Emery's first blog post.

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Good job buddy! He actually got a toy laptop for Christmas, but he is fixated on the keyboard (which his does not have) so I figured I'd let him "type" something. He's much happier now than 30 seconds ago!

Merry Christmas from Winter Wonderland

An updated picture of the car, taken this morning!

From the side...

and Emery and I in front of the car.

Emery sitting in front of Daddy's tunnel, which is right next to the car in a giant snow drift.

Emery and I on the newly cleared steps (Thank you Owen!) in front of our apartment, the snow is higher than Emery! Finally, I leave you with a video of Emery playing in the tunnel. This is the closest I felt safe with letting him get to the snow. Owen was filming, please excuse the crookedness at the beginning of the video. Bear with it and it will right itself. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

We are snowed in!

This is our car, and our parking lot.

This is me knee deep in a snow drift right in front of our apartment. Emery is sitting on top of the snow drift. It's cold here. Can you tell?

In honor of our blizzard-like weather.....

...I've posted a new song. Also, if you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, you'll see a christmas-y me chasing around a gingerbread boy (Emery). It just captures things so well! ;)

The Croup

Yuck. Mommy does not like it!

Four days ago (Monday, the day after the snow came and canclled church) Emery woke up with a hoarse throat. I figured he just slept with his mouth open like I do and that was all. That night he was sooooo congested. Owen and I used the tag team method to administer saline drops and a rubber bulb syringe to try to offer the babe some relief. Nothing worked. He struggled all night to breathe. Tuesday he was more hoarse, and more congested. For the life of me I couldn't get any of that dang old mucus to come out of his nose. I figured he was having some post nasal drip issues. (sorry son, you look like Daddy but you ended up with mommy's post nasal drip issues, I hope you don't get my eyesight, impatience, stubborness or wisdom teeth either!) I called his pediatrician who couldn't see him right away, so I made an appointment (and we paid out of pocket!) with a Naturopathic Doctor who squeezed us in that afternoon. She was terrific! She told Emery exactly what she was doing before she did it, and was so helpful and reassuring. We left with herbs and homeopathics and a few tricks to try.

That night we took two long steamy showers with our little guy to try and help him breathe better. We burned some essential oil of thyme in a duiffuser. I couldn't sleep because I thought he was going to stop breathing in the night.

All of this led to much more nursing on Emery's part. That's basically all he's done since he got sick. No solid foods for him.

Yesterday Emery had a dentist appointment to follow up on the knocked out front tooth, and his pediatrician could fit him in (she's paid for by the state) so after grocery shopping we headed that way. Dr. Toledo heard Emery breathing for about 30 seconds and she said. "Poor baby, you've got Croup!" After a thorough examination (which he had already received the day before from Dr. Zeiman) we were told to keep him comfortable, offer him some steam, go for a walk outside in the cold air and all should be well. Also, Dr. Toledo suggested a dose of steroids, which would relax the trachea making breathing easier for Emery. They didn't have the oral, so our poor little guy got his first shot, ever. I cried, Emery cried, and then he breathed better. Last night he slept so well. I rested, finally.

Today he is breathing better, he's not as hoarse, and he's actually smiling a bit. He's still not 100% better, but he's definitely on his way back.

Why didn't anyone tell us how hard it is when little one's are sick?! You want so badly to make them feel better, but there isn't anything that you can do.

Now, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Sorry they're so tiny, they were taken with the cell phone. Enjoy!

A Christmas Revelation and some tunes

My friend Candice posts a song on her blog and changes it randomly. I loved that idea, and thought I might give it a go. The current song is Breath of Heaven, sung by Amy Grant. I first heard this song in high school when my pastor's daughter sang it at church. I loved how it was sung from Mary's point of view.
Now that I myself am a mother, this song has a whole new meaning to me. Christmas, after all, is all about that tiny little baby that was laid in a manger.
This year Christmas has become so much more real to me for the simple fact that Mary was a mother. She gave birth to the baby Jesus. The one who was sent to save us all from our sin. Isn't that an amazing thought?!
All of that hard work and pain I experienced bringing our beautiful little boy into the world, Mary also experienced as she brought Jesus into the world. Just as I nurse Emery, Mary nursed Jesus.
What a humbling and honorable thing to go through!

Merry Christmas!

Here is Mr. E all decked out in his hat and scarf that I made. They came in handy when we went on a outing recently.

We went to get a Christmas tree the other day. We had planned on "shopping around" for the best deal. Owen really wanted to drive up the mountain and go cut down our own tree, but I felt that Emery wasn't quite big enough, so we went to the Oxbow Rim Christmas Tree Farm. Once there we knew we didn't want to leave with out a tree. So much for shopping around huh?!

They give you the option of cutting your own (they provide the saw) or picking one from their "lot" that had been precut . This is Owen looking rather manly with the saw on his shoulder

Here is a picture of Emery and I amongst some of the trees. They were all really pretty, and most of them around 7 feet or taller.

We opted to pick one off the lot since the majority of the trees were fairly large, and it we didn't feel like strapping it to the top of the car. It fit in the front seat.

Once we got home, the boys built me a fire. (Owen doesn't like this picture, please ignore the underwear)

The obligatory standing by the tree shot.

The lights were put on...

and I started to decorate.

Of course, Emery had to help.

The finished product.

It's the perfect size!

It's official, Christmas is here!

Now, for all of you who haven't started Christmas shopping, or are looking for a way to save some money, or do something a little bit different this year, check out this information about Advent Conspiracy. Owen and I sort of participated last year, and are doing what we can this year as well. After you check that out, if you are wanting to do something a bit more meaningful than the usual Christmas hooplah check out ways for you to rethink Christmas. Our church created the second website. :)

Thanksgiving Owen style

This was our Chocolate Peacan Pie. Erin made an Eggnog Pumpkin Pie that we unfortunately didn't get any pictures of.

Rubbing the turkey down w/ the herbed brown butter, which included fresh sage, thyme, and some rosemary. Both on top, and underneath the skin for optimum coverage.

Some of the aromatics I used for the stuffing. To help keep it moist and infuse w/citrus and herb flavors.

Removing the trussing off of the finished product. A perfectly smoked turkey. Which I have to say came out as well as I could have hoped, and w/out a hitch. It was moist, tender, and had the perfect combination of flavors.