If you were here, you would have found me and two of my boys hanging out on the couch.  Yes, we have the cold that my oldest son had last week.  My two year old has croup and we're praying for a quick recovery for him and also that baby Sam does not "catch" anything. 

Tonight is our ladies Christmas cookie exchange at our Pastor's house.  I'm so disappointed I'm not able to go.  I have a basket of games and prizes for the ladies to play so my hubby will be taking it over when he gets home from work.  I really enjoy the fellowship and encouragement of our church ladies.   Godly friendships are so special to me!

Here is the basket:

    Some of the games are:

Candy cane necklace/Can't say the word COOKIE ~~  This icebreaker should be fun.  I tied a small candy to red and green plastic bead necklaces.  Each lady gets a candy cane necklace and instruction not to say the word COOKIE.  If a lady says COOKIE, she loses her necklace and the person who has the most necklaces wins a prize.

Birth of Jesus word scramble

Righ/Left Christmas cookie story ~~ One person starts with the gift and as the story is read the gift is past in the direction mentioned in the story.  The person who ends up with the gift after the story has ended is the winner.

Enjoy your weekend, friends!  Stay healthy.

I thought we were not going to get the yucky bug that has been going around at church...well, I should have known better.  My oldest has a cold and his voice sounds so scratchy.  Poor guy, he looks so pitiful.  He's resting on the couch and I just finished reading a great book that I found at the library. 

The pictures are so pretty!

Yummy cookies

My friend, Liza, made these cookies for a party at her house and they are so good that I had to make them.

**

Ghiradelli Double chocolate chip cookies

1 bag (11.5 oz.) bittersweet choc. chips

6 Tbsp. butter

3 eggs

1 c. sugar

1/3 c. flour and ½ tsp. baking powder mixed together

1 bag semisweet choc. chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

**Melt bittersweet chips and butter together.  Beat the butter and eggs together and add to the melted chocolate.  Add rest of ingredients; form into rolls 2” diam.   Put in the fridge for 1 hour, cut into 3/4" slices and bake at 375 degrees for 13 minutes.  (I didn't put mine in the fridge--I made drop cookies)

Hope you're all having a great week!  We put up our Christmas decorations last weekend--I'll post some pictures soon.   One last pic--baby under the tree

Can it be?   Our new baby is one month old.  Yes, it's true the baby has been growing and growing and growing!  He is truly a wonderful addition to our family.  Lately he's been sleeping around 3 hours at night and enjoys cuddling with his momma.  He's starting to coo and smile at me.  It melts my heart to see his little face smile!  In the picture above, I had just finished nursing him.  He's so happy because his little tummy is full.  Daddy keeps joking about his eyebrows...his little eyebrows are so fair it's hard to see them.

I remembered late Wednesday night that I wanted to make cupcakes for his one-month birthday celebration.  So, early Thursday morning I went to the grocery store and bought a chocolate cake mix, chocolate frosting and sprinkles.  Here is my 3 year old mixing the batter, I have such good helpers at my house.  Speaking of my little helpers, they are so proud of their new brother.  When we brought the baby to church for the first time, my oldest couldn't wait to show his new baby to all his friends.

Here is the birthday boy with his cupcake.  The shirt he is wearing is a 3-6 month...I can tell he's gaining weight because some of his 3 month clothes are getting too small.

No, he didn't eat any of his cupcake, but we sure enjoyed them!

Hey, bloggy friends!   I'm back--I actually have a few moments to play on the computer.  I had to laugh at my hubby's post...straight and to the point.  We are so blessed with this little guy...Samuel Gage is his name.  We named him after my grandfather.  It suits him quite well.  My grandfather cried when he found out we had named the baby after him. 

I got home Wednesday afternoon and the rest of the week felt like a blur.  If you had told me I would one day have four boys I would have said you're crazy!   He is fitting in so nicely--he's nursing well and keeping his momma up at night .  His big brothers are just in love with him. 

The doctor broke my water on Monday morning and I was hoping for a really quick labor and delivery.  My last baby was born in less than two hours and with two pushes.   My hubby and I did laps around the maternity floor in hopes that this guy would be born in record time.  After about four hours and two pushes he was born.  His poor little nose was bruised from the quick delivery.  His perfect little toes and fingers are a reminder to us of the wonderful gift from the Lord.

Have a blessed Sunday!   I'll post more pictures soon.  Take care!

"Children are an heritage of the Lord"~~Psalm 127:3

Waiting ... that's what we're doing around here!  The baby is not here yet, but he could make his arrival any day.  I had a doctor's appt. this morning and everything is progressing along.  I'm about 1 cm dilated and about 60-70% effaced.  My oldest son is so excited ... he said he's been patient for so long that he's having a hard time waiting for his new baby.  We set up the baby's port-a crib tonight and my 3 year old wanted to know how big his new baby is going to be.  It's so exciting to see their little faces light up whenever they talk about their new baby!

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him"     

~~ 1 Cor. 2:9

Oh, just a quick note about our day...today it rained!!!  Yeah!!!!  I think it's been several months since our last good rainstorm.  The boys were so surprised to see the soggy, wet ground.  My oldest commented that our lawn is turning into mud .  How could they forget our two years living on Kodiak Island where it always rained.  I lit several candles throughout the house--it's always so comforting and "homey" to have candles glowing throughout the house.

I hope you all have a great week!  I'll keep you posted of any baby news!!