Advent Calendar With Scriptures

{This isn't ours but it shows the concept}

Advent calendars are a family tradition from Aaron's childhood. When Aaron and I were newly weds his Mother gave us a calendar to continue the tradition. We were only able to do the tradition twice during our baby free years. Now that Porter is a little older we wanted to continue this with him.

As Aaron and I talked about Christmas and what we wanted to share with Porter we really wanted the focus to be on Christ. We decided that the calendar tradition would be a great way to do this by reading a story about Christ each day. We also wanted it to be fun for Porter so we'll sing a song after each story because he loves music.

We decided this in September and I thought I'd be able to find such a thing on the internet but I was disappointed. I decided to put my own together. I thought some of you maybe interested in doing this with your families so I've shared my list below.

A few thing you may want to know:

• I tried to stick to scripture stories of Jesus that He is actually in. I wanted to keep it as concrete as possible for children. There are a few exceptions as you get to the bottom of the list and Christmas is fast approaching, I reference a few scriptures about nativity items.
• I also decided to stick to the New Testament only. If you don't have a copy I linked to an online copy of the King James version of the Bible in the previous sentence. There isn't much after the book of John in my list, however. This is because after that there's lots to learn of Christ through his apostles but I felt this was a bit too complex for my 1 year old.
  
• The first line of each entry is the main idea or principal I'd like to focus on teaching while we are studying the scriptures. Second line is the scripture reference. Third line is the song selection. I found all of my songs in the Children's Song Book. If you don't have a copy of this book I linked the book title to a web page directory of all the songs in this book. You can find the song by the page number I've listed, click on it, a copy of the music will come up and you can hit play to listen to a recording of the song as well. It's an amazing site!
• My list isn't numbered but the top entry is where you start and the last entry is Christmas Eve and the full Christmas Story.
  

I'm putting the final touches on our advent calendar and will share the final result with you, but right now my comfy bed is calling my name so it will wait. I know this is a bit late to post such a thing and if you decide to use it you'll have to rush, but I just finished it. Putting this together has been such a blessing. We have this beautiful large family bible with artwork through out it that I used while preparing this list. As I read the first half of the bible to put this together I found myself being pulled in by these wonderful words from God. I'm so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and I'm excited to share and teach Porter about Christ. I know Porter is young to remember details and stories but he's not too young to pick up on how he feels when we share our testimonies with him.

Christmas Advent Calendar Scripture List

Christ Calms the Sea
Matthew 8:24-27
Song: Tell Me the Stories of Jesus pg. 57

Christ Blesses the Children
Matthew 19:13-15
Song: Jesus Loved the Little Children pg. 59

Christ Forgives Our Sins
Mark 2:3-12
Song: How Dear to God Are Little Children pg. 180

Christ Raises A Girl From the Dead
Mark 5:39-42
Song: Did Jesus Really Live Again? pg. 64

Christ Feeds the Multitude
Mark 6:41-42
Song: Faith pg. 96

Christ Notices Our Actions
Mark 12:41-44
Song: I'm Trying to be Like Jesus pg. 78

Christ Overcame Temptation
Luke 4:1-13 (a little long- paraphrase if needed)
Song: Choose the Right Way pg. 160

Christ Knows of Our Faith
Luke 8:43-48
Song: I Know My Father Lives pg. 5

Christ Wants Us to be Kind
Luke 10: 30, 33-35
Song: Jesus Said Love Everyone pg. 61

Christ is the Good Part
Luke 10: 38-42
Song: I'll Seek the Lord Early pg. 108


Christ Heals the Lepers
Luke 17: 12-15
Song: I am Glad for Many Things pg. 151

Christ Loves Children
Luke: 18: 15-16
Song: My Heavenly Father Loves Me pg. 228

Christ is a Good Friend
Luke 19: 1-7
Song: I'll Walk With You pg. 140

Christ Forgives Our Mistakes
John 8: 3-11
Song: I am a Child of God pg. 2

Christ Gives Life After Death
John 11: 39-44
Song: Families Can Be Together Forever pg. 188

Christ Taught us to Serve by Example
John 13: 5, 12-17
Song: I am Like a Star pg. 163

Christ Died for Us
John: 19: 30
Song: I Lived in Heaven pg. 4

Christ Was Resurrected
John 20: 15-17
Song: Hosanna pg. 66

Christ Was a Child Too
Luke 2:40
Song: Jesus Once Was a Little Child pg. 55

Christ had a Mother
Luke 1:28, 30-32
Song: Mary's Lullaby pg. 44

Joseph Treated Christ Like His Son
Luke 2: 48-51 & 3: 23
Song: When Joseph Went to Bethlehem pg. 38

A Star to Tell of Christ's Birth
Matthew 2:2
Song: There Was Starlight on the Hillside pg.40a

Wise Men Came to Christ
Matthew 2: 1-11
Song: The Nativity pg. 52

Christ is Born
Luke 2:1-20
Song: Picture A Christmas pg. 50

Thanksgiving 2010

We had a wonderful Turkey Day! It was my family's year, so we spent it with them. The best part of Thanksgiving for me is the cooking. I especially love cooking with my Mother and the other important women in my life who helped guide me through growing up. Many of the years growing up my Mom's side of the family would all travel to my grandparents' home in Southern Utah. One kitchen for all that needed to be cooked. It was crowded, noisy, and busy in the kitchen and I loved it! This year we didn't make the trip but I got to help my Mom with the pies at her home.
The best thing that happened this year was Mom having a "Bad Pie Crust Day" and having two crusts collapse on her. This meant 2 delightfully flaky crusts for us kids to create what we named pre-pie. We took the mistake crust and used the extra razzleberry and banana cream filling to top them. We wasted no time digging in community style free for all. (I have pictures of this, but can't find my camera at the moment.)

These pictures are of the actual dinner at my Grandparent's house. I thank you Aunt Val for taking these and Emma for posting them on facebook so I could steal them. ;)

{Uncle Kurt & Grandma Lynda making my favorite part of the feast... GRAVY!}

{Pre-dinner chatter, love Mandy's smile and don't those rolls look yummy!}

{My Grandma has a huge room in their house for family get togethers. I was so impressed with ShaLynn's table decor.}

{The paper on the tables was a work of art by the time the feast was over.}

{My cute brother Coup and his cute wife Kal}

{Aaron & the pregnant lady}

{Baylee & David}

{Let it begin! Oh the food.}

{Dessert - cheesecake, trifle, pumpkin pie, razzleberry pie, chocolate cream pie, and 2 banana cream pies that aren't in the photo.}

{Steadman kept saying cookie when he'd see this dessert.}

{His grandpa took care of him. I love watching Steadman and Porter together! They're so cute and fun to watch. Lucky for us, they're both the biggest sweethearts.}

{Our Little Porter. The whole day we just knew that P was going to want a nap right at dinner and we were right, he slept through the whole thing.}

Happiness is...

...Christmas Tree Glow!!!{never you mind the ladder and boxes that need to be cleaned up}

Happy Holidays!

Updates & More Questions

Porter:
We've been busy running around to Doctor's and Therapy Appointments this last week. I'm so tempted to just not schedule any more therapy until Christmas is over. Porter has a stomach bug that's upsetting his entire digestive system and I just feel so bad for him. It's not pretty and we've had to put him back on acid blockers because his reflux is back with a vengeance. I just hope the blocker works and he's not in pain anymore.

{P stayed home from church on Sunday because of the sickness and we made rice crispy treats. The boys were super excited!}

Other than that, Porter is walking more and more these days. He'll pull himself up and just take off across the room. He falls a lot because he's trying to run before he walks. :) Do you want to see a video? He's not a full time walker but he sure is practicing a lot.

Baby #2- I know I said we'd have an ultrasound this week; we had an appointment but Aaron and I decided to postpone until 20 weeks. We would have to have another one at 20 weeks anyway so they could get a good look at the baby's heart. It seemed wasteful to us to pay for an extra ultrasound. Everything suggests that this is a thriving baby so we're fine waiting if we can get a better look later and save some money.

On this note, I asked the Genetic Counselor what my statistics would be if I had never had a son with DS. I would have started at 1/1000 and with my hormone increase in my blood draw it would have gone up to 1/800. That made me wonder why having Porter has increased the risk so much. If you've ever read much about DS it's for the most part a genetic anomaly. I tell friends this that don't have children with DS and they still feel like 1/800 is high... I don't. There will always be that part of me that remembers being the 1, but I think my results might be getting blown out of proportion. A thorough ultrasound will be good to have done.{P likes to sweep -- a consequence for playing in the plant.}

QUESTION:

This has been on my mind a lot lately. I'm trying to decide when and how is the best time to transition Porter out of his crib or if really we need to purchase another crib. If we move P out of his crib we'll put him right into a twin on the floor.{Something like this would work, although I don't like the top one it gives you an idea. I'll need a good vinyl artist to help me with this project because I know what I want and I probably wont find it on Etsy.}

I know this may sound mean, but I've heard it's safer than using a bed frame. We'd change his room up so it's safe if he gets out of bed. However, I'd do my best to teach him to wait for me to come get him. I've read to keep kids in their cribs as long as possible. I've also read that the earlier they transition the better they take to it. Then I came across something that said the transition should in NO way be associated with the new baby's arrival. There are times I question this plan and wonder if another crib would be best, but I really don't want to have to buy another one. Needless to say I'm feeling a little conflicted. Once again I'd love your input and experience!

p.s. I deserve an update
Meg/Mom:
This Saturday Aaron was a great sport and let me leave for an entire day. I got to go to Time Out For Women. Basically, it was 4,000 women in one room listening to other women (one man) share inspiring presentations about HOPE. It was revitalizing. Thanks to my good friend Kristin for inviting me and her Mom for gifting me the ticket. It was a great day!

Happiness is... ( & a plan)

the everyday moments that cheer my heart!

This could also be classified as a phone photo dump because most of these are from my phone so forgiving judgment on the quality people!

{This is when we were staying with my Brother and his wife. Aunt Kaleena looked so guilty when I walked into the room...still makes me smile thinking about the look on her face. P's getting yummy cinnamon muffin batter.}

{You know, clothes don't always make it to the hamper after bath time and Porter was tired of the mess on the floor so he cleaned up. Hehe}

{Porter wanted to play in his exersaucer but didn't know how to get in without our help. Poor baby was getting pretty upset by the time we finished snapping this pic and got him untangled.}

{Um yeah, P found the Cheerios I'd snack on to help with morning sickness. They we're pretty happy with Porter's success!}

{Love this! Porter is constantly checking on us and chatting our ears off while we're in the car. He's much happier in his infant car seat and he's small enough so we let him use it.}

{Ball pit at OT.}

{I sent this to his dad looking for sympathy because this is what I'd been dealing with all day.}

{You know I like to make bread.}

{I sewed these for Porter from a scrap I had leftover! They make me so happy because I made them!}

{The pointing...love, love, love!}

{P watching the wiggles on our flight home from Cali}


I can always count on life finding a way to make me smile, laugh, and lift my spirits. Like Porter dancing to the John Mayer I have playing right now.

We have a plan for Sibling:

My doctor ordered a head to toe ultrasound as soon as she read the results, she's trying hard to get it done before Thanksgiving, but we'll see. If we see more markers we'll ask my doctor, "How will the care of this baby and Meghann change with the results from the Amnio?" If she gives us an answer that we feels justifies the procedure we'll go ahead and have it done. I've had moments in my life where news like this has paralyzed me with anxiety, I don't feel that way now. I know that decisions need to be made pretty quickly and that's stressing me a little. However, I'm not worrying that this baby might have Down Syndrome. My hopes are kind of up now that we might have another with Down Syndrome, it's just that DANG list of medical problems that scares me. Don't get me wrong either, it would be great to have a typical child too. So when I say, "Either way I'm going to be disappointed." it doesn't get more real than that!

The Results & Some Big Decisions

This is a very private/personal matter and yet I'd like to ask your opinion - especially if you've been in our shoes! I'm opening myself up here with the understanding that I asked for it.

Yesterday at my doctor's appointment I asked for the results from our integrated screening. She didn't have them but I knew they'd been completed so her nurse was able to pull them off of the computer network. My doctor was handed several pages and started interpreting the results. I could tell she was a little surprised. She walked me through the results and just by having Porter we had a 1% risk for Down Syndrome, but with the screening and ultrasound the percentage still increased. We're looking at a 1 in 70ish chance of this baby having Down Syndrome. Now those are pretty good chances. I bet each of us knows someone who's had a typical child with those statistics but this is extremely abnormal for someone my age (25). It's a red flag. These numbers puts us into the category where an amniocentesis is highly encouraged. Here we reach the decision part:

• The only information we'd get from an Amnio is yes or no, your baby has Down Syndrome. We wouldn't know if the baby has a heart problem, or weak muscles, or this list goes on and on!
• I would never forgive myself if we miscarry because we have this procedure done. I know that this risk is very low and it's even lower with the doctor who would be doing the amnio on me -- her stats are 1 miscarriage out of 1000. But I can't help but think about that 1.
• I'm wondering if by having the amnio if my pregnancy would be treated differently looking for problems, etc.
• If you haven't read my blog before you should know we'd never consider terminating a pregnancy for a genetic abnormality.
  

With that I'd like to ask when/if you had red flags go off in your blood work, what made you decide for or against the Amnio? Second, how was the procedure for you? Would you do things differently?

We're still processing all of this. It hasn't even been 24 hours yet so we haven't reached any decisions yet. On the way home from my doctor's appointment I started crying. I had been completely calm when she told me the results, she was extremely concerned about me and was just waiting for a breakdown. I was completely together when I called Aaron. I lost it when I called my parents. Mom does this to me for some reason; she's my safest childhood place, I think the little girl in me comes out when Mommy gets involved. As I was crying I kept telling myself to buck up and that this wasn't a big deal. I finally cut myself a break and realized that yes, this is a big deal. There's going to be a lot of emotions here: they've told me I could have a second child with Down Syndrome and wow that changes things. Either way, I'm going to be disappointed and overjoyed, no matter the results! This is going to be emotional and if I don't face that I'm not going to be emotionally healthy enough to welcome any child. Aaron and I know that if we're having a second child with Down Syndrome we probably won't have any more of our own because while it's rare there are parents who are balanced carriers of an extra chromosome. There is also the possibility of lightening hitting the same place twice, but it's not likely. We'd gratefully welcome this child if he/she has Down Syndrome but having 2 children with extra health, financial, physical, and emotional needs is a lot of responsibility.

We know whatever the outcome we'll be happy, we'll be blessed, the Lord will help us through it and one thing we know for sure...
We trust God!

p.s. This is a bit easier just because we sure do love our little boy with Down Syndrome! Just holding Porter makes me feel that everything no matter what is going to be okay.

"What Does Your Gut Tell You?"

A pregnancy #2 documentation. I know these posts aren't interesting to everyone so I completely understand if you skip. I just want to be able to look back and know what was going on with this little life we're adding to our family.

Last time I shared the belly...

{12 weeks}

Now-

{17 weeks}

My husband just left on a run and was extremely tired so I want to stay up just a bit longer to make sure he gets home safe. Who runs in the freezing cold at 10p.m.? That would be my Aaron, he's committed and I'm lucky to have him! Aaron did the dishes, played with P, bathed him, and got him to sleep tonight while I was out with friends. Back to my original thought...

Earlier this week Aaron said, "I know what you want, but what does your gut tell you?" referring to the sex of Sibling. To answer that question I have to go with BOY. Logically, my mind is saying "it's a girl" the sickness is worse; I've been experiencing headaches, my first migraine in fact, something that never happened with P. We will see come early December.

Other things that are happening:

• I've successfully been off the medication to help with morning sickness since Sunday. My doctor wasn't okay with me throwing up 3-5 times a day at all times of the day.
  
• The results from our genetic screening are complete. However, our genetic councilor has called 3 times and wont leave the results in a voice mail, making me wonder what's up. I'll be trying to contact him tomorrow and I also have a doctors appointment so she should have the results as well. I'll let you know what I find out.
  
• I'm feeling the baby much more consistently these days and I think it's safe to say this kid is as active as his/her brother.
• My belly isn't growing as fast now, but I think I'm rounding out nicely. I feel like the baby is moving higher up, which is a good thing.
  
• One of my favorite things about being this far along...our baby doesn't look like an alien anymore. I now go to babycenter.com and instead of thinking, "weird" it's more along the lines of, "ohh...".
• Aaron has created classifications for my behavior during each trimester and I guess I'm doing the exact same things I did while expecting Porter. According to Aaron's observations: 1st Trimester=Sick Meg, 2nd Trimester=Cleaning Meg, 3rd Trimester=Big Projects.
  
• I'm in limbo with clothing, particularly pants. My regular pants still fit my legs and bum, but I can't do up the waist. My maternity pants are saggy and slide down constantly... driving me insane because they go up so high I can't just adjust in public...awkward. I think belly bands would work great for me, but I don't want to pay $16 for each color. I'm planning to make my own I just haven't made it to the fabric store yet.
• I'm loving all that I'm accomplishing since I've been feeling better. I'll admit it's a little crazy. One afternoon I walked into our bathroom, dropped everything, completely reorganized, and deep cleaned it. Because it had to be done right then! Proof:

{I uses the S.T.A.C.K. system to organize and this is the first step "Sort"}

• With this baby developing and reminding me of his/her existence several times a day it's really starting to sink in for me. We're going to have another baby! Which is crazy, wonderful, exciting, terrifying, and a miracle.