Christmas Traditions

How John hangs outdoor Christmas lights:
1. Measure the house.
2. Count the number of snowflake/lights.
3. Calculate the proper spacing between snowflakes in inches.
4. Mark the intervals with masking tape.
5. Hang the light clips on the tape marks.
6. Attach the snowflakes in a beautiful array--
perfectly symmetrical, mathematically correct, and aesthetically pleasing.

How Sarah hangs outdoor Christmas lights:
1. Pull them out of the box and (sort of) untangle the cords.
2. Talk to the neighbors while clipping them onto the house haphazardly.
3. Tug them into a generally even-spaced placement.
4. Ask the neighbor's opinion...Do you think they're spaced okay?
(He told me that a little imperfection makes it look more charming. Thanks, Mike!)
5. Plug those puppies in. They look pretty in the dark, anyway!

Remember Baby Peter?

So Cute...

Peter is Seven!

What a week! On November 19 Peter turned seven years old. We've been celebrating in full force for several days now. Last Friday after school we celebrated at Going Vertical, a sports/training facility. His good friend, Austin, also has a November birthday, so we had a joint sports party with all of their good buddies. Twelve boys, one trainer, and two all-time-quarterback-dads had a blast on the field turf playing football and dodge ball. After the contests they cooled down with pop and football-themed cookies (with GOBS of frosting). Peter was in bliss!

Peter with Austin

Tuesday night Peter and I went to the grocery store to choose a special birthday cereal (sugary, of course) and cake. We baked the cake before going to bed, but the frosting had to wait. Bummer! He was looking forward to licking some!

Wednesday Peter woke up to streamers and balloons hanging over his bed. The birthday fairy likes to sneak in and decorate at night, just as she did when I was a kid! We had the special cereal for breakfast and then went to the Wheeler book fair before school. He chose two favorite books before heading upstairs for class.

At lunch Clara, Jonas and I brought pizza to school and ate with Peter in the cafeteria. Then we played outside for recess--Peter played football while Clara ran around with some of the big kids. After recess we went into Peter's classroom and had b-day treats with his class. They all sang to him, and he passed out Rice Krispie Treats and Capri-Sun drinks to everyone. Fun!

After school we played outside, walked home, and made preparations for evening dinner. Finally a lick of that frosting!!! Peter is the perfect age to enter into the excitement and anticipation. What a joy! When John came home we had a brief family dinner complete with cake, candles and presents. We gave him a super-cool Patriots football jersey which he loved! Then off to basketball practice, Awana, and home for bed. Whew!

Thursday after school we had two buddies over for popcorn and a movie. Then at 6:00 Grandpa & Grandma, Daniel and Micah came for supper and celebration. Peter requested school-style sausage pizza (how do you even replicate that?), Pringles, and cake and ice cream. We all sang and celebrated, and he loved being the guest of honor. Cool presents were opened--Martian Matter game, drum sticks with practice pad, and Wall-E movie--and played with immediately following supper. It was hard to go to bed after all of that!


Happy Birthday, Peter Meshach! We love you always and forever.

Values, According to Corduroy Bear

Disclaimer: I have to get this preaching out of my system...
Please skip this entry if you feel so inclined!

We recently bought a book about Corduroy the bear--Corduroy's Best Halloween Ever! Seems like darling, wholesome fun with good family values, right? Wrong!

As the story unfolds, Corduroy's friend (Puppy) comes to his house with a damaged (unusable) costume, so Corduroy offers his own for Puppy to use. Nice idea! Here's the dialogue that follows:

"Really?" said Puppy. "But Corduroy, what will you wear?"
"Don't worry. I have an idea," said Corduroy.
But he didn't, really. What would he wear?

Later in the story he finally comes up with an idea for another costume, and everything works out in the end. Seems nice? Warm and fuzzy? Look a little deeper...

Lesson 1: Lying is okay if you can get away with it.
In this case, it seemed to be for Puppy's benefit. He may not have accepted Corduroy's gift (or may have felt like a burden) if he knew it was his one and only costume.

Lesson 2: Giving can never be selfless. Generosity is motivated by excess, not sacrifice.
It would have been okay to offer the costume if there were many available, but not only one.

And why do I take it so seriously? Because this is exactly the tainted value system that we (and our children) are immersed in daily. Because with this mentality, humanity will never even come close to comprehending God's truth and love. How can we possibly embrace the fact that God is truthful? No one tells the truth all the time. How can we understand perfect, selfless love and sacrifice? We don't even know what that looks like. On and on the implications flow...little by little our vision is clouded.

I am sorry to say that "Relativity" Corduroy will be asked to leave this house. Too bad. He seemed like such a cute guy.

According to Clara...

TV shows we're not allowed to watch:
“They don’t believe in God.”

Eating a banana in the peel:
“I want it in the bun.”

Eating an apple:
“I don’t like the crust.”

Looking at a tag I cut off a comforter:
“Is it according to the Scriptures?”

What happens if someone smokes?
“They have to go in a wheelchair if they do that.”

Isn’t the mind of a child so fun!

Precious Clara

From Fall 2008

Our conversation at breakfast this morning:

Clara: Remember when we talked to that man in the bushes?

Sarah: What man? I don’t remember that…

Clara: He was in the bushes.

Sarah: (getting a little concerned about child predators in the bushes!) That doesn’t sound very good. I don’t usually talk to men in bushes.

Peter: She’s talking about Moses and the burning bush!

(Laughter and relief!)
I guess that MAN in the bush is okay to talk to…there are always exceptions!

Froggy Friend of the Week

Hi Friends! It's been a VERY long time! I'm (Sarah) going to start a new blogging strategy to keep me dilligent. Hopefully I can turn over a new leaf!

Last week as I was mowing the grass I saw a little frog hopping across the back yard. Trying to be fun, I stopped the mower and caught it for Clara. She was thrilled! We put it in a little plastic box and poked holes in the lid for fresh air. Clara put some handfuls of grass, a few leaves, and some water in the box to keep froggy happy. What a find!

She checked on it throughout the morning, and eventually brought it into the house at lunch time. (Our fuzzy caterpillar died in the sun the day before, so she was worried about a similar fate for froggy.) I allowed her to place the box on the entry rug by the back door, intending to put him outside in the shade at nap time. You can guess the blunder...

After tucking Clara in for naps, I went to check on froggy. Imagine my disgust when I realized he was no longer in his little home! Surely he wasn't small enough to wriggle through one of those little air holes! So what's the worst thing that could happen? Either we will accidentally step on him (creepy!) or he will hide somewhere and eventually die (stinky!). In my mind, it was lose-lose. Why did I let that creepy thing come inside in the first place? Lesson learned.

I called John at work, freaked out a little bit, and eventually carried on with the day--watching my step VERY carefully! As I was changing Jonas's diaper I prayed, "Lord, I don't know what's better, dead or alive. But PLEASE, I have to find that frog!" As I turned to leave the room, there was froggy sitting on the floor right by the door! Bless the Lord! He is sovereign, even over our little froggy!

In the future I will not allow critters into the house. But I'm so thankful for this little froggy. What a completely thrilling and unexpected way for God to reveal himself to me!

Stay tuned for my future posts...
Gotcha Stickers
Static at the Pump

Where's John?

I know it looks funny to post a family photo without John here. Maybe it's payback for not putting Jonas on the blog for such a long time? Not really...We gave the photo to John for Father's Day. Cute office decor!

We're really enjoying summer so far...

Peter is busy with baseball and swimming lessons. He recently lost his two bottom teeth, and is convinced that every other tooth in his mouth is loose now too. He has also mastered Mario Brothers on his Nintendo DS, and is branching out to new games now. If only he had unlimited resources to buy all those expensive games. For now, Blockbuster has a good rental plan. Fun times!

Clara enjoys her gymnastics class, and discovered the Olympic trials on TV. She likes to copy the routines as the gymnasts perform. Cute! This week she was diagnosed with asthma, so we're learning all about proper treatment and potential triggers. I'm so glad to have a diagnosis so we can carry forward with a plan of action. Hopefully we'll have a good handle on it by the time preschool starts this fall.

Both big kids are in VBS this week, and like to swim, go to the library, play outside, and eat popsicles constantly! They are much happier when friends are here to play with, and would plan a party every day if they could. It's so fun to have such social and active kids!

Baby Jonas is four months old today! He is growing and changing so much. He HATES tummy time, LOVES to be up in the exersaucer, and is trying to grow up way too fast. He has HUGE blue eyes that melt your heart, and likes to coo, giggle, and smile a lot. Fortunately, he also has a very high tolerance for noise and activity. (Does he really have a choice with two older siblings)? He is such a precious and happy boy...a great addition to the family! We are so thankful for him!

John will start a new position at UP next week (Controller of Streamline, a division of the UP finance department). We are very excited for the opportunity, though he is admittedly a little bit nervous about the transition. I know he will do a great job, and make a super addition to the Streamline company. Go John!

I am a blessed woman! I stay plenty busy as CEO of the family; keeping track of activites, sports, classes, Bible study, playdates, doctor's visits, library books, uniforms, sun lotion, meals, laundry, diapers, and all manner of other tasks. Hopefully I can add Blog updates to my list as well, if any of you readers are still out there...

Quick Update

I guess once you get out of this blogging routine it is hard to get back in. Not that we were really on top of it to begin with. Things are going well for the Caruso Clan. Jonas is sleeping in about 4 hour chunks when we are lucky. This past weekend we went to North Platte to visit my brother and his family. Things went great and it was a good trip. Not much else has been going on except for child rearing. Oh one big thing is we might get Clara p-trained before summer...she is a tough nut to crack, very stubborn. That will make things much easier, I think. Anyway, that's it.

It's Been Awhile

Okay, so it’s been how long since our last post…over a month. Well if anyone is still checking, here is an update. This last month has kind of flown bye in one way, and has been about the longest month of my life in another way. It has been very nice showing off our newest addition, visiting with family and friends, and celebrating Easter. It hasn’t been very nice, not getting sleep, dealing with sickness and other medical issues, and playing the “why is Jonas upset now” game (most know this one or some variation of: is he tired, is he wet, is he poopie, is it the bottle that gives him gas, too hot, too cold, processing the day, not enough sleep, too much sleep, etc….). So here are some updates by person:

John – I was sick, but am now better. Nothing else to report.

Sarah – Her medicated BP is fine and goes into the doctor soon for an update. She was sick and is now better. Her sister came into town and that has been a big deal. She isn’t sleeping much, but who is. Her Bells Palsy appears to be better. She went to the Quilt Building opening in Lincoln where her grandma has a reading room named after her (she’s a big deal in the quilting world and has donated a lot of time and resources to the project).

Peter – The only one not sick. He started baseball practice this week and is very excited. He is the superstar of the week for his class (which is a big deal for him). He went to about 8 birthday parties this month which provided a lot of good times (I don’t remember so many parties when I was a kid). It is getting warmer and he loves being outside.

Clara – Has been sick twice, and is now better, but just give it another week and she will be sick again. This one seems to have an issue every two weeks or so. She has had a lot of Grandma time, which has been priceless for Sarah’s rest. She also is looking forward to the warmer weather and being outside.

Jonas – He is still sick, but getting better. His jaundice has cleared up. Other than that it has been: sleeping, pooping, peeing, crying, and being held. A pretty good life I’d say.

Well that’s a quick update for the month. More to come soon….this Friday will be Sarah and my 10th wedding anniversary, maybe that will be a good topic to blog on.

Jonas is Here!

Well after the disappointment of not having Jonas on Friday, the Lord once again proved that it will all be done on His timetable. Sarah went into labor at church this Sunday, so we went into the hospital thinking it was nothing. Well about five hours later we had our boy delivered via c-section. Jonas Ethan Caruso was 6lbs 13oz and was 20 in long. He started out with some labored breathing, but has come along nicely, praise God! Sarah is doing wonderful as well, and has already taken quite a few steps walking around her room. Thank you all who have kept us in your prayers, we are confident that made a difference! Well this post won't be long. We are spending time at Methodist resting and getting to know baby Jonas. We would love for you all to meet him when we get home (probably Thursday). We have posted some pictures on Picasa, and I think you can get to them by clicking on the picture below.

It's a Van!

Well, I know you were all looking for some good news today, so here it is: It's a van! Instead of meeting our new baby boy this week, we purchased a new mini van. Cool! It took us a while to get used to the idea, but it seems like the wisest investment for our growing family at this stage of life.

It's actually a thrill to think about our need for a van. The last time we went car shopping we had only one child. We wondered if Peter would be our one and only? We only needed 3 seats--why in the world would we need a huge 7-seater van? But now, as God has poured out his blessing on our family, we will actually use most of the seats!

So, John thinks we're really (not) hip now. Were we ever?

I think it's great! I love the power doors that the kids can do safely and independently. I love the power lift-gate in the back so I don't have to get my hands all dirty. I love the way the seats fold into the floor if we need to make more room for cargo. I love the DVD player (still on order, to be installed soon) for entertainment on long road trips. Is this luxury or what? And it's pretty too. I'm sold!

So here's our newest addition...


And here's me now...
Jonas and I are still sharing a seat for a little bit longer!

Bummer

Just a quick post to let all of you know that we will not have our baby tomorrow. Sarah had the amnio this morning and the results showed that the lungs weren't quite developed enough (a score of 45 out of 55 although I am not sure what that means). Anyway, our doctor is on vacation next week, so the due date will now be on March third. That is unless the Lord has something else in mind. I think all of us are pretty bummed about the delay. It is funny when we think we have control. Would we be upset at this point if we were doing a natural vaginal birth? Another eleven days of worry, anxiousness and prayer. Throughout this process we have continually been reminded of Gods grace toward our family, and we have put our trust in Him that His will be done. We ask for continued prayer that this will be the case.

Clara Turns Three!

Clara is having a great month! She's been wearing princess costumes daily, hanging around the house with Mommy, and hosting parties galore! To celebrate her birthday she had two little friends over for a princess party. They had tons of fun dressing up, making crowns, dancing with ribbon wands, hearing a Ballerina story from Grandma Marilyn, and playing party games. It was really girly! We wrapped up the party with lunch (menu chosen by Clara)--pizza, mandarin oranges, and chips. Then came chocolate cupcakes decorated with sprinkles and "Little Mermaid" toppers. So pretty! And finally, the presents. We have such generous friends! Clara has so many fun new things to play with. It was a great celebration!

The birthday girl


Princess friends--Clara reads her new princess book to the group

The next day (Clara's actual b-day) we visited Peter at school for lunch. He proudly hosted us in the cafeteria, and Clara got to have a lunch tray just like the big kids. She even chose pink milk for her drink. It was really cool! We brought a special cupcake for Peter so he could celebrate with us. He was really sweet, several times mentioning to others, "It's my sister's birthday today!" It's hard to go to school when you know people are at home partying without you! Lunch was definitely a special time for all of us.

In the evening we hosted a family party for supper, including Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Micah. We had great fun eating together and spoiling Clara with even more presents. She was on top of the world! Every once in a while she would remind everyone that SHE would blow out the candles and SHE would open the presents. Don't forget who the lady of the hour is! She delighted in the princess balloons that decorated the table, and the princess plates and napkins she chose from the store. The simplest pleasures are often most rewarding! I'll say that three is a great age to be! Thank you, Lord, for our precious Clara Grace.

The family party--Auntie, notice her pretty dress! She calls it her "princess bride."

We Can't (or can) Wait!

Well, the date has been set! A few days ago the hospital called to confirm that we are on the schedule for a c-section delivery, February 22 at 9:15 am. It's crazy to think that you can "pencil in" a birth so far in advance! Of course, the time and date could change if needed, but for now we are looking forward to the 22nd with great anticipation (and a few nerves)!

What a great blessing to have made it this far with no complications. Truly God's hand is upon us every step of the way. So, now I realize we have less than ONE MONTH before baby Jonas arrives! Time to kick into nesting mode and clear out all the extra junk around the house, plan Clara's 3rd birthday party (Feb. 7th), and choose a middle name for the baby.

It's strange how I can feel such excitement and anticipation about meeting our new son, but at the same time wish for each day to go very slowly--to savor each special moment and not want anything to change just yet. So each morning I have to decide...what's the flavor of the day? I think "swirl" is the best choice. Half excitement, half contentment. And the countdown continues...

For Maddie

This one goes out to Maddie, Peter's special birthday buddy. First of all, congratulations on losing a tooth! That's a really cool thing! Does the tooth fairy come to your house?

You were wondering how Peter got that owie on his foot. On Christmas night he was sliding on a wood floor in his socks. A big splinter from the floor got stuck in his foot! So John tried to get it all out with a needle, but as it turns out, he only got half of it. Then last Sunday John noticed that there was still an owie there, and found more of that splinter in Peter's foot! So they got it out with another needle. Ouch! The next day the place where the splinter used to be started to get really sore and swollen, and it continued to get bigger and bigger. He had to go to the doctor to take the old skin off--he used a scalpel and scissors to cut it very carefully. Peter said it didn't hurt at all when the doctor did the surgery. It just felt a little funny. Now he has to take some medicine for 10 days to fight all the germs. He also has to wash it with special soap twice each day, and keep it covered with special bandages. What a crazy thing to happen from a simple splinter! We're so glad for a good doctor and good medicine. He is healing very well now.

We hope you are having a great week in sunny California, and that you're enjoying your new baby brother, Hayden. I bet you are a really good helper!

Happenings

Okay, it's time to emerge from the dark and actually update our blog! I was holding out for John to write the next entry, but the silent stand-off has to come to an end at some point!

So here's the latest in the Caruso house:
Baby's doing great! At last check he weighed in at 4 pounds, and my health continues to be very good. Thank you, Lord!

Peter's been fighting a crazy infection that originated from a splinter. We lovingly call it his "puss pocket." He missed school for three days, and is now on medicine to fight the infection. On Wednesday he went to the doctor and had minor surgery to remove the dead skin and drain the puss. (Sorry about the graphic description!) He thought it was really cool that the doctor used a genuine scalpel for the procedure. What a boy! Today he returned to school, and the nurse wondered if he needed to use a wheelchair? "NO WAY!" He doesn't want any extra attention at all. He's so brave (and socially aware).

The infection was nearly the size of a dime!

Clara started a new stage: "I want my Mommy! My Mommy do it!" Even at bedtime she throws an absolute fuss if John helps to brush her teeth, etc. It seems crazy, but I think she realizes that something's going to change...a baby's coming...so suddenly she's very clingy and extra-protective of her mommy. We'll see how she transitions when the baby's actually born. I'll be sure to give her lots of extra TLC. It feels so good to be loved!

Clara, the cookie decorator. Yummy!

John and I enjoyed a nice dinner with my grandparents in Lincoln last night--just the four of us. It was so fun to spend time together in conversation with no distraction, no agenda. What a treasure family is!