Friday, December 18, 2009

What's New?

"I want an official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two Hundred Shot Range Model Air Rifle and I PROMISE I won't shoot my eye out!"


Don't they all look THRILLED?


So....it may in fact be a Christmas miracle...Hope (who cries when ANYONE but mom or dad hold her) did NOT cry for Santa!


"I am pretty sure this is a fake Santa" says Luke, "but he probably works for Santa so I will tell him what I want anyway."





I am sorry it has been so long since my last blog post, but life here never seems to slow down! :) Ben has recovered well from surgery and is now potty trained! Potty training is something we had done a bit, but because of his "issues" it was very frustrating for him and just four days after surgery he asked for his big boy undies and we haven't looked back. He has had a few accidents here and there but is doing great and I am relieved that despite my previous hunch, he will likely NOT go to college in a diaper. In fact, he is even staying dry through the night! YAY!

Luke is doing well. He loves finding all of the things that fit in the new gap where his tooth used to be! He is liking school but is having a difficult time that he doesn't get as much "mommy time" as the other two do. I am trying to compensate by snuggling with him a little extra at night but he still feels slighted. :) He is learning that despite all the commercialism, that the holidays are for giving, and not for receiving and has donated many of his toys and clothes to the City Mission.

Hope is also doing great. We have increased her diet to include pears, apples, and bananas. She had no interest in any of them for a few weeks but just yesterday started opening her mouth for them and acting like she wanted to eat! She is now napping in her crib like a big girl, but still sleeping with mommy at night. She amazes us every day. She has developed a bit of eczema recently and we are unsure if her new diet, laundry soap or just weather are to blame so we are experimenting with those things to try and help her fragile skin a bit. Otherwise she continues to thrive and be a reminder to us that with God all things are certainly possible.

Howard...well...required a trip to Urgent Care on Monday. For what?, you ask. He hurt his toe! Seriously. He. hurt. his. toe. Sunday night he carried the sleeping children to their beds and walked on tip toe (to avoid walking on wet pant legs) through the house placing each in their respective bunk. Later that night he was up with THROBBING pain in his big toe. He was unable to sleep because of the pain, so Monday morning we headed to see a doctor, which is the FIRST time since I have known Howard that he has seen a doctor, so I knew that though a hurt toe seems like a LAME excuse to miss work, he must be hurting.

As it turns out he has something called Sesamoiditis. Which only makes the condition sound more ridiculous. Doesn't it seem like an ailment affecting one who has endured one too many episodes of Sesame Street? LOL! Howard did not appreciate my lame attempt at humor that day. :) He has been relatively drugged since that day because there is little that he can do aside from resting and allowing the little bones in his foot to recover from the strain. He is however walking with a cane and kind of reminds me of Greg House MD. :)

And as for me? I am trying to hold down the fort. You know...the life of a mom...not very thrilling, yet crucial. :) I make meals, clean, pay bills, wipe noses (among other things) and read bedtime stories. Add to that the added responsibility of wrapping Christmas gifts (of which each child is getting four this year, one from Santa and three from us, because Jesus received gifts from three wise men), addressing Christmas cards, and planning birthday dinner for my amazing husband. I AM headed today for a little blood work just because I am not feeling myself and am having a few strange symptoms so if you all could pray for those results I would be grateful.

Mostly, we are learning more than ever to lean hard on God and He will not let us fall. We know that if we remain committed to living life according to His plan that he will guide us and make our paths straight. It has been amazing to see how He provides just what we need when we least expect it. We are truly blessed and looking forward to celebrating the birth of our savior next week! We are also looking for some new family traditions to add to our mix. What family traditions do you participate in for the holidays? (ex. we get the kids new pjs that they get to open and wear Christmas Eve.)


10 comments:

Mama E said...

I am so glad that my entry made you remember that Issac and Asher are still with us and impacting people's lives everywhere! They are! Their little souls are singing and dancing with this joyous time and they're saying "Hey Mom, aren't you jealous? You may get to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but WE get to have birthday cake with him in heaven!" :)

As for holiday traditions, we do the PJs on Christmas eve, put out reindeer food in the yard (mostly sprinkles lol), put candy canes on the tree from santa and my brother and I make peanut butter kiss cookies on Christmas eve. I'm so excited for this year because both of my brothers and their kids (5 yr old girl, 2 yr old girl, 3 yr old boy) are all coming so it will be a busy, but fun house with the little ones!

I'll make sure and post pictures :)

Ellie said...

Our tradition is new stockings each year. I buy those cheap plush ones from walmart, and each child (except the baby of course) decorates his/her stocking with glitter puff paint. Their names and the year are on them, and anything else is up to them!

Unknown said...

I grew up doing the PJ thing and have instigated that with my children as well! Seems to be very common! Here's another tradition from our home. As our five children grew past the toddler days, we discovered that many of the presents we were giving for Christmas were really more "group" gifts than for a specific individual (you know--games, toys, videos, etc.) especially since we had three boys followed by two girls. So as to make it special, we have "family" presents wrapped all in the same paper and individual gifts wrapped differently. BUT, before any of the family presents get opened, Daddy reads the Christmas story from the Bible. After the reading, each child draws a number and finds that gift. Prior to opening, that child shares something special he/she remembers about the birth of Christ. This is just one of many traditions we have....I'm kind of sentimentalist!

Merry Merry Christmas to you!

Cathy "the Fullhousemama"
www.fullhousemama.blogspot.com

Fireflyforever said...

Oh bless. I love the picture of the three of them with Santa. I hope Howard gets well soon and that your health issues are resolved quickly.

One (small) tradition we have is to allow our children to choose a tree ornament each. They LOVE hanging ~their~ ornament with pride - and singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus before opening stockings is something I grew up doing and am loving continuing with my children.

sharon said...

I'm so glad that Ben is doing better. Hope is so adorable with her big red hair bow. I also know how it is to have one child gone to school and another still be at home. The one that went to school just knew she was missing something fun, even though we never went anywhere or did anything. It all worked out when my youngest started school.

As for holiday traditions.....I am the oldest of four children. When we were growing up, the first one to tell my Dad, "Christmas Eve Gift", got a present. We continued that tradition until two years ago when my mom passed away and my dad remarried shortly thereafter. It just didn't seem the same anymore.

As for my family, my girls use to get pjs every year. But now that they are adults, we are trying to figure out what to start with our 1 year old grandson. Little kids are so much fun.

I hope you and your family have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Mommato4miracles said...

Hey there! Just wanted to say we are sending lots and lots of prayers your way! Hope you have a blessed and very merry Christmas:-)

Chris and Emily said...

Two of my favorites that we do are...

1) make a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve and then let the kids eat that for breakfast!!!(that's better than the presents almost to them!!) - I do also make a breakfast casserole just to try too offset the sugar rush!! :)

2) we have a Christmas tree decorating party - just with our family( the four of us) and have a complete party spread of appetizers for dinner. My parents did this with us and it always had the whole family decorating the tree together - even after we went off to college or moved out we would come back to decorate the tree(even my rebellious brother!!) Along with that, we give our kids a ornament for each year - usually something symbolizing something from that year for them.

LeeAnn said...

My brother & I always got new pj's on Christmas Eve and that was the only gift we could open that night. I loved it as the pj's seemed better & better each year (the joy of being a child)!

My hubby & I have started the tradition of having Mimosas on Christmas morning as our kids are big enough to join in. Nobody gets wasted...just jolly!! :)

Just Me said...

Great to see an update! I haven't been on fb very much recently so it's nice to know what's new at the Bolte house. I can hardly believe that Christmas is this week...I never did get out my tree and still have no clue if I bought cards last year for this year or not!

Merry Christmas!
:o)Amanda

Kadence and Adam. . . and Mommy said...

In my house we are all about traditions. Nothing is more important to me than spending time with my family and showing them the true meaning of Christmas.

Just to name a few of our traditions:
1) New PJs every year
2) Bake cookies with Mom
3) Build a gingerbread house with Dad
4) Attempt to make a homemade ornament each year (this year we made clothespin reindeers, soooo easy and cute)
5)and of course snuggle under 1 HUGE blanket in front of the TV and watch Christmas movies on Christmas eve

I hope ya'll have a wonderful Christmas.

HUGGS