Do Something

I know that I've been beating the same drum for awhile here. And some of you probably think I should give it a rest. Talk about something else. I can't explain it, but I am absolutely fired up. Everything inside of me is screaming for the world to wake up to what abortion really is and to make it STOP! Every day I think about another 3,700 innocent, precious, defenseless, human babies being *slaughtered* in THIS country. And it makes me sick to my stomach.

I've participated in several online chats about abortion and I am sick to death of the rationalizations for abortion. The most recent one I heard was this: "Since we can't agree on when life begins (which, I'm sorry, boggles my mind!!! A first grader could tell you that a baby in the womb is alive) shouldn't we just tolerate both ideas?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I don't even know where to start with this one. Okay, first of all, tolerating both is impossible, because if you believe life begins at conception then abortion isn't okay. And if you don't believe that life begins at conception, then for some people abortion is okay. So, either way you look at it, both sides cannot be simultaneously tolerated! Are you following me?

Secondly, I absolutely cannot tolerate both just because I might be "unsure" when life begins. Because in one scenario both mama and baby live. In the other, only the mamas live. Period. The "choice" seems CRYSTAL clear to me. I'm gonna go ahead and be cautious just in case life begins at conception.

I get it. Evil is perpetuated through lies. People are deceived. And can't see the truth when it is plain as day. I pray that the Holy Spirit will open their eyes.

I know I'm preaching to the choir. Most of you are like minded. But this is my blog. My place to say what I believe. And people, life begins at conception. And no woman has the right to "terminate" her pregnancy just because the pregnancy is unwanted or this baby isn't coming at the most opportune time, and circumstances in her life may get a little unpleasant for awhile. The unthinkable, abominable slaughter of the baby within her womb trumps all uncomfortable circumstances. Every time. And if that steps on her toes, that is a bummer. Sorry. A baby in the womb is precious and valuable every time. Whether it is "wanted" by its mama or not. A baby in the womb does not cease to be valuable simply because its mama doesn't want to be told what to do with her body.

Prolifers have been accused of only caring about "saving babies" and not caring about mamas. I care about the mamas too. And I know that people within the prolife movement have become accutely aware that the mamas need resources, help, networking. And pregnancy resource centers have come a long way in trying to assist women. I am all for it and I put my money where my mouth is and donate to several such centers every year.

What can you say that you have done since the last anniversary of R*e v. Wade? I am asking you to say something, do something, take a stand, make some noise. Christians have got to come together and say Enough! Enough babies have been killed, enough excuses have been made, enough lies have been bought, we've stood by long enough, enough is enough. And we won't sit here and do nothing on our watch. This is our responsibility! If we don't fight this fight, who will???

When I stand before God one day I want to be able to say that I did everything I could to defend life. God is the Creator of life. God knits babies together in the womb. Do you get that? That is huge! HE FORMS THEM IN THEIR MOTHER'S WOMB. Each baby is His unique design. He is aware of each one. He loves each one. He fashions every part of these complex little human beings. There isn't one baby in the history of the universe that God hasn't known about. He has handmade EACH ONE. I think there are few issues, if any, more important to God than Life! He cannot bless our country when we are killing our own babies. His babies.

I am asking you to do something. I have listed several ways for you to get involved, all of which are EASY! Even if you just pick one, I'd be so grateful. So here again are some options:

• Call the White House and leave a message for the President letting him know that you do not support taxpayer funding of abortion and ask him to reject the Freedom of Choice Act. 202-456-1414. I did this. It took maybe five minutes. Easy peasy. Get off the internet and go call. (The message line is open M-F)
• Sign the petition at http://www.fightfoca.com/
• Call or email your senators and congressman. This website will help you to find the lawmakers from your state: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml They've gotta hear from us!
• Visit Self Evident Truth and sign up for their awesome free newsletter so that you can be informed.
• Visit Abort73.com or abortionno.org and purchase a t-shirt to wear your stand for life.
• Purchase Randy Alcorn's book Why Prolife? It's a short read and he says all this better than I ever could. Amazing. Articulate. Wonderful.
• Think about donating to your local pregnancy resource center or any pregnancy resource center. They're all desperate for money to continue to provide their services to women in their communities. Here are a couple options: The Alpha Center in Sioux Falls and Pregnancy Resource Center of St. Cloud. Also, the three websites I listed above are on the front lines fighting abortion and would gladly receive your donation.

Alright, I promise I'll get back to writing about light and fluffy things in the near future. If you've read this entire post, I'm so thankful! And if you've done any of the above things, I could hug you!

I'll close with one more video:

7 x 7

I don't know if any of you read Bring the Rain, but it is one of my favorite blogs. Angie is a very good writer and communicates so well. She came up with a plan to pray Scripture for her daughters daily and you can read all about it here. I LOVE this idea, especially since I pray for my kids a lot anyway. And this gives me some direction. So here are the prayers and Scriptures.

1. When they wake up: "Let the morning bring (child's name) word of your unfailing love, for she has put her trust in You. Show (her/him) the way (she/he) should go, for to you (he/she) lifts up her soul." (Adapted from Psalm 143:8)
2. When they are getting dressed: "Therefore, as God's chosen child, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Lord, help (him/her) bear with others and forgive whatever grievances (he/she) has against others. Help (him/her) forgive as the Lord forgave (him/her). And over all these virtues, help (him/her) put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Adapted from Colossians 3:12-14)
3. While they are eating: "Teach (child's name) the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Teach (him/her) that (he/she) can do everything through him who gives (him/her) strength." (Adapted from Philippians 4:12-13)
4. When they go out of the house: "(Name of child), do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Adapted from Romans 12:2)
5. While they are taking a bath: Lord, give (name of child) clean hands and a pure heart, and let (him/her) not lift (his/her) soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Let (him/her) receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God (his/her) Savior. Let (him/her) be part of the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. (Adapted from Psalm 24:4-6)
6. When they are going to bed: "The Lord Your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, be will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)
7. While they are sleeping: "I pray that (name of child) will do everything without complaining or arguing, so that he/she may become blameless and pure, a child of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which he/she shines like a star in the universe as he/she holds out the word of life-in order that he/she may boast on the day of Christ that he/she did not run or labor for nothing." (Adapted from Philippians 2:14-16)

Don't you love that?

Love It

Be Courageous, President Barack Obama

Honor the State, And, Defend the Helpless

Our Pastor's Sanctity of Human Life sermon is up on our church's website. If you can find some time, listen to it! If you go to the website, scroll down just a bit and you'll see the most recent sermon on the left side of the screen.

Leave a Message

Just wanted you to know that I called the White House and left a message for the President about abortion. It was so easy and I really encourage you to do it! I had to hold for about two minutes and then a very pleasant gentleman listened to my message, thanked me for calling and said he'd pass what I had to say along to the President. Easy! Do it! 202-456-1414

Adoption Wings

This morning at MOMS I met a really talented woman. Her name is Angel and she and her husband have three beautiful little girls. They are in the process of trying to adopt two chilren from Ethiopia and are raising money. Angel makes gorgeous hair clips, head scarves and nursing shawls and they are so stinkin' affordable!!! She has a blog with pics of the items she makes. I'm telling you - they are super cute. The clips would make great gifts for the little girls in your life (daughters, nieces, granddaughters) and your pregnant friends would LOVE the nursing shawls. I have a nursing cover that I bought from Bebe au Lait and it cost almost twice what Angel charges for the exact same thing. Please check it out!

25 Random Things About Me

The last couple posts have been rather heavy. So I wanted to write something lighter and got this idea from another blog. Here are 25 random things:

1. I took piano lessons for 12 years from a wonderful teacher named Hildegarde. She was an incredible lady who loved music and loved her Savior. She went Home to be with the Lord in August of '07.

2. I have been a Mary Kay Consultant for 9 years!!! But I order about once a year.

3. My parents are two of the most wonderful people on the planet and I don't know what I'd do without them. They are my heroes.

4. I am passionate about defending unborn babies.

5. One of my favorite names of God is Redeemer. I have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and I know that my Redeemer LIVES!

6. I met my husband at a Campus Crusade weekly meeting in January 2000. Our first date was November 15, 2000. He proposed to me July 27, 2001 at Munsinger Gardens. We tied the knot October 12, 2002. He is God's perfect provision for me and I am BLESSED to be his wife.

7. I was baptized at the age of 8 by my daddy and Pastor Joe Colaw.

8. We went to Russia as a family for a month the summer of '95. One of the best experiences of my life.

9. I'm a night person.

10. I LOVE a bargain and almost never buy clothes at full price.

11. I like to be "green" and am trying to be earth friendly. This is not because I believe in global warming. Just because I think we should be good stewards of God's creation.

12. Speaking of creation, I do believe in Creation as the Bible describes it. 6 amazing, consecutive days of creation by God. I hope to visit The Creation Museum someday.

13. I'm a coffee drinker. Right now my favorite creamer is CoffeeMate's special edition Cinnamon Bun. Mmmmmm...

14. I like taking pictures and would like to have a Canon someday!

15. I attend MOMS every Tuesday morning.

16. I played the Angel Gabriel in the Angels Aware Christmas program at Brookings Wesleyan Church. In my performance I also "played" the trumpet. I'm a little embarrassed to this day. =)

17. I love raisins and I eat them every day.

18. I graduated from St. Cloud State with my Elementary Education degree. I taught Kindergarten at Foley Elementary School and loved it. Lately I've been doing a lot of pondering about what I'd like to do for work after my kids are in school. And I honestly don't see teaching in my future partly because education is becoming so political. I was told several times to keep my mouth shut until I was tenured. Lovely, huh? I'm thinking about some other career possibilities. I'll let you know when I have a better idea.

19. I VERY much enjoy a little grocery store called Trader Joe's.

20. I love Arctic Rush Floats at DQ!

21. I want one more baby. Not tomorrow or anything. But eventually.

22. I would rather clean toilets than dust.

23. My love language is words of affirmation. I'm super sensitive to words, either positive or negative. Andy would attest to that.

24. I enjoy watching movies by myself after the kids and my husband are asleep. It's called Alone Time, People! And I need it.

25. I have bungee jumped. Now I want to skydive.

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. One of my favorite Sundays. Because I knew we could expect a wonderful prolife message from our Pastor. He did not disappoint! (When it's up on our church's website I'll post the link so you can listen to it or download it.) Our local Pregnancy Resource Center distributed baby bottles for families in our church to use as a reminder to pray for their ministry and also to fill with cash, checks and left over change. A Fight FOCA flier was also passed out after services. Hopefully your church commemorated the day in some way. Now, more than EVER, it is critical for Christians to come together and stand up for the value of every human life.

• If you not yet had the chance to sign the petition, please take a moment and do so now. You can use the Fight FOCA button to the right of my blog or this link will take you to the petition. When I signed it a couple months ago there were about 58,000 signatures and today there are more than 500,000!!!
• Signing the petition is really just the beginning. See my post below and call 202-456-1414 to leave a short message for our new President letting him know that you're opposed to your tax money funding abortion.
• And then please call, email or write to your Senators and Congressmen. This link will allow you to find the elected officials from your state. They have got to hear from us!

And finally, please watch this short film called Volition. It will not be a waste of your time. It is sobering, thought provoking and moving!

Call the White House

So it begins. President Obama has lifted the ban on federal funding for international groups that promote or perform abortions. This decision means that hundreds of millions of OUR tax dollars will go to help groups like Planned Parenthood perform abortions around the world. My heart is broken. I sit here in tears because millions more tiny babies will be killed.

Monday through Friday you can call the White House and leave a message for President Obama. I tried to call today but the message line isn't open on weekends. You better believe I'll call again on Monday. And I'd like to ask you to do the same. Just leave a simple message to let our President know that you strongly disagree with your tax dollars funding abortions. He will likely NOT change his mind, but if we speak up he will have to notice. We've got to be the voice for the unborn! Make them heard!!!

The number is 202-456-1414.

36 years

Today is the 36th anniversary of R*e v. Wade. In those 36 years more than 50 MILLION innocent unborn babies have been killed through the brutal, barbaric practice of legalized abortion. Approximately 3,700 babies are killed each DAY. And over 1 MILLION are killed each year.

We lost nearly 3,000 people in the attacks on 9/11. And we've lost more than 4,000 soldiers in the Ir*q War. How much more devastating is the murder of 50 MILLION tiny American citizens??? And it's legal! And it keeps happening every day. Another 3700. And then another 3700. And then another 3700.



Some helpful resources:
abort73.com
abortionno.org (WARNING: This site contains graphic images of the brutal reality of abortion)
Self Evident Truth

A couple movies:
Come What May
Volition

One of the BEST books on the topic:
Why Pro-Life? by Randy Alcorn
It's a short read and so powerful. The author has committed all royalties from the book to pro-life organizations.

Why ProLife? asks and answers critical questions central to the abortion debate, including:
Is the unborn really a human being?
Is the unborn part of her mother's body?
What do the new ultrasound technologies tell us?
Is abortion necessary to ensure equal rights for women?
Is it unfair to expect a pregnant woman to have an unwanted child?
Does abortion affect a woman's physical and mental health?
What about abortion in the "hard cases"?
Is adoption really a viable alternative?

6 months!

My baby is six months old! It's absolutely crazy to me how fast the time is going by. It's amazing how much a little person changes in their first six months of life - it's such a miracle and only makes me marvel that much more at our awesome Creator.

Taylor is doing well. He's still nursing and I haven't figured out when to be done. I thought I'd try to quit at six months, but I'm not ready. It's going well and I believe it's the best thing for him, so I'm trying to hang in there even though there are days that I *really* want to be done. He's doing great with rice cereal. We're mixing it with fruits and veggies and so far he's had bananas, apples, peas and sweet potatoes. You should have seen his face when he tasted peas for the first time! He absolutely shuddered and looked at me as if to say, "What on earth IS this???". I laughed so hard. After he got over the initial shock he ended up eating all of it! =)

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He is sitting on his own now and I'm absolutely amazed. Just a couple weeks ago I had said to Andy that I thought it'd be awhile before Taylor would sit because he was just *so* wobbly. But seemingly overnight he was more steady and could do it for 20-30 seconds at a time. And then day by day he did it for longer periods. And now he's a pro!

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His sleeping habits are still very interesting. He's going to bed at about 7:00 every night and goes to sleep really well on his own. And for several weeks now he's *usually* asleep until 2 or 3 am when he wakes for a feeding. But every few days he's up to his old tricks and wakes several times before then. After that 3 am feeding your guess is as good as mine! Sometimes he stays asleep til 7 - other times he'll wake a couple times. Every night is like a "fun" little surprise! And I am a sleepy momma.

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He is just a dear baby and I can't get over how sweet he is. He's more snuggly than Lily was and I swear he gives me hugs! =) He still loves me best and is so happy when I enter the room. He loves to be held and so I do carry him around most of the day while doing things around the house with one arm - including transferring clothes from washer to dryer, vacuuming, loading the dishwasher, etc. My arms are getting super strong. Don't be jealous. =)

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Lily is doing well. She really loves Taylor (he loves her too) and she's very sweet to him. She still doesn't want to poop on the potty. It's a long story!!! She did have success a couple nights ago. Andy stayed in the bathroom with her for close to an hour and she finally did it. But she simply does not want to do the big job on the pot. We can't find a reward that she cares about. We have literally offered to take her to Toys R Us if she would poop on the potty and she says, "No, thank you" and walks away!

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She is in a major coloring phase right now and probably spends an hour each day coloring. Not all at once, of course! But through the course of a day I find her several times sitting at the little table in her room and coloring in one of her plethora of coloring books. And once in awhile she invites me or Andy to join her.

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It's has been COLD here for many weeks. This winter has been long already and I'm feeling very couped up. Today it's finally in the low 30s and feels like a heat wave. But we've had many days below zero and school was even cancelled Thursday and Friday because of the dangerously low temps and wind chills. If you knew the school districts around here you would be impressed. They NEVER close - it takes MAJOR cold or an absolute blizzard for them to close. We've stayed pretty close to home - some days not leaving at all. It's just too much work to bundle them both up and try to go anywhere. So I'm a little stir crazy. And winter is hard on me anyway because I miss the sunlight! Praise the Lord that our vacation to Florida is just weeks away! I am SO excited!!! We leave February 5th!!!

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Today is a big day for our country and my emotions are so mixed. It's such a thrill that history has been made and we have our first African American President! And it's such a bummer that he's so wrong about some things. I am praying for him and I encourage you to do the same. And pray for America! It's astonishing to me that "we" elected somebody with so few accomplishments. What has he actually done? And why is it okay that he doesn't "know" that life begins at conception? More than 50 MILLION tiny Americans have been killed since R*e v. Wade and this President isn't bothered by that in the least. Very sad.

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Here are some new pics! Enjoy!

Lily and Daddy coloring together at the kitchen table

A Baby Burrito

Taylor (almost 6 months) and his friend Nicholas (2 1/2 months!!! He's huge!!!)

Yes. This is my daughter. I'll claim her. =)

This outfit was all her idea. First she wanted her princess dress on. Then she went to the kitchen to get her rainboots and winter hat. She came back upstairs lookin' gorgeous!!!

6 Months Old! January 15, 2009

What else? Coloring!!!

She asked to feed him his bottle. She gave it a try and then wanted to be done.

My handsome boy with one of his favorite toys - a Christmas gift from Grandma and Grandpa Becker

27 weeks old - January 20

Isn't he a ham?

Such a happy baby

Lily and Daddy 'nuggling and reading together

Cosmetic Safety Database

I'm not sure how I first became aware of this website but it's been influential in products I choose to use at our house and I wanted to share this valuable information with all of you.

The Cosmetic Safety Database was started in 2004 and is a place where information has been gathered on literally thousands and thousands of personal care products (deoderant, shampoo, toothpaste, make-up, baby wipes, etc). Each product has been given a "hazard score" from 0-10 and has it's own summary page so that you can look at each ingredient and the known hazards including neurotoxicity, imunotoxicity (allergies), carcinogens (cancer causing), reproductive effects, etc. It is a fascinating website and you could spend hours and hours browsing. The website also has a FAQ page if you want more info on how they score products or if you're curious about the Environmental Working Group and what they do.

I think it's worthwhile to know what ingredients I am exposing myself to on a daily basis. I don't want to sound like a nut case, but I have wondered if we "give" ourselves a lot of our illnesses/diseases by constant exposure to harmful chemicals in tiny doses over the course of our lifetime?

The biggest changes I've made have been in the products that I use on my children. I was using a very popular brand of baby wash/shampoo and lotion. When I checked it's score on the CSD it was a 6 out of 10!!! So approximately every other day for three years I bathed my daughter in a product containing some nasty stuff. I switched brands immediately and my new favorite for the time being is California Baby. It's definitely more expensive but it's a price I'm willing to pay (literally) to protect my children from unnecessary exposure to chemicals they could absorb through their skin which are cancer causing and could damage other systems of their bodies. (California Baby is also available at diapers.com and in Target stores.)

One other helpful site is GoodGuide. This one has safety ratings for household products as well as personal care products. I haven't used this site as much yet so I don't have as much to share about it, but it seems really helpful if you're trying to be conscientious about using healthy products in your home. Also, if you do a search for a product (for example, toilet bowl cleaner) you can then filter your search further by fragrance free, environmentally friendly and animal friendly.

I hope this is helpful to you. I share this with you out of genuine concern about the products we all use on a daily basis and the potential harm we could be doing to ourselves. Thanks for reading! And leave a comment if you have any helpful suggestions about healthy products you use!

January 20

Pray for rulers and for all who have authority so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God. 1 Timothy 2:2

Most of you have probably heard of Max Lucado. He is a Pastor and has written dozens of books. He has also come up with a wonderful idea - the Pray for Obama initiative. Please visit http://www.maxlucado.com/president/ and check out the prayer guide and sign your name. And then please devote a few minutes on Inauguration Day to pray for our new President.

I am asking God to give him wisdom and understanding, and to incline his heart to The Word. I am asking the LORD to draw Obama and his family to Himself, and to make Himself known to them in clear and powerful ways. I am asking God to soften his heart and open his eyes to the brutality of abortion and to be awakened to the truth that life begins at conception and should be protected.

I'm also praying that Christians in our nation would be BOLD in their faith. I'm praying that we would be salt and light, and that God would be pleased to shine His light through us. I'm praying that we who wear the name of Christ would live our lives in such a way that God is glorified. I'm praying that we wouldn't be apathetic. I'm praying that we would tell the truth. I'm praying that we would be people of integrity. I'm praying that we would love each other because God is love. I'm praying that God would revive us.

"...if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14

"Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?" Psalm 85:6

"The effective prayer of a righteous person has great power." James 5:16

"The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:5-6

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2

25 weeks

Wow! It's been awhile! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We definitely did and Taylor's first Christmas was very special. I should probably put all that's happened in the last three weeks into several posts but I'd rather do just one. I'll try not to be super wordy! At least not as wordy as usual! Here are the high points:

• Lily had her dance recital. She was adorable in her leotard but didn't do a lot of dancing. She pretty much froze. Oh well - she's only 3! Andy's parents and brother were able to be there. My family was hoping to come but the weather was terrible that day.
• December 23rd we celebrated Christmas as the four of us and it was delightful. We ate a lasagne dinner (Andy's request), read the Christmas story from our Bible and Lily's children's Bible, and then opened gifts together.
• Christmas Eve we spent in the cities with my family. That was a delight as well! Bryan had to work the first part of the day but was able to get there right before dinner so we're glad we got to see him for a bit! My dad recited the Christmas story from memory while holding Taylor and that will be one of my favorite memories for a long time to come!
• Christmas Day we spent up here with Andy's family and had a great day. A bunch of us were able to talk to Eric (in Oregon) on the phone which was nice (long story). Lily had an absolute ball with her cousin Hally. Hally is 6 and plays SO nicely with Lily. Taylor was popular with his cousins and was held the entire day much to his delight.
• Andy had the entire weekend off so we were together Wednesday - Sunday!!! Yay!!! Sunday afternoon we drove down to the cities for the annual Cousin Party with his extended family.
• I kept the kids and stayed in the cities with my parents for a few days while Andy hitched a ride back up to St. Cloud with his parents. =) My time at my parents' was SO refreshing!!! They *made* me take naps!!! The three of us all had such a nice time. And we were happy to see daddy again when we got home.
• Taylor is now an excellent "roller" and rolls well both from tummy to back, and back again.
• He's doing very well with his cereal and we've started mixing it with people food! He tried bananas for the first time on January 1st and gobbled it up! And then we tried applesauce yesterday and he seemed to enjoy that as well. I'm still nursing! I'm so proud of myself.
• Taylor is still a very inconsistent sleeper. And I am one very tired momma. Nearly six months of sleep deprivation is starting to catch up with me and I am in a fog. We've made some progress and I try to stick to his schedule pretty strictly for consistency's sake - hoping that'll help him. But I don't know what else to do. I've sort of resigned myself to the fact that this is the way it's going to be with him. On Sunday night he set a new record by sleeping from 7 pm to 5 am!!! My eyes almost popped out of my face when I heard him in the monitor and rolled out of bed to go get him and saw the time. I was jumping for joy! Hopefully he'll do that on a regular basis someday.

Lily and some of the girls from her dance class

We made gingerbread cookies a couple days before Christmas. It was very fun and a lot of work. I think that's a once-a-year endeavor!

Our family. =)

Reading the CHRISTmas story

Lily definitely enjoyed presents this year!

A group effort

Taylor truly enjoyed opening gifts and tried to "help". It was precious!

My baby and me

Look at her eyes! She is so goofy!

CHRISTMAS EVE

A game from Manid and Bryan

She's into games right now and got lots of fun ones this Christmas. This is from Mandi and Bryan.

She got the Little People Nativity from my Mom and Dad and loves it!

Inside her new sleeping bag! =)

Taylor's new ride-on airplane toy

My kids with their beloved grandparents

Bryan, Mandi and their adorable dog Samson

CHRISTMAS DAY

Ready to open!!!

Taylor opening his first gift of the day

All the cousins

Zach, Hally, Shelby, Lily, Max, Abby and Taylor

Our visit to Mpls after Christmas

Making music together!

My dear, sweet friend Heidi was home from Singapore for Christmas and came all the way from WI to visit for a day!!! It was so fun to see her!

25 weeks old

My girl all squeaky clean and happy as a clam after a bath

This is a common occurrence now - loves to play with his toes and pull on his socks

My precious kids

See? Loves to play with his feet and suck on socks!