More goings-on in the Delaney house...

I know it's time to blog when my anti-blog husband says I need to blog! Here is some of the latest and greatest from our family:

Our big boy Ethan is now rolling over, AND he ate cereal for the first time last night. I am not kidding, but that boy acted like he was born to eat from a spoon. He didn't do the thing that most babies do at first when they push the food back out with their tongues (because that's what they have to do to get milk from a bottle or Mommy). He scarfed it down and I had to make more. So cute!

Emma has also learned to write her name. I need to post a picture of it--it's super cute. Sometimes she makes five or seven horizontal lines on her "E" instead of three, and she usually puts the line on the "a" on the wrong side, but otherwise she's got it. She loves to learn to do new things, and she is so proud of herself for every accomplishment. She's also been working on spelling some new words. So far, she can spell STOP, DOG, and EMMA.

Other than that, life is life as usual. I found a great website for those, like me, who are SO STINKIN' TIRED of all of the depressing news: www.happynews.com. It's just nice to see happy stories in the news instead of stories about the recession, political corruption, and the like. And just as I was starting to get depressed this morning, I saw this verse in my Inbox:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:35, 37

Amen.

So now that January is over...

I guess it's about time for me to get back to blogging. For a while, I had a hard time getting around to blogging because I was so busy "Facebooking", but I haven't been on FB for almost three weeks now. I have to admit that I'm not missing it too much, but we'll see if that changes next week.

We added a wonderful new addition to our family this month. My brother is a proud daddy of little Ella (picture below). She is absolutely beautiful! We got to meet her on Saturday for the first time, and it was a little weird seeing her next to Ethan. It reminded me how quickly they grow up.

And here's a great picture from our dinner Saturday night. It captured the mood of the whole evening. Ella was sleeping, Ethan was squirming, Emma was being a silly three-year-old, and my Mom was laughing at the whole thing. Sadly, we tried to take this picture about eight times, and this is the best one we got. Love it!

Other than that, it's been pretty quiet around the Delaney house. We've been busy last week and will continue to be busy this week with doctor/dentist appointments and car issues/shop visits, but there are otherwise no complaints. Just taking it one day at a time.

Back to reality...

Phew! The craziness of the holidays is over. I feel like I barely rested between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. We had a wonderful Christmas with our families and were blessed to see my grandfather get married just two days after Christmas. Then, I had the opportunity of seeing my sweet friend Angela get married on New Year's Eve.

We are slowly getting into to groove with 2009. We've worked on our budget, talked about some family goals, and spent some time in prayer. I felt there was one verse (actually, two verses) that God was leading me to as I learn and grow this year.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

So, Happy New Year! And here are my two favorite Christmas pictures...

What are your traditions?

I know that many of the families who might read this blog are like us--families who have a young kiddo or two at home. Or maybe there are people who read this blog who are a little older and have kiddos who have left the nest. Either way, I hope that you leave a comment and respond to this question:

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FAMILY CHRISTMAS TRADITION?

It can either be a tradition that you have leading up to Christmas, on Christmas day, or after Christmas. (For instance, one of ours is to buy/create an ornament for our children every year so that by the time they have their own Christmas trees, they will have years of ornaments AND memories to hang up on it.) I am asking mostly out of curiosity, but I also love to hear about the family traditions and legacies that others are sharing with their children.

Thanks for responding!

Christmastime is here...

families drawing near.
Oh that we
could always see
such spirit through the year.

Such a great song! And one that my fellow Troubadour alumni would know. :)

We are in full-swing celebrating Christmas in our home. It took us an entire week to decorate, but we finally got it finished. Emma has been SUPER-excited about getting up the treeS (emphasis added on purpose), the garland, and the other random decor--which includes a toilet-seat cover, mooing cow, and a Christmas village that we've had since I was about 10.

We're also baking, crafting, and sending out Christmas cards. It has been so much fun, and the house is a total wreck at times! We have learned to cut back this year and not go overboard with tons of gifts, parties, and everything else that can take time away from the family. Living on b-u-d-g-e-t has reminded us that this is not a time to get stressed, but a time to rejoice. There is so much going on, but I am always trying to remind myself the reason that we are celebrating.

Come and behold Him
Born the King of angels
Oh come let us adore Him
Oh come let us adore Him
Oh come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord

This is such a wonderful time of year because we can remember the hope that was given to Earth on that first Christmas.

Blessings

A happy family is but an earlier heaven. --George Bernard Shaw

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you as you are to them. --Desmond Tutu

So what's been going on?

Two entire weeks since my last post. I am having a hard time keeping up with this blog. I have been really bad about not taking pictures the last few weeks, so I haven't posted on here. I am going to start bringing my camera everywhere so I don't forget.

In the meantime, here's a little of what's been going on in the Delaney house:

1. Dan has been working like crazy. I love my husband and the fact that he wants to provide for his family. We have really learned to enjoy the time that he's at home because we're not getting as much of it these days.


2. Emma and Ethan are both growing, of course. Ethan is nursing every 1.5-3 hours and is not on a good schedule yet. Our pediatrician said to let him eat on demand until he's about two months old. Only a few more weeks and (hopefully) we'll be able to get on a good schedule.


3. We've been getting TONS of hospital bills. Thank goodness that God is in control, because I would be freaking out otherwise.


4. I've been working on making some Christmas presents...and realizing that it's hard to find time to do that stuff.


5. I've also been reading through the Psalms during my quiet time. The last time I read through Psalms was about 7 years ago when I was going through one of the most difficult times in my life. Reading through them again has been a great reminder of how far God has brought me. His amazing grace has sustained me in good times and bad.


6. One of the shift keys on my keyboard is sticking, and it's driving me crazy! One thing I cannot tolerate is bad grammar. :)

Here are two cute pictures of the kids from over a week ago. They have been keeping us on our toes, but we are enjoying them so much!

We'll be taking some family photos this weekend, so I cannot wait to post them.