Rebecca's Ramblings

TOP 10 of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:18:00 +0000

TOP 10 of 2011

1. Max loving his toys and pulling himself up
2. Max learning to crawl and changing the face of our home permanently
3. Moving to a new house 1/2 the size of our previous home, BUT with a great yard on a Cul-de-sac
4. Max learning to walk (and climb, and run, and escape, and unroll toilet paper etc. etc.)
5. Finding out that we could have stayed another 6 months since the sale fell through
6. Finally, selling our house (even though it technically closed in 2012)
7. Saying Goodbye to Jasmine who was old and skinny and sick
8. Getting bunk beds
9. Visits from both Grandma's
10. Becca & Max taking a 10 day trip away together to Utah and Arizona

2011 was predominantly a Max focused year. For the most part that has not been a negative thing - as the girls have been just as Max focused as Mom and Dad.

My Neo-natal OB always got after me when I would make comments about how much the girls wanted a baby or how we as a family wanted a baby. I am pretty sure she thought I was making a mistake to get pregnant being diabetic and 35. She made it very clear that I would be really stupid to even consider having more than 3.

If only she could see how much this baby is loved, and how much happiness he has brought to our family. There have been minute moments of jealousy on Alex's part, and that is to be expected. It is so great to see how much the girls love and adore Max. As he gets older - it is great to see how much he adores them as well. From the furious waving and running to meet them at the bus, to open mouth sloppy kisses, to playing chase and squealing at the girls - if she could only see. I know that truly it is a decision between husband and wife. BUT, I am grateful that the girls were able to say for themselves "I choose this" because it has been a beautiful experience.

With that said, I hope that when we see the top 10 of 2012 we see the girls better represented there :) AND maybe, if I made a Top 10 List for each girl - it would be a very different list anyway.....

Max and some Misc

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:06:00 +0000

Max and His 1st complete haircut.

Can you look at this face and NOT
bust out laughing?

He looked awful sweet and grown up sportin' his new buzz cut and Sunday clothes.
Winter is 1/2 off at Once Upon a Child - so I got this shirt and sweater for 2.50 each!
Still can't beat the trinket I picked up at Michaels for $.01 that was so fun!

SNow, finally. Since it doesn't snow like normal around here - it was in the 70's before dropping to the 30's and then lower - but that still isn't enough for the deep ground freeze so even though we only had 2 inches of snow we also had a layer of ice and thus a SNOW DAY! SO NOT WHAT I NEEDED! But we made it through!

Max - pre haircut feeling a little patriotic!

Our Goodbyes

Here are the girls in front of the fire.

I have wanted to go back to the old house just for an evening.

I can't believe it took us 5 months to make it happen.

The kids all took a bath in the big tub.

MAX loved it!

Then they curled up by the fire and I blow dryed their hair.

Then we read over a little thing I wrote that listed

many memories we have at the house and the things we will

miss the most about living there.

Then everyone climbed on top of me in a dog pile

and we all cried.

Then, we put some cute winter decor on the fireplace,

decorated the chalk board, threw out some handfuls of peanuts as

a farewell to the Raccoons, and walked around the yard and past

the grave sites of 4 of our cats.

Even empty, it still felt like home. It was really hard

to walk away and say goodbye.

The WORD of the YEAR

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:07:00 +0000

Last Year
I chose the word
CHERISH
to be my word of the year.
It was a good word.
My baby grew like a weed right in my arms.
I have had a hard time being a snuggly cuddly mom in the past.
I let pressures and selfishness and claustrophobia win over snuggling my babies.
I had the feeling early on that my wiggly jiggly bouncing baby boy would be off and running
and if I didn't hold him while I had the chance, I would miss it. I'm glad I listened
to that feeling, because it was right. I held him on my lap and read him
stories, and played with toys, and sang songs to him, and watched
MY shows on t.v. together and I didn't let myself feel guilty
for it! I walked around with him in my arms and
showed him the world. Now he is running,
and climbing, and investigating, and
destroying. BUT, sometimes
he still comes back to
me. He hugs me.
He kisses me.
He wipes
his nose on me.
He holds my hand when
we walk together places. He
reaches for me so that I will pick him up.
He hugs and kisses Daddy and the girls too.
Sometimes he even says "awwww" when he does it.
I will forever miss holding him in my arms when he was small
and helpless and so soft and sweet and beautiful and my miracle.
But, I will look forward always to encouraging a life time of snuggles
and kisses and awwwww's from my baby as he becomes a toddler and
a boy, and someday a husband, a daddy, a man. My baby. Can you imagine.

CHERISH - was a good lesson for me. Now it is time to move on, get back to the rest
of my family too - who THANKFULLY roll with it - well with me.

The word for this year is STRENGTHEN.

It is time to get things in order. We are in need of a good STRENGTHEN in this house.
Spiritually. Physically. Emotionally. Socially. Economically. Nutritionally.
So, 2012 here's to the strength we will find - and already have!

Wishing for Snow ....

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 04:59:00 +0000

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2011

Wishing For Snow

A Christmas Bird

Pretty Girls

Curious Lil' Man

Griffin comforting Lil' Man

Big Man & Lil' Man

Lil' Man learns to Fly

Max Loves Griffin

Torturing my Children

Christmas Morning

http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com/

T'was the Night Before Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:44:00 +0000

Twas the night before Christmas
and all through the house

furniture is rearranged

POOR LOST LITTLE MOUSE

One Tree has been moved

all the stockings were hung
The nightly T.V. show has already begun.

The children were nestled all snug in their bed
with heating pads and asprins
to calm their aching heads

while ma in her fuzzys pj's and I in my sweats

were snuggled with Griffin-Claus
That's as good as it gets!!!!!

When from another room there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my spot to see what was the matter
AND then in the girls room
I saw with a flash
He was painting their noses
what's next? A Mustache?

and then in a twinkling I heard on the roof

is it an owl or a cat or a little blue smurf.

DRAT! It was NEITHER!
It was our Christmas Mistake
If you make this cute ICE BALL
PLEASE DON'T HESITATE

to put it BACK in the freezer when dinner is through
or you will find yourself with some mopping to do !!!!

And just one more thing
when you're dealing with BLING
if you want to light a candle
then it seems
you might want to HAVE a candle.

OK SO I KNOW IT DOESN'T RHYME!

Well then my sweet sister dear
sent these pictures here
and I cried some tears missing all my family
so I put them on these plaques
and when the kids explore their stacks
maybe we'll feel connected after all.

And now as we go to sleep
into their room we'll creep to play a
bells jingling ringtone in their ears
Sweet Dreams crazy Chica's

What's that? You hear bells ringing?

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"
Merry Christmas
to all, and to all a
good-night!"

On the 24th Day ..............

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:36:00 +0000

Christmas Eve is here at last.

And so is a simple tutorial on how to make the cute
ICE BALL
that I featured in an earlier post.

First insert any pretties you might want to add. We tried this time adding TINY cranberries.

Then attach it to your kitchen faucet and fill it up - SLOWLY!!!! Have someone on hand to turn the water off when you are ready.

Then gently release the balloon from the faucet while pinching it shut UNLESS of course you are in need of a shower or your floor a mopping.

Set it in your bucket, container or bowl and tie it off.

Next, make sure the tied end is at the top.
This will leave a small air bubble. You need this! It will provide a place for your tea light to sit later!

Now, put it in the freezer.
If you plan to make a few, plan well. It takes a while to freeze it and they take up a lot of space in the freezer. If you want it to sit flat it is important to freeze it flat.

Once you are ready to use it - select a nice dish to display it in.
Peel off the balloon & Set a tea light in the center surround it with greenery or anything you like or not light it and enjoy!

I'll post some pics of ours tomorrow when we use it!

Ugh. We are so not kitchen people.

Last year we made a kitchen full of fabulous treats for our friends and neighbors.

you know what we did? we are AWFUL!

ATE THEM ALL!!!!

Couldn't even drag our butts out the door to our

neighbors houses to deliver goodies and a card.

I wonder what we even did with the cards?

I'm telling you - those first few months with baby were WACKO!

So, this year we baked early. We've baked late.

We forgot to send goodies to work with Matt.

Even though we owe DAN our lives for all the

driving Matt to work when the car was in the shop.

So tomorrow we will make deliveries.

FOR REAL

and

WE WILL NOT EAT IT ALL!!!

Our coolest delivery?

Matt got to build a smoker for a Christmas present for a hubby in our ward.

That's going to really make us feel like Santa!

We tried last night but all that we could manage was to pass out our Christmas Light Awards. THANKFULLY we found fabulous houses within 2 minutes of our house!!!! THEN - we had packed our dinner so we ate dinner in the parking lot of this cute church that plays crazy Christian Rock Christmas Music in time with their FABULOUS Christmas light display.

It was just enough to stave off the grumpies for a little bit and then get

Miss Izzy MY EAR IS HURTING

and

Mr. Max IM GOING TO COUGH UP A LUNG

and

Miss Alex Let me shake my little finger at you while I smile and manipulate you

into doing something absurd like: letting me drink COKE before bed

because one day I'm going to be a politician and rule the world!

Ha Ha Ha Ha.....

INTO THEIR BEDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And here below.

My lil' man.

Sad.

Miserable.

and

Still

so, so, so handsome and sweet.

How do you know Lil Man is

SEVERELY SERIOUSLY ILL?????

He stops moving!

We stuck him in the shower with us.

JUST SAT THERE IN A LUMP.

so sad

Wrapped him in his towel and snuggled him on our bed.... and

HE DID'NT MOVE

He just stared at us. Just laid there not moving and stared.

Poor sweet thing.

BUT - we've just taken our 3rd dose of those DANG antibiotics and I just know by morning we are going to see a NEW and RENEWED lil' Man.

Click Here
http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com/
to go to the actual blog if you are reading this by email

You should - I have a super cute new blog header!

On the Left hand side of the page
there is an easy drop down menu
if you have missed any of my
25 posts of Christmas
you can go there to catch up.

They have not all been fabulous.
But, I have had fun trying to do it
with only one major mishap!
Not bad I have to say. Not bad.

On the 23rd day of Christmas - I am getting bored and tired

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:52:00 +0000

We are down to countable hours if you care to think that way.

Even though it is 2am I am mostly looking forward to my morning nap tomorrow with Griffin.

Max's fever spiked tonight and I am hoping that means next it will break.

Poor guy is so sad.

Here is a little thing I threw together to get us through Christmas Break.

Everyone tends to freak out if I have our days all planned out.

Yeah, but they don't have to listen to themselves complain when they don't get to do what they want!!!

Grrrrr.

Well, to fill in some of those empty moments like nap time, I made an "I'M BORED" bucket.

I typed up a good list of random activities and cut them into squares and threw them in a bucket.

Some of the things on the papers are:

Call you Cousins
Go eat 2 mini carrots
Take a picture of something
Do something nice for a family memeber
Go read a book
Go make clove oranges
plan & make lunch/dinner
watch a church Christnas movie

We had fun trying things from it today.

On the 22nd day of Christmas - A little Reminiscing

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:01:00 +0000

Every year since we have lived in St Louis
we have gone caroling with
our FABULOUS friends
We bring and share goodies galore
and every year the crowd gets bigger

There's nothing like caroling along
with 100 or so of your closest friends!

Tonight Max has a fever.
AND
it's raining cats and dogs.
So, we missed it.

It leads me to think about the things we are
MISSING
this year.

Donuts with Santa at the Clubhouse

The Preschool Christmas Program

Waiting for Santa to Drive by on his firetruck

the December Dance recital

and all of our dance friends

Alex's Hair -

and for that matter - Alex's teeth!

These cool ICE BALLS

Not too late to make some of those though

Girls who LIKE to get their picture taken!

Sigh Sigh Sigh

On the 21st Day Of Christmas - A Jingle Cat has a Christmas guest

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:01:00 +0000

Elmo
sleeping on tissue paper in front of the fire.

The sweet kitties
on the puzzle we are going to do.

Griffin

our friends dog who will be staying

with us for the 16 days! during the Holidays.

He has been re-named

Griffinshmurtz.

----------------------------------------------------------

Happy Happy Children
I think we could skip Christmas
and just have Griffin!

On the 20th Day of Christmas - More Pretty Paper Cones

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:50:00 +0000

This time
these candy stuffed cones
are for
TEACHER GIFTS

ON the 19th day of Christmas - The Story of a day and not a dastardly picture to prove it.

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:53:00 +0000

ON the 19th day of Christmas - The Story of a day and not a dastardly picture to prove it.

BOR-ING!

or

LAME!

as Alex would say.

I think we could have jumped out of bed at 5am this morning and still showed up late for 1pm church.
We were nervous and trying to dispel the crankiness all morning.
We both woke up feeling 50% better.
Our talks went well.
A fabulous family sat with the kids and seemed to enjoy it.

Went straight from church to a friends party.
We do not usually go to birthday parties on Sunday, but this was a special friend
our neighbor at the previous house
and we wanted to see them and support them.

After 1 nap max got cranky we hit the road.
Enjoyed a lite dinner while driving and headed straight for the
Celebration of Lights in O'Fallon.

Last year my lil' man was just a lil' peanut....
So daddy and girlies rode the train while Mamma and peanut sat
in the car looking at lights and enjoying a bottle.
I believe I was in the thick of hormone psychosis
and trying to figure out if there was anyway possible
to breast feed the little twerp.

This year, Lil' Man was trying to climb out the WIndow.
He wore a channel into my thigh trying to do it.
He pointed and chattered and hollered out his own version of
Lights Lights!
He was enthralled to say the least.

Exhausted beyond compare,
little man fell asleep
in the car.

You should've seen him!
Light blue button down dress shirt
navy pants
Ohhh to die for!
The girls snuggling on him
in their red white and black holiday
sunday gear

So SWEET!

and what did I do!

It is GHASTLY I TELL YOU - GHASTLY

I deleted it all!

Somehow I thought the SD Card and CF card were - I don't know - the same thing.

I wasn't thinking.

I clicked ok on the wrong thing and they are all gone.

DRAT! CRAP! SUCK-O-LA!

Wonder if there's any chance I can bribe them into posing for me again - and if there will be any sun tomorrow.

Dear God, I would please like to order 15 minutes of warm sun at about 3:45pm

Yeah that's far fetched for 3:45 pm.

Oh, the Sickness of it all!

Oh Oh Oh.

Good night.

I must sleep.

Tomorrow is my first Monday in 3 weeks to have a car - and I intend to use it!

On the 16th, 17th and 18th Days of Christmas - Lost in Space and Other Blissful Novelties

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 08:32:00 +0000

OMG!

I can't believe I am now 2 posts behind + the post that is scheduled for right now!

This is a good example of why it is so hard to catch up on anything if you get behind! Laundry, bills, tithing, housework, exercise. YIKES!

In my own defense, WE GOT OUR CAR BACK! Yippeee!

So we've been enjoying a happy reunion with a trip to Walmart, the Park, errands around town, my Lovely friend Aimee's party last night and it is all FABULOUS!

So, hubby and I are speaking in church tomorrow and guess what? We don't feel well.

I believe that we may be cursed.

EVERY SINGLE WEEK - by the time the weekend rolls around, someone is sick!

We've been eating better, we are juicing a pluthera of fruits and veggies DAILY. Taking our JUICE PLUS. Serving salad and 2 types of veggies at every dinner, washing our hands often and when we get off the bus, sucking on Zinc & Vit C lozenges, taking lots of walks, everyone (except me) has a normal sleep schedule... so what? What are we missing?

---------------------------

I should be putting the finishing touches on my talk right now but alas,

I have discovered that I have a new fan!

Welcome #17!!!! Woo Hoo!

While I am desperately trying to keep up with my 25 posts of Christmas - my Ultra Mega Fabulous Cousins Ultra Super Mega Duper Fabulous wife is looking for her 16,000th follower!

SHOUT OUT:

http://shabbyblogsblog.blogspot.com/

Oh My Heck!

Not that I am in the LEAST bit surprised, but WOWZA! Cool!

I bet if I went and checked right now she has it - or has gone over!

------------

So, yep 16,005! Told Ya!

So to get me back into the Christmas Spirit here are some lovelies from the last few days.

heRE IS MY BIG GUY, SNUGGLING WITH MY lil' guy!

sO, sWEET!

aND, mY bIG gIRL!

anD MY bIG gUY!

aND MY lil' gIRL!

tHIS iS mY fAVORITE cHRISTMAS bOOK rIGHT nOW.

hERE iS a sHOT oF THE lIGHTS oN tHE nEW hOUSE.

iT'S not a shot that is as great as the last house shot - but the sunset is awesome!

the ROAST BEAST

not a fabulous LOOKING meal

but our tounges and tummies didn't know

It was yummy.

And lastly but not leastly

Mr Adorable himself.

In this case

I think cuteness

is a super power.

He is so dang cute! and Sweet!

Good night world.

Wish us luck tomorrow.

Oh wait, it already is tomorrow!

YIKES!

On the 15th Day of Christmas - Empty

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 03:10:00 +0000

It's 9 o'clock on a
Thursday
and I've got nothing to say
Sorry
No Post Today.

Merry Happy Christmas

On the 14th Day of Christmas - Losing my mind

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:30:00 +0000

All I wanted was a pen

but could I find it?

No! I just get lost in this labyrinth

that is my mind.

A bag of spice drops yum, yum

oh no, look what I have done

I better straighten all these things

oh look it's

El -mo.

What was it I was doing in here?

It must be that my phone was beeping.

That's too loud when kids are sleeping.

Just a minute on Facebook

1 more for e-mail

How did I end up in the garage?

There's leaves everywhere

and some goo on the stair

where's the broom

oh BIRDSEED they must be hungry.

The counter is clean

the highchair tray is a dream

and look at my swans on the wall

the bus will come soon

bringing home a different tune

homework, chores, t.v. and playtime

pick up the bottle

the baby's awake

the trash can is full

listen?

Is that an earth quake

OH, Daddy is home

lots of squeals not a moan

How are you doing today dear?

As I wipe away a tear

he says NEVER fear

just come sit right here on the sofa

and as I sit down

and I look all around

I remember

what I'm looking for....

a pen, that work's, and is not pink!

So I can address my Christmas Cards!

On the 13th day of Christmas - A Christmas Lights Tradition

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 06:49:00 +0000

On the 13th day of Christmas - A Christmas Lights Tradition

1st a Tip from Papa Secor

To get good photos of Outdoor lights take your photos at dusk.

It is sad to think of this house, sitting lonely and dark this year,

surrounded by brightly lit homes filled with people and Christmas.

Here's one at Dark

And one at Dusk.

Magical!

2nd - The Tradition

At Christmas time we take many drives at night to see the houses hooked up to music and to peruse the assortment of bedazzled holiday homes in our neighborhood. We also keep a list and check it more than twice as we decide who will win

the not-so-well-known

Secor Family Christmas Light Award

In the early years we just picked hands down favorites.

Last year, well, we didn't do it! I guess Max threw a wrench into that one.

However, in previous years we let each family member pick their favorite

and then awarded a prize to that home.

We usually do it annonymously - but 2 years ago the girls wanted to ring doorbells.

That was really fun. We didn't get any wierdo's.

One older couple was so excited they wanted everyone to get out

of the car so they could meet us

and they asked us all kinds of questions. It was fun to see how excited they were

that someone liked their lights!

Usually we give either a small amount of money like $1-5 or we buy a CD from the dollar store that we attach a note to. We don't give food or anything really valuable since we don't really know these people.

This year we are still planning on each of us picking our own house - BUT, there has been talk about looking for certain criteria, such as Izzy only likes houses with Reindeer!

You can pass out all the awards at once. Or you can let 1 someone choose a house on each light seeing outing.

To top it all off - prepare cocoa in disposable styrofoam cups WITH LIDS and/or goodies to have in the car - and Christmas Carols on the radio, of course!

Another Tradition

Growing up, on Christmas eve we would each hang our stocking by the fireplace one at a time. I love that tradition, completely. Except, that I would like to see our stockings all season. So last year we decided do it the same only earlier in the season. Perfect!

A Final Note

Something I am learning about these traditions, really it is just a life lesson in general.

GO WITH THE FLOW

If you are forgetting to do things, or there isn't enough time for everything,

then maybe something needs to go.

This year I choose 3 activities that we would do each night and rotate so each child could have something to do. Well, more often than not we only accomplish 1 sometimes 2 things each day. That tells me that it is more than we need. So, maybe a better situation would be to rotate the

3 Traditions over 3 days, only doing 1 a day.

Dynamics change every year as the kids age. This year Izzy is NOT AT ALL interested in putting ornaments on the advent tree, while Alex and Max are highly interested.

We could have a fight about it each night.

We could cut snuggle time short, I could insist that

THESE ARE THE RULES AND YOU MUST PUT AN ORNAMENT ON

or I can just go with the flow and tweak and adjust where needed.

Tonight at FHE

I shared my feelings about a Hymn that brought me to tears.

Max was running around with a

wooden garage sale sign post

using it as a sword.

He attacked my lovely paper cones with it.

THEN,

just as I was describing how I thought Mary must have felt to be the

mother of baby Jesus

MAX pounded on like 20 keys of the piano as hard as he could.

It very well could have been the spark that ignited the fire

under my wrath - or Matt's

BUT instead

we laughed

paused

let the moment die down

and moved on

with a nice finish

but ending quickly so as not to push our luck.

Good Luck with your traditions.

If anyone wants to share your own - or comments

- or just say HEY YEAH CRAZY CHICK!

Go For It!

TO VIEW YESTERDAYS POST:

http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-12th-day-of-christmas-themes.html

TOMORROWS POST WILL BE:

Who really knows! If you have suggestions I'd take them. I am getting the feeling no one is super loving my posts. That's ok. I'm just pleased as punch to be writing them.

On the 12th Day of Christmas - Themes, Traditions & An Awesome Craft

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:49:00 +0000

Themes are FABULOUS

Reindeer are one of my favorites.

This year we have a reindeer themed tree

We usually have an Angel themed tree

because I have LOTS of Angels

- but they are all fragile

so this year we just have an Angel.

Truthfully, we only have the Angel out

because somehow she managed

to stay out on a shelf since last Christmas.

A Tradition

Years ago when Matt and I worked for

Collin and Bridgette Noble out in Manhattan

they gave me this adorable little box filled

with chocolates for Christmas.

(Yes it is only the lid in the picture because Max

swiped the box. It is probably hiding in the tall

silver toilet paper holder where he

keeps the rest of his stash.)

When our baby girls joined the family

we thought it would be fun to let them each

have their own box and fill it with something little

each year.... earrings, candies, etc.

The only trick is remembering

to look for it on the tree on

Christmas Morning.

A Craft

Isn't this a sweet paper ornament!

My visiting teachers brought it to me.

I guess last time the building got new

hymns books they saved back quite a few.

They used the Christmas Hymns to make this tree.

They said the instructions are on line - but, I haven't found them.

When I do, or when I tackle them and say TEACH ME...

then I'll see about posting a tutorial.

On the 11th Day of Christmas - A Check In with the Secor Family

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 08:35:00 +0000

This is kinda hard to see

It's all 3 kiddo's asleep at once - crammed into the backseat

of Matt's little car! Unbelievable!

It's a iphone pic so yeah, sorry it's blurry.

And this little sweetie

is our recliner/t.v. junkie!

He has learned to

climb up in Daddy's recliner with his bottle

and point to the t.v.

when he's tired.

For some kids this would be a warning sign.

For Max - it is awesome that we are able

to find one place and time

that he can stay still without a 5 point harness.

Even if only for a few minutes.

SO going without a car for 2 and 1/2 weeks has not been as hard as you'd think. I still don't have enough time to accomplish what I want to in a day, partly because I am opening up the day to bigger projects than usual. I've made homemade applesauce. I've juiced fruits and veggies twice a day for the last week (and lost 15 lbs). We've gone on a walk every day bundled up in the wagon. I've organized all kinds of random things, wrapped gifts, finished my Christmas cards, mostly kept up on this blog, put away laundry, visited with neighbors, read books with Max, played with Max, bathed Max, and I've been trying to wrap up my digital photo books and calendars. Obviously since I am still up at 2:46 AM - I am still not finding enough time during the day light hours. We are sure hoping to get the van back middle of next week, but until then here's to hanging out at home!

On the 10th Day of Christmas - a bit of Controversy

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Some may look at my Christmas Tree's and think of Christ and feel offended.
Some may not want me to wish them a Merry Christmas.

To them I say
This is America. It's 2011.
Make your own Holiday.
Stop wasting your time being offended by
my beliefs and live your own life!

Honestly!
Christmas tree's are pretty.
Decorating is fun.
Lights on the house are Cheerful
during a dark and colorless winter
when we go days and days and never
see the sun.

Gifts can make us crazy
so can shopping at the mall
that's why at my house at Christmas
we keep it simple, nice and small.

If you don't care for Christmas
don't you worry don't you fret
Cuz Santa won't be coming
to your house
or to your pet.

So many things
a part of Christmas
are just for fun you see
like Mistletoe, and Rudolphs nose
and Halls decked with joy and glee.

When I think of
Christ
at Christmas
it is not in all the "stuff" around
it is when I sing a Christmas Hymn
or do a service for a friend
that I feel Christmas joy abound.

When I gaze upon a manger scene
or at a painting on the wall
when I read a scripture story
of angels, kings and all His Glory
that is when I think of
Christ.

Those are moments that belong to me.
They are not outward for the world to see.
You can call it what you will.
It will not change it still.

Christmas is what you make of it.

On the 9th Day of Christmas - OUR 1st GLITCH

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:47:00 +0000

OK so I made it 8 days with out a glitch.

Not bad considering my record.

Problem is, I went to bed at a normal time last night.

Actually it wasn't normal at all.

I fell asleep watching BONES at like 8:30.

NOW THAT IS SAD!!!

I don't feel any better this morning for it.

I guess that's why going to sleep at a regular time doesn't really appeal to me.

Anyway, while I take some time to write the ACTUAL post

that was meant to attend that lovely Christmas Tree picture...

On the 9th day of Christmas I saw this on t.v

- enjoy this link below from the amazing Josh Groban from yesterday's LIVE with Kelly.

NOTE: Josh is Co-Hosting again today on LIVE with Kelly
in StL it is at 9am on the CW check your local listings.

jOSH jOSH josh JOSH! siNGING "I'll be home for Christmas"

On the 8th Day of Christmas - I have a dream...

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

I have a dream.
Well 2 dreams really.

The first is to be a musical family.
That we will each play music of some sort.
That we will each enjoy it.
AND - that we will enjoy playing it together.

I KNOW!!! BIG DREAM HUH!!

An amazingly enormous part of that dream is playing the piano
while my husband plays the violin, and someday that I will actually
accompany him rather than just regular old playing.

The 2nd Dream is my Christmas Dream.
and that is one day I hope to play the Accompaignment to
Mary's Lullaby by Wanda West Palmer
as my husband plays the Melody on the Violin.

Tonight after Matt and I played together
he set his violin on the piano
and it was so beautiful.
It is a very old and special violin.
It was a precious picture
of a very special moment in time for me.

It took me about 20 minutes to capture it
well in a photograph.
I don't think I am quite there yet
as far as capturing the feeling of the moment in a photo.
But I think I'm close.

I wanted to give it a caption
because I LOVE words and beautiful fonts.

But there are no words.

I guess you can add this as part of the dream too:

Tonight we did something we have wanted to do for years

we invited friends over to sing and do Christmas-y things.

Every year I have this Christmas Party or Christmas FHE daydream.

It is filled with wonderful people

and delicious foods and goodies

and we all sing together or play instruments or do sing solo's

and no one is embarrased because we are all filled with Love for our Savior

and Joy for the season.

And all is FABULOUS.

Well, except for the part that I always chicken out.

This year, I decided to plan it early and keep it simple.

We invited our sweet neighbor family.

We sang silly songs ( Once There Was A Snowman, Dashing thru the snow on a pair of broken skii's)
Then Izzy - Alex and their friend - sang the 1st verse of Silent Night,
and Izzy SANG SOLO (HELLLLOO!!!!!!) the last verse of Silent Night
Then Matt and I played FLAWLESSLY together 2 verses of Away in a Manger ( Go Us!!)
We played Christmas Dice
We Unwrapped a book
We opened a baggie with a Christmas thought and a goodie
And we prayed.
Followed by goodies around the kitchen table of course.

MANY MANY MANY little moments in the last 3 1/2 months

have told me in profound ways that we are here where we are because

we are meant to be in the lives of these sweet neighbors.

I know why. That was obvious VERY quickly.

I just don't know if it is because they will teach us?

We will teach them? Or because they just need us to be here.

Tonight I am grateful

for music

and the power it has

lift

inspire

teach

unite

soothe

and glorify.

I am grateful that

I am able to see the hand of the Lord

in my life and to feel His love.

I am grateful to see little dreams come to fruition

with a hope that greater dreams

will find themselves

answered as well.

I am grateful that this year

I listened to the promptings of the spirit

that I should be prepared early

that I don't have to wait and

do EVERYTHING

Christmas week

and that I can keep things simple and

it will still be wonderful.

and WONDERFUL it IS!

On the 7th Day of Christmas - Sheldon

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

On the 7th Day of Christmas My true love gave to me,

Sheldon who is ver-y fun-ny!

Yes I know this has absolutely NOTHING to do with Christmas, but this is what I've been watching while I prepare your Christmas cards - and LMAO!!!! He kills me.

Much like my Dad, just more vocal about all the craziness!

There was a tall man from Cornwall  Whose length exceeded his bed.  "My body fits on it  But barely upon it  There's no room for my big Cornish head!" ~ E. M. Snickering

Sheldon: I'm not insane, my mother had me tested!

Sheldon: Why are you crying?
Penny: Because I'm stupid!
Sheldon: That's no reason to cry. One cries because one is sad. For example, I cry because others are stupid, and that makes me sad.

Sheldon: Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. By that definition, Penny is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

Sheldon: Where exactly does the half-sandwich come from? Are you giving me half of someone else's sandwich, or do I have to wait for someone in the restaurant to order the other half?

Sheldon: If you don't mind, I'd like to stop listening to you and start talking.

Sheldon: There's a fine line between wrong and visionary. Unfortunately, you have to be a visionary to see it.

Raj: I'll tell you what. How about we go 'Rock-Paper-Scissors'?
Sheldon: Ooh, I don't think so. Anecdotal evidence suggests that in the game of 'Rock-Paper-Scissors', players familiar with each other will tie 75-80% of the time due to the limited number of outcomes. I suggest 'Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock'.
Raj: What?
Sheldon: It's very simple. Look -- Scissors cuts Paper, Paper covers Rock. Rock crushes Lizard, Lizard poisons Spock. Spock smashes Scissors, Scissors decapitates Lizard. Lizard eats Paper, Paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock, and as it always has, Rock crushes Scissors.
Raj: …Okay. I think I got it.

Sheldon: What exactly does that expression mean, "friends with benefits"? Does he provide her with health insurance?

Email Recipients - To go to the actual blog:

http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com/

To see the previous post:

http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-6th-day-of-christmas-christmas-elf.html

Tomorrows post will be:

A Christmas Dream

On the 6th Day of Christmas .... Christmas Elf

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

You can buy your own "official" Elf on a Shelf now.
He's everywhere.

Ours is old.
See, look at his leg, dirty and stained.
We've had him for years.

He makes his rounds from the top of the shelf
to hanging from the chandelier to his butt sticking out from someones sock
drawer to being stuck, stuffed inside someones sock!

He doesn't get into mischeif everyday. Sometimes he needs A LOT of extra sleep.

I read where someone left a note from the elf that said
"look in the mirror. Love, Elf"
and while they had slept the "elf" had painted everyones noses red.
I think we'll try that this year.
BUT, maybe they won't get the note right away.
They will just hate me if I spend the morning laughing at them!

So, if I haven't added the picture when you read this
come and check back later...
and I will show why you should NOT
let your Elf hang with his hand resting in a lightbulb!

Geez!

Watch in days to come for Elven mischief and painted red noses.

Do you have an elf at your house?

If so, share with us some of your Elven Mischief!

Email Recipients - To go to the actual blog:

http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com

To see the previous post:

http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-5th-day-of-christmas-paper-cones.html

Tomorrows post will be:

Sheldon

On the 5th day of Christmas - Paper Cones

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

This is my favorite project I've done this year.
So cute and easy.
I got a couple of stems from the dollar store but most of it I had on hand
in my craft and holiday bins.
I used various methods to secure the stems in the cones -
staples, tape, ribbon tied through a punched hole etc.
This is totally a spoiler but if we manage to make treats this year we
will deliver them in these other cute cones lined with wax paper.

I think they would be super easy for the
girls to make also - but I haven't really given
them a chance. I'm a craft hog lately.

I don't know why it was so hard to get fabulous pictures of these beauties! Maybe I need to not let

1am be my prime picture taking threshold. I've toyed around with getting serious during the daytime - you know like in Sunlight, guess we'll see now won't we.

Email Recipients - To go to the actual blog:

http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com

To see the previous post:

http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-4th-day-of-christmas-polar-star.html

Tomorrows post will be:

The Christmas Elf

On the 4th Day of Christmas ... Polar Star

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

In his closing remarks at

General Conference of April 2002

President Gordon B. Hinkley

our beloved Prophet
gave a talk entitled

We Look to Christ.

Below is my favorite quote and an excerpt from it.

It is not necessarily related to Christmas.

But each year it comes to my mind as I focus my mind more on Looking to Christ.

May the Spirit of our Lord accompany us and remain with us. We know not what lies ahead of us. We know not what the coming days will bring. We live in a world of uncertainty. For some, there will be great accomplishment. For others, disappointment. For some, much of rejoicing and gladness, good health, and gracious living. For others, perhaps sickness and a measure of sorrow. We do not know. But one thing we do know:

Like the polar star in the heavens, regardless of what the future holds, there stands the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, certain and sure as the anchor of our immortal lives. He is the rock of our salvation, our strength, our comfort, the very focus of our faith

In sunshine and in shadow we look to Him, and He is there to assure and smile upon us.

He is the central focus of our worship. He is the Son of the living God, the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten in the flesh, who left the royal courts on high to be born as a mortal in the most humble of circumstances.

Of the loneliness of His living He said, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matt. 8:20).

He "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38). He was a man of miracles. He reached out to those in distress. He healed the sick and raised the dead. Yet for all of the love He brought into the world, He was "despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: . . . he was despised," and was esteemed not (Isa. 53:3).

We look upon His matchless life and say with the prophet Isaiah:

"He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. . . .

" . . . He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:4–5).

http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,49-1-266-36,00.html

To go to the actual blog:
http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com

To see the previous post:
http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-3rd-day-of-christmas-traditions.html

Tomorrows post will be:
Paper Cones - A Fabulous Christmas Craft

On the 3rd day of Christmas... Traditions

noreply@blogger.com (rlsecor) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Traditions

It seemed like it took forever to get settled into

our Christmas traditions

today we run the risk of having too many.

The Key to traditions is being prepared.

Some of the things we do - need to be done much in advance of Dec 1st

- because they are time consuming.

I refuse to ruin a day or a season

being over worked and over stressed.

If there's not time

we skip it, change it, or do it next year.

We don't do all of our traditions every year.

Traditions are about memories, closeness, family team building.

NOT perfection.

So here is a favorite:

A BOOK A DAY

(above)

Every year I look for a new book or two about Christmas

We've finally exceeded 25!

Matt and I will take a couple nights and wrap all the books.

Each night before bed the kids take

turns unwrapping a book.

Then we read it for a bed time story.

This covers SO many things!

1-Teaching about Jesus and Christmas

2- Reading something for their daily reading homework

3-no fighting over the book

4-giving babies lots of practice at unwrapping

This is a picture of Max inspecting the items under the Christmas Tree.

Since our tree is on a table this year, I surrounded it with Framed Christmas Pictures and empty containers

that we will eventually fill with treats. He likes that there is SOMETHING he is allowed to touch!

I will continue to share our other Traditions on upcoming posts.

Do you have a favorite tradition? Share it here.

To go to the actual blog:

http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com

To see the previous post:

http://ramblings-rlsecor.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-2nd-day-of-christmas-holly-jolly.html

Tomorrows post will be:

The Polar Star