Christmas Photos

I took a bunch of pictures one sunny afternoon and had to pick just a few for our Christmas card. (Which, if you got it, sorry about the dark photo, boo. It went something like this:

Step 1: Michael said I should get a proof first but I thought, 'No, I'm sure it will be fine.' 
Step 2: I ordered and picked up 40 photos the day before the "Arctic Blast" of 2013. The main picture is clearly too dark. 
Step 3: We are stuck at home for 5 days.
Step 4: I say, "Ah, screw it." Sign, stamp & mail out all cards during Step 4's hibernation period.

Step 5: Next year I'll order a proof.)

Anyways, off the bunny trail. Back to the photo dump!

Get ready, baby. Here we go...

"Smile baby!"

He thinks smiling means sticking out your chin and looking up to the sky.

Looks like a little man!

Playing hide-and-seek with mom behind the tree. (One of many attempts to capture a sweet smile.)

Isaac saying, "Where did they go?" Speaking of the airplane that flew over.

I believe he is chewing on an animal cracker here...

Look at those beautiful brown eyes!

Footballs are for kicking, right?!

Looking up at an airplane.

Oh how this boy makes my heart melt!

"Whatever Mom."

"Ok, enough."

"Look at my handsome vest!"

Exploring sticks in the front yard.

Running away from the camera, I'm sure!

Sweet boy is zoning out a bit. He had a little cold that day, but it didn't stop me! :-)

Looking for airplanes again.

Nom nom, finger.

Yes! We're done!

Not the one we used for the Christmas card.

Just a little post-photo-shoot relaxin'.

"For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

~Isaiah 9:6

Merry, Merry Christmas all! May you have a peaceful, restful, thankful season. 

Favorite Books of 2013

I always have grand ideas of how much reading I'm going to do in a year. 30 books doesn't look so bad when you've got them stacked up, especially when you're thinking of an entire year, but the reality is that I don't have as much time for reading as I used to. I don't read 30 books a year anymore. And these days, I'm usually reading on the Kindle app on my phone while Isaac is napping. 

I did get through a few good ones this year, however. Each title is a link to the Kindle edition on Amazon if you're interested in checking it out! Here are my favorite books from 2013:

Nonfiction: 
7 by Jen Hatmaker- Will make you count your (many) blessings & make you evaluate your current lifestyle. My most favorite is the purse giveaway. :)
Radical by David Platt- Probably my best book of the year!
Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney- A great guide for Christian women.
Passport Through Darkness by Kimberly L. Smith- Y'all. Read this book. It's about life in Darfur (Southern Sudan) for orphans and women. The stories will hurt, but you'll leave with a desire to pray harder and give more to those who haven't been as lucky as you.

Fiction:
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn- Crass but very entertaining
Rebecca by Daphne DeMaurer- Loved the classic literature feel with a quick moving plot and memorable characters
Night Light, Dawn's Light, True Light, & Last Light by Terri Blackstock- Clearly I got hooked by book one, enough to read all 4 in the series.
Gods and Kings: Chronicles of the Kings, Book 1 by Lynn Austin- I love when authors take Biblical stories and make it into a work of fiction. I plan to read the rest of this series too!
Zorro by Isabel Allende- Fun, quick read even though it's quite long. And I loved the ending. Brownie points.
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers- One of my favorite historical fiction books of all time. I think this was my... 3rd time reading? 4th maybe? :)


Other books I read that were Eh:
Cold Fear by Rick Mofina- Definitely not my favorite book of the year, but I was entertained. Follows the story of a missing girl in the Montana mountains. I don't like when books are filled with characters you can't keep track of, and that was the case here. 
Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd- Kind of a silly, easy read. About a young, single girl working at a French Bakery in Seattle. Also part of a series but unless the rest are free I probably won't read.Bossypants by Tina Fay- Not all that funny.
The Vow by Kim & Krickitt Carpenter- Definitely different than the movie (surprise, surprise). It was ok but not very memorable.
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen- Ok I only got to 21% but I'm just not a classic literature girl! I feel like I should have loved it because I loooooove the movie & miniseries but I just couldn't get into it. I think it's because Isaac has stolen some of my brain.
North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell- I only got to 5% of this one. See above comment...

Sixteen books completed in 2013. Not too bad! I'm working on compiling my list for 2014 and would love to hear your suggestions!!

Confessions of a First Time Mom: My Little Toddler!

I like not having a deadline, but have missed filling you in on all the shenanigans that go on around this (new!) house. We are officially moved into our new home in Denton, Texas! Well, it's not actually a new home, the neighborhood was built in the 80s, but it's new to us. We are still working on unpacking boxes, hanging pictures, getting new windows and scraping an inch of ice off everything, but for now I consider us officially moved in. Let me know when you are headed through North Texas and you can have our guest room (that's not actually set up yet but will be soon)! 
 
In the meantime, Isaac will be 14 months in a few days and is now a full-blown toddler! He's walking (really fast- it's possible that he almost walked into the street last week. I mean, this boy is fast. But I'm still faster.) He's saying lots of words- Mama, Dada, Baby, Na (snack), Shs (shoes), Baba (bubbles, Broncos, button, basically any word that starts with B and has two syllables), NiNi (night night), Ba (ball), Boo (book- this boy loooooves books), and you know, other baby words that probably aren't that interesting to you anyways. 
 
Ok, here we go:
 
Dress Up
 
I'm really hoping my husband doesn't read this, because even he doesn't know this confession and he might not like it so much. I accidentally dress Isaac up in girly clothes & jewelry. Gah. That sounds bad. In my defense, I don't really mean to. It's more like, I'm unpacking some scarves or hanging up some necklaces & I think, 'Let's put this on Isaac and see how he reacts.' Ok, so it's not so bad. And the girly clothes? Let me explain. I like the legging-type pants that stay tight on his legs because he's so active that his pants always hike up and he's walking around like a wanna be gangster. That concerns me. (Ok, it's more about his calves being cold, but that still concerns me.) So I bought some leggings, and I probably knew that they were girl pants, but I bought them anyways. So, he's wearing girl clothes. 

Are these pants girly?!?!

The Car...
 
Oh the car. It's 25% our friend and 75% our enemy. Sometimes he loves the car, most of the time he hates it. I get a little flustered when we get in the car. One time I forgot to buckle his carseat. Well, I remembered the chest part but not the crotch part. I'm driving down the highway (at 60 MPH, what is wrong with me!?) and I suddenly have the realization that I'm a complete idiot and forgot to buckle my son appropriately in his safety seat. Here's me, in 2.5 seconds flat, stopped and in the backseat, on the side of the highway, buckling the crotch part (is there a better name for that part of the carseat?!). Continue on.
 
Another time, he's actually being fairly quiet while driving, so I'm thinking he's either sleeping or miraculously content with a toy. Then I hear squeaking sound that I can't quite put my finger on. I look back, and sure enough, he's full on chomping on his shoe. Cleaning his teeth on the rubber of the shoe. The dirty, well worn shoe. Do I stop for that? Nope. Continue on.
 
Then other times, this happens:
 


I Have a Cleavage Problem 
 
I have never, ever, never, ever, ever had a cleavage problem before in my life. I have been a member of the IBTC since I got what you might call boobs. And I didn't even get those until high school. I've always been a purchaser of push up bras and size small shirts. I've never had to worry about leaning over too far or my back hurting from the extra weight. And no matter how hard I squeezed my arms together, I could never even get my boobs to touch.
 
Now? Wow. What happened?!? I have boobs, and I can't control them. Nursing a baby has given me what I've always wanted: cleavage. But now, I don't really want it. They are a sacred, beautiful, private vessel for my baby, not a public, sexual, luring attraction for the public. But now that I feel that way, I have a battle on my hands trying to keep them in. Sometimes I catch myself in the mirror or I look down and think, "Oh God, I'm sorry. Let me just pull my shirt up to my neck and hope it stays for 10 minutes." Who knew?!?
              I caught myself in the mirror and was seriously surprised that this is even possible…

Sure, You Can Play with That
 
Isaac is a cuddly baby. He loves to be held and played with and read to. And I'm going to take advantage of that while I still can. However. There are times when I just need Isaac to be entertained for at least 10 minutes. I need to put on my makeup. I need to do breakfast (and lunch) dishes. I need to use the freaking bathroom without holding him. Ha. And since he's a very active toddler, he can be hard to entertain. Just giving him a toy and laying him on the ground doesn't work anymore. He wants to get into stuff, dangit.
 
My motto has become it's fine with Mama as long as the time spent entertaining him outweighs the time I spend cleaning it up. Case in point: The classic tupperware cabinet? Totally worthless. He's interested for a few minutes, & I find lids all over the house for hours. But tampons & nail polish? Golden! He's entertained for seriously 20 minutes & I just throw everything back under the sink. Spoons and plastic dishes? Yes. In the laundry basket? Why not. Moving boxes, packing peanuts, Christmas ornaments, leaves, the baby monitor, crochet hooks, mail, and more are all fine with Mama. As long as it can't cut skin, break, be swallowed (well... even that depends), cause bruises or tears, it's usually considered a great toy. :)
 
 
Thank you, Isaac and Mr. Lego Man, for helping unload the dishwasher. 

I knew this "Confessions" thing would never end. I have some exciting things coming up in the new year so stay tuned! Until then, have a wonderful, messy, peaceful and restful holiday season. I will post some photos from Isaac's unprofessional photo shoot before Christmas! Happy Holidays!