Wishes

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I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas holiday full of Peppermint Mochas, lingering meals, Christmas specials, Jingling bells and family time. This year my Christmas song is this one:

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Trivial but Important

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I made the mistake today of trying to buy a few things for myself that I have just recently realized I can't live without, completely forgetting the fact that it is a week before Christmas. I'm still not sure how I made it home alive with my fist tightly clutched around one single scarf. Really, I did all that for a scarf?? It's amazing what becomes important these days.
That's where you come in. Another thing that is weighing on me is the trivial and yet oh so important issue of a bag. I have struggled with this complex dilemma since the birth of my first son 7 years ago. Before he entered the world requiring more accessories than Paris Hilton, I was a committed "small handbag" kind of girl.  I rarely carried a purse bigger than a clutch and the very idea of toting around a bag the size of Santa's was just not appealing. Ever since then I've been living in a world of denial, believing that I don't really have to carry a piece of luggage around just because I have a baby but I'm beginning to break.  This is where you come in. I am at the end. I just can't bring myself to transition to an official diaper bag because they all end up being so big. I'm short and the idea of lugging around such a large bag is very uninviting. So I desperately need to know, "what do you do?" What bag have you found to be the ideal mix of style, economy, and size and still able to carry everything a baby and mommy might need?

Washer woman

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I'm not sure if I can recall a time in my life when I actually appreciated the ability to wash clothes. Most of the time it is only considered to be a drudgery as I drag what seems to be months of dirty clothes (really only a few days worth) down to the basement and start "laundry day" again and again (isn't every day laundry day?).
As a side note, it is amazing to me how it seems like my entire family barely has any clothes to wear, and yet the dirty clothes seem to reproduce into never-ending piles. When they are finally washed and folded they return back to their normal amount and the drawers still remain half empty. It's a mystery I'll never understand.
Getting back to my original thought...I am now looking at laundry in a whole new way.
Last Wednesday, right after I finally decided to dump my dirty cloth diapers into the wash machine, it decided it had had just about enough of our endless regimen of washing and went on strike. My first reaction was to understand its pain, turn it off, walk away and assume that once I returned (after giving it a bit of a "nap time" to reconsider) it would joyfully resume its tasks and my diapers would move on to their next destination--the dryer.
Instead the wash machine insisted it was finished, had washed its last load and was throwing in the towel.
Once this reality finally sunk into my somewhat stubborn head, the next step was breaking the news to my husband.  So before I dropped this somewhat burdensome information on his desk I did a quick search on craigslist, found a machine for a steal and presented him with both the good news and the bad news. Little did I know that at that very moment someone was blissfully hauling away that craigslist deal and leaving us to grope around for something else.
My husband took the news well and the search began. Our first decision--do we continue with a front loading wash machine or go back to a top loading machine?
If you would have asked me 4 months ago there would have been absolutely no question--front loading for sure! This time I was not so sure. Since we do cloth diapers I have heard over and over that top loading is the way to go. So Ben and I started looking into top loading machines only to find that the new top loading machines are made to be just like a front loading machine so the quest and debate continued. I will spare you all the agonizing details. I just have to say that buying a wash machine is definitely not as easy as I would have thought. After some stressful conversations, research and reading tons of reviews we finally found the ONE! (it did end up being a front loading machine) We threw together a last minute date night and ran out to purchase it. As we not so blissfully paid we were given the news that our wonderful new machine would be delivered promptly after Christmas. Seriously! So a little over two weeks without a wash machine??!!
I am no longer going to take for granted the privilege of washing my clothes (at least not for a few months). So far I have spent one whole Saturday at my sister-in-laws doing clothes only to find our hamper already full that evening!
So if you see me and my children walking around wearing the same outfit several days in a row (even with a few dirt spots here and there) you'll know why.

Sign and Seal

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Last Sunday was eventful for two reasons. First of all, it was Eliza's first Sunday at church (post birth that is) and my first time back to church after having Eliza. The second reason it was so important is because Eliza was baptized.
Every time we have a baby I am reminded of the amazing and overwhelming privilege it is to raise this child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It is a sobering reality. We have been blessed with one more arrow with which to spread God's kingdom even further and I pray earnestly that we fulfill our responsibilities of being Christ to this little one.

(I know that everyone reading this might not understand why we had Eliza baptized so I encourage you to read this article that explains our position a bit more.)

A Small World

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Recently my husband discovered something on Craigslist that was more than just another deal of the century or an item that we were convinced we could not live without.  As he was responding to a post with the hopes of adding a few more puzzles to our growing collection, Ben met Marilyn.  Marilyn lives in a beautiful house surrounded by 5 acres of sprawling forest and serene landscapes.  However, her house and its perfectly situated country setting is not what makes Marilyn stand out.
We immediately connected with her because of our shared love for puzzles; but, in addition to assembling complex puzzles and knitting, Marilyn enjoys a hobby that is not fully understood or appreciated by those around her--She assembles and populates tiny worlds. These are not mere doll houses that you would be happy to let your little one dive into and destroy. Instead, these houses are constructed by her and decorated by her down to the tiny cork board hanging on the wall. She creates these tiny worlds full of amazing detail that one could spend hours taking in and learning to appreciate and still never catch every component of these complex creations.  Ben and I have an appreciation for tiny things so we were both taken by the work that Marilyn has put her heart into.  She allowed me and the boys and my mom to come in her house and look at all the worlds she has created. Here is just a taste of what she has assembled.

Oh Eliza!

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As many of you  know by now we were overwhelmingly surprised early this morning by the birth of our little girl! We were completely expecting to add another young man to our ranks only to be shocked to find that instead we were blessed with a tiny little girl. Warren is already showering her with love and affection and LOVES having a sister.  It's still sinking in for Ben and me that we are the parents of a little girl and all that means when it comes to raising her vs. our sons. Thankfully we have a little time to figure out all those details.
Eliza Marie Trice was born on October 20th at 3:30am. She was 7lbs 3oz. and 20 inches long. Unlike my 24 hour long labors with the boys, Eliza decided she was going to come much more quickly and after about 4 hours of labor we were on the other side with her in our arms.
We are amazingly thankful for all the prayers for this labor. They were certainly answered and we are still basking in the goodness of our Heavenly Father.

Wishing and Hoping....

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Tonight I will be enjoying one final date with my husband before baby #4 arrives.  It has been touch and go whether we would make it to this night or not.  As always things are never simple when it comes to me and babies.  I started having some more intense contractions Wednesday night and labored through the night only to have things fade out by morning. The result was mostly just achiness all day Thursday but obviously no baby.
It's amazing how you can be perfectly content that the baby will come whenever it's supposed to and then when something like that happens all the sudden you find yourself anxious and ready for the baby to just come. I have had to adjust myself to my former way of thinking, which is that the baby could very well wait another week or so to join us here in the outer world. I did find myself praying that the Lord would make it soon and then stopped myself because I want so much to be happy no matter what.  So at this point I am resting in the Lord's timing and looking forward to an evening out without the kids around.
I am also trying to psychologically prepare for having a baby in the house again. This has been a bigger adjustment than in the past. All my boys are spaced out 2 years apart so the memories of having a baby were still very fresh in my mind when the next baby joined us.  This time my youngest is 3 and I am finding that the memories of that tiny baby stage are so faded that it's almost as if this is my first baby all over again. I know it will all come back but for now I am trying to prepare myself for what is coming and waiting patiently for his or her arrival.