I am obviously not very good at this

I so desperately want to be a good blogger. Not because I think tons of people out there care what I have to say, but because I want to have some record/journal of what is going on in our lives. I used to journal every day, but that like my blogging just doesn't happen any more.

In the three weeks since I last blogged, so much has happened that I can't even remember it all. For one, we had a series of amazing Christmas celebrations. It truly is my favorite time of year. Yes, I love getting presents, but the main thing is just spending time focusing on our families and what they mean to us. The weekend before Christmas we made a whirlwind trip to West TN/KY. We had a great plan to go down Friday night, have 3 Christmas celebrations and come back Sunday night. Life plan- meet yet another ear infection. This time, the ear infection required 3 rounds of shots, each given 24 hours apart. So, we had a shot Friday afternoon then again Saturday morning. We left the doctor's office at 10:30, arrived in West TN about 12:45, ate lunch, played a game of dirty Santa, visited for a couple minutes, then headed to KY. We rested for a few minutes then headed to the next celebration. We got back to Mimi & Papa's and had a screaming baby all night. We left early Sunday morning to get back to Franklin for our final round of shots. Then, Granddaddy and Emily came to our house for lunch and our 3rd Christmas celebration. You have no idea how much I was looking forward to that last one taking place at Patti's in KY. I could taste that Boatsinker Pie and just see LK's face when she saw the Christmas decorations and lights. But, life goes on.... Monday morning we went back to the pediatrician only to find out the shots hadn't completely worked and we would be on yet another round of 10 day oral antibiotic.


Fast forward 3 days to Christmas Eve. This is when both of our immediate families get together for Christmas. We go to Jeff's mom's for brunch. We all have a wonderful time and enjoy fabulous food. It is good to spend time with Jeff's sister's family. They only live 30 miles away, but with a high schooler and college kid, we just don't see them much. The most memorable part of that celebration was Jeff dropping and breaking Pam's gift before we could ever get it for her. It was a glass serving bowl to replace her chipped serving bowl. If you know Pam, you know cooking and serving food isn't exactly her specialty. Thankfully she laughed off the broken dish as her omen in life to have chipped dishes. (We have now replaced the broken bowl.)

That evening we had my family over for dinner. I think I have taken my Mom and Grandmother's job away in serving Christmas Dinner, but I love it. Not very often do I get to cook a big meal for lots of people and use my nice serving pieces and China. So, even though it is tons of work, it is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. I was slightly concerned about the kids opening presents.... LK had insisted that she wanted a trampoline from Santa. Well, she got a trampoline, but it was from Mimi and Papa. I thought she may be confused about the whole concept, but who was I kidding- she just wanted the trampoline.

Christmas morning was so much fun! Sam was up at the crack of dark, as usual. I tried to hold him off from Santa until LK got up, but it didn't exactly work. He got up and had his milk and we rocked, then he suddenly spotted his Little Tikes Police Car.
When LK got up she rushed in to see her Snow White treasures. I think she has dressed up like Snow White and watched the movie every day since Christmas. They joy in the children's face is just priceless. I can't wait to do it all again next year. One of my favorite parts was LK talking about writing thank you for all her presents. She may be a stinker, but she is at least a grateful stinker. She even wanted to write thank you notes to Santa, and especially baby Jesus, "We need to say thank you to baby Jesus for letting us get presents on His birthday."

By 10am on Christmas morning we were taking down the Christmas trees. Bah Humbug, maybe, but in reality it was time to get ready to party. I have had enough trouble keeping my 2 monkeys from climbing the trees, so I decided a birthday party full of monkeys would be more than I could deal with. That's right, the day after Christmas my baby boy turned One. He was our rookie of the year. Totally can not believe it. He is so different than Lexi Kate. Among many things, by his first birthday he had teeth and was walking, he very calmly ate his cake, and wasn't talking to everyone at the party. We were blessed to celebrate the birth of our baby boy with so many of our friends and family. But, next year- we will be celebrating in October. Too much going on around the holidays to do birthday too.


And, fast forward a few more days to New Year's Eve. What a way to end it, than in the hospital getting tubes. Let's just say it is a very cruel joke for a doctor to be running an hour late for surgery on a baby that hasn't eaten in 14 hours, and can't eat until you are finished. The surgery went off without a hitch, but it was hell waiting. I am not really sure what Sam's reaction to the tubes is at this point. LK was better immediately. Sam however has been fussy. I am looking forward to his checkup on Thursday to see how the doctor thinks he is doing.

How did we ring in the New Year-- we were in bed by 8:00. Did I mention we had to get up at 4:30am to be at the hospital by 6:30. Too tired to care about ringing in the New Year.

And, finally, my reflections on 2009. Honestly, it is a year I had just as soon forget. Jeff and I celebrated 5 years of marriage and have 2 wonderful children. The first 4 1/2 of those years we were able to enjoy the better and richer part of our vows. But, 2009 was filled with lots of stress and the worse and poorer part of our vows. The economy finally hit our business to the point we are about to break. In June Jeff finally let go his best friend and partner for the last 5 years. It broke my heart to see him struggle with this decision that was from a business standpoint months past due. The business is still struggling and each day I see the stress on Jeff's face. I will say that 2009 taught us some lessons that we would have never learned otherwise. I have known Christ as my Savior for 20 years, but this is probably the first year that I have HAD to trust Him as Lord of my life. For the most part, we haven't had to trust God to provide our every need. It is easy to say you rely completely on Him, but honestly in our society and with our past means, we haven' HAD to. This year, I can say I made it to the point that I gave up and trusted completely in Him. Everyday I have been prepared for Jeff to come home and say we were "done", and that we were going to "lose everything". In finally being willing to sell our house, give up my car, or whatever else happened, I have found a peace that surpasses all understanding. We thought we were doing everything right according the the world's standard. We had a great business going, we were very secure financially, and we had plenty of savings. Now that the savings is gone, we are less than secure financially, and the business is struggling; I can see what I need. I have the love of a Heavenly Father and an amazing family, and wonderful friends. The rest of this stuff- it just doesn't matter. It doesn't define who I am. Yes, I could live without the stress and hate seeing how it affects my wonderful husband. So, here is to praying that 2010 provides some relief in that area.