moments

It's moments like this that I'd like to freeze in time...

...my two beautiful children on Christmas Eve, all dressed up for church and festivities. Next year, Nora will be well on her way to being a little person, leaving her babyhood.

It's moments like this that made my heart melt... 

...as I watched my little boy turn four, and beamed with pride at all the obstacles he's overcome in his short life.

It's moments like this afternoon at church, when I first noticed the sign language interpreter beautifully interpret the Christmas hymns, and froze for a moment, imagining how our lives might have been... not bad, not sad, just different. 

It's moments like that, when I marvel at modern medical miracles like the cochlear implant that allow the deaf to hear, that allow my son to enjoy the sounds of Christmas, just like me, just like his baby sister.

Without this technology, we wouldn't have heard Lucas ask us where the camel was in the Christmas sermon play, we wouldn't have reminded him that he needed to whisper during the service, and we wouldn't have heard him attempt to *sing* along to the hymns.

It's moments like right now, Christmas Eve, when I sit  her with immense gratitude to Graeme Clark and Dr. K, for giving this gift of sound to my son, and many other deaf children around the world, changing the way they experience Christmas, interact with their family, and take on the world. 

It's moments like those at church this afternoon that will never get old, that we will never take for granted. 

Merry Christmas! Wishing you peace, love and joy!

wishing you and yours...

a very, merry Christmas!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." ~ Isaiah 9: 6

countdown to...

We are counting down to several things these days... activation on his 2nd CI is 1 week from tomorrow. I'm so excited to begin this new stage of the journey. I'm ready for the challenge.

We are also counting down to Christmas, starting today. I realize I'm not alone in this, but Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. From cutting down our tree as a family to decorating our house and tree, I look forward to December every year. Last Saturday we ventured out to pick out the perfect Christmas tree. After a ride in a horse-drawn wagon, we cut it down amidst the snow flurries. So fun!

set up tree...

add lights & an angel...

add ornaments and tinsel...

and it's done!

Lucas also has his own Christmas tree and nativity play set (great language opportunities!) in his playroom. I'm not quite sure who's more excited about the little tree, him or me. :)

Then, last week I got this great idea from one of my favorite money-saving blogs, Saving with Shellie. The idea was to make an advent calendar out of baby/children's socks and place a small gift in each sock to count down the days until Christmas. I found most of my supplies at the Dollar Tree, and some at a local crafts store, and in about 45 minutes, I had this set up:

I used red ribbon, mini clothes pins, various Christmas-themed socks, and little dollar store toys. Each sock has a number sticker on it.

It was so much fun to make, and I can't wait to open a sock with Lucas every day until Christmas. I think it's a great way to make Christmas more tangible for a child his age. It provides many language rich opportunities also. We will count the days, and look at the numbers, and talk about what's on the socks and in the socks.

How do you kick-off the holiday season?