a number pinned to their dress for identification. They sat, blankly watching cartoons on TV. They were vacant, shells of what a child should be. There was no light in their eyes, no life left. Their light had been taken from them. These children...raped each night... seven, ten, fifteen times every night. They were so young. Thirteen, eleven… it was hard to tell. Sorrow covered their faces with nothingness. Except one girl. One girl who wouldn’t watch the cartoons. Her number was 146. She was looking beyond the glass. She was staring out at us, with a piercing gaze. There was still fight left in her eyes. There was still life left in this girl...

"...All of these emotions begin to wreck you. Break you. It is agony. It is aching. It is grief. It is sorrow. The reaction is intuitive, instinctive. It is visceral. It releases a wailing cry inside of you. It elicits gut-level indignation. It is unbearable. I remember wanting to break through the glass. To take her away from that place. To scoop up as many of them as I could into my arms. To take all of them away. I wanted to break through the glass to tell her to keep fighting. To not give up. To tell her that we were coming for her…"

“Because we went in as part of an ongoing, undercover investigation on this particular brothel, we were unable to immediately respond. Evidence had to be collected in order to bring about a raid, and eventually justice on those running the brothel. It is an immensely difficult problem when an immediate response cannot address an emergency. Some time later, there was a raid on this brothel and children were rescued. But the girl who wore #146 was no longer there. We do not know what happened to her, but we will never forget her. She changed the course of all of our lives." -Rob Morris, President and Co-founder

We have taken her number so that we remember why this all started. So that we must tell her story. It is a number that was pinned to one girl, but that represents the millions enslaved. We wear her number with honor, with sorrow, and with a growing hope. Her story can be a different one for so many more.

Love is in our name, because it is our motivating drive to end child sex slavery and exploitation. We believe love to be the foundation of real, sustainable change. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love." We hold that to be true. Love Protects. Love Defends. Love Restores. Love Empowers.

We are Love146.

Feeling Thankful

I'm finding that being thankful is one of the best medicines to counteract a bad mood. Making it a habit to list the things I'm thankful for has changed my life. Thank you Lord for your many many blessings! Here's the list today:

73. My husband who cleans the bathtub and shower and often does his own laundry

74. My kids who both nap often at the same time

75. Cut up pineapple mixed with vanilla yogurt which I'm eating while I type this

76. Planes which make long-distance travel easier + quicker

77. That Christmas is next week and one of my favorite parts of Christmas is spending time with family...to me, that's better than opening gifts!

78. Extra money that allowed us to purchase this bedding for Kiera. It's Roxy brand ordered from bedbathandbeyond.com. It was on sale for $60 which included the duvet cover + sheet set, but after paying shipping, taxes, duty, and exchange it ended up being over $100. Then, we had to buy a white comforter because I didn't realize it was only a duvet cover and not an actual duvet, so that was another $40 at Wal-Mart. I could have gotten something cheaper, but after seeing this set, nothing else was good enough! I didn't realize how much it would end up costing, but I'm thankful that we had enough!






















79. That we always have food in our house

80. Cold distilled water...I'm a water snob and refuse to drink tap water if at all possible

81. Games...I LOVE playing games

82. My Mom who comes over on the evenings that Jared works his part-time job in addition to his full-time one and she helps me with the kids

83. A high-efficiency furnace that works well

84. My sister + brother-in-law who are coming next week and they'll finally get to meet Blake...I am SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!

An Adventure

These days, going out with both our kids is an adventure.  This morning, Blake + I had doctor's appointments and getting out of the house with both kids by myself takes a lot of organization and time.  I'm sure all you Moms out there who have 2-4 kids might be rolling your eyes because you've had to do this many times before, but I haven't, so it's a bit of a challenge, especially with the weather being so cold.  Here's how my morning went:
My day started at 7:30 when Blake woke up.  I fed him and he was asleep again by 8:15.  I put on my make-up and then crawled back into bed for some more sleep.  I set my alarm for 9:15 and then got ready the rest of the way and ate breakfast.  At 9:45, I woke up Blake so that he would have a feeding as close as possible to the doctor's appointment and not be hungry and crying there.  He finished at 10:15 and then I quickly warmed up milk for Kiera, grabbed her jacket + ski pants, and went and woke her up.  I got her changed and dressed while she was drinking her milk.  Then I ran back upstairs to change Blake.  After that, I got my jacket on, finished putting Kiera's mittens, boots, and scarf on, and then went searching for my glove that Kiera had taken off with.  I found it and then put Blake in his car seat, at which point he started crying as is usual these days.  He doesn't like his car seat, but he's usually quiet as soon as we're in the car and driving.  If we hit a stop sign or red light, he usually starts crying again, but as long as we're moving, he's ok, unless he's hungry.  That's basically the only time he ever cries for longer than a few seconds, so I know I can't complain, even though it can be frustrating at times and makes you want to drive 100 miles an hour all the way home (which we don't).  Anyway, I then went and put Kiera in the car and then came back and got Blake and put him in the car.  We were on the road by 10:35 which I think is a record!  I picked up my Mom on the way to my appointment and we even arrived 5 minutes early!  Everything went very well, so the morning was a success!  We found out that Blake is very healthy and growing quickly!  He's gained 2 lbs. and grown 1/4 of an inch since his appointment 2 weeks ago!  The doctor asked me if I was giving him formula since he's gaining quite a bit of weight and I said, "Nope! Breast milk only!"  Blake is now 11 lbs. 5 oz. and 22 1/2 inches long!!  My doctor asked me again the meaning of Blake's name and it means "forgiven."  She asked me last time, too.  After the appointment, we went to my parents' house so that Kiera could eat some lunch and I could feed Blake again.  My Mom had to go back to work, so that left me to pack up the kids by myself again.  I'm surprised I still have any energy left after all that.  It's the grace of God! :)

This is what happens when I ask Kiera to smile…ha ha!

My Funny Girl

Kiera has been saying some funny things lately.  Some of you have read a couple of them on my facebook statuses and some of you probably haven’t.  Last week, I was pumping because we were going to go out without Blake.  Kiera was watching me with great interest and then she pointed and said, “Cow?”  I burst out laughing and I have NO idea how she made that association!  We have never told her that cows get milked. 

A few days ago, I was sitting on the floor and she came up to me and said, “Baby Tia (Kiera) eat eeya Mommy’s boob,” and then she proceeded to push her face into my chest.  Ha ha!  I said, “No, you did that for 8 months.  You’re done!”

Yesterday, I had the hiccups and I was actually quite frustrated because I was trying to rock Blake to sleep, but of course he wasn’t going to sleep with me hiccupping.  Kiera suggested I have some cough syrup.  I’m very much enjoying the things she’s coming up with these days! 

Thankful

1 Thess. 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”  These are the things I’m thankful for today:

61. Blake’s first real smiles when I was talking to him this morning :D

62. That I’ve been getting between 7-8 hours of sleep per night with one wake-up in the middle of it

63. Our Christmas tree (this was taken last year)

64. Our dishwasher which saves me hours of work

65. That the snow is beautiful, even though I would prefer to have no snow

66. Jared, my amazing husband

67. Christmas goodies

68. God giving me the strength to rock my baby who’s getting heavier and heavier

69. Christmas carols…I was listening to Mariah Carey’s Christmas album on grooveshark.com this past week and lovin’ it

70. The ability to listen to music absolutely free online at grooveshark.com

71. Being able to set up our Christmas tree this year in spite of the fact that we have a toddler who likes to get into everything…we put the plastic ornaments on the bottom half of the tree and the breakable ornaments on the top half!

72. Being able to wear all of my regular clothes again…it’s almost like a whole new wardrobe, except not :)

Blake’s Newborn Pictures

A week and a half ago, my Mom-in-law took newborn photos and also some family photos.  Here are a few of the many she took.

This one was in the local newspaper for my Mom-in-law’s ad last week

On a different note, Blake isn’t sleeping today.  He’s basically been up since 8:00 a.m. with 5 or 10-minute naps thrown in here and there.  It’s now 3:00 p.m. and I am SO tired of rocking him!  Hopefully the rest of the day goes better!

Juggling Act

Life with 2 kids is definitely a juggling act right now! Thankfully, Blake is an easy baby. I can't imagine if I had a colicky baby plus Kiera to deal with! I have a lot to be thankful for. Lately, he's been sleeping a 5-6 hour stretch at night and then another 3-hour stretch, so I'm very much enjoying getting enough sleep! Kiera has been watching videos on YouTube lately and has learned her ABC's. She can sing the whole song, except she misses a few letters at the end! She enjoys watching Elmo, the Cactus Cuties, cats, and puppies.

Last night, Jared had a cold and was utterly exhausted and I had a fever and was achy. My Mom came over and rescued us by looking after our kids. Jared slept all evening and my fever broke around 7 p.m. so then I was able to help my Mom a bit. My Mom bathed both kids, got Kiera in her crib, and then rocked Blake to sleep. She was my hero last night!

Lately, I haven't been getting out of the house very much especially during the week. I'm really looking forward to Christmas and all the gatherings and the help I will have with our kids during that time. Plus, Jared is home for 10 days over Christmas and New Year's. WOOHOO!!!! I can hardly wait!!

Here is a picture of Blake I took a couple of days ago. As of last week Thursday at his doctor's appt., he was 9 lbs. 7 oz. and 22 inches long! He is healthy and growing quickly!























Here's a picture I took of Miss Blue Eyes after her bath last night (hence the interesting hair)

Blake’s First 2 Weeks

Here’s a video of Blake making the cutest little squeak noises at 1 day old.

My sister has been asking for more recent pictures of Blake, so here they are.

4 days old

His first bath at home at 5 days old

Sleeping in his bassinet

9 days old

11 days old

16 days old