Christmas Pictures...finally!

I hope these little slide viewers work on your computer! They're such an easy way to show a lot of pictures! If you want to see a particular picture larger, click on it. :)

Here are some of the pictures I remembered to take while we were in Canton for Christmas!

Do you know Wilberforce?

I must admit, the name William Wilberforce had only a vague familiarity to me. Thanks to my friend Phillip and to the movie trailer I saw today, I truly want to find out more about this man whose faith affected us and made history. You can also find out more through the recent biography of him by John Piper. I've attached the trailer here for you to see... If you know something of this man (or have seen the movie, since we never get to go to the movies), comment back and let me know! :)

Pics over the past 2 yrs

YardStones (FootStones?)

I thought that Milestones might be an appropriate title for this post, but seeing as I'm going to describe the ever changing growth of two kiddos, I thought smaller increments might be better. :)

Anna is to be 9 months old just after Valentine's Day this month! I can't believe the months have flown by. She is so content most of the time, which has been a blessing considering the circumstances of our lives right now. As a result of this contentment, however, she has not been in a hurry to get mobile or display newly acquired skills. (Which could also be a blessing) She waited until New Year's Eve to roll over for the first time (almost 8 mo.), and when she did, it was back to front, then immediately front to back. I am also pleased to announce that Dandy (Scott's Dad) got her started with the concept of clapping just before Christmas, and by the time we were at Mimi and Pawpaw's a week later, she was delighted to do it on command.

Just two weeks ago, the college girl who cares for her in the church nursery told me Anna was pounding on the 4-key piano toy and wailing away in her high-pitched singing squeal. And now, just a week ago, we were out to eat with Brad and Kati, some friends of ours, and when Kati waved at her, she responded by waving her own fingers! It's fun to watch her learn and grow! We're expecting her first two teeth any day now, and it's so funny to watch how she copes with the feeling: she sticks out her tongue just a little and sucks on her gums. I'll attach a picture to this post soon!

Caleb is also doing some learning and growing. We've had a hectic winter, with normal Christmas traveling followed by a return to Corpus Christi just a week later for my grandpa's funeral. I always assumed that Caleb was pretty flexible, since I'm not one for rigid schedules and routines. However I was reminded rather quickly that we all crave some semblance of routine once he began struggling with obedience and the abnormal schedule we were following. Getting a virus as well as strep-throat didn't help either, and our sweet boy is learning how to cope with feeling sub-par and still obeying Mama and Daddy, even in the little things. It's been quite a challenge lately. A good friend here reminded me that it's always hard to see our precious little ones show their very own sin natures, and that it's so amazing to relate even a little to what it's like for God to lovingly teach, train, correct, and be merciful toward us, His children.

We as parents are reaching our own little "yardstones" as we learn to be teachable by the Lord, and to be patient and merciful with each other and with Caleb during these times.

I do want to share something funny that I never want to forget... Caleb has learned to love games like Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders. We're still trying to help him learn to follow rules of the game as he sees what is necessary to win and would rather not settle for the cards he is dealt or spins he winds up with. I try to use those teachable moments as often as possible so that maybe handling those moments will transfer to obedience and handling not getting his own way somewhere down the road. Today, as we were preparing for sliding the chutes and climbing the ladders, Caleb selected his game piece ( a little brownish-blonde haired girl) and, being the typical oldest child, selected mine also (a boy with dark brown skin and hair). I made the remark that Caleb always liked to choose that little girl. He mumbled something about pretending to be a girl. To find out more, I said, "Does that little girl remind you of something? Is that why you choose her?" (I thought maybe one of the girls in his preschool class was blonde and a good friend.) Here was his unprompted reply:


"Mama, she reminds me of how much I love you."

Caleb's Unabridged Dictionary, Entry 3

Reindeer: n. (sometimes wayn-deew, but usually rayn-deer) ruminant mammal related to the elk, moose, and white-tail, commonly seen around Christmastime. This animal provides for holiday cheer in a way none other can... (see context below)

usage: "Look, Mama, that's a reindeer."
context: "Mama, reindeer are deer that keep the rain away at Christmas."

The flu

Caleb received his flu vaccination today. He was surprised by the cruelty of the "medicine" we told him he'd be getting. He talked about his shot the rest of the day. "I don't like shots, Mama. They hurt." We explained that shots only hurt for a little while, but getting the flu would make him really sick...worse than the hurt of the shot. This conversation echoed several times throughout the day.

This evening, we repeated the same conversation once again. Then Caleb asked how people get the flu. Daddy and I explained as briefly and simply as possible about germs and how they get into our bodies. "That's why we wash our hands so much."

A few minutes later this question arises: "But, Mama, why did that Christmas song talk about turning on the flu?" A song in our Christmas musical referred to closing up the flue of a fireplace. [Quick definition of what a flue is...] "Oh."

Then the best part after a few minutes of silence...
"Mama, how old is the flu that makes you sick?"

*Scott and I exchange glances*
"Umm, well, Caleb, that's hard to tell."

"Mama, I bet that it's 35 years old."

Caleb's Proclamations

1. Caleb: "Mama, in the desert there are cactus! Cactus is all prickly and if you touch one of the 'horns' on them they will stick you and make a red dot on your hand. But if you don't see any horns, you can touch it. "
to which I say, "ooh, you're right, but they're called thorns, and sometimes they're so skinny you can't see them very well. They'll still make little cuts on your hands and make you bleed."
to which Caleb replies, "Just like the pink stuff in the garage [from the attic]. So if I see a cactus I won't touch it."

2. [While watching a dinosaur show on tv] "Oooh, the wonderpets are dressed up like dinosaurs. If I see a Tyrannosaurus Rex, I won't get close to it."

Curtain Call & Break a Leg

Well, tonight is our first performance of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" at a newly renovated 1930's Theatre in town. The Theatre is gorgeous, the set looks great, and our costumes and dance moves are ready to go. Scott has been so great about being Mr. Mom each night this week as we've had rehearsals and early call-times. My family is headed into town (minus Aunt Licia :( ) to see the Saturday Matinee performance.

We'll be performing 5 total. If you're in our area, there are still tickets available! I'm really enjoying playing a part in it... I just hope my dancing doesn't cause me to fall into the orchestra pit! ;)

How-to and Recently Heard...

How to Sound like Anna-
With lips together, begin making a "b-b-b" sound. Then raise a single finger or combination of fingertips and proceed to flick your lips up and down as though talking underwater...all while making the "b-b-b" sound.

Combine the "dh", "da", "an", "na", "gee", and "dee" sounds in as many combinations as you can think of except "An-na", then throw in random grunts.

How'd you do?

Recently Heard at the McDonaldSpot-
When a hole was discovered in the knee of Caleb's jeans: "Uncle Bryan has pants with holes like these."

When Mama got into the car in full stage makeup and curly hair after theater practice this past Monday night (and every night afterward): "Mama! Why did you do that?"

Cutting a Rug

I'm becoming more of a "priss" now that I'm aging...not that there's anything wrong with that. Normally I wouldn't be comfortable with any sort of active movement without a (basket/volley)ball in my hands or occasionally a machine or exercise step involved. However... our church is putting on a Broadway style Christmas musical this year after a long hiatus. What makes it more exciting is that our community just renovated a 30's era theater that was built along the original Route 66. It's gorgeous, and our musical, set at Thanksgiving of 1941, will be a perfect opening Christmas event for it! (Not to mention fun!) We're doing "I'll be Home for Christmas," which is set partly in a family's San Francisco apartment and partly in a radio station (which, back then, would have had live audiences frequently). My part is to be a radio actor/live performer for the radio station. I, along with about 10 others, have to learn authentic dance steps to perform along with the music we're singing. I even had to by character shoes for dancing!!! I'm feeling pretty awkward, but judging from the relative position I have on the stage (they won't let me hide in the back) and from the fun I'm having, I must not be "stinking it up" too badly. I never thought I'd enjoy something like this so much, or that it would be such a welcome diversion from other things that are going on ;). I'll keep you posted, but for my benefit, there will be NO video cameras allowed at our practices or performances! Ha ha!

New Caleb-ism

We all had a laugh the other day as a result of Caleb's budding sense of humor. Scott was teasing him a little at a staff barbeque last week, and Caleb grinned a squinty grin, laughed a fake "ha ha", turned to leave and said "Daddy, you're a FUNNY MAN!". We still have no idea where that came from.


By the way, our online business is up and running and we couldn't be more excited about it! Visit us at http://www.littlelamm.com to view our wares, and feel free to pass us on to friends! We have an ad that shows up on related Google searches now, and we'd love to hear comments and suggestions!

Me = Small Business

Well, my friend Alisa and I are stepping out and doing something a little scary. We have officially taken steps to form a small business. We're about ready to open a business bank account, and we already have a business website on which to sell our wares. It's a little intimidating (the prospect of being in charge of a business) but easier than I thought. Here's what we're doing... We are creating custom wall hangings for decoration of baby nurseries, children's rooms, play rooms, etc. Here are two examples with fictitious names.

We're selling online via Yahoo! Stores and also hope to sell in a few Springield shops/boutiques. Our store is available for viewing online as I type, but the products will not be available for purchase until we get our bank account info shored up early this coming week. Feel free to peruse the site if you want! I would love comments, critiques, or suggestions...just leave them here on my blog or fill out the comments portion of the website. We're called little LAMM designs (LAMM =Lori McDonald and Alisa Martin) and we can be found at http://www.littlelamm.com. Let me know what you think! New designs are to be posted soon on the store's site!

The Quest for Beauty

So many of us are held in bondage by the quest to be beautiful, and therefore, to have value. I ran across the following commercial on my own the other day, but I came across it again on GirlTalk, a blog by some Christian ladies. I'll link to the commercial and include the text of the GirlTalk entry also. You ladies might also want to check out the GirlTalk blog in your spare time. I've only experienced a little of it so far, but what I've seen, I can recommend.

Distorted Beauty

Consider with me our culture’s physical beauty yardstick--for women then and women now as explained by author David Powlison:

A hundred years ago women might have compared themselves with the other ten girls in the village. Today, women compare themselves with pictures of the cream of the worldwide fashion industry.

And what ideal image does the worldwide fashion industry put forth as the standard for beauty by which today’s woman is to measure herself?

Well, take a look at what a group of professional hair stylists, make-up artists, and photographers in cahoots with computer graphics were able to create (click on the picture to watch the video):

To think that women are striving to look like someone who doesn’t even look like herself. It’s absurd!

The Dove Campaign got it partially right—the fashion industry has certainly contributed to a distorted perception of beauty. And yet, their solution—“every girl deserves to feel beautiful just the way she is”—is well-meaning and yet fundamentally unbiblical.

You see, women believe that physical beauty will make them happy, successful, popular among the women, desirable to the men – so they pursue it with a fury!

Physical beauty, however, does not deliver as advertised. Proverbs 31:30 reveals the falsehood and the futility of this quest for beauty: Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain.

Even if every girl did “feel beautiful just the way she is,” it wouldn’t bring her true joy or lasting happiness or solve even one of her problems.

Truth be told, what we all deserve is not to feel beautiful but rather to be condemned to hell for sinfully seeking to attract the worship of our fellow creatures instead of living to bring glory to God.

God did not send Jesus to this earth to die so that women could get over their self-esteem problem and feel better about themselves. No, He sent his Son to die to rescue us from our sinful, futile quest for physical beauty and to reveal to us the satisfaction that comes from knowing God—whether we are beautiful or not!

What freedom and hope is found in Christ! We don’t need to feel beautiful about ourselves to find happiness! In fact, we’re better off not even thinking about ourselves. Rather, God has offered us in Jesus Christ forgiveness, hope, freedom from sin and a joy that never ends.

So while this little video effectively exposes the false front of beauty presented by our culture, let’s not look to Dove’s advertising executives for the solution to the beauty crisis. Rather, let’s join the campaign to tell others of the true freedom that is found in Christ!

Posted by Carolyn Mahaney on girltalk at this location

Welcome Scott to McBookSpot

Scott just finished reading Blue Like Jazz. Don't miss his comments on this "trendy" book at our book blog: http://mcbookspot.blogspot.com.

Thbbppppptttttt....

Anna has begun to interact and experiment with sounds! The first sounds were "goo"s and gurgles. Then she started making "bbb" sounds as though her mouth was full of marshmallows, and now she's progressed from that to shirt-soaking raspberries. She was already a bubbler, but now it's full-scale soakage! It's so fun to see her development!

Bienvenido Muchaco!

I am pleased to announce that we discovered our town's first Taco Bueno today! Move over Bell, we've got something more Bueno. I'm waiting for just the right time to celebrate with my first local Muchaco. Wait...any time's a good time. Gotta go....

A slight resemblance...maybe...

Trying not to Drown

Before you worry, I'm not referring to the new pool we got this summer! (Phhhheeeew.)

I am referring, however, to the concept of keeping a home while nursing and taking care of a 4 month old, training a 3 yr old in godliness and the use of the potty, being my husband's help-meet, and living a busy life of full-time vocational ministry. (I'm not certain it's entirely possible, thus the "drowning" and "trying not to") Unfortunately, it's a matter of debate in our household. So, I've set out to determine if there are any things I can do to avoid the need for ME-CPR (Mental & Emotional CPR). Granted, I have two children and a husband who are to be my number 1 ministry and priority (aside from my spiritual walk). My number 2 priority is to our church family, our college girls, and those around me. My number 3 priority is to have some grown-up friends. Somewhere at the bottom of my list right now is whether there are toys out, dishes cleaned immediately, floors swept/vacuumed, etc. Priorities 1 and 2 get accomplished most certainly (but even then, not always with excellence), and 3 is lucky to happen at all. So, you see why I'm wondering about the house issue!

"Why is she wasting valuable laundry time?" you ask. Well, I'm taking a much needed break during the kids' naps, however short, to regain my sanity and accomplish two things: to share a few things I will try to implement, and to share my plight with the hopes of getting some tips and encouragement.

I've recently discovered a blog site by some ladies in ministry and ministry wives called Girl Talk. While I haven't perused it entirely, and can't guarantee 100% agreement on all they've written, I'm encouraged by what I see and read. Just in the past few minutes I found a post on "to-do lists" that I'm going to try to absorb before the tragic drowning incident finally occurs. You can find it here. There's also one on "Minimal Maintenance" here. I'll try to keep you posted.

If any of you have a life-saving ring to toss out to me, please do! My self-imposed life vest and life raft have holes in them at the moment, and my patch glue is not waterproof. ;)

Back to the laundry. Au Revoir!


Gasp...Gasp... here are a couple more links... Seven Habits of Highly Effective Women and The 5:00 Club (aaack to that last one.)

Caleb's Unabridged Dictionary, entry 2

aborjoo: n. (uh bordj oo) the position of being on the back of, or preparing for a piggyback ride on, one's daddy.
usage: "Daddy, come on, I'm aborjoo."
context: "I'm aborjoo." "You're aboard me?" "Yeah, Daddy, let's go for a piggyback wide."

Caleb's Unabridged Dictionary

Piggy-back ride: n. (pig ee bak' wyd) "That's when someone gets on back of someone and someone walks with someone on top and then you flop me off." usage: "Daddy, give me a piggy-back wide." context:"Daddy, now I'll be the piggy and you be the back."