Tis the season for yuletide gnoshing

You know those 9 dozen cookies I baked for the sweet swap?

Well, here's what we got in return:
Joy to the world, and to me.

A helpful tip for ya, too: an easy and deceptively fancy treat to make for potlucks and holiday parties is the good ole cheese ball, brought to you by Wind Willow.
One just adds butter and cream cheese to the mix, lets it chill, forms the ball (fun, messy part!)then rolls in the topping. Partner with veggies and crackers (I prefer Triscuit Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil) already in stock, and you have a go-to take-along appetizer. Mine was a hit at the sweet swap (ok maybe just one of the girls said she loved it but she is from Hawaii and that is a really exotic, beautiful place so her opinion counts for ten...)
My snow bunny:
Bump, round 2:
Here we go!

Another apple on the tree

In kindergarten I learned addition by the apples/tree illustration. The 4 apples up in the tree plus the 3 that've fallen to the ground, equals 7...that was when the plus sign was no more than the cockeyed intersections of my little-kid scrawl.

Eleven weeks ago, that arithmetic sign, bright and blazing blue, stared from a little stick...and I knew life would never be the same. Not ever. And I was ready for the challenge, for the chaos, the even more messy house, the nursing, the sleepless nights, the caring of two children at once...the matchless joy that is a newborn.

It's been hard to not tell you right away (I am 15 weeks and the baby is, ironically, the size of an apple), but we had family members we wanted to tell in person, and what better holiday to praise God for this miracle than Thanksgiving? There's going to be another Harris!

Oh, how marvelous...how, how lucky are we? Due date: May 28th, my mum's birthday.
Here's the shirt (Shawn made it) Wilder wore to tell everyone. You may have to double-click to see the message. I posted a similar picture in a prior post but blurred out the phrase.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart.
Jeremiah 1:5, the Bible (emphasis mine)

No naps resolution

This may seem silly to you, but, today's my first attempt at not taking a nap. I want to clean, blog, do Christmas projects, get dinner ready, shoot, maybe even watch Oprah. Wilder takes such superb naps that I take one of my own (just sooo tired!). And there may be nights when the insomnia is so intense that I'll need a nap during the day. But for now, I'm going to try to do no naps, or only 30-minute naps!

We'll see how it goes.

I've been blessed with soulful social interaction this week, which I missed so much during Wilder's illness. That heartspring connection allows the blood to throb through my veins. I am happy, secure. And always thinking.

I've had some struggles in my life, as have you, and at a later time, maybe I can share those journeys. For now, I buoyantly profess that I'm in a good place. I'm no longer afraid of what was cowering behind the chambers of my heart--an enemy that attempted to steal the fact that I matter. The scars I bear make me beautiful--I am proud of them. The fact that I can't forget some of the past's hurts makes me even more trusting of the Cross. I need my cup to be filled by the Lord. He is my covering, my healing, my peace.

Why the depth of my sharing? I'm not sure. I walk by Jesus in his nativity manger every day now (unless Wilder's got him), and in this season, I want to make certain that I am honest about where I am, about Who got me here. To this place of glory and grace.

There are days when I am weary; life's not perfect; the monotony of managing family and home is sometimes numbing. But these are my days, and I am thankful to want to live them.

My two-day cookie project (making 9 doz. monster cookies for tomorrow's sweet swap):
My first attempt at gift-in-a-jar (what fun!); these are birthday cookies for a friend:
The fabric's even vintage. :-)

It is Wednesday. It IS Wednesday.

The turn of events making up part of my Wednesday follow below. It's a glamorous life. Brace yourselves.

6:00am Wilder wakes up with leaky diaper. Change diaper and PJs since Shawn can't see without contacts

8:45am Wilder's awake, give bottle, bundle in coat

8:50am Clean up the recycling which is strewn all over the lawn because it's so windy; hands almost break off from the cold

9:15am Load up and take Shawn to work

9:20am Donut Whole stop

9:30am Feed Wilder breakfast while Skyping with Dee {lucky us!}

10:30am I eat breakfast, dress both of us, make meal plan/shopping list

11:00am Wal-Mart trip (ugh); can't find Mason jars; lose Wilder's shoe; find it

1:00pm Return home, unload groceries while Wilder takes said groceries back off the pantry shelves

1:15pm feed Wilder lunch, load dishwasher, one load of laundry

2:00pm Wilder down for nap; not sleeping because he's on a sugar high from sugar toast

2:10pm Watch Marley poop so he doesn't eat it

Thank God I whipped Shawn (by 15 pts) at Scrabble last night otherwise I'd be feelin' low and exhausted by now!
And thank God for donuts.
How are you this Wednesday? Better not be stressin' over the hollydays.

Thanksgiving at Momma and Daddy's!

I try not to wish for things I can't have, but, really, I would've been okay had Thanksgiving ran straight into Christmas this year. A month-long celebration. I love being at home. I love my family. I love having the same thing to eat (turkey, stuffing, taters, 7-layer salad, Daddy's homemade rolls, corn casserole, desserts galore) every year. I love those extra helping hands for Wilder.

And the safety net that, just for a little while, other people are "in charge."

We don't get out fine china or dress fancily (stay in our PJs most of the time). We avoid the Black Friday crowds and don't make our beds. We talk, talk, talk, watch sports and movies together. Then, poof, it's time to return to normal life.
I adore this picture. It is dark and blurry but that makes me love it more. Wilder and Grandpa Mustache are buds (they had just finished looking at the stars). Wilder's feet never hit the carpet the morning we left.Grammy's tub was much nicer than ours--not cold cast-iron like we have!
My best friend and sister, Erin (Sissy) told ongoing gross stories of her vet-tech job.
Megan, we missed you, especially during our sisters-only gab fest at the mexi restaurant.Oh, here's a peek at Erin and Ryan's Christmas photo shoot at Ryan's family farm. We had fun, except for dodging the cow patties part. I did not like that.
And that was our Thanksgiving.

Wilder update: he is still running fevers but started antibiotics for a sinus infection (hopefully that is all it is). We are holed up, again; please pray for 100% health for him. Also, he's working on a new tooth!