Sorry for the lack of pictures and delay in Christmas pictures. Deacon has been sick and both kids are keeping me on my toes (feels more like flat on my rear) as usual. Pictures coming soon! Happy New Year's Eve!
We have had a busy but great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I have a lot of pictures to post, but I am going to wait until tomorrow.
Most of you know how I love Christmas music. I would listen to it all year long, but then I wouldn't have any friends. Anyways, the songs I really love the most are the traditional religious Christmas songs. They have so much more meaning than we give them credit for, because we are so used to hearing them! Take the time today to concentrate on the words and what they mean. And here's a sample of one of my favorite songs.
Merry Christmas!
Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing"Glory to the newborn King!"
And folding this mountain of laundry. At least it's clean.
Fortunately, there was no sticking out our tongues or pulling off our hats in the video segment.
These pictures are a different story! And I have 14 chins! Yay!
Lola helped swirl the chocolate into this batch of Tiger Butter. Then she licked the spoon right as I was taking her picture. And yes, she dresses herself. And she was wearing a tank top in the middle of December. You should have seen the rest of the outfit!
Tonight we went to Santa Land. The line to see Santa was already closed, so we walked around for a little while and then went and got hot chocolate. 
Aren't my kids freaking adorable?
Here are some cookies I made for Lola's party at school. I messed with the color to make this picture look old-timey. Sugar cookies from 1957, anyone?
I forgot to take my camera to the party. It was cute like a 3-year-old preschool party should be. Except one kid got sick. So I bathed my kids as soon as we got home. I was really grossed out.
Here's Lola finishing her cookies. She used all of my Christmas sprinkles for, like, 7 cookies! 
Here's one of my favorite ornaments. 
And another.
That's all I have to say. Sorry if any of my faithful readers found this post to be random or unorganized. If you know me, you know that I am random and unorganized, so it should come as no surprise to you. I am also in a constant state of sleep deprivation that I don't see an end to any time soon. Please pray for me to keep my cool and be a good, encouraging, cheerful mom in the midst of the chaos. (Chaos=teething, not sleeping, crawling, pulling up, making giant messes all over the house, changing clothes 18 times a day, mommy and daddy both work, etc...)
We were both really tired in this pic. It was getting late.
Dean always jokes that he is going to sing "Beth" by Kiss to me, Karaoke style, of course.
"Beth I hear you callin', but I can't come home right now...."
"Just a few more hours, and I'll be right home to you...."
Enjoy the video!!!! Brace yourselves! I think I heard Deacon's first word. I'm not 100% sure, but I think he is trying to say "Lola." But it sounds like "La-La-La-La." Very cute. Of course I could be just expecting him to talk because Lola said words at 6 months, BUT I really think he is saying Lola. Or La-La. And now he is eating paper, so I must go.
Jessica
This getup is similar to what she wears almost everyday. (On days that don't involve going out in public.)
The video below says it all. Enjoy.
Sweet little Deacon turned 8 months on the 1st. He is still a happy, content baby. He crawls everywhere-all over the house, and pulls up onto everything he can. He loves to stand up. He is starting to sleep longer stretches at night, too. He recently found his voice and loves to squeal and sing.
Thinking about putting the lights in his mouth.
So silly.
He's getting so big!
He is the best baby. I am thankful for him everyday.
I was tagged by Denise!
(I actually started this a week ago. Sorry. I'm a little behind.)
Sadly, this cake ball didn't make it.
It is about 1:30 am. Dean got called around 12:45 that something needed to be done at work, and there was no one to do it. So he went and did it. Even though it's not his job. For the second time tonight. Earlier he went to fix a computer that crashed. He's just a really stellar guy. If it was me, first of all I wouldn't have answered the phone. Secondly, I would have turned it off after I knew who it was calling me. He was about to go to bed, and has to be there at 8 in the mornings. He's just a good person. He cares about his job not just because it is a paycheck, but he cares about the quality of work that gets done.
Also, you should see the spotlessness (is that a word?) of Lola's room. He cleaned it with her after he got home from work the first time tonight. Did I mention it's Sunday? (Monday) Anyways, All him. So not me. He's a good cleaner.
Here's a picture of us last year in Vegas. I love him.
Goodnight.
Last week and the week before were very challenging for me as a mom. And as a person. I can't pinpoint the exact day that it all started, but everything seemed to spiraling out of control. To start with, I was VERY tired. For those of you who don't know, I work nights. Usually 7pm to 7am. During the week I leave early at 1am, come home, feed Deacon, usually get to sleep by 2:30 or 3, get up and feed Deacon again between 5 and 7, go back to sleep, and get up with Lola usually around 8 or 8:30am. I used to get a nap those days in the afternoons, but lately it is virtually impossible to get the kids to sleep at the same time. Sometimes I turn around and go back to work that night. It finally caught up to me.
At the same time, Lola started behaving very "unbecomingly." This is not typical, she is usually a really well-behaved kid. All of the sudden, every bottle of shampoo, lotion, conditioner, NAIL POLISH, etc, became her toys. She also enjoys shredding paper towels and toilet paper, and drawing on paper plates. She made a couple of attempts to physically harm her little brother. Then there was the "Play-Doh incident" that you will all remember.
None of my efforts to discourage this kind of behavior were working. Not even positive reinforcement for when she DID do something great or helpful. The corner, time out, loss of priveledges, taking away toys, and spaking (as a last resort)........nothing worked.
The thing about three-year-olds is that they can't always express what they need. They can say what they WANT, like juice, a snack, to watch a movie, a new toy, to go to the park, etc.......but they can't always verbalize their needs.
"Mommy, I need to to pay more one-on-one attention to ME." "I need more outlets to express myself and have fun."
This is what Lola's terrible behavior was trying to say.
Lola's mother was so tired and frazzled and worried about having a dirty house that I didn't recognize this.
So, this week, instead of basking in my unrelieveable state of exhaustion, we have had playdates. Twice. Our new "hangout" is the mall playground with our friends. Then we walk the mall, window shop a little, and eat some Chick-Fil-A. Also, I have let Lola do more "arts and crafts" as she calls them, which involves tearing up paper and gluing it to paper plates, or drawing on paper and making "cards." Most importantly, I have made every effort to spend individual time with her and positively reinforcing everything she does. It has really made a difference. She has only put one thing in her hair: mousse. And guess what? My house doesn't look any worse than it did before. The biggest and best change is that she seems more like a happy and fulfilled child.
Please pray for all of us that things will continue to go well.
Lola, Dean and Deacon with the conductor!
Why does he always try and look so angelic in pictures with the kids?
These next 2 are my favorite pics from the night.
Isn't that sweet? 
I have a lot more posting to do and will try to get to it ASAP.
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