Christmas is coming!

We've been listening to fun Christmas music for a while now.  Tomorrow I will surprise the kids with a nativity set.  I bought a Little People one so that I don't need to worry about Lily-Anna breaking or swallowing something.  A wonderful gentleman in our small group also blessed the kids with an Advent Calendar and a magnetic nativity scene.  They are going to love those!  For the last two years, since we've given Isaac a birthday party with friends, we haven't put up our tree until after his birthday, given our limited space.  His birthday is on the 11th, two weeks before Christmas.  Speaking of his birthday, I still have no idea what we're doing so I need to focus on that as soon as I'm finished typing this.

Graham was elected to our church Board earlier this month.  He's looking forward to all that will entail.  He also enjoyed a weekend in Montreal at a conference for his work.  My lovely in-laws came and helped on the Saturday, enabling the boys to go to their swimming lessons and me to go to the pottery show for my annual mug purchase.  It always takes me a while to choose the mug and then I fall in love with it at home.

I love boots!

Lily-Anna has been weaned.  She still asks for "Mil!" "Mil!" when I go to put her down for her nap but I think it's getting easier.  It is bittersweet.  I am so thankful that God allowed me to nurse all of my children and my supply was never a problem.  There were always normal struggles with nursing during the first number of weeks after birth but after that was usually smooth sailing.  I find many parts of child raising to be very challenging so being able to fully enjoy breastfeeding was a lovely gift from God.  I think it was also a gift from my husband to always support this decision which meant less flexibility in our schedule.

Lily-Anna can now climb up on any of our chairs and then our tables.  She and Kohen have lots of fun together.  Kohen is the "fun" ideas man and Lily-Anna is happy to play along.  I found them with a ride-on toy on top of the loveseat and I took a photo before they fell off.  Kohen tipped up our lazy boy chair this week so they could run up it and fall on each other, thankfully resulting in only minor blood loss.  

Isaac played at his Christmas piano recital this past weekend and sang in his school choir for Remembrance Day.  He's hoping to play the piano for the talent show at school (he'll audition next week) and sing in the Christmas Choir at school and church.  Isaac does most of his practicing in the morning which seems to work better than trying to do it when he's tired after school.

Allow me to recount some Kohen moments:

At the kitchen table during lunch one day:

Kohen - One day we'll have a new baby, Mommy.
Me - I don't think so.
Kohen - Yes we will.
Me - Why do you say that?
Kohen - There was a card at the grocery store about a new baby.
Me - Well, it wasn't our card.

***

Kohen yelling from the washroom:
MOMMY, PLEASE STOP TALKING TO ISAAC.  I'M TRYING TO COUNT TO 55!

***

"No Lily-Anna, you can't share your germs!  Only God can share His germs."

***

Fort time!

Kohen - Let's send a letter to Josiah and the other guys.
Me - What would you say?
Kohen - We love you but I'm sad you died guys.  I guess we could call them with a phone.

***

Kohen yelling after climbing something at the playground:

DA DA DA DAT DA DA!  I AM TALLER THAN JESUS!

***

Kohen was sitting with Graham at Tim Hortons on a Daddy-date and he started singing about the beautiful name of Jesus.

***

I came home from the hair dresser and these were the first words I heard from Kohen:

"You're bald."
[I can still put it in a ponytail!]

***

Kohen loves parks!

The boys were both very excited about the first snow.  They were dressed and outside at 7:15, helping Graham shovel driveways.  When Kohen came back in and I helped him get out of his snowpants, I realized that he hadn't put any pants on!  We started a new tradition: the boys may have hot chocolate in the morning during the first real snow of the year. 

***

Usually Kohen is very quick to pray about things but one day I started praying about something in regard to him and he said, "No!  Don't pray!"  I asked him, "Why not?"  He replied, "He already knows."

***

Kohen often talks about his friend "Coco" who does all sorts of things and knows all sorts of things.  The original Coco's parents died.  I believe there are a number of Cocos as one of the Cocos has also died.  The other day Coco's friends died because they were playing in thunder and lightening.  It is interesting to see what Kohen is processing.

I think Lily-Anna knows what she likes.  I've caught her taking off her grey socks to change them to pink and purple socks.  I have seen her refuse her blue and red bibs in favour of the pink bib.  I have now taken to putting Kohen and Lily-Anna's boots up high as otherwise she would always be in them, walking around the house.  The other day there were five pairs of footwear in various locations in the hallways as I was trying to make dinner.  She put on her lovely red Christmas dress and actually turned around in it, just like a little girl might want to show it off.  She has a new white cozy top that she loves and becomes quite displeased if I try to take it off her when she's not ready.

Isaac with the Child Training Bible

We made our Child Training Bible this month.  Actually, Isaac did almost all of it.  I thought he would really like the process of making it and I was right.  He did a great job and the process has helped him understand where more of the books of the Bible are located.  We're already started using it - Defiance and Disobedience have been hot topics!

I had an unusual thing happen to me this month.  I woke up on November 11th and realized that I couldn't focus my eyes if I looked straight ahead or up.  Looking down was fine and my vision was also fine if I covered either eye.  I ended up going to the ER where I had a CT Scan and bloodwork, both of which came back clear, thankfully.  My vision wasn't clear until Thursday when I first drove again (though it wasn't much of a hinderance in other ways as I always had my head slightly elevated so that I was always looking down with clear focus).  Thankfully, my dad and neighbour helped with taking Isaac to school and picking him up.  I saw an opthalmologist this week and he couldn't figure out why this happened and told me to come back if it happened again.  I know many people prayed for me and I'm thankful for your prayers! 

'Princess Knight' with hockey stick, tool belt, helmet and shield

I was able to get a couple of cries out of the above experience.  The first time was when I walked into the room with the CT Scanner.  I forgot what it looked like.  I forgot that the last time I saw one, I was putting sweet Josiah onto the scanner at SickKids after God miraculously put him to sleep for this scan about a month before his death.  The technician in the room this time was very sweet and kind.  I would have loved to have a really good cry but of course it wasn't the time and I needed to have this scan.  The second cry was the following morning when I thought about what would happen if I lost my vision and how I wouldn't be able to see my kids or look at Josiah's photos and I would forget what they looked like.  That was the only time I let myself go down that train of thought.  It was certainly inconvenient not being able to drive so I am very thankful for my sight.

I talked to Isaac about God's perfect timing.  This happened on a Saturday when Graham was home to watch the kids.  It didn't happen the following Saturday when Graham was in Montreal. 

Lily-Anna likes to "read"

Okay, it's time to add some photos, get out the nativity sets, and think up something for Isaac's birthday!  Thanks for any prayers!  May you have a blessed Christmas, full of the love and light of Jesus.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Luke 2:10-14
And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you:  you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!"