A Baby Changes Everything

This is a Christmas unlike any other Christmas I've had in my 30 years of life. Normally the holiday season is packed with multiple trips to the mall, lists of what each family member has requested, travel plans being made, office Christmas parties to attend, stress about how to pay for it all, anxiety attacks from feeling trapped in long lines and occasionally a thought of the baby Jesus coming to earth and laying in a manger to save the world (almost as if a sidenote to everything else).

I'm embarassed to say that this is the FIRST Christmas in my 30 years where my thoughts are surrounded only with that baby. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am now a mother to a precious baby boy but mostly because we have decided not to buy Christmas gifts this year and that has allowed my mind and heart to be where it should have been each and every other Christmas. We have decided to stay home this year and are not worrying about traveling to see people and the who, what and where that all that entails. I've not had to go out and kill myself to try and find the "perfect" gift for each member of our families and haven't had to stress a single moment about where the money was going to come from to pay for said perfect gifts. My thoughts have truly been able to be on what Christmas really is all about, what Mary and Joseph must have felt when given the news, how much they must have loved Jesus, not just for being the Savior of the world but because he was their son too and how much it must have torn them apart to watch Him die on the cross for the sins of the world. As a mother I can now understand these feelings in a way I could not have before. It's so easy to say that Christmas isn't or shouldn't be about the gifts or santa and that it's about family and being with the ones you love. I guess it can be about those things... but really, it is truly only about a precious baby that came to this world to save us so that we can be reconciled with Christ and spend eternity with Him. That baby changed everything!

I'm so thankful to our Heavenly Father for the gift of HIS son this holiday season and for the gift of love, mercy, grace and salvation. Jesus IS the reason for the season and I'm so thankful that this year HE is all I need to and want to focus on.

The Cookie Exchange and Ornament Swap

This past Tuesday I was invited to my very first Cookie Exchange and Ornament Swap. I used to work with this guy named Steve and he and his wife Sheila (the angel ornament lady) were hosting their annual Cookie Exchange this Sunday (today). It sounded like fun so I RSVP'ed that I would come. The rules were you had to bring 2 ornaments, hand made or purchased from a store and 5 and a half dozen cookies that were homemade. Prizes would be given for: 1. Best Display, 2. Most "Christmasy" Cookie, 3. Most Unique Cookie, 4. Most Delicious and 5. Overall People's Choice. I feel like I'm a fairly creative person so I decided that I would try and win the Best Display category. Many ideas flooded my mind, and I will spare you the details, but after perusing through multiple craft stores I came up with the one I would use. It also took me days to try and figure out what cookie I would make. I finally decided on the Chocolate Snickerdoodle Drops. I went out Saturday morning and purchased the ingredients for the 66 cookies. I started with the first batch and they kept coming out burnt. I adjusted the time of baking and the temperature but it didn't matter. I figured it was because of the ridiculous quantity of sugar the recipe called for. After 3 pans of burned cookies I abandoned ship and threw them and the rest of the dough away. I chatted with my mom on the phone and she recommended a recipe called Toto's Italian Cookies. I got the recipe off line, went back to the store for those ingredients and spent the rest of the evening and well in to the wee hours of the morning making these "Toto's". Thankfully one batch made all the cookies I needed and it also had a frosting recipe that I made as well. I frosted each individual Toto and it about killed me :). The cookies turned out pretty well. They aren't a very sweet cookie but it was fun to make something different.
So, the cookie exchange was a ton of fun. I got to visit with a few people that I used to work with at the architectural firm and taste lots of yummy cookies/bars/brownies. I knew almost immediately that my display "had it in the bag". After everyone voted for their favorites and the judges cast their ballots for the above mentioned categories, the results were in. Steve read them aloud and I won the first 2 categories. I couldn't believe it! It was very exciting :)! I got to pick out of the grab basket and decided on 2 cookie cutters. Here are some pics. Enjoy!

These are the two ornaments I made for the exchange:





The cookies I made are the 4 light brown ones in the middle of the picture.



Me with my award winning display :).



My display and my 2 prizes

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree... How Lovely Are Thy Branches

First let me give testimony to the fact that God is SO good!! After posting my last blog about my sister I got a call from a lady who makes beautiful homemade angel ornaments. (I used to work with her husband at the architectural firm.) I've purchased many of them over the years and called her to ask about buying some for my sister. She said that she would not hear of my buying any and that I could have as many as I wanted. She even offered to cover a small tree in them. Praise the Lord!! What a wonderful symbol to give my sister that the Lord is watching over her and her family with His guardian angels.

So here is the McGinnis 2008 Christmas tree. It only took me 10 hours to decorate. I guess that's the way life is now that we have a toddler in the house. I tried my best to put the non-breakable ornaments on the lower third of the tree. So far Logan has enjoyed looking at and touching the ornaments and has yet to pull one of the tree. Thankfully he's a really good listener.

Decking the Halls and Feeling Guilty

I'm smack dab in the middle of decorating my Christmas tree and have been overcome with guilt. I, for the most part, really enjoy hanging up the ornaments and getting the lights, beads and ribbon as perfectly spaced apart as I can. This year however is different. Since Scott and I have been married I've been buying, giving and receiving special ornaments. I have 3 huge and full boxes of ornaments. 1 of those boxes contain all of the "special" ornaments that people have given me or ones that I've bought that have extra special meaning. I always hang that box of ornaments first. I'm not even a third of the way through and I cannot stop thinking about my sister Laura. With each special ornament I pick out of the box and carefully try and decide where to hang it, I'm reminded that this Christmas my sister has none of these special things as a result of the fire. She, for years, had been collecting The Wizard of Oz ornaments. Each year my Aunt Paula would buy her a new one as they are pretty expensive. We also shared some of the same ornaments. The garlic bulb that represented the Sicilian in us, the Waterford Crystal star that Scott and I got her on our trip to Ireland, the "My First Christmas" ornaments of all 3 of her boys. It's all gone. I know it's just "things" but those things had meaning to her and as I decorate my tree today I mourn her loss. I wish I had plenty of money so I could try my best and reclaim at least a few of the special things she once had. I am going to stop and say an extra prayer for her that the Lord will comfort her and give her His peace and joy this difficult holiday season.

Logan Talking and Singing

This video was taken the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I tried to post it last week but had trouble finding a website to host it at the size it was at. Scott lowered the quality and now I'm finally able to post it! Yay! Enjoy!

P.S. We were practicing the names of those we were going to be seeing for the Thanksgiving holiday so please don't have your feelings hurt if your name isn't said.

Logan's Stocking

I finally finished Logan's stocking. I was up at my mom and dad's house the last few days and my mom sewed it together and sewed the felt hook on. I did the final stitching and TA-DA it's all done. I just LOVE it. Hope you guys like it too.

My Feelings Post Election

The Lord brought me this song today and it best sums up how I'm feeling post election:

Give Me Words to Speak by Aaron Shust

Calloused and bruised/ dazed and confused
My Spirit is left wanting something more
Than my selfish hopes/ and my selfish dreams
I’m lying with my face down on the floor
Cryin out for more
Cryin out for more

So Give me Words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep
Cause I can’t think of anything worth saying
But I know that I owe You my life
So give me Words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep

Every night, every day/ I find that I have nothing I can say
So I stand here in silence, awaiting Your guidance
I’m wanting only Your voice to be heard
Let em be Your Words
Let em be your words

Give me words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep
Cause I can’t think of anything worth saying
But I know that I owe You my life
So give me Words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep

I just don’t understand this life that I’ve been living
I just don’t understand (x2)
I just don’t understand these lies I’ve been believing
I just don’t understand (x2)

So Give me words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep
Cause I can’t think of anything worth saying
But I know that I owe You my life
So give me Words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep

Give me words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep
Cause I can’t think of anything worth saying
But I know that I owe You my life
So give me Words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep

I know I know I owe you my life
ohh my life, ohh my life
I know that I owe you my life
ohh my life,
My L I F E

The Phantom of the Nausea is there.... inside my mind

I'm sure the title of this blog has caused you to wonder... "Is Erin Pregnant?". Let me answer that with a big, fat NO! I am however nauseous and let me tell you why. The fall used to be my very favorite season. I loved the cooler temperatures, the colors of the leaves, the pumpkins and smell of spices, decorating the house in fall decor and every other thing that goes along with the season. That is until about 2 years ago. The greatest thing that has ever happened to me, the conception and subsequent birth of my son, is now the reason that I dread fall coming. About 6 weeks after I found out I was pregnant I became extremely nauseous. The nausea would last all day, all night and would start again the very next day. Sometimes I threw up, most of the time I didn't, I just felt like I needed to. Every sight and smell, I associated with the nausea. This lasted for almost 5 full months. Poor Scott had to do the cooking each night as I couldn't stand the smell of food, especially meat. I was able to drag myself out of bed each morning, go to work and then when I came home all I could do was lay on the couch. Forget about teeth brushing. That alone sent me into a festival of gags.
After Logan was born last year I was looking forward to being able to experience fall as I used to remember it. Full of wonderful sights and smells. Once October rolled around I started feeling nauseous again. Everything reminded me of the way I felt when I was pregnant. I'm sad to say that it has happened yet again this year. The nose and the mind are powerful things. When working together they can call to mind wonderful memories or some that are not so wonderful. Every time I smell tabacco with hints of apple and cinnamon I am reminded of the sweet next door neighbor I had growing up. He and his wife (Mr. and Mrs. Ryan) would sit underneath their carport in the summer time and he would smoke his pipe. The smell would filter in to the windows of our family room and now when I smell tabacco like that I remember him and how wonderful he and his wife were to our family. Or when I smell Italian food (especially fennel) I'm reminded of my mother's kitchen at Christmas time. Now most of the smells of Fall that used to bring such fondness to me now bring nausea. I hope that as years go by this "phantom nausea" goes away and I can once again have pumpkin spice candles burning in my kitchen or be able to inhale the fall air or decorate my house in fall parafaniala without feeling like I need to throw up. My other hope is that as we have more children (Lord willing) that the other seasons don't get ruined for me as I go through morning sickenss with those pregnancies. Or maybe the Lord will spare me :). One can hope.

All in A Day's Work

When I was thinking last night about what my day was going to be like to day I in no way anticipated the things that would take place.

1. Logan demands a nap before he eats his lunch
2. Logan woke up from aforementioned nap within an hour and a half
3. Logan pukes 3 times upon setting him in his high chair for the lunch he missed
4. I watch an entire epidode of Dr. Phil on children who want to be transgender - disturbing to say the least
5. I get a phone call from a woman trying to get me to vote for Barack Obama - Ugh... I DON'T THINK SO!!! I promptly tell her of my intentions to vote for John McCain only after politely listening to her schpeal. Just because I'm a republican doesn't mean I have to be rude.
6. Scott calls to tell me he got gas for $1.97 a gallon and filled up his tank for $20!!!!!!!!!! Hallelujah
7. That I would be writing a letter to the county begging them to let me out of 2 months of jury duty. Why couldn't they have gotten me to be a juror the past 8 years that I was childless??!?
8. An hour and a half phone conversation of utter frustration and confusion.

It's only 4:20 PM. I'm sure there will be more to add to this list before the day is done.

LU Homecoming 2008

Scott and I had been planning to go to Liberty's homecoming for months. We booked our hotel room and we were really looking forward to getting out of town for a few days and to reminiscing about our college years and all the memories we made together and with our friends at LU.
We left after Scott got off work on Friday night and arrived at the Wingate around 9 PM. This was Logan's first stay in a hotel room and we weren't quite sure how it was going to work. We brought his pack n' play along and set it up in the room. I nursed him, bathed him and got him ready for bed while Scott unloaded the car. We turned the lights off in the room and waited. Poor Scott couldn't take the boredom and decided to go drive around campus while I did my best to soothe Logan to sleep. He finally drifted off at about 10:30.
Sleep was rough that night. I don't do well in different beds. I think knowing how many hundreds of people had slept in that bed and on those bedsheets before me played tricks with my mind :). Anyhow, we were up early the next morning to meet some friends of mine/old co-workers from the days when I worked as a teller at One Valley Bank the first year Scott and I were married. I've kept in touch with 3 of them since working there back in '99-'00. Scott, Logan and I met two of them for breakfast that morning at Country Cookin' in Madison Heights, VA. It was so wonderful to see them and share a meal together and catch up. Here is a picture of Tracy (she was an account representative) and her little boy Seth, Logan and I. Seth is just 2 months younger than Logan.

After breakfast Scott and I headed to the LU bookstore. We both wanted to get some new Liberty parafanalia. I was in the corner of the store looking around and I hear a voice call out "Erin". I look up and it's Jamie Holmberg McCollum. She is/was a friend of mine and hall mate from my LU days. I had not seen her in almost 10 years (although we are friends on facebook and I keep up with her fabulous blog). She looked absolutely beautiful and it was so wonderful to see her and hear her voice again. I also got to meet her hubby and a couple of their close friends. We visited for a little while in the store and made plans to meet at La Caretta for lunch. Here is a picture of the crew having lunch together. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and it really did renew my soul.

After lunch we took Logan back to the hotel room for a nap. Scott stayed with him while I made a return to the bookstore and a stop at Dorm 33. Years ago my mom babysat a little girl named Jessica. She is now a Sophmore (Junior by credits) at LU and lives in Dorm 33. I called her up and asked her if I could stop by for a visit. I haven't seen her in 15-16 years. It was great to catch up in person and see where she lives. I remember when I was a Junior at LU and Dorm 33 was brand new and everyone wanted to live there because it was the newest dorm on campus. It was neat to finally see it in person after all these years.
It had been raining most of the day but the sun decided to make an appearance right before the football game. Scott and I had wanted to go but had been convinced it was going to rain most of the day. I went ahead and made plans to meet my freshman year roommate Amy for coffee that afternoon. Last time I saw Amy it was at homecoming 2 years ago and I was 6 weeks pregnant and super nauseous. She recently got married (this past May) and I really wanted to meet her hubby and catch up with her. So we decided to forego the football game for something much, much better... time with Amy, Derek and some yummy Starbucks coffee. Amy looked even more beautiful than I remembered, if that's possible, and her husband Derek was so nice and I loved meeting him. Here are a couple pics from our time together.


That night we met up with Jamie, Daniel and their friends Ryan and Ashley for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and more reminiscing.

Sunday we had a yummy breakfast at the hotel, took in some breathtaking views...

and then packed up the car. Here is Logan having fun on the luggage cart...

We stopped and picked Jessica up at her dorm and took her to lunch at Cracker Barrel. We had a great time hearing about her schedule and all the new things that are happening at LU. When we brought her back to campus we decided to let Logan run around the intramural field to get him nice and tired for our trip back home.

Jessica, Logan and I



All in all it was a fantastic weekend. Thanks especially to Jamie, Daniel, Ryan and Ashley for treating us like family and inviting us out with you guys. You all really made our weekend and to Jessica for putting up with our stories about "the olden days of LU".

Christmas in October

My mom came down for a visit a week ago this past Wed. Her plan was to stay through Monday and to spend some good quality time with me, Scott and Logan. I always love when my mom comes. Not only are we great friends but sometimes being a stay-at-home mom can be lonely and it's great to have someone here to talk to and to enjoy Logan with.
Some of you know that back in June my sister Laura and her family lost their home and all their earthly belongings in a fire. Photo albums, Christmas decorations, videos from when her 3 boys were babies, toys, clothes... all of it gone. She has been dreading the holidays coming with being in a rental home and not having any of her special decorations that she's had since she was a girl or that she's been collecting over the years. When we were all very young my mother made us all stockings from scratch. She cut the pattern, put our names on them and included a Christmas tree on each, decorated with colored glass beads and sequins. She also put little items on there that were unique to each of us. For me, I had a love of shoes at an early age so she made a small black patten leather shoe, Laura loved to twirl her hair and suck her thumb so she made a small pillow out of felt and tied a lock of Laura's hair on the pillow. We all still love our stockings and they mean so much to us. I still hang mine on the fireplace each year and made one for Scott right before we got married.
Well the Lord brought to mind the fact that Laura had lost her stocking in the fire. I asked my mom if she would be willing to help me make Laura and her 3 boys new stockings. She thought that was a wonderful idea. She came with her sewing machine in tow and we sat and planned what each stocking would receive. We shopped and got to work on Thursday. We worked from sun up until late into the night every day. She even had to extend her stay by one day so we could get them all complete. We had so much fun "bedazzling" all the stockings and making them unique for each boy (Austin 11, Jacob 8 and Jonathon, 3) and for Laura. We finished the last stocking at 11:30 PM on Monday night. We were so proud of ourselves and couldn't wait to give them to Laura.
Once my mom got home she invited Laura over and told her she had something for her from us. Mom called me on Skype and I was able to watch Laura open her stockings. She broke in to tears and said it was the best day she's had since the day before the fire took place. I am so thankful to the Lord for giving my mom and I that time together. It is a memory I will have for a lifetime. I'm also thankful that the stockings were a blessing to Laura and her boys. Praise the Lord! Here are pictures of each stocking. Enjoy!
(** I'm in the process of working on Logan's stocking now. Once finished I will post a picture of it**)

Finally Walking

I tried posting this last week but had some trouble uploading the video. Logan is finally walking "full time" and it has been so much fun. Here is some video from the first day of him walking exclusively. Enjoy!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The "New" Schedule

For many months now I've had Logan on a really good schedule. Up around 7:30-8, a nap around 10:30, another nap around 3:00 and then to bed some time around 9. It's fluctuated a little as he has grown, but overall it's been 2 wonderful, glorious naps. I was able to shower during the first one and get ready for the day. Then, during the second one, I would try to be productive and actually clean something. Well the time has come for Logan to start working his way to only 1 early afternoon nap and his bedtime being moved up to 8:00 or a little after. I knew I was in for a struggle today when I heard him awake at 6:45. We spent the morning doing our usual routine. I turned on Sesame Street around 10:00 as Logan's new obsession is Elmo and Abby and went upstairs to put my makeup on. After I was almost finished "putting on my face" I realized how quiet it was downstairs. This is what I found...

Poor little guy. We'll keep on trying :).