Faith's First Haircut

BEFORE

SO SAD...DURING HAIRCUT. THE CRYING ONLY LASTED FOR ABOUT A MINUTE.

AFTER

I finally took Faith in for her first haircut. I have to say that it was much harder than I thought it would be. It was actually kind of sad. Now I see her and know that all the baby is gone. She is really a little girl now. At first, Faith was pretty upset, but once she realized that they were just messing with her hair, she recovered pretty quickly. They ended up cutting about 4 inches off. I think her hair turned out really cute, and now her hair will grow more evenly. Beautiful little girl!

We Had A Very Merry Christmas!

These are just of few of the pictures that I took over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Yes, that is chocolate on my children's faces...at 9:00 in the morning. On Christmas morning, anything goes!

Well, it seems that every year Christmas gets better and better. Luke is finally to the age to where he gets that Christmas is about Jesus' birthday. As a matter of fact, we were at our church's candlelight service and Luke told me that the candles were Jesus' birthday candles. I thought that was really sweet. He also said that he was going to help Jesus blow them out...because, according to Luke, sometimes it's hard to blow out ALL those candles.

Luke is also finally old enough to understand the concept of gifts. I'm pretty sure that next year he and Faith will be on pins and needles waiting for Christmas morning. This year all Luke asked for were candy canes and chocolate candy. Talk about easy to please! Faith just wants whatever Luke wants. They were both completely overwhelmed when they got up to a ton of gifts from family and Santa.

Santa brought Luke a Leap Frog Clickstart computer and several games to go with it, which has been a MAJOR hit. Who would have thought that a 3 year old can run a computer? He is a pro already. Santa brought Faith a baby and baby stroller - plus all the stuff that goes with it. That baby never gets to rest! She is always giving it a bottle and shushing it to sleep. Then she gets her purse, baby, and stroller and walks the house for a few minutes. It's amazing really. God has so ingrained in us to know our roles as mothers, that it is clearly evident in an eighteen month old. I don't know how much clearer things can be...

We are so abundantly blessed that there is no beginning and no end. It just amazes me! God has so richly blessed us with the birth of His son that anything beyond Jesus is just a fringe benefit of the season. I hope that everyone feels God's love in coming year.

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

New Pictures of the Kids

Updated Belly Picture

Okay, so a few people asked if I was getting big. Here I am in all my glory. This was taken today, and I am officially 28 weeks...and starting to get seriously uncomfortable. To answer every one's question - YES, I am getting big and will only get bigger. Enjoy!!

Yes, We Are THOSE People...

So, here it is almost December which I would say makes it the Christmas Season if it weren't for radio stations playing Christmas music the day after Halloween. I guess that it really has been the Christmas Season for a month now. So, guess what I haven't done and don't really plan on doing? If you guessed Christmas cards, you are absolutely correct. Yes, we are those people who get a ton of Christmas cards every year and rarely send one out. I know...it's probably not very nice, but here are my thoughts on Christmas cards:

1. I don't have time to get them done right now. I am trying to keep my head above water with raising 2 kids, being 27 weeks pregnant, basketball season, laundry that is up to my eyeballs, a kitchen that seems to always need a cleaning, grocery shopping, and the list goes on. This year, there will be no Christmas card in the mail from the Lee's.
2. I always feel guilty when I take our Christmas decorations down, and I have to (let's be honest) throw away the Christmas cards that we receive. It seems like such a waste. We are not pack rats and don't keep things. It's going to probably end up in the recycle bin. We enjoy them, but once it's not Christmas - they are gone. Heartless, I know...
3. In trying to live a little more eco-friendly lifestyle, it's not really jiving with the "less paper, less waste mentality." Since we are driving all over creation to basketball games and tournaments, I am consciously trying to make an effort to try and offset some of the damage done by our traveling in a "green effort." Dang global warming. I honestly think that an e-card is a greener way to go...

So, in closing, I would like to apologize if you send us a Christmas card and don't get one in return. We are THOSE people. It's true. If you know us at all, you will know that it isn't because we don't love you to pieces or that we aren't thinking about you during this wonderful time of year. We are just not Christmas card people or Thank You card people or anything that requires a postage stamp people. Don't take it personally. That is just who we are, and if you don't send us a Christmas card - no big deal. We understand.

Merry Christmas from THOSE people.

Trick or Treat!!

Tyron, Melanie, Luke, and Faith

Space Ranger Luke

Emily "Squirt" Mathis

Faith with her fairy wand.

Halloween this year was really fun. It was our first experience with "Trick or Treating." Luke had a blast, and Faith is likes anything that Bubba likes. Hope you all had as much fun as we did!

A Question Someone Is Going To Have To Answer In Heaven...

I told Tyron yesterday, that when I get to Heaven I have a question that I have to ask someone. You see, on Saturday morning at 1:32 a.m. Luke threw up in his bed...and then of course, Faith started throwing up about 2 hours later. They both continued to simultaneously vomit for the next 8 hours. Seriously simultaneously. So, the question for someone to answer is this: Why do stomach bugs insist on waiting until everyone is in bed and sound asleep to hit? It never happens at 10:00 in the morning or at 1:00 in the afternoon. Always in the dead of night.

However, God is extremely faithful. I spent the hours I was awake with my babies praying like I rarely pray. I prayed for mercy, healing, and strength. I prayed for rest for them and calmness for me. It's the most powerless feeling in the world to try to comfort a sick child. Especially when they are scared because they don't understand what is going on. Praise God for His healing hands. The entire bug lasted less than 24 hours. That is mercy. I guess stomach bugs have something in common with Jesus...stomach bugs come like a thief in the night and someday so will Jesus. The difference is that stomach bugs cause chaos and suffering while Jesus will re-establish order, healing, and love.