Merry (Digital) Christmas! Enjoy this modernized rendition of the birth of Jesus. :-)
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![Eternal Outlook [with Angela]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZSsopFkIjSTQ0Jfl0qkGzXGqkas7MaAv980lOX4Co75X2tY8PKsmTl-m9TEKsUxVutyLdT0M6BCQwwSpGU8krP51FS-w8RZyjuUr8Bp3DQJ33Ojga2aFjqoseBGGKS0_3vZdtrf8fEP1/s1600/Angela%2527s+Header+2011-1.jpg)
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas!
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| (Front to Back) Isabel, Amariah, Abel, Elliana |
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| (L to R) Amariah, Abel, Isabel, Elliana |
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
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Wednesday, December 22, 2010
18-Month Stats
Yesterday, I took Isabel and Elliana to their 18-month well child exams. Here are their stats!
Isabel (18 months)
Weight: 18 lbs 8.3 oz (< 1st percentile)
Height: 30 1/4 in (10th percentile)
Elliana (18 months)
Weight: 21 lbs 13.4 oz (15th percentile)
Height: 32 1/4 in (60th percentile)
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Isabel (18 months)
Weight: 18 lbs 8.3 oz (< 1st percentile)
Height: 30 1/4 in (10th percentile)
Elliana (18 months)
Weight: 21 lbs 13.4 oz (15th percentile)
Height: 32 1/4 in (60th percentile)
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Tuesday, December 21, 2010
It Takes Hard Work
Just when I thought I was finally getting into an "easier" stage of life, life reminded me that each stage presents new challenges. Yesterday was yet another reminder of that truth.
It started at the chiropractor's office when Elliana pulled all of the various sizes of exam gowns off their shelves and into one big pile on the floor... and then when Isabel threw a foot-stomping fit in the lobby, lost her footing, and fell face first into a ceramic vase, cutting her lip and coming up with a with a mouth full of blood.
It continued in the Wal-Mart parking lot when, as I was loading Isabel into her car seat, I turned to find Elliana standing in the empty cart basket where I had left her, giving me visions of a tipping cart and a falling child... and again in the Hy-Vee parking lot when my sweet Amariah (who is suffering with a sinus infection) began sobbing with pain while Isabel threw another fit, Elliana again dared gravity (this time standing in the top part of the cart), and Abel yelled above the noise in a plea for silence.
Yes, yesterday morning I felt like a walking advertisement for a negligent, pulled-in-too-many-directions mom.... Not the kind of image I want my family and myself to portray....
Was it humiliating? Yes. Eye-opening? Yes.
I have come through some tough stages of motherhood, but yesterday's not-so-impressive public displays certainly didn't portray that the current one is "easy." It isn't. And it shouldn't be, because raising well-trained, happy, obedient children requires hard work.
When Isabel threw her fit in the chiropractor's office, I wasn't working hard. In fact, I was taking the easy way out, doing something that I don't even approve of--ignoring it and hoping it would go away. And what was the consequence of my laziness? She fell and got hurt. I must say that I felt I somewhat deserved the extra embarrassment that came to me, because I should have handled Isabel's naughtiness differently--or maybe I should say, handled it period....
I may be past the "hard" stage of twin infancy. And, I may be done with the "hard" stage of breastfeeding twins. But now is certainly not the time to look for "easiness." Instead, now is the time to gear up and to buckle down, because I have some hard work ahead of me. Just ask anyone who saw my advertisement yesterday.... Eek.
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It started at the chiropractor's office when Elliana pulled all of the various sizes of exam gowns off their shelves and into one big pile on the floor... and then when Isabel threw a foot-stomping fit in the lobby, lost her footing, and fell face first into a ceramic vase, cutting her lip and coming up with a with a mouth full of blood.
It continued in the Wal-Mart parking lot when, as I was loading Isabel into her car seat, I turned to find Elliana standing in the empty cart basket where I had left her, giving me visions of a tipping cart and a falling child... and again in the Hy-Vee parking lot when my sweet Amariah (who is suffering with a sinus infection) began sobbing with pain while Isabel threw another fit, Elliana again dared gravity (this time standing in the top part of the cart), and Abel yelled above the noise in a plea for silence.
Yes, yesterday morning I felt like a walking advertisement for a negligent, pulled-in-too-many-directions mom.... Not the kind of image I want my family and myself to portray....
Was it humiliating? Yes. Eye-opening? Yes.
I have come through some tough stages of motherhood, but yesterday's not-so-impressive public displays certainly didn't portray that the current one is "easy." It isn't. And it shouldn't be, because raising well-trained, happy, obedient children requires hard work.
When Isabel threw her fit in the chiropractor's office, I wasn't working hard. In fact, I was taking the easy way out, doing something that I don't even approve of--ignoring it and hoping it would go away. And what was the consequence of my laziness? She fell and got hurt. I must say that I felt I somewhat deserved the extra embarrassment that came to me, because I should have handled Isabel's naughtiness differently--or maybe I should say, handled it period....
I may be past the "hard" stage of twin infancy. And, I may be done with the "hard" stage of breastfeeding twins. But now is certainly not the time to look for "easiness." Instead, now is the time to gear up and to buckle down, because I have some hard work ahead of me. Just ask anyone who saw my advertisement yesterday.... Eek.
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Monday, December 20, 2010
Family Christmas 2010
The Christmas fun has begun!
As has become a tradition in our house over the past few years, the Saturday before Christmas (or, more accurately, the Saturday before our Christmas travel) is a special day in the Squires household. It is the day that Travis and the kids and I celebrate our family Christmas! This past Saturday was that very special and memorable day for us.
On Saturday morning, we woke up and started our day as usual. I got myself ready and then hit the kitchen to prepare a quick and easy but yummy breakfast of ham and egg sandwiches. After breakfast, we dressed the kids in their Christmas outfits. turned on our Chris Tomlin Christmas CD, and gathered in front of the tree for a family picture;
a reading of the Christmas story (In the past, Travis has read to us straight from the Bible; but this year, we read this great children's book called The First Christmas by Carol Heyer. It is a complete and accurate retelling of the Christmas story and is beautifully illustrated.); a short time of prayer; and, of course, gift opening!
Each of the kids got three gifts from Travis and me, and their excited and thankful reactions to each were enough to bring tears of happiness to my eyes. It just feels good to give good gifts to our children, doesn't it? And, of course, our ability to give them material blessings made me thankful once again for God's provision in our lives.
After opening gifts, I served a nice but easy lunch; and then while Isabel and Elliana took their afternoon nap, Abel and Amariah played with their new toys. That evening, we went to Carlos O'Kelley's for dinner (A nice meal out has also become a part of our family Christmas tradition. It's something we don't do very often, and it enables us to spend more time as a family and less time working in the kitchen.); and, afterwards, we drove around looking at Christmas lights.
Oh! And, I'll bet you are wondering what Travis and I got each other for Christmas! Well... we haven't really done gifts for each other over the past several years. But, this year, we decided to get ourselves a joint gift--this Nikon Coolpix S8100 camera! Of course, we "opened" our gift prior to Saturday so that we could familiarize ourselves with it and use it to capture Saturday's memories. :-)
And, a memorable day it was!
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As has become a tradition in our house over the past few years, the Saturday before Christmas (or, more accurately, the Saturday before our Christmas travel) is a special day in the Squires household. It is the day that Travis and the kids and I celebrate our family Christmas! This past Saturday was that very special and memorable day for us.
On Saturday morning, we woke up and started our day as usual. I got myself ready and then hit the kitchen to prepare a quick and easy but yummy breakfast of ham and egg sandwiches. After breakfast, we dressed the kids in their Christmas outfits. turned on our Chris Tomlin Christmas CD, and gathered in front of the tree for a family picture;
Each of the kids got three gifts from Travis and me, and their excited and thankful reactions to each were enough to bring tears of happiness to my eyes. It just feels good to give good gifts to our children, doesn't it? And, of course, our ability to give them material blessings made me thankful once again for God's provision in our lives.
After opening gifts, I served a nice but easy lunch; and then while Isabel and Elliana took their afternoon nap, Abel and Amariah played with their new toys. That evening, we went to Carlos O'Kelley's for dinner (A nice meal out has also become a part of our family Christmas tradition. It's something we don't do very often, and it enables us to spend more time as a family and less time working in the kitchen.); and, afterwards, we drove around looking at Christmas lights.
Oh! And, I'll bet you are wondering what Travis and I got each other for Christmas! Well... we haven't really done gifts for each other over the past several years. But, this year, we decided to get ourselves a joint gift--this Nikon Coolpix S8100 camera! Of course, we "opened" our gift prior to Saturday so that we could familiarize ourselves with it and use it to capture Saturday's memories. :-)
And, a memorable day it was!
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Friday, December 17, 2010
Kids Say, vol. 9
Me (to Isabel and Elliana): "Who pooped?"
Elliana (stepping forward): "I."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elliana is almost always the first of the four kids to wake up. I know she's awake when I hear, "Iiiizaba. Iiiizaba. Iiiizaba."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Travis and I made the decision before our kids were ever born that we weren't going to celebrate Santa Claus. Instead of teaching the kids to "believe in" Santa, we've always told them that Santa is just make-believe and that people like to pretend he is real just for fun. So, in other words, we haven't attempted to "shelter" our children from Santa Claus--that would be impossible. Instead, we have simply told them the truth about Santa from the beginning. The other day at breakfast, I decided I ought to sing the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to the kids since they had never heard it before. It's a cute song and a fun story, right? After singing the song several times (repeating it at the request of Amariah), it dawned on me that although we've told the kids about Santa himself, we've never really told them about Santa's reindeer. I began to explain about Rudolph's nose being like a red light bulb that helps Santa see up in the sky. Then, just when I thought the kids would be somewhat awed at the mystical story of Rudolph, Abel interjected, "And who would think reindeer could fly, anyway...."
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Elliana (stepping forward): "I."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elliana is almost always the first of the four kids to wake up. I know she's awake when I hear, "Iiiizaba. Iiiizaba. Iiiizaba."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Travis and I made the decision before our kids were ever born that we weren't going to celebrate Santa Claus. Instead of teaching the kids to "believe in" Santa, we've always told them that Santa is just make-believe and that people like to pretend he is real just for fun. So, in other words, we haven't attempted to "shelter" our children from Santa Claus--that would be impossible. Instead, we have simply told them the truth about Santa from the beginning. The other day at breakfast, I decided I ought to sing the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to the kids since they had never heard it before. It's a cute song and a fun story, right? After singing the song several times (repeating it at the request of Amariah), it dawned on me that although we've told the kids about Santa himself, we've never really told them about Santa's reindeer. I began to explain about Rudolph's nose being like a red light bulb that helps Santa see up in the sky. Then, just when I thought the kids would be somewhat awed at the mystical story of Rudolph, Abel interjected, "And who would think reindeer could fly, anyway...."
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Thursday, December 16, 2010
"Be Someone's Miracle"
In Tuesday's post entitled "Much is Required," I mentioned a video that was played at our church's Christmas Sweet event; and since then, I have learned where to access the video in order to share it with the readers of Eternal Outlook! The acting isn't great, but the message is. I hope you'll take time to watch this 4 1/2-minute video that touched my heart and that played a big part in God reminding me that to whom much is given much is required (Luke 12:48). (The video starts playing as soon as the page loads, so make sure to have your sound on... and a tissue in hand. :-))
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