Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! Jesus Is The Reason For The Season! This is not just a cliche, it is true.

Imagine for a moment, if you will, a time long ago. A time when people walked or rode horses to get somewhere. A time with no television, radio or cell phones. A time where family is all you had.

A young girl is betrothed to be married, and is pregnant. She is traveling a long distance to be counted in the census of the day. She is traveling to Bethlehem. As she arrives it is apparent that she is in labor, far from home, far from family and with no place to stay she must give birth in a stable. She is not just giving birth, but she is bringing forth the Son of God, God by Name, Jesus, Emmanuel.

As she holds this new life in her arms there is no way she could have know what would come next.

Angels appeared to shepherds that came to visit this tiny Savior.

A STAR appeared in the sky to guide the Magi (Wise Men) to baby Jesus.

And Jesus himself grew into a young man.

This tiny baby that Mary sang lullaby's to healed blind men and lepers.

This helpless baby that she rocked in her arms walked on water and raised Lazarus from the dead.

This precious boy that she loved died for the sins of the world, rose again and conquered death, hell and the grave so that you and I could live.

This baby that she kissed was God.

May the Good News of Christmas remind you that Jesus is the Reason for the Season. And if you do not know Him as your Lord and Savior consider Him this year.

Merry Christmas!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Really, it is COLD outside. At least for Texas it is cold.

I am not use to this, so Mackenzie and I are going to get all dressed up (in winter clothes) and go to church. Wayne is going to dress nice, but not necessarily warm like we are. It is in the 40's, and with the wind chill it feels like it is in the upper 20's. We even have sustained winds of 20 mph and gusts up to 25 mph. That is bone chill to me...a Native Houstonian.

This is really fun for the Sunday before Christmas. Now I really hope it snows on Christmas Eve (although it is not predicted). That would be even more fun.

I will post pictures later :)

Merry Christmas.

Pictures.

I haven't posted pictures in a while, so here you go. Mackenzie is now 9-months old, but these pictures go back to 6-months.

6 Months Old (Flying on Nani's legs. This is FUUUUUNNNNNN):

6 months old (Look how tall I am already):

7-months old (Close Up):

7-months (Playing peek-a-boo. Here I am Mommy):

8-months (See my teeth?):

8-months (Hair bows and Hair rollers. I want to be just like my, Mommy):

Christmas.

Well, I am really excited about Christmas this year (as I am every year).

We don't have a lot of money to spend, and I think that is a good thing. It forces us to take Christmas back to the basics. Not Santa, Not Gifts, but Christ.

At the same time I do feel a lack of Christmas Spirit that I have had in years past. No one says, "Merry Christmas" any more. And not very many places are decorated or are playing Christmas music. Come on world...get with it.

I went out yesterday and was telling everyone "Merry Christmas". People were so excited to just hear that phrase, but not very many people said it back.

Christmas is about Christ. How exciting is that.

Please Be Better By Christmas

YUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!

Again.

Well, Wayne caught our cold. While Mackenzie is doing GREAT. I seem to be trying to re catch it from Wayne. Wayne's seems to be turning into a sinus infection.

Not to mention...I have a huge knot in my shoulder from picking up and carrying Mackenzie. We are in wonderful shape.

I just pray that ALL OF US are BETTER by CHRISTMAS.

Church.

Last week Wayne and Mackenzie went to church together (without me) becuase I was sick and Mackenzie was not sick yet. Go Wayne...you ROCK!!! Not many Dad's would do that with a 9-month old.

Today was pay back time. Mackenzie and I went to church together (without Wayne) because Wayne is sick. Yuck! I hope you get better soon, Honey. This was not big deal to me though becuase I spend just about every waking moment with Mackenzie and she goes everywhere with me. Hummm?

Cold? What Cold?

I am excited to say that Mackenzie and I are doing GREAT! We have been using the oils and praying about 3 times a day and our colds never gotten worse :) And I think it is safe to say that we are over the worst of it. I haven't had to bugger suck Mackenzie for at least 24 hours now, and the only thing left is a slight cough and mucous.

Poor thing...now Wayne has a cold. Time to go oil him up!

Oh, and some of you have commented on my homemade baby food. I am happy to make baby food for you at a small charge if you supply the groceries. I really enjoy making it. Contact me for more information. I even have some menus I am working on. Oh, and if you know anyone that may be interested in having baby food made for them let me know.

Pierced Ears

I soooooooooooooooo want to pierce Mackenzie's ears, but Wayne seems to be against the idea...for now. He thinks she will pull at them and they will bother her, but I think the older she gets the more difficult it would be. Hopefully Wayne will see my side of things and I will be posting an earring picture soon :) We will see.

SNOW!

So, many of you know that it NEVER snows in the Houston area. A few years ago we were surprised by God with snow for Christmas, but the last snow before that was when I was a little girl.

Guess what?

Mackenzie looked outside (we are inside due to our colds) and it is snowing. Nothing big or hard, but it is snowing nonetheless. Mackenzie's first snow is happening this year with the rest of her firsts! How exciting! I wish we could go out in it. If it snows any harder this evening we may have to go out for just a bit to get some pictures and video. It would be a shame to miss the SNOW!

Cold...Yuck!

So, the oils and prayer did their job on Mackenzie's fever. Now we have a cold. Yes, WE. Both Mackenzie and I have had pretty yuckie colds for the past several days, but we are blessed anyway.

I had a sore throat that kicked the whole thing off, so I used the essential oils, and my sore throat was gone in 1 day. That is a miracle for me. Those usually last an entire week and get really bad, but Thank God my throat is fine.

Then the next day both Mackenzie and I woke up to runny noses, congestion and slight coughing. Double yuck. She has been in a really good mood through it all. I have been applying various oils to both of us, and praying with each application. Nothing has gotten worse, and we even seem to be getting better. Thank God, again. The oils I have been using are Thieves, Frankincense and Lavender. I am really praying that this doesn't last much longer.

Mackenzie HATES the bugger sucker thing I use to get her snot out. If I don't get her snot out she can't seem to eat. So we go through a full out wrestling and screaming match (me wrestling and her screaming) to get all the snot out. Then she is very happy and able to eat just fine. I can only do this so many times in a day, so needless to say she has been eating less the last few days. She seems OK with that.

I must say that I am ready for these colds to be over and for us to not get sick EVER AGAIN :)

Poo Part 2

Yes, I am broaching the subject of POO yet again. Scary, huh?

This one is a little more graphic, so READER BE WARE.

When Mackenzie was exclusively breastfed her poo was very watery, and it leaked EVERY time she went. Then we started solids and things began to change (by things I mean poo). It thickened up a little so that we were not experiencing the leakage problem any more, but it was generally the same color and odor as the breast milk diapers.

Over time her food range has increased along with the amount of poo she can create, or shall I say the AMOUNT of POO she can create. How does so much come out of such a little person? Especially when she only eats 2-3 ounces of solids per day?

And the smell! Not a bad smell, but an odor nonetheless. If she had chicken it smells just like chicken. Everything else has a sweet smell.

And the colors! I can see what she ate in her diaper. Zucchini has little green specks. Broccoli has little green dots. Well, you get the picture; don't you...or do I have to go on?

Current foods Mackenzie eats and LOVES:

- Cooked Apples
- Cooked Peaches
- Cooked Pears (LOVES)
- Cooked Mango with Pear (LOVES)
- Raw Banana with breast milk
- Raw Avocado (LOVES)
- Sweet Potato (LOVES)
- Cooked Cauliflower with tomato (LOVES)
- Broccoli
- Spinach with onion (LOVES)
- Chicken & Veggie Soup (LOVES)
- Chicken, Onion, Zucchini & Squash
- Carrots
- Peas & Carrots
- Zucchini (LOVES)
- Squash
- Pumpkin
- Dumpling Squash
- Beef with onion, carrots and broccoli (LOVES)
- Whole Wheat Elbow Pasta (tiny) with tomato, cheese, carrot sauce (LOVES)

I make EVERYTHING home made, so there is NO SALT, NO SUGAR, NO ARTIFICIAL anything. And I LOVE the way everything tastes (yes, I eat her food).

All About Pooh (and I don't mean the bear)

Actually, all about poo. Yes, who ever thought I would blog about poo? Not me, but here I am.

So, if you have ever had a baby then you know you begin talking about some things you would have NEVER talked about before. Breast feeding, poo, spit up, your birth story and a slew of other topics. Some more embarrassing than others, but all things that you would have run from before you had your precious little one.

More recently I have noticed a BIG difference between Moms and Dads...well, at least in our house. I (the Mom) can always tell when Mackenzie has gone poo, but Dad always seems to be in denial. Actually, I can tell just before and while she is going poo, but if I am not looking I can definitely tell after she has gone poo. Not only can I smell her from a mile away (something Dad doesn't seem to smell), but she begins to act differently too.

Case in point. The other day (not a one time event) Wayne was holding Mackenzie as the two of them were playing with blocks. I had had my fair share of diaper duty the last few days, so it was Wayne's turn to change the dreaded dirty. Anyway, they were playing and I was all the way in the kitchen cooking dinner when I told Wayne, "You need to go change Mackenzie's diaper. She has done a poo. And I think it is a big one." Wayne checks her out and says, "She is not dirty. She's fine." After a moment he quickly figures out that she is dirty because there was a 'leak'. Yuck! I never have a leak, but I guess if you don't change her right away that is what happens. So see, Dad was holding her and he didn't think there was a 'problem', but I was all the way in the kitchen and I KNEW there was.

Hummm.

9-Months Today

It seems like just yesterday that Mackenzie came into the world, but it wasn't...it was 9 whole months ago. Yep, Mackenzie is 9-months old today.

Mackenzie update:

-4 teeth
-1 illness (now over, and not sure what it was...just a high fever)
-Still nursing and only eats about 2-3 ounces of solids each day
-Not crawling, but definitely getting around by scooting, reaching and rolling
-Pulling up to stand (very wobbly)
-Gives LOTS of KISSES
-Not big on hugs
-Loves her Lamb (Lammie)
-Enjoyed her first Thanks Giving
-Looking forward to Christmas
-Communicates very well (not so much with words, but she imitates sounds)
-Very lovable and happy (unless something is WRONG)
-Sleeps in her own crib, and wakes up to eat about 3 times per night

Over all she is a VERY HAPPY baby and a joy to be around :)

How High?

O.K. I have found that motherhood can be really confusing. Especially when your little one is cutting yet another tooth.


The night before last (December 2nd night) Mackenzie's 4th tooth arrived in full force. She felt a little warm to me when I put her down to bed, but no big deal. I figured that she had a slight fever due to cutting her tooth. When I went in at 12:30 am to nurse her things were very different. She was in a pool of sweat and was a furnace. I had Wayne bring me a cool washcloth and some Tylenol to get the fever down. I didn't actually take her temperature because she was still sleeping and nursing in my arms, so I just cooled her off and brought her to bed with me so I could monitor the situation. She seemed to cool off, and when I woke up at 3:00 am to nurse her again she was warm but not HOT. That changed at 5:00 am. I woke up to a little furnace sleeping next to me. I changed her diaper and took her rectal temperature and it was 102.5*. Too high for my comfort. Mackenzie and I jumped into a cool (not cold) bath and played with rubber duckies to help cool her down, but she was still HOT. At 8:00 am she still had a rectal temperature of 102.2* and we decided to call the doctor.


Of coarse the doctor's office demanded that she come in immediately, but her doctor was not available. We had to see a Man doctor, and Mackenzie does not like new Men, so she SCREAMED the entire time. He said she looks great, but definitely has a virus. Because she isn't vaccinated he wants to do a complete blood workup and catheterize her for a urine sample. The blood work wasn't just a finger prick either, but a full on blood draw at the hospital. This Man Doctor was trying to scare me into doing all sorts of stuff, so as a scared and frustrated Mom I told him I needed to leave and think for a few hours before we did anything. I asked a few more questions and left his office very upset. (Her fever was down to 99* while at the doctors)

When I got home I put in several calls. One to my doctor, one to my midwife and of coarse the first one was to my husband and the second one to my mom. I also called some friends to see what they had done in the past. After MUCH PRAYER and consultation I decided to wait and monitor my little one. After my Mom got home from work I went over to her house to use some Young Living Essential Oils (my Christmas present from my Mom) on Mackenzie along with prayer. I used peppermint in her belly button and lavender & thieves on the bottom of her feet.

Although we had a rough night last night (December 3rd) her fever broke after the second round of essential oil use and a TON of PRAYER. PRAISE GOD! Today I am just monitoring her temperature to be sure we don't need another round of oils, but for now Mackenzie is playing very happily and cool to the touch. Needless to say, we won't be seeing that over reactive Man Doctor any more. If Mackenzie's doctor is not available I am taking her to my doctor after talking to my Midwife and using oils and prayer first! (That is with discernment, of coarse. I wouldn't put Mackenzie in danger.).

(If you would like more information on Essential Oils please let me know. They are WONDERFUL and they work on all sorts of things from house hold cleaning to pain and illness and nutrition)

SURPRISE

So, I threw a SURPRISE Poker Party for Wayne's BIG 30. Here are some pictures. He had a WONDERFUL time and was completely SURPRISED. He even won the poker game!

All I Want For Christmas...

"All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth" Do you remember that song from your childhood? Well, I do. Actually, I remember singing it after I lost my two front baby teeth.

Mackenzie is singing that song now as her two front baby teeth are trying to push through the gum line. Actually, her top left tooth has arrived. It made it's grand entrance on Thanks Giving Day! The other one should arrive sometime this week, then she will have to wait about 6 years before she can sing this song again.

I am so ready for these teeth to arrive so she can begin sleeping well at night again. Night always seems to be the toughest time :( Poor thing. Not only am I worn out, but she is too. Maybe we will have a reprieve before the next two teeth try to come? I sure hope so.

For now she is up to 3 teeth and number 4 is on it's way. As soon as I can get a clear shot of the top one I will post a picture, but for now the bottom teeth will have to due.