Tag Archives: christmas

3-Gift Christmas

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This year is the start of something new for us.

Though it’s been in practice for some for many years, we never took part in it because 1) we didn’t have a kid and 2) we just didn’t do it for ourselves. I’m not sure what it’s called, but I’m calling it the 3-Gift Christmas. The principle behind it is that children receive three gifts, just as Jesus received from the wise men (granted, He was a toddler by the time they found Him, and it may not have been on His birthday that He received them, but they were given in celebration of His birth, so… you get the idea). Here’s an explanation from another blogger:

*“Every Christmas our five children receive three gifts: one “gold” gift, the big item they are longing for; one “myrrh” gift, which is for their body, such as clothing; and one “frankincense” gift, for their spiritual growth.

My sister in law did this with her son, and we have chosen to start this year with BabyK. Granted, he won’t know much about it, so we’re not going “all-out”. Just the basics – a big toy, spoons & mess-catching bibs (since we’re introducing food), and books. I’m sure our other family members will be giving other things, so it actually helps cut down on all the over-load.

I can remember counting gifts each year to see “who got more” than the other. I remember the count being “9″ one year, and that was just the ones from Santa. By the end of the day, my entire bed would be covered in stuff. Being a kid, you don’t think much about things like poverty and not having the ability to give, you sort of think of “Look at all the stuff I got!” or the lack thereof. Well, I’m hoping that by doing this, we can help teach BabyK that gifts are nice, but they aren’t the center of what Christmas is about.

And, since it is so close to Christmas, I am going to be taking some time off from the online world to focus on family. This year has taught me a lot about the importance of being there for those whom you love and trust, and to not take any chance you have to spend time with them for granted.

So, Merry Christmas to you guys – my “other” family. I hope you have a wonderful, safe, and joyous Holiday.

An Almost White Christmas

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hollyberryI hope everyone had a nice vacation/holiday/Christmas! I enjoyed being able to stay at home with Erik with nothing much to do other than sleeping (which has become my favorite past time!). We did our yearly Christmas rounds and watched most of the 24 hour “A Christmas Story” special that comes on every year starting Christmas Eve night. He and his family have a tradition of watching this movie. I don’t like watching it personally – it’s a cool movie and all, but not for 24 hours – but I figure it’s one of those things you just let them have their joy.

snowYesterday was a beautiful day though. You know how I keep talking about wishing and wanting snow? Well, we got it! And the day after Christmas at that! It was so exciting for us to see. (All across America I can hear a collective sigh among you guys.) And, it snowed for the rest of the day. AND it was still on the ground this morning when I left home to boot! We usually, if we get any snow and IF it sticks, will have it for a few hours one day and it’s gone. Now, granted, the sun is back out today and most of it will probably melt by lunch, but it was the most awesomest Christmas present ever to have yesterday. We got some pictures and played a little while, though I had to take it easy because I almost busted my tail taking pictures.

I got up this morning and weighed myself just knowing that since I had used a couple of my nausea pills that I might have gained at least a pound over the Christmas holiday with all the eating that is a must during this time. Nope – I’ve lost another three pounds. But looking back, I’m still eating less than I used to because of the glorious (can you just see my eyes rolling with that one?) morning 24×7 sickness. It has photo[1]gotten better, but it’s still there. I’m learning what foods are okay and what to leave the room when being cooked. I have started picking up those little bottles of Special K protein shakes and drinking half of one with my meal (which mostly consists of either crackers, grits, or rice) to try and get some kind of protein in me that I can stomach since most are off-limits for the next few weeks (well, hopefully only that long!). I do think that switching vitamins helped though. The sickness is still there, just not nearly what it used to be. If I had known that, I would have asked for those “horsepills” a lot earlier!!!

Otherwise, diabetes has been behaving for the most part. I will have to change a few basals in the early morning hours as I am waking up low around 3:30am, but otherwise things seem to be doing very well right now. We’ll know more when the next A1c comes back. Speaking of A1c’s, remember I was waiting on my other one to come back? Well, for those of you who don’t follow me on twitter, it came back at 6.7. I was very upset with myself because the one time I decide to take a little break, I end up pregnant and it’s higher than it needs to be. The OB wants to re-do the test at my next visit to be sure it’s coming back down, and my endo assured me that though it did jump, it’s okay, and to keep faxing in blood sugars once a week. (I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. I love my endo!)