Christmas

Christmas is over and it seems as though we can't even walk around the house because of all of the gifts that were received. And we all thought this year's Christmas would be "slimmer" in the gift area. NOT. The girls made out like bandits in the gifts department.
The girls have had a blast playing with their new Wii games. The living room TV has been taken over. They have played Mario Kart, Wii Fit Plus, Fan Favorites, and more. We had a fun time watching Cammi try and do graceful yoga on there last night around 11pm. She definitely needs balance help.
We've also watched a few movies over the past few days. My Sister's Keeper was a tear-jerker! I read the book, of course, so I knew what to expect, but it still got me. Four Christmases was pretty funny.
I am thankful I got to go to church with all of my girls and my mom, too. Krea and Nick were there as well. We took up an entire row. The music was amazing! Such a lovely service. I'm glad we were all there to experience it together.
Christmas this year was great. Now, I'm gearing up for New Year's Eve and 2010.

All I want for Christmas is her two front teeth...

and a couple pieces more. Cammi, my middle daughter, chipped several of her teeth last night during a basketball game. A girl elbowed her straight in the teeth and they must have bounced off one another because she has pieces chipped off from about four teeth. Three in front and one on the side. Now, they aren't broken off like halfway up or anything, but the damage is enough. Took her to the dentist today and the estimate is over 300 dollars. Merry Christmas to us, no? I'm thankful it isn't worse. It could have been. It was kind of gross, though. She was spitting and picking out shards of her teeth and you could see them both on her fingertip and on her shorts where she'd wipe her hand. She got right back out there and kept on playing, though. She's a machine! The dentist said he couldn't work on them while they are so sensitive and sore; he has to wait a week or so to do anything. So, she must have "shark teeth" as she puts it - rough on the edges.

Sweet 16

Today, at 2:11p.m. my oldest daughter will turn 16. She was delivered by C-section two weeks before my due date of Christmas Day. I was twenty years old when I delivered her. And I thought I knew quite a bit. I was quickly proven wrong.
Makaili was put in an oxygen "tent" made of hard plastic after her birth. This device was circular and had an opening for her neck to go under so that her entire head was under this oxygen producing dome. She swallowed much amniotic fluid in the delivery, so she had to have this oxygen to try and clear out her lungs, avoiding pneumonia. So instead of me getting to recover a bit in my own bed and having the pleasure of holding her while comfortable, I had to get up and into a wheelchair directly after surgery so that I could be wheeled down to the nursery to see her. Painful!! She was beautiful, though, like something right out of a movie. She had a full head of black hair that was shiny enough to show my reflection. She was pink and gorgeous, not a cone head or one bruise from a hard delivery since she was born via C-section. I was devastated that I could not pick her up right away. She had to stay in her tent.
Sixteen years later she is driving a car, having periods, liking boys, and struggling in Algebra II. I can't shield her from the world like I did when she was little. She must learn things on her own now. Sometimes the world can be a cruel place and it is difficult to learn that. I can only teach her to persevere and hit it head-on with gusto. My baby is only two years away from "adulthood". That is scary.
Happy Birthday, Sis. I love you.

South

I want to fly South for the winter. I want to be like birds and be able to take off whenever I feel the cold air moving in. It pains me to be in the cold weather, literally! It dampens my mood and makes me want to remain indoors in the warm air. I do NOT like warming up the car to go anywhere, and I do NOT like to wear a coat! Sure, they make some very cute coats nowadays, but I don't like the bulkiness of that extra layer. I do find now that I have lost weight I get colder easier. (I know, it only makes sense, duh...)
Since December has arrived and we have had frost, I'm ready to pack up and be a snowbird heading to Florida or even better, Mexico! I could learn Spanish rather quickly, I'm sure! Hey, I could even teach English there, couldn't I? Great plan.

Power

I finally got my prayers answered Sunday. I was able to see how I was wrong in my thinking that I posted about previous to this one. God spoke to me and showed me how I should be thinking rather than how I was thinking. All makes more sense now.