Invasion of the Dinosaurs!!

More of Derek's First Christmas

Have you been waiting with baited breath? I thought so. Here's some more of Derek's 1st Christmas.

More of Derek in that "Winnie the Pooh" hat and booties set. Couldn't you just eat him??? (I mean that figuratively. I would never condone baby cannibalism. I have always spoken against that.)

Silas is very good with babies. He'll sit there and talk to Derek. It's really very cute.

Kisses from Uncle Owy!

Okay, this picture doesn't have any Derek in it, but the nephews wanted Guitar Hero so bad, that they were just so happy about it.

Derek's First Christmas

My baby boy's first Christmas went a little like this....

Jenny-O gave him this great "Winnie the Pooh" hat and booties set. Holy crap, this kid is cute!!!

Once he learns how to use these toys - he's going to think they're pretty awesome. He'll learn how to use them any day now.... he's incredibly brilliant. I know most moms think that of their kids, but in this case, it's absolutely true.

Hanging with the cousins. He's smiling at his Titi Lindsey. He's a big fan of hers.

Abuelita loves her Derek calendar. They'll be hitting the store shelves soon, I'm sure. They're going to be in high demand. I mean, who wouldn't want this kid to keep track of their days.
More to come... stay tuned.....

Christmas Carols

My favorite Christmas carol is "O, Holy Night". The words are just so incredibly powerful and so worshipful.

"O, holy night
The stars are bright shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world
In sin and error pining
Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth"

Just chew on that. Christ was born and your soul felt its worth. Pining for so long for freedom from sin. I was meditating on this thought yesterday, as we listened to the Christmas carols on the radio. Paul asked the question, "Do you think the artists that sing these songs really think about what they're singing?" And I asked, "Do you think most Christians that sing these songs and really think about what they're singing?" I forced myself to really pay attention to the lyrics. They're are so full of glory and joyful declaration of the birth of an eternal savior! And we take so many of these songs for granted. I imagined them being written by a composer completely inspired by their love for a God who would move heaven and earth (and send his Son) to save mankind. The scope of that is so HUGE and almost incomprehensible. It overwhelms my heart.

"Fall on your knees!
O, hear the angels' voices!
O, night divine
O, night, when Christ was born
O, night divine
O, night
O, night divine

I imagined a composer sitting at a piano and writing a love song for Jesus to celebrate and commemorate the day He was born. It's easy to look past these songs without ever thinking on them. You know the words by heart and can sing them while mentally putting together your grocery list. It can become so mechanical.

I don't want it to be mechanical. Not my worship for my Creator. When I sing glorious songs full of joy of His existence, I want it to be from the heart - and not some part of my brain that committed to memory the right words and actions to perform. Worship isn't a performance - it's a life.

My Week in Review

I just felt like reviewing my week cause it was a mixture of pleasure and pain - and it felt worth blogging about.

1. Derek spent time with his BFF Carter. They're awesome. His mom, Ashley, is one of my heroes. She's a single mom and has this motherhood thing in the bag! I have a hard time and I've got Paul, but she's doing this mom thing with such grace, I'm in absolute awe. She gives me advice and tips. She's pretty much the bomb.
2. Thursday wing nights. Mark singing "Music is My Girlfriend" while showing how nicely he can switch around his reversible jacket. I thought my life was a soundtrack, but I rarely sing it aloud. I'm inspired.
3. Christmas shopping. Tis the season to.... KILL KILL KILL! There's nothing like the season of giving to really bring out that brutal kill or be killed instinct. I mean, when someone stands between you and that must have last "Elmo" on the shelf for your child - well, if there's blood drawn, so be it. I love Christmas, I hate Christmas shopping. All rules are null and void if it means you get where you want a few seconds faster and get what you want leaving no live bodies in your wake. Usually, after a horrific day of Christmas shopping, it sends me into a fetal position, sucking my thumb, rocking back and forth in a corner and crying for my mommy. I'll be repaying my therapist a visit here shortly. She'll no doubtedly up my dosage.
4. Party at Judi-Free's! A smorgasbord of foods I should not be eating post-baby, but LOVE LOVE LOVE! Yellow cake and gobs of chocolate icing... well, I'm a sucker for cake. Ask Paul, it's my weakness. Cake is my kryptonite. Damn you, cake! You foiled me again.
5. Party at Judi-Free's (part-deux) - it's been so long since I had a girl's night out. Oh man! What fun!! Listening to the 80's mix over Music Choice and eating cake, what more could this gal ask for?!?! Thanks Judi. You rock! You are quickly becoming one of my very favorite people on the planet.
6. Today I watched part of VH1's "100 best songs of the 90's". I've been watching it in doses over the week. So many good songs (and bad ones - I'm looking at you 'Color Me Badd'). "Enter Sandman" by Metallica... so good. I've come to terms with my love for late 80's and early 90's metal. (Side note: On the verge of breaking up, Metallica hired a psycho-analyst to get them through their inability to work and write together. Therapy is so metal.) During tonight's viewing I saw a commercial with Slash playing Guitar Hero. Again, very metal.

Well, that about covers it. All in all, a great week (minus the nervous tick I got from Christmas shopping) and I thought I'd share it with you.

Laziness

Paul and I are lazy Christmas people. We do the absolute bare minimum to celebrate the holiday in a festive manner. We don't bake cookies, we don't shop until the weekend before, we don't send Christmas cards, and we rarely think to buy gifts for anyone other than immediate family. Today I saw an old friend from high school who now lives on the east coast and is visiting for the holidays. She walks up to the house and has two gifts in her hand and I think to myself, "Oh right, that's what people do for Christmas. Give gifts. Make a mental note of that." (Side note: I make that mental note every year.)

We were celebrating our first Christmas in our new home about three years ago. It was about four days before Christmas and we still hadn't gotten a tree. Paul went to the local K-Mart to negotiate for one of those beautifully decorated display trees (to show you how a decorated tree is really supposed to look). It was a pre-lit tree, with the lights wrapped around the branches and all the ornaments. I mean, what are they going to need those trees for. Now, it's just extra stock. He buys the tree for $60 (total value of said tree with decorations would've been about $150, what a bargain!). He throws the tree in the back of his truck and plops it right in front of the window. Here's the kicker: all of the price tags were still on ALL of the ornaments. And of course, we left them on there. I convinced myself that it was because it was funny and kitschy, but it was really because it would've taken way too much effort to take off every price tag. I mean, obviously, I wasn't putting that much energy into Christmas decorations that year.

Now, it's three years later and the lights are starting to go out. When we put up the tree, I really put a lot of effort into finding the dead bulbs and making sure the entire tree was lit. There was just one section that I couldn't fix. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't that noticeable, but in truth, there is a dark ring around our tree. Any other "Suzy Homemaker" would find some creative way to fix that dark spot. And by creative, I mean going and buying a separate strand of lights and adding them to the tree. I just wasn't cut from the "domestic diva" fabric. I can live with the dark spot. Annoying? Yes. Ignorable? Absolutely.

I just walked by the tree tonight and noticed that the lights on the top of the tree have gone out now. Here is the conversation Paul and I had:

Me: Hey, the lights at the top of the tree are out now.
Paul: Yeah, they've been out for a couple of days. I didn't have the heart to tell you.

That's right, I hadn't noticed. Another testament to our laziness. I would post a picture, but my camera isn't readily seen on any of the surfaces around me and I'm just too lazy to go look for it. That's how I roll.

Gigantor and the Pipsqueak

Carter is 5 weeks older than Derek and is about twice his size. He's already offered protection to anyone giving Derek trouble. What can I say... thats how BFF's roll.