Getting ready for Christmas

This year has just flown by, and my favorite time of the year is here. Advent began yesterday, and already I feel the need to start playing catch-up, since we missed it. Last year we made a cute little handprint wreath, and I was late last year, too. It seems time has a way of sneaking up on me, and I'm never ready for anything on time.

We also put up our Christmas tree tonight. I still need to do one more string of popcorn, but then I'll edit this post and add a picture. The kids put the ornaments on the tree this year, for the most part, and it makes it fun. Ethan likes to put four or five ornaments on one branch.

I'm really looking forward to a joyful season full of Jesus. It's the most wonderful time of the year. :) And to that I'll add one of my favorite Bible passages for Christmas:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5,14)

Family Pictures

Jason took some pictures of our family the other day, and he did a really good job! It was a little too sunny, so that made it hard, but I really like how they turned out anyway.  Now I'm trying to decide which one to print and put in our 8X10 frame.  Maybe eventually we'll get a bigger family picture printed, but since I can't think of a wall to put one on, it'd have to be that small.

So, help me decide.  I think I already have my favorite, but I want to hear some opinions.  There were a few others he took, but since blogger is being so slow uploading, and I think the choice is between these ones anyway, I'm not going to post them right now.  I'll post some of the other pictures in another post later.  Which one is your favorite?  (Make sure you click on the pictures--these little ones don't look very good)

A Sad Boy

Last Friday, when Mom and Dad were here visiting, Ethan decided he was going to be really ornery.  We've been trying to potty train him (which is not going well at all), and I can't really remember exactly what he wanted, except that he was crying non-stop.

Finally he sobbed, "I can't take this anymore!"  How can you not laugh at feel bad for the poor boy after that?  He really is my ornery boy, but he sure is cute.


Jason took the picture in this post, by the way.  He's a great photographer!

All baby animal shows aren't good for kids

Last night the kids and I were watching a how on PBS about baby animals.  One segment was about ring-tailed lemurs.  First the show explained that lemurs traveled in groups for their own safety.  Then it showed a baby lemur clinging to it's mama's belly, but said that the baby lemur was too weak, and it dropped to the ground.  Lemurs aren't strong enough to carry their babies, so if the baby is too weak to hold on, it can't be carried.

The rest of the pack was leaving the mom and baby behind, and the mother couldn't decide whether to stay with her baby (and probably both die), or to leave it behind and rejoin the group.  She would walk a few feet away, and then come back, and then a little further and come back, and you could tell she was having a hard time leaving her baby.

But then she finally left, and both my boys starting sobbing.  They were so heartbroken.  I've never seen them cry over something that didn't affect them.  It was a little bit funny, but sad at the same time.  More sad, though.  I kind of wished we hadn't have watched the show.  Because the segment before that was about male lions killing small cubs so that they could mate with the female/mother lions themselves.  Couldn't we have stumbled upon a happy baby animal show?