Chaos, Part 1

As I sit here writing this post, I can think of a million other things that I could be doing. Giving the kids showers, doing laundry, cleaning the house, the list is endless. We are just wrapping part 1 of what can only be described as a joyful sort of chaos. Last weekend, James was baptized. We had a houseful of family who shared this beautiful occasion with us for several days. James slept through the first half of the ceremony then woke up and got REALLY mad when the holy water was being poured on his head (the picture above is right before he lost it completely!) So the second half of the ceremony was full of screaming and crying and an explosive diaper incident. Besides my concern that the incident in question was going to leak all over his gown, it was a really beautiful and special ceremony.

Two days after our baptism guests departed, our Thanksgiving guests arrived. I was so glad we were able to spend a few days with our friends from New York and Virginia. The meal was excellent, thanks to JM and Shawn (deep-fried turkey is excellent!) And we have TONS of leftovers, so hopefully that means no cooking for a couple more days! So our turkey-day guests departed this morning and the house is relatively quiet (ok not really, but a little more quiet than it has been!) There is much to be done to get things back to a relatively normal state, all the while gearing up for Chaos, Part 2! That entails 5 Nutcracker performances, Christmas preparations and a trip to Disney! (which we will return home from on Christmas Eve!)

With all of this craziness there is much that I could probably find to complain about. Instead, I am taking the time to remind myself of all of the things that I have to be thankful for. My husband and beautiful, healthy children; family and friends; the ability to live comfortably; the list is endless. God has blessed us in so many ways. So even though this holiday season is going to be a little crazier than is typical for us, I feel better when I have a sense of gratitude. With so much to be thankful for, it is a little easier to find some joy in all of the chaos!

Isn't it pretty?!?!

I want to say a big THANK YOU to my friend Jen for the complete blog makeover! I think it looks FABULOUS! She is starting up her own blog design business so if you are in need of a great blog designer, let me know and I will put you in touch with her!
It has been a long week here in the Insetta house with daddy away for work (Is it really "work" when you are in Hawaii? I don't think so!) We will be very happy to have him back on Sunday! James had an appointment with the cardiologist today, and everything with his heart is looking great! We go back again in 3 months for a follow-up. He now weighs 9 lbs 1 oz!
The other big development here today is that we had to break out the footie pj's because it has been so cold here at night (plus I haven't caved in yet and turned on the heat!) We might have to start doing jumping jacks to keep warm! On second thought, turning on the heat works much better for me.....

Beautiful Baby James

Wow, I really am a slacker with keeping our little blog updated! We certainly have had MAJOR CHANGES since my last post! James Matthew made his entrance into the world on Sept. 21 @ 4:45am (he just knew how much I LOVE early mornings, haha!) weighing 6 lbs 12 oz (the exact same weight as big brother Michael!) By the grace of God, he is completely and perfectly healthy! We spent 5 days in the hospital, just to be safe. He really has amazed everyone! Little James has blended right in to our family, and we are all totolly in love with him! Though Michael did say to me one day "Mommy, isn't it so nice when baby 'Janes' doesn't cry?" But big brother and sisters seem to be handling the extra noise just fine. And they are generally good with helping out with him, which is really nice for me!
I am surprised at how fast time is flying by, can't believe it is the beginning of November already! All of the Christmas commercials on tv are a shocker! Speaking of Christmas, we are planning a trip to Disney World the week before Christmas (our present to the kids!) So we are all SUPER excited about that!
JM is enjoying his job, especially this week because he is in HAWAII!!! No spouses allowed, so bummer for me! so on that note I will say ALOHA for now (does that mean hello AND goodbye?)