Christmas Day

Well this has been quite an eventful Christmas to say the least. I am typing this from my phone on my makeshift bed at Largo Regional Medical Center. Let's start from the beginning.

Like any child, Liam woke up early and was ready for Christmas. He successfully woke everyone up with some squealing and grunting. As Dylans family watched in person, my parents watched on ichat as Liam opened his presents. Well he really could care less about him opening them but enjoyed playing with them. Then we called and woke up my bro and SIL and told them to iChat too. This was a highlight. My whole family ichatting together. Liam went down for a nap right after that and we continued the unwrapping of gifts. My husband was very creative in his wrapping this year.

Things were looking great. We had a great time opening gifts hanging out with the fam and were starting to get ready for a Christmas dinner on the beach with Dylans extended fam. Then Dylan started feeling ill. Afters while it started getting serious so he went to the ER with his parents. At first they thought it was appendicitis but he had cat scan and nothing showed up. So after hours of waiting and two shots of morphine he finally was able to rest. His family has a history with stomach issues so they are keeping him overnight with the hopes to have a GI specialist see him tomorrow.

So that's where we are right now. And as if this couldn't get better his vents make a lot if noise when the heat kicks in so we have to turn the heat up high, allow the room to get really warm and then turn it off so we can get a little sleep before it turns on again. This is why I'm up at 1:22 am.

As I think of what a bummer this is and how inconvenient it is to us, I am reminded of the huge inconvenience Christ went through to become one of us.

Happy Incarnation!

Celebrating Advent

This year I really wanted to celebrate advent. I went out and bought a wreath and candles and downloaded some readings for each day. It started off strong but slowly fizzled out. I think I went a whole week without lighting a candle. Luckily I give myself a lot of grace these days. Even though I forgot a couple days here and there, advent has been with me everyday. This year more than ever the reality of Christ's incarnation is sinking in. As I rock Liam to sleep at night and sing him Christmas carols I can't help but think about Jesus as a baby. I think about Mary holding him and nursing him. I think about how he brought delight to them as Liam brings to Dylan and I. I think about his first steps as we try to help Liam with his. I think about his first words as Liam only grunts at us. It's all becoming very real to me. Emmanuel, God with us.

One of the songs that I've been stuck on this Advent season is O Come, O Come Emmanuel. I literally have sung this everyday. This, along with the readings, has really helped me focus on the real meaning of Christmas. Not only of the hope that Jesus was then, but the hope he is for us now.

There are like 7 stanzas, here are the four I'm most familiar with

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Miami Weekend and Birthday

This past weekend we went to Miami to visit my family and friends. It was our first time going back since we moved in August. We were a little scarred of the drive because Liam hates the car and his carseat, but this weekend he turned a new leaf. He fell asleep in the car on the way there and back AND transferred to bed without freaking out. Bigtime milestone. We enjoyed spending time with my family just hanging out. We actually got to go out to South Beach Saturday night and eat at our favorite restaurant, Fratelli la Bufala. It was just as amazing as I remembered. We were surrounded by Italians and I spent a good portion of our meal eavesdropping on others conversations to see if I could figure out what they were saying. It really did feel like we were in Italy. Then we headed out to Lincoln road to people watch and walk off our meal. It was there that we saw the most beautiful clothing store All Saints.
Dylan and I were just in awe of the design, ambiance, and leather. I was that person that walked around taking pictures because I wanted everything. Materialism to the maxxx. We ended our weekend going back to our amazing church, Crossbridge, and having lunch with pastors, friends, and students. It felt great to be back and hang out with the people we love.

Then yesterday was my 27th birthday. I really can't believe it. How did I become and adult...with a husband...and a baby?! Weird. Well to start the day off right Dylan and I got a couples massage. How did he weasel his way into my birthday celebration? Actually, Dylan's department at work was taking the day off and going to the Ritz Carlton for some rest and relaxation. So we were able to get massages and join his team for lunch and some hang out time at the Spa. They do this every year and this year it just happened to fall on my birthday. We had sushi for dinner with our little buddy and after he was asleep we went to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It was a great relaxing day with my boys and I loved it.

Thanksgiving Photos

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving. We didn't do a good job taking pictures because we were so busy. And none of them are edited, oh well.

Neither of us had cooked a turkey before so we were a little intimidated.

Disgusting

We almost dropped the turkey putting it in

Our cutie all dressed up. He busted his eye the night before and started getting sick that morning so it was a great day for him.

Our fancy place settings

The turkey was beautiful. Dylan had already started carving it before we realized that we hadn't taken a picture of it yet.

The hostesses.

Christmas stockings

My project this week has been Christmas stockings. I saw some on Etsy that I liked and decided to try to make them. Dylan's stocking is made out of burlap and some wool. It was super easy to make and my best sewing job to date. I was really happy with how it turned out. Mine on the other hand was a little more difficult. I had an idea but couldn't find a picture of what I wanted to do so I just made it up as I went. After many days and hours of trying to figure out the flower arrangement, I just now committed and sewed everything down. I really like it. It's rustic, girly, and vintagey (sp?).

Now I just need to Liam's. His is going to be an elf shoe with some bells. It should be the easiest one

Post Thanksgiving

It has been a long time since I've written because so much has been going on. Last week, Dylan and I hosted our first family holiday. It was great to not have to go anywhere for a change. We had a full house for thanksgiving, 11 people in all. My sister-in-law and I had the brilliant idea of cooking the meal (which neither of us had done before). It was a lot of work and took careful planning but we pulled it off. And I must admit our turkey was one of the best turkeys I have ever tasted. We do have pictures of it, but they are still on our camera. I don't know why I was so intimidated about the turkey because it was the easiest thing to make. We also made (from scratch) mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, kale, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a beet salad. It was quite a feast.

Then on Thanksgiving day, Liam started to get sick. We knew something was wrong when he wasn't smiling all day long. The sickness really kicked in after everyone left on Saturday. Stuffy nose, coughing, watery eyes, sneezing. We ended up taking him to the Dr. cause we don't know what we're doing, but they said everything was fine unless he got a fever. But boy were the nights difficult. Monday night he went down at 7 and then woke up every hour. His cough was so bad that he couldn't settle down but the moment I picked him up he collapsed in my arms from exhaustion. Then when I would try to put him back down, he would wake up. So the night ended with Liam finally falling asleep at 1 am in my arms on the floor.

Now, he's feeling a little better but Dylan is REALLY sick. Like flu sick. I think right now he's sleeping on the bathroom floor wrapped in a towel with a space heater on. So our family is completely pitiful right now. Hopefully this night won't be too bad