Flight Suits and Fairytales: December 2009

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!!

With LOVE,

Chris, Amy & Elli Duncan

Funny Face

These pictures crack me up...thought you might enjoy :)

Since we'll be traveling back to Texas for Christmas this year, I told some of Santa's elves that the Big Guy needed to stop by the Duncan house a little early. Much to Elli's delight, he listened to our request and made his way down our chimney on Friday night!! She woke up Saturday morning to a living room full of toys just for her! And though she couldn't express herself very eloquently, we think she was just ecstatic with surprise!

In all seriousness, we had a wonderful morning celebrating our first Christmas as a family of three (plus a very excited Nana!). We opened stockings, ate yummy waffles, drank peppermint hot cocoa, and tried out all of the wonderful things that Santa left for us. My sweet husband got me a Willow Tree Angel family figurine...I cried, but are you surprised? Elli got a bounce-a-roo thing that is just amazingly elaborate (Santa had lots of fun putting it together!), and a really cool music sitting station that she absolutely LOVED. Even though she didn't really understand what was happening around her, it was so much fun to share such a special time with her. We are starting our own traditions as a family, and it was truly the best Christmas that I've ever had.

Here is our day, in pictures...

Stockings!

My sweet angel baby

Chris and I...oh so happy!

She wants that ball so badly she can taste it!

Daddy, getting some sugar!

I think she's having fun!

Elli & Nana playing w/ Rudolph

Wow...what a day!!

New Addiction...

This could be bad. VERY bad! I was browsing a KellysKorner blog a few days ago, and she mentioned that she gets most of her little girls clothes off of ebay for super cheap. It took me a day or so to check it out for myself, and now that I have I'm totally kicking myself for being so curious! This is why I don't try new foods...I become addicted and they're usually bad for me! But that's a different story...

Back to the adorable (in my opinion, anyway) dress at the top of this post. Guess how much I paid for this NWT (that's ebay lingo for "new with tags" in case you didn't know! Oh yea, I know the lingo now!) gem? Just guess! $15??? No! $10??? No! $6.41. Yes, you read that right. I bought this Gymboree dress, totally new, for $6.41!!

This could be trouble!

Nap Time

This is what I found when I went in to wake Elli up from her nap this morning!! She had managed to maneuver herself so that her feet were propped up on one bumper, and her head was propped up on the other :) And she was just giggling away...it made my heart melt!!

Easy Treat...

Wanna know a super quick, and super yummy recipe for some Christmas Goodies???

Here's one of my favs:

Ritz Crackers

Peanut Butter

Chocolate Bark (or morsels)

Make a "sandwich" with the Ritz crackers and peanut butter. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate, and dip your sandwiches in it...cover completely. Let dry on parchment paper and enjoy!! Oh so yummy!!

"Heaven is the Face"

I saw Steven Curtis Chapman on "Good Morning America" this morning, and heard him sing part of one of his new songs, "Heaven is the Face". Initially, I thought it was pretty good...not great, but pretty good. And then I heard the entire thing in my car today...wow. That's all I have to say. Wow. I just sat there and cried as I listened to the words. It is an absolutely beautiful song filled with grief & hope at the same time. It's about his little girl who was accidentally killed by his son about about year ago, and the "Face" that he is talking about in his song is that of his sweet baby girl. I'm going to post some of the lyrics, but I highly encourage you to get the song off of iTunes...it's totally worth it, it's gorgeous!

"Heaven is the Face"

Steven Curtis Chapman

Heaven is a sweet, maple syrup kiss

And a thousand other little things I miss with her gone.

Heaven is the place where she takes my hand

And leads me to You

And we both run into your arms.

But in my mind's eye I can see a place

Where Your glory fills every empty space.

All the cancer is gone,

Every mouth is fed,

And there's no one left in the orphans' bed.

Every lonely heart finds their one true love,

And there's no more goodbye,

And no more not enough.

And there's no more enemy (no more).

Love Me Some Christmas!!!

What a week! After getting off to a rather rocky start, I think we ended on an especially good note :)

Elli is still having difficulty sleeping for longer than about 3 hours at a time. For about 5 days the week before last, she only woke up once during the night...that was short-lived. Starting last Monday, she was back to her trademark 3x-5x/night. I was exhausted! So, on Wednesday I decided to try "Cry It Out". Ummm, it did not go well. I started on her first nap and she cried for an hour straight....and that was the end of that. (Yes, I'm a wuss!!)

I decided that neither she, nor I, was quite ready for the CIO method. So instead, I decided to really work hard at understanding and getting familiar with her schedule. I realized that I've been going-going-going so much lately that I haven't really had time to see when her little body gets tired. And sure enough, after a week of really paying attention & writing things down, she has a pretty consistent schedule that I seem to have been neglecting. Now that we're on the same page, I feel like I'll have a much easier time w/ sleep training. And after talking and praying w/ a really sweet friend, I think I will be ready to re-attack the CIO technique once we get back from Texas after the holidays. I'll definitely let you all know how it goes!!

On a different note, the Christmas spirit has definitely made itself at home in the Duncan household!! Our decorations are up (though those have been up since the weekend before Thanksgiving!!), all the presents are wrapped & under the tree, & Christmas music is the ONLY thing that plays on the radio in my car! We tried to go to the Christmas Fest yesterday, only to find that it had been cancelled due to weather...super bummed! But, we drove around looking at Christmas lights instead...super fun!! Elli had her first picture w/ Santa last week (she did great!), and I'm going to start making all of my Nana's yummy Christmas goodies tomorrow. Oh how I love this season!!

At church this morning the choir put on a wonderful concert of Christmas carols. I cried as Mary & Joseph, with baby Jesus, made their way into the sanctuary during one of the songs. This year, as a new mother, I saw the manger scene through different eyes. I listened to the cries of that sweet baby and could actually picture what it must have been like in Bethlehem when the Son of God was born. I can't describe the emotion that I felt...there really aren't words. But it reminded me, yet again, of how much I have to be thankful for this year. First and foremost, that I am forgiven because of the sacrifice of my Father.

I hope that you all are having a wonderful holiday as well. That you are getting to spend time with those that you love, and that you are enjoying all of the things that this season brings. And I am wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas...just a little bit early :)