Our Christmas Greeting

Here are the photos that made it to our Christmas card!

Christmas is a Comin'

and the geese are getting fat, please put a penny in the old man's hat . . . ." 
(Come on mid-1990's EHS chorus members!  Sing it with me!!)

So, how have you all been this week?

Life has been going pretty well around here.  Rachel has been a content baby and has been sleeping for three hour stretches at night--just as all of her siblings did as newborns.  I didn't even have to tell her that was one of the rules!  What a smart little girl.

(This photo didn't make the cut for our Christmas card, but it was my favorite.)
You know when you work and work on a puzzle and you think it is completed, only to get to the end to find out you are missing a piece right out of the middle?  Rachel is that piece in this crazy Melius family puzzle.  We're so glad God was keeping her safe in His plan for us all along! 
We are looking forward to seeing our families over the next couple weekends and Rachel's baptism on January 1.
May you have a blessed Christmas if I don't "see" you again before then!

Rachel Olivia has arrived!

Were you wondering what happened to me?  You probably guessed--baby decided to make her arrival on Wednesday morning! 

We actually went into the hospital to check if I was in labor on Tuesday.  I know that sounds crazy since it was my fourth time, but I just felt weird.  So, the nurses hooked me up to the monitor, but nothing was happening, so we were sent away. 

Since we were scheduled to be induced early Wednesday morning anyway and the road conditions weren't the greatest, we decided to spend the night in Aberdeen.

Thank goodness for Holiday Inn Express' Rapid Check Out because I went into labor at about 4am on Wednesday.  We went to the hospital shortly before our appointed time of 6:00am and Rachel Olivia arrived at 8:06am.  Now that's one efficient baby girl!

She was 8 lbs 7oz and 21 inches long.  She holds the Melius baby weight record by a pound.  I guess when you are the baby of four siblings, you have to arrive ready to hold your own.

We came home on Friday.  It was difficult to leave the cocoon of our quiet hospital room, but it was time to start our new adventure in a family of six! 

A Gingerbread Village

What was the very first thing in my WalMart cart on Wednesday?  A kit for a gingerbread village! 

I waited until Thursday after school to get this mother/child bonding project moving. 

After assembling the (admittedly simple) pre-cut houses with my very excited/loud potential gingerbread decorators hovering over me, and then having to wait an excruciatingly long hour to let the frosting/mortar harden, I started to question my sanity and that of the WalMart employees. 

(Really . . . shouldn't someone have stopped me from buying such a thing?  Did I really look emotionally stable enough to take on such a project with three children?  They don't let 16 year olds buy spray glitter, but they let a 9 1/2 months pregnant woman buy a GINGERBREAD VILLAGE KIT?  What kind of store policy is that?) 

Looking back on it, it really wasn't that bad, but I think next time I will assemble the houses before they come home since that part isn't all that much fun anyway.

So, fast forward to the fun part.  I turned all three of them loose with the included frosting and candy and the project took on a whole new spin.  They each chose their buildings, shared their decorations, made a huge sugary mess, and had a GREAT time!

 They were working so hard, they didn't even ask to EAT.  David called to say he would be late for supper and I told him it was OK since they were building a gingerbread village.  He didn't think I was serious.  Then he came home and found this:

a village complete with parking lots for trucks and machinery.  What else would a Melius Gingerbread Village include? 
(Landen took this photo and was so proud of the view overlooking the combine hopper.)

And then we ate, but they were too excited telling about their creations to eat much at all!

Will we do this again next year? 
Sure! 
Sometimes crazy ideas can turn out to be pretty good ones!

Help!

I just noticed today that links are showing up in my posts that I haven't put there.  (Words are different colored or underlined and take you to a web page or ad.) 
Just ignore these and I will see what I can do.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to get rid of these, please share!

Something New

Today Nathan will go to his first birthday party without mom or dad.  He has been excited all week, and a little nervous, too.
The party-goers will walk to the birthday boy's daycare after school.  Nathan remembered going to daycare a few times and, although he remembered it being a fun time, he was a little apprehensive about nap time.  Once I assured him that nap time would be over when they got there, he was just fine with that and looking forward to that portion of the evening.
He didn't quite know what to expect at the party either.  What would they do?  What if he didn't know the rules at their house?  How long would he be staying?
At first I was thinking to myself, "It's just a birthday party!  Why is he over thinking this and considering all of the worst case scenarios that his 6 year old brain can think of?"

I am so glad God kept His hand over my mouth because because before I could verbalize any of those thoughts, He turned on a BIG light bulb in my brain.  Not just a 100 watt either.  It was huge.  Brighter than a LED flashlight held inches from my eyes.  (Gotta love kids. . . .)

Why do I often have many of those same thoughts and fears when confronted with new and possibly really fun experiences? 
When I do have those times, I am often blessed with people who will listen to my fearful questions and reassure me/prepare me based on their own experiences.

What a blessing to be able to be that person for my children.  I hope I can be that person for others as well.

Once again, I am learning from one of my children this week.

It is OK to ask questions in order to make us feel reassured and prepared.  Let us be thankful for those people in our lives who encourage us to take the next step. 
Otherwise, we may allow fear to keep us from experiencing new things. . . like the best birthday party EVER.

And that would be a shame.

Tick . . . Tick

I have reached the ticking time bomb point of this pregnancy. 
It is the time when I don't want to make plans too far out in advance because there's a chance I may be otherwise occupied in the hospital. 
I already have one--possibly two--backup musicians lined up for our parish's Advent program on Sunday afternoon.  I have never had a baby this early (without induction), but still--one never knows.  After our dress rehearsal last night, I know the show can go on without me, but I still really hope to be there!
I have been nesting off and on for 9 months, but now I know it is getting down to the wire.  Keeping the house in order has been a constant project.  How do I really expect to keep a house in order for more than a few hours with a family living in it?  I know it is impossible.  Still, I try!  And, I do realize that no matter how much laundry I do today or next week, I will still probably end up not having something important washed and ready to wear for someone in the family!
I made a trip to Walmart yesterday.  At this point I could probably open a grocery store with the food in my deep freezer and pantry.  Squirreling away food for the winter isn't limited to this year (I hate pushing overflowing carts through snowy parking lots), but baby's imminent arrival has sure contributed to it!
This time bomb phase is also the point where everyone assumes I am having the baby as soon as I am not available to answer a phone call, if I show up a few minutes late to something, or if they see my name on their caller ID.  Lately I have started many a phone call/email with, "Sorry, no baby news yet."  I can almost feel the disappointment in their voices when they realize it is just me. 
I completely understand, though.  I do all of the same things when I'm waiting for my friends or family members to have babies, too!  There is an excitement in realizing that so much can change in a person's life at really any moment!
Now it is 8am.  Teresa has already been dusting for me this morning.  She must be nesting, too. 
I will try to blog tomorrow, but if I don't, don't get too excited.
I am probably just taking a nap . . . or vacuuming . . . or organizing my overflowing pantry shelves.

A Little Surprise

As I was going through my Facebook newsfeed yesterday morning, I saw something I wasn't expecting. 
Ignatius Press featured my recent "I Love this Advent Calendar" post/review on their Facebook page! 
I don't suppose this is a huge deal for many bloggers, but I haven't had any national attention for any of my posts before.  To be recognized by Ignatius Press was especially an honor!
People from nearly all 50 states visited that post yesterday.  Fun!

Making Room for (the real) Santa Claus

Every year, I have an unwritten rule that our home's Christmas decor is primarily Nativity centered.  I have a collection of many sets and place them around the house to remind us of the true reason for Christmas. 
Our children even received a Little People nativity set a few years ago.  I used to put it away, but now I let them play with it all year long.  One year we had all of the people accounted for except for baby Jesus.  We thought he might show up on Christmas morning, but I think it was closer to Epiphany when we finally found him!  (And, no, we weren't prepared with any gold, frankincense or myrrh!)
Any Santa related decor is pretty much limited to the stockings hung on our downstairs railing. 
I have absolutely NOTHING against Santa Claus.  He has been arriving at our house even before Landen was mobile.  (He brought a dump truck and construction hat that year.)  We follow the same rule in this house that I had growing up--"If you don't believe in Santa, you don't get anything from him."
As we we were returning from mass on Sunday, Landen started asking about how Santa Claus came about.  I had a vague recollection of the real St. Nicholas and how he helped the poor by leaving gifts for them.  I was stumped, though, when he asked me where the elves came in!
Today is the Feast Day of St. Nicholas.  I've been doing a little online research to learn more about this early bishop of the church and his life.  Some parts of the world open their St. Nicholas gifts on this day--Dec. 6--in order to focus more on Christ's birth on Christmas morning.  A fun custom that some families have is to leave a carrot or a bit of hay in the children's shoes on the eve of Dec. 6 (for St. Nicholas' horse).  Then they receive a small candy coin or treat in return in the morning. 
I would like to find a children's book on St. Nicholas and how he came to be our modern day Santa Claus.  If anyone has one they like, please let me know.   It would be a good reminder for our children to read it each year as we make our way through advent.
There is a lot of information on the history of St. Nicholas and how families celebrate this day around the world on www.stnicholascenter.org.  I found the following poem on the website. 
It is entitled "A 'Word' from 'St. Nicholas'".  Although the author is unknown, it is something St. Nicholas might have said and would want us to know in a world where Santa Claus and celebrating Christ on Christmas can sometimes seem so far apart.

In my own heart I cannot separate Christmas



from that Boy Child born in Bethlehem


some two thousand years ago.

I believe that Boy Child


was the Child of the Divine Mystery,


and He came into the world for love of us all.


I believe He came to bring healing,


forgiveness,


reconciliation,


freedom, and peace.

I believe He also came to invite everyone


to forget themselves and remember the needs of others.

For me, the religious meaning of Christmas


is a source of deep joy.

You must understand that my message


echoes the message of that Child born so long ago.


I am not the offspring of the Divine Mystery,


only His unworthy servant.

I am Saint Nicholas,


and the religious meaning of Christmas


will always be close to my heart.

Maybe our Santa Claus decor and the nativity sets can co-exist in harmony after all.   
I'm thankful for Landen's curiosity about St. Nicholas and getting me interested in the real story.  I didn't research far enough to get to the elf question, though.
Maybe I'll get to that one later!

Christmas Tunes

I hope you enjoy the Christmas tunes I added to the playlist this year. 
As with the rest of the playlist, there is a little something for everyone--even Grinches!

Collecting Data

Earlier today, Nathan was drawing charts on his Magna Doodle and "collecting data" like he does at school.  Landen, Teresa, and I took each of his surveys.  We had to choose our favorite foods a couple of times (we had three choices for each) and then what we liked to do most with our time. 
He was very formal with his survey taking and I was proud of his siblings for seriously answering his questions.
I found the last of these surveys to be the most interesting.
"Who do you like better--Daddy or Callie?"
Daddy won 2 votes to 1.
Who voted for the dog?
Not me!

I Love this Advent Calendar

Long before I knew our children would be so interested in advent . . . or blowing out candles . . . this year, I ordered this pop-up Advent Calendar from the Ignatius Press catalog. 

Until we made it to December 1, I was taking snippets from the Word Among Us meditations or reading a bit from Isaiah for our advent wreath time.  It was alright, but it was going over their heads (and attention spans).  I needed something more simply worded and geared toward children. 

Once December 1 rolled around, I unwrapped this calendar and found just what I was looking for for our family.

They like the pop-up design that will eventually make a nativity scene when all of the doors are opened.
I really appreciate the companion booklet.  Each day provides a Scripture passage, a short explanation/meditation, and prayer--just right for children to understand.  The calendar continues through

Epiphany and has one last reading for The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, which is on February 2 this year.

That's all I have time for today.  It is time for our advent wreath lighting. 
It's Nathan's turn to blow out the candle tonight. :o)