A (slightly) traumatic Christmas Eve

            This Christmas Eve will forever go down as the one in which Drew tried to set my parent's living room on fire.  Within about a minute of opening a sweatshirt from my parents, the sweatshirt was a blaze as he had set it on a candle.  Yikes!  Definitely sounds more like something I would've done than Drew, who, like Mary Poppins, is practically perfect in every way.  He's very observant and rarely careless.  Saturday I lost my keys for two hours and they were discovered on top of my mom's car that she had been driving ALL OVER TOWN!  That, for example, is not something Drew would ever do.  In fairness to him, he was trying to hold on to a 19  month old who was singing the Wonder Pets theme at the top of his lungs while playing with his new Wonder Pets steering wheel, fending off the big sister who kept snatching it away, and also opening a present.  I, for one, can certainly understand how you might become distracted while dealing with two young, wiggly, loud children.  Happens to me daily.  Besides, Drew would like me to point out, that this is the first time he can ever recall my mom lighting candles and placing them on that table.  Probably will be the last year she ever does, too.  :)  I was busy videotaping (though, sadly, set the camera down shortly before discovering the fire).  Drew feels really bad about burning the shirt, but it could've been worse.  He could've burned the crocs that he really likes, one of the kids' toys, his own shirt, a cat, etc.  The fire was put out quickly, but still will remain A Christmas Story moment for us. 
             Speaking of A Christmas Story, Evangeline caught about a thirty second glimpse of it tonight and it just happened to be the scene where the little boy gets his tongue stuck to a pole.  I walked in the living room as she was jumping up and down and screaming to my dad, "Scary! Scary!  No! No!  Turn it off!"  Of course, dad couldn't get the remote to work immediately, so she continued to scream.  When he finally did get the channel changed it was to wrestling.  Probably not much better.  She was effectively traumatized by the whole event and kept periodically crying throughout the rest of the night, worrying that her tongue, or Trey's tongue, might get stuck on something.  We are trying to use the experience as a hygiene lesson: "This is why you don't lick things, honey."  I feel confident that she will be keeping her tongue to herself for a while! 
                Now our babies are snuggled up in their beds, waiting for Santa to stop by.  We read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Matthew tonight and it made me really, really thankful for Luke.  Can you imagine what our Christmas traditions would be like with only Matthew?  Mark and John have nothing to work with as it is.  Would we even know how they got to Bethlehem, and why? 
                 Thankful for the opportunity to celebrate Christ's birth with my family today and tomorrow, and praying that the weather won't be that terrible!

Funny Times at Christmas

                  Evangeline's Christmas list is growing.  For the longest time she has only asked for three things from Santa: a baby doll, diaper for her baby, and a candy cane.  We splurged and bought her a box of candy canes.  This past week she added a purple sweater.  I guess she really liked the purple sweater Audrey was wearing a few weeks ago.  She's also added strawberry drink, purple gum, and tonight, vegetables.  Huh?  Drew asked her what kind of vegetables she wanted.  Broccoli?  No, that's not a vegetable.  I don't like that.  Carrots?  No, don't like those.  Squash?  Not a vegetable.  Okay then, what kind of vegetables do you want?  Vegetables like turkey.  Alrighty.  We explained to her that, first of all, turkey was not a vegetable, and second she only told Santa about three other things so that's all he knows to bring her.  She seemed satisfied with that response.
                    Trey's three things are an LOL Elmo, a talking Chuck the Truck, and another box of candy canes (Diego ones!).  He'd be perfectly satisfied with a toothbrush, I'm pretty sure.  Trey loves to brush his teeth, but hates putting the toothbrush back down.  So, I just let him tote it around until he forgets about it.  Well, that strategy caused us to lose his Diego brush the other day, so he's been using an extra one that Evangeline hadn' t used yet.  This morning he was wondering around with that brush and then suddenly had both brushes.  Don't know where the Diego one had been hiding.  A few minutes later, he came to me very distressed and said, "Mama I stuck!!!"  I asked him how was he stuck and to show me.  Next thing I knew he joined me in the kitchen holding the floor vent cover from our bedroom in which both his toothbrushes were now stuck.  "Stuck!"  Yep, they were stuck!  I unstuck them and, for the record, we didn't brush his teeth tonight because both his toothbrushes are in desperate need of sanitization. 
                     Evangeline informed me tonight that HER toothbrush needed batteries.  Apparently hers doesn't "work," like her cousin Avonlea's works. 
                     We enjoyed a very nice Christmas Eve Eve looking at Christmas lights and then picking up take-out and bringing it home for a relaxing meal.  I loved listening to the kids sing Christmas songs.  Trey's favorite is "Bingle Bells" and tonight he sang "Bingle Bell Bock" for us.  Super cute.  He also sang the second verse of Away in a Manger for Drew at bedtime.  I am amazed at how much he speaks and sings! 
                       Looking forward to more wonderful, and funny, Christmas memories the next few days!

Christmas Letter 2012

Counting Our Blessings in 2012

AnnabelleWe are thrilled to be expecting baby #3 (Annabelle Margaret) around the end of January. Evangeline can’t wait until her baby sister is here, and talks to her every night through Mommy’s belly button. Trey is pretty much clueless that he’s going to be a big brother soon; what a surprise he has in store! He has enjoyed being the baby!
Trey- Three words to describe one-and-a-half year old Trey are Daredevil, Entertainer, and Mama’s Boy. He can and will climb anything and loves being swung around in the air upside down by his Daddy. He makes us laugh all the time by trying to balance various objects on his head. He’s funny and he knows it! Trey has an advanced vocabulary for his age, and is even putting together several sentences, most of which involve food, such as, “I need ketchup,” and, “I want candy.” Trey is never too far from his monkey blanket and pacifier, “papi,” and is completely obsessed with fruit snacks. Emily is enjoying the opportunity to be home with him every day.
Evangeline- Almost three year old Evangeline has quite a personality! She is super outgoing, very good with names, and will hug a complete stranger if allowed. She recently adopted her first security objects: a doll named Baby Moses and a stuffed cat she calls Baby Jaguar. She began taking ballet and tap this year and loves practicing her “p.a.’s.” We have “school” at home three days a week, and she enjoys learning her letters and is starting to learn to write her name. She is so excited for Christmas and has asked Santa Claus for three things: a baby doll, a diaper for her baby, and a candy cane. We are having so much fun watching our sweet little girl grow up!
Blue Bell and Edy- Our dog and cat who are so good with the kids (the cat has come a long way!).
Family- Our parents, Drew’s sister’s family, and Drew’s grandparents all live close by. We are thankful to be able to raise our children so close to our family.
Church Family and Ministry Opportunities- What a wonderful church family the Lord has blessed us with! We have been so excited to see the Lord working at First Baptist Marion this past year and a half. Emily is active in the children’s ministry and recently led the children’s choir in a musical called The Tale of Three Trees. Drew, as pastor, is of course always busy with the many opportunities to serve in our church and community.
Fellowship with Friends- Emily attends a weekly Bible Study at a church close by that offers free childcare. What a blessing! She also serves on the steering team for our local Mother’s of Preschoolers (MOPS). Drew enjoys weekly fellowship with local pastors and also plays ping pong once a week with a group of Christian men.
Travel opportunities- We took a family vacation this August to Jackson and Memphis. The Memphis Zoo was a hit, along with Mud Island, Yogi Bear Park, and the Mississippi Braves baseball game. Emily and the kids spent a week in Ft. Myers, Florida with her family in June. In July, Emily and Trey took a trip to Great Falls, Montana for a few days to spend time with close friends.

We are very fortunate, and our blessings endless, but the most important blessing of all

is a personal relationship with our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), whose birthday we celebrate this time of year.