Advent(ures) and Kaiser?

In my continual effort to bring the blog up to speed and into 2009 we must take another look back to the weeks leading up to Christmas. If you are familiar with the term Advent you will know that it means "a coming or arrival" and also marks the four Sundays before Christmas. Well, in our home there were many things that happened in those few weeks before Christmas and the New Year began. Let me highlight a few for you.

We attended Madi's Tiny Tiger Karate Class Ceremony, which was so fun. I love to see her out there kicking booty. At the ceremony she received a black tip on her belt for completing the class. She is looking forward to continuing her classes in the New Year. That same weekend was my 30th birthday. My best friend from college surprised me by flying in from Or. for the weekend, which was awesome! Love ya, BRG! My Dad and I were all set to go Sky Diving that weekend, but alas were unable to make the big jump into my 30's due to fog. We tried to wait it out, but after 5 hours there was no sign of it letting up. It was such a bummer.

On the third Sunday of Advent our family was asked to light the Advent candle in church. The girls were excited to wear their fancy new dresses and walk down the aisle carrying the candle. I am thankful that we were able to light it in all three services allowing both P and M to have a chance at carrying the candle. Once the candle was lit I was supposed to read the scripture for the morning. Now if you know me, you can pretty much guess what happened next- tears! It never fails. I was certain that I would not cry after practicing the verses (Matthew 1:18-25) over a couple of times, but there is something about reading about the Savior's birth that just gets me every time. Even thinking of those words now, I am sure to shed a tear. 'She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.' Matthew 1:21 It is incredible to think about how a tiny baby can change the world- especially mine. God sure had a cool plan! Anyway, by the third service I was able to control the tears a bit. Overall it was an awesome experience for our family. We were also able to light our own advent candles at home and have a small devotional as a family, which was fun and only resulted in one minor injury. Rylie now knows that we mean it when we say that fire is hot! This should have been an indication of the weeks to come.

The next week we attended Payton's First Grade Program at school. Of course, we had the best soloist in the group! P was amazing and sang her heart out. We were so proud of her. Madi also had her night to shine on Christmas Eve when she sang Happy Birthday Jesus with her PreSchool class at church. I just love it when little ones are praising the Lord with all of their hearts! It sets such an example for the rest of us.

Well, Christmas Eve is when our Kaiser saga began. At the Christmas Eve service Rylie was picked up by her hands and started to act hurt. She was guarding and not using her right arm. I am thankful that the service was only one hour for R's sake. When we got home we decided to take her to Minor Injury to get checked out. After lots of screaming and stickers we came home with a hot pink cast on her right arm. She had fractured her wrist. We were thankful that it was her right arm because she is our lefty and could still function somewhat. Anyway, to make a long story short we were back at Kaiser 5 days later with a sprained left arm and another cast. (They can't really splint a toddler) So R spent most of the Holidays in casts. She is one tough cookie. I am pleased to report that since then we have been back to Kaiser 3 more times and have one less cast! Hallelujah! She should be getting the cast off her right arm Monday.

Despite our many trips to the doctor we had a wonderful Holiday season. We were blessed to be able to spend time with family and friends whom we love! And especially blessed to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Many blessings to you all in the New Year.