Tuesday, November 30, 2010

December Daily is Here!

Here we are again, in December. I looked back at last year's December Daily and I was touched and blessed reading about our family's adventures together. This year is going to be even better! I just know it! We have a new advent calendar filled with life changing activities that will move us to be better people. Our family want to do more with these twenty-five days. Most of the family's gifts are made and ready to be wrapped. So, what are we going to do to fill our time this month? You will just have to wait and see! I am looking forward to celebrating Christ's birth with you!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Let's Be Honest

Let's be honest... my job at keeping an online journal this year fell to the way side when summer hit. I had no idea what I was in for this summer. My boss laughed at me. I guess you can't explain what summer camping is all about without experiencing it yourself. In one word, it's "busy." In fact, the camp has been so busy since that it is possible that my position will need a full time employee, which means we may move again soon. The position needs someone able to work 50+ hours a week, which at this time in our lives, I am unable to give. We are unsure as to when the move will happen and are thankful that we have been here as long as we have.

For the last two months Ethan has been fighting asthma. He might go a day without treatments and then he starts them right up again the next day. I am thankful for his breathing machine that we have at home but we have had him in the doctor's office often. I loved one of the visits when we were in the office because of his asthma. The doctor came in and says, as he always does, "So, Ethan, why are you here to see me?" Ethan then said, "My foot hurts, Dr. Baskins." The doctor's eyebrows raised, since he already knew why Ethan was there and gave me a look. You know the kind...

"Oh, really? Do I need to look at it?"
"Yes, Dr. Baskins." I picked Ethan up and placed him on the table and Dr. Baskin took Ethan's foot and rotated it around carefully.
"How is this? Does it feel better?" I couldn't help smiling.
As the doctor was beginning to stop, Ethan said, "No. It still hurts."
You could tell that Ethan really liked the little massage Dr. Baskin was giving him. Dr. Baskin looked at me smiling and with that look again said, "Oh, sorry. There we go..." and he continued to rotate it around while talking to me about his real symptoms.

It is days like these that I have to make sure to write down and remember. Even those little things that he does to make me smile. These last few months haven't been easy. He is getting older and tester. It also hasn't made parenting any easier. Dave and I have pulled our hair out at times. Then, we have had such good days that we never want to end.

A couple of weeks ago, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and Dave said on a whim, "Let's go to the Baskett Slough!" We threw our bags and camera in the car and drove out there. Dave and I have lovely memories of seeing the wildlife there before Ethan was born.We hadn't been since Ethan was born. Now that we live closer I think we will be going there more often. I wanted to make sure that I got some pictures of Ethan and me. Even if they weren't perfect. Since our schedules only give us one day off, it's hard to get the camera out to take family pictures. The fall leaves were amazing and the trails were full of color.






Of course we just walked up one hill and Ethan was done walking and Dave had to carry him the rest of the way. Isn't that picture of Ethan hugging Dave precious? That was one of those moments that I was talking about...

What else have we been up to? Becca and I just celebrated our birthdays last week which was such a blessing. Josh and Sarah surprised me with a dinner at a new Italian restaurant in town. It was the best food I have tasted in a long time outside of my own home. ;) I also got clothes from Dave and the best present ever, my wedding ring in the shop to get fixed since I haven't been able to wear it for almost two years!

Becca also got me a beautiful Scarlet Lime watch bracelet kit and we built it together the next day. She also got me some of Basic Grey's new fabric. I really think it is dangerous for scrapbooking companies to start making fabric because paper crafters do not need new hobbies! But, really, Becca knew what I have been up to in the last couple of months. I have been creating fabric projects like crazy. I just see something online and decide I want to learn how to make it. I have made several fabric bracelets or wrist bands with modern fabric and vintage trims. I have also repurposed some items like one of my grandmother's soiled tablecloths. I have never used it because it was so stained. But the embroidery was amazing. So, I created a over the shoulder tote bag with a flap. Anyway, I have been having fun creating. You can see my new creations on Create Often.

I am also teaching Ethan at home in between his doctor visits and our photo sessions for Evans Photography. (We have done five in the last month and a half!) Ethan created his own paperback book last month. Becca brought to my attention the the iPhone that we let him use as an iTouch had tons of photos on it that Ethan took himself. I was shocked when I downloaded them at how many were really good. Not to mention the fact that we didn't even know he was taking pictures at all! He wrote the book as well and even typed one page! We bought two copies. One for his library and the other for Becca's birthday. They read their books together. It was so sweet. You can read it below.




I am getting excited for December. I am going to do December Daily again this year. I promise not to keep you all hanging on the 25th like last year. For those who don't know what December Daily is, it is recording, in anyway you like, every day leading up to Christmas. There will be less gift making this year since I am actually almost done with everyone's Christmas gifts! Ahhh! I can't believe it! We are going to enjoy the month with some random acts of kindness and capturing our everyday life. I am also going to create a Shutterfly album this year. I already have the digital pages prepped and ready to go! All I have to do is add my photos and text. Yippee! I will share the pages with you as I go!