Christmas pictures

My boys on Christmas!

Mugging for the camera...

Ezra got a Craftsman tool work bench and tools for Christmas. He sees Daddy put nails in his mouth as he is working, so...

Delton made two tea rings. I'd have to say they were on par with the best I've ever tasted!

There is something about this age, something about Asher that makes my heart swell with pride and love. It is hard to express how much he is loved!

We had a great Christmas, and the festivities are not over yet. Enjoy the pictures.

For those of you who don't get Reader's Digest, here is a Christmas joke I keep laughing about...

Grandma decided not to buy gifts for everyone this year but just send them money. She sent the checks along with a note that said, "Buy your own gifts". A few months later, grandma was cleaning out some papers and found the checks she thought she mailed with the note... :)

A Day in the Life...

I was awakened at 5:30 a.m. by the sound of a little boy calling out. "Mom! Mommy! Da! Please!" It is so cute, but yet so annoying. I finally rolled out of bed at 6 or so, after having a little boy sit next to me for several minutes, talking about juice and "dark"- he wanted the light turned on.
Breakfast was eaten- the dishes piled in the sink, along with the dishes from supper last night. We played. Asher took a nap, Mom showered, Ezra played with the vacuum attachments in his crib.
I planned to work on Christmas cards while Ezra watched a "choo-choo" on Delton's laptop. My dad called, and I spent the next 20 minutes working on sending him pictures of everyone in my family for my parents Christmas letter that I was going to generate but couldn't. Long, boring story.
After helping my dad, I took a credit card, wet wipe, and a Curious George library book and tried to do some surgery on a book that should have been returned weeks ago (the library informed me I had exceeded the maximum number of times you are allowed to renew a book. I asked if there was anything they could do so I didn't incur a fee until I could get it in. They renewed it. :) Ezra had scribbled all over two of the pages. I don't know where I was, but he spent some serious time scribbling- he focused his attention on curious george who got more than his fair share of red crayon. I have been procrastinating cleaning the book. Good thing the library has a renewal limit...
Asher woke up. I decided to run errands. Dad Lehman agreed to watch Asher. Ezra and I went to Martins. He rode in the cart with a car in front- the main reason I go to Martins! The cashier forgot to ask for my Customer Card- I had to go over to Customer Service and wait in line, then wait while the accountant counted the money in the drawer. Saved 3.01.
Ezra ran away from me in the parking lot, so no "pop" at the bank. Unhappy child and mom drive to Christian bookstore. Along the way, I hear "pop?" multiple times, as well as please, and even see him sign "yes, ma'am!" Each time I said no, there was a new eruption.
I got exactly what I needed at the bookstore- it was a rush! I love spending money!
Get home with both boys- Ezra eats a piece of ham lunchmeat and his leftover eggs from breakfast in his highchair in the kitchen doorway as I nurse Asher in the living room. Ezra almost falls asleep in his highchair as I change Asher's diaper.
Both boys fall asleep. I eat lunch, do dishes, then hear Asher waking up. I put Asher in his exersaucer and work on Christmas cards. Asher gets fussy. I play with him, feed him, and put him to sleep again.
I sat down to work on Christmas cards again, but had to post all the threads of today that are running around in my mind.
Blessings to you. Have a great Thursday.
P.S. Ezra wakes up, and the day keeps on going...

Tradition

One of the last steps in making Tea Rings

Mom letting Ezra help with the process...

The new face of CenPeCo...

David (my brother) visited his girlfriend, Molly, in Italy, where she was studying for a semester. I look forward to hearing more about their time when I see them at Christmas. The little he has said about it makes it seem awesome- David loved every minute of it! In this picture, they are standing at the back entrance of a castle started in 1201. He said it had a moat and a drawbridge and everything. Amazing!

Daniel and Cynthia (law school grads) on the Pacific coast. Beautiful!

As the boys grow older, I have more of a desire to both pass down traditions and establish new ones for our family. My mom came down on Wednesday and we made Swedish Tea Rings, a Christmas tradition in my family. Every year, mom would make tea rings for Christmas. Tea Rings are made with a sweet bread dough. Butter, brown sugar, cinammon and raisins are spread on the rolled out dough. The dough is rolled into a log, formed into a circle, then cut partially and laid down on the pan. After it is baked, we drizzled frosting on it, then placed maraschino cherries on top. It seemed more like Christmas this year because there were tea rings in my home.

We have the Sollenberger Christmas gathering tomorrow. I am really looking forward to it. I love the festivities of Christmas. We keep our schedule pretty free, so the business of the Christmas season centers around family get-togethers, which I love. This year (finally!!) we get to have a Lengeman Christmas get-together at my parents. My brother and his girlfriend as well as my sister Krystal will be in from Iowa. That means that everyone except my brother and his wife, who live in CA, will be together. 8 out of 9- not too shabby. (By the way- my brother and his wife found out recently that they both passed the bar- three years of law school have paid off and they are done! My brother is now a District Attorney for Riverside County in California. I am so proud of him!)

Asher fell asleep a little before 6 this evening. Amazing. He woke up to eat at 8, then fell asleep so deeply I checked twice to make sure he was breathing! Ezra is asleep, there is Christmas music playing, the tree is lit, we are home, and I am at peace.

Blessings to you this Christmas Season.

Is there tuna in the pantry?

Ezra went to work with Delton Friday morning for a few hours. He had to take his tools with him!

Cousins!

I guess I forgot to say "Cheese"

Yes, we were tourists. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the bridge!

What a blur. Thanksgiving has come and gone, the weekend is over, and I am again able to focus on being a mom. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, visiting several sides of the family and enjoying the great fellowship and food.

On Friday, we drove to my sister's home. We spent the evening, and then Delton, Asher and I left for Long Island, New York around 11:30 a.m. We left Ezra with my sister, thinking that playing with cousins all day would be more enjoyable for him than 6 hours of driving. We went to Long Island to see a college roommate I hadn't seen in 10 years. She was having a baby shower and invited us. It was crazy, but we decided to do it. It was a wonderful time. We saw the New York City skyline, crossed the George Washington bridge, paid a huge amount of tolls, drove in city traffic, and arrived with no problems! We were at the shower for 4 hours (Delton hung out with her husband and his friends, thankfully!), then turned around and came home. Did you hear about the person who was trampled at a Walmart store? That happened in Long Island- a few minutes away from where the shower was located.

Asher had cried for about 45 minutes on the way to my sister's house the night before. Needless to say, we were a bit tense about the drive to the shower. God is sooooo faithful! Asher made one whimper in 6 hours. Seriously. He whimpered, I fed him, and he was good to go. He fell asleep on the drive home and slept the entire time. It was such a peaceful time. We actually had much more trouble getting home from my sister's house last evening- we hit crazy traffic on 81 as everyone (including us) was returning from their long Thanksgiving weekend.

I went shopping with my mom and sisters over the weekend. As I was trying some clothes on in the dressing room, I heard a woman in the next stall say the comment that I used as the title. She was on the phone with someone. I had to smile- what a random comment to overhear! I came away with some fun clothes from Kohl's, a birthday gift from Delton. Thanks, D!

P.S. I got some picture frames from Kohl's for a steal- 1.99 and 2.99 for $20 and $30 frames. If you are looking for frames, that may be a place to look!

Hope you had a great time this Thanksgiving. It is fun to start anticipating Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving

Ezra sitting in the same chair I probably sat in as a child, in the same senior citizen center where we have had my dad's sides Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember

Ezra, Talon and Cale-cousins and second cousins getting acquainted.

This is for you, Andrea.

My three youngest sisters. What a beautiful trio.

This is what Thanksgiving has looked like for me- at least until I met Delton! Now, we get to celebrate in several different ways and with several different sides of the family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another wonderful Thanksgiving is over. Delton and I are home, the boys are in bed, and we are about the finish "Rudy", a movie I first watched years ago and recently found on hulu.com.

We went to the Lehman side for brunch this morning, my dad's side in Harrisburg for lunch, then to mom and dad Lehman and Grandma Sollenberger's for supper. I paced myself very well throughout the day, but at the end of the third meal, I was completely overstuffed. I was miserable!!!

We have so much to be thankful for. I came home and saw that there is an ongoing incident in Mumbai (Kenya?) where many people have been killed. It always make me feel shaky when things like this happen. I hurt for those involved. Somehow, the fact that it is not on U.S. soil makes it easier for me to process the fear- when it is something that happens here, then it could happen to me, and I have a harder time dealing with it. All that to say, we have so much to thank God for. Even beyond circumstances, He is Good!!

Blessings to you! Thanks for reading my blog.

Today

Ezra decided to lay on the grass and look up at the sky. Delton and Asher joined him!

!!!!! ?????

I've been messing around with some photo editing programs...

Asher's 6 month picture. Too cute!!!

If I blogged everything I intended to blog, I would have used up all the available memory on this and have children who were seriously neglected. The problem is...when I do find time to blog, I either forget what I was going to blog, or don't have the time or energy to write anything of value. I'll stick with pictures until life settles down...

Some Pictures

We went to my parent's home to celebrate my dad and sister's birthday- both of them on the 18th.
4 of the 6 grandchildren.
So good to be together.
No- he doesn't always eat like this- but I had to take a picture before I corrected him!
Asher- still cute as a button!

I am in a quiet house. The boys are sleeping. I am going to take some time to sit and read a book that has been life-giving to me- Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. Here are some pictures that will give you a glimpse into life in the Lehman household.

Just one of them days...

Baby screaming in my arms
Toddler crying on my leg
Timer beeping, cookies done
I'm still praying, Jesus come!

Visiting with Family and other thoughts

My mom and Sister came for a visit yesterday. It was so nice to see them. Ange has a 4 year old and 3 month old, so Ezra and Asher both had someone to play with (although Asher and Cade didn't do much interacting).

I have started checking out Craigslist.com for free items. It's fun to see what people are getting rid off. A lot of the items say- it's on my front porch- come get it! A lot of people must check this out, because there are also a lot of posts that say- must be gone by tomorrow morning! It would be fun to see how much of the stuff really goes that quickly. It's a great place to look if there is something you need and don't care about the quality as much. I haven't found anything yet, but there is nothing I am looking for. I am hoping I find something I never knew I needed.

Both boys are down. I did the dishes, then sat at my desk. I had a nagging sense of guilt- that I should be doing something else. I never spend this much time uploading pictures, catching up with people on Facebook, checking craigslist, and organizing my desk. But, if I cleaned up the toys, did the dishes, and "puttered", I would have to do it all over again before Delton came home (and several times tomorrow, and the next day...), anyway. So, I am taking some time just to do what I never do. I think my motivation for this came from reading a Real Simple magazine. There were creative ideas for redoing wardrobes, decorating and such- all using the things you have around the house. It made me feel creative. I couldn't see the creative side of cleaning, so I'm not cleaning at the moment.

I'll have to delete this post eventually, or Ezra and Asher will grow up and say, "how could you, mom?" but for now- I let Ezra play in the bathtub while I bathe Asher. On Tuesday, I looked away for a second- when I looked back, Ezra had a cup with a hole in the bottom, full of water, held high over Asher's belly. So, as water is flowing down on Asher from the cup, Asher adds a stream of his own, arcing high over his head (understand what I'm not saying? :) I told Delton it felt like I was watching a water show. I had a good laugh at the absurdity and fun of life with kids.

So often I read parenting magazines or reader's digest or other magazines and come across websites that are great for this and that- websites I never knew existed. I plan on remembering them, but I never do. I've decided to start keeping track of these websites, so when I am planning a trip, or needing to compare prices on an item, or wanting to buy a bottle of expensive salad dressing (?) I will know where to look. Anyone have any interesting sites they are so glad they found. I love mint.com. It is a financial planning site- you can link all your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, etc. to this site, and it tracks when payments are due, how much you are spending in different categories, how much you are paying in finance charges, etc. A great FREE tool.

Well- I am going to go spend my free time somewhere other than on the computer. Don't worry- I'm not going to clean.

Walk Like a...Duck?

We have discovered that Asher likes to be soothed with an up and down motion rather than side to side. So, instead of standing still and gently rocking him back and forth (a very normal-looking position), I get to walk through my house looking like a duck. Or looking like a girl in my high school- but that's another story.

So- last week I was settling Asher, walking circles around the house, up and down, up and down. Step, dip, Step, dip (try it!). Ezra leaves his playing and falls in step behind me. I look back, and find my son copying my steps. Up and down, up and down. It's enough to make a mom laugh out loud. But I can't. I'm putting my son to sleep. Must be quiet. Must continue the duck walk.

Read the previous post...

So...I walked upstairs to use the bathroom before laying down. I paused outside Asher's bedroom and- yep- he was awake. So- no sleep for mommy!

Peace

The boys are asleep- I have transformed a chaotic downstairs into a place of peace and order. I am going to try and snatch a few minutes of sleep before they wake up. So why am I blogging when I could be sleeping?.....

Here is the picture...

Here is the picture I mentioned in the previous post. It is so good to be with family!!!
My family at my cousin's wedding this past weekend.

A new addition to the family...

Delton with his boys. He is a very proud daddy!
The newest addition to the Lengeman line...Cade was born to my sister on Wednesday. Welcome, Cade! He weighed 11 oz. more at birth than Asher did when Asher was born. What a difference three months makes!

Ezra and Asher

We visited my sister on Sunday to see Cade, then all went down to my parents house later to visit with my sister and brother and his girlfriend who were in from Iowa. 7 of my 8 siblings were there, along with my parents 6 grandchildren. Throw in two son in laws and one girlfriend, and you have a bunch of people! We took a group photo. I'll have to post it when I can get it emailed to me. It was a great time. Makes me wish we lived a little closer than two hours away. We did it in a day, but it makes for a long day!

Not a fan of inside pets...

For some reason, I can't upload pictures. We are all doing great- Ezra is talking more, Asher is smiling and cooing. I love it!
We looked at a house last night. Cutest little house with a yard that has a fairyland feel. However, the house hasn't been updated inside since it was built in the 50's, and they had cats living inside- and it reeks! It could be renovated and be wonderful- but I don't think it is the house for us. One of our desires is to live in community. It would be so easy to stay sheltered in this house, never interacting with our neighbors as there is so much shrubbery and foliage that you can hardly tell there is a house there. Since looking at that house last night, I have been sooo thankful for our current house. I hadn't really appreciated this house before, always complaining about the stark white walls and economy blue carpet. But- it is clean, it doesn't smell, and it is home!

It's been a while

Words fail me. I love this picture of Asher.
Our Ezra!
My sister gave us a tricycle. Ezra can't reach the peddles but loves being pushed around on it. Delton pushed him over to grandma and grandpa's to celebrate grandpa's birthday.

One of the reasons that I haven't posted in a while...my days have gone a lot like my day yesterday...the electrician showed up minutes before I had to leave for a dr. appointment, which was only 20 minutes after I found out Delton would be getting home late, and I'd have to feed everyone supper, load them up, and get going by myself. Add to this that the previous 20 minutes I'd spent talking to my landlord while Ezra, taking advantage of my distraction, walked a dozen pens and other odds and ends over to me, then deposited them all over our floor. So- my house is a wreck, the electrician is upstairs in the bedroom that hasn't been organized since we got back from our weekend away, Delton walks in as I walk out... Can you relate?

I have been thinking lately about different things that fall under the heading "You know you are a mom when...". My top answer would be- you know you are a mom when you enjoy walking the cart back to where it goes at the grocery store because it is the only time you have been all alone, outside, for months! I had assistance at the grocery store a while ago. They kindly offered to walk the cart back into the store for me. Before I could protest, they were gone. No!! I realized then that I was in need of some serious alone time! (has yet to happen. :) When Delton goes along with me now, he lets me push the cart back- he even suggested last time that I take it to the cart holder that is several rows away rather than the one right next to us! Anyway- that is my life with two boys.

I heard a quote recently- with children, the days are long but the years are short. A good reminder.

Pictures of the boys

2nd Cousins Ezra, Isaiah, and Nathan
Ezra and Isaiah take a ride!
My littler Asher!! This picture is so Ezra! He is staring at a poster board that lists all kinds of yummy things you can eat. We went to First Friday in Waynesboro last evening, and he wanted to eat everything! He loves food!

Peace and Quiet

My boys are sleeping right now. It is amazing how quickly the house is put in order once I have no distractions. Praise God for naps, and for the little boys that wake up needing their mommy!

Ezra's first haircut

The after picture
The before picture

Ezra received his first hair cut yesterday. I was so nervous to cut it, but it turned out so well! He looks so grown up! I saved a lock of hair- it doesn't look quite as red when it is short.

Labor info...

Look at Asher's face!

We are doing very well. Each day is an adventure- learning more about Asher (he is a great, very content baby) and how life works with two. Ezra is adjusting well. He is very affectionate to Asher.

Some details about Asher's birth...I woke Delton up early Sunday morning to fill Ezra's humidifier. Delton couldn't get back to sleep, so he went downstairs to read (this never happens!). I discovered he wasn't in bed a little while later. I was having trouble sleeping due to a dull pain in my stomach (!!!), so I joined him downstairs around 3:30 a.m. I had stomach pain the week before due to something I ate, so I didn't think much about my stomach pain- until around 4:30 a.m., when I realized that the pain came and went, and came and went. We started timing contractions, and called the doctor around 5:30 a.m. We felt a little silly, as I was 19 days early. But I was having strong contractions, and it seemed like my water may have broken. Mom and dad Lehman came a little before 6 to watch Ezra, and we headed off to the hospital, very aware that we may be sent home. But- we were in labor! When my sister found out we were headed to the hospital, she decided to come. It was wonderful to have her here for the delivery. Asher was born at 2:48 p.m. I had an epidural this time- and I highly recommend them!! It changed my labor. I enjoyed it, and knew when to push, unlike last time. Asher was perfect- no complications due to his early arrival. I had felt that he would come early- 19 days exceeded my expectations. By the way, Asher was due today!