O Holy Night...

I love being pregnant at Christmas time! This year, especially since I am pregnant, I have been thinking a lot about Mary and her pregnancy with our Savior. I think about my son all the time. I talk to him and pray over him. I think about his arrival when I get to hold him in my arms and see his face for the first time.

One of my favorite Christmas songs comes from The City on a Hill: It's Christmas Time. It's Sara Grove's song, Child of Love. Every year when I play the CD, that particular songs moves me. It has even greater meaning to me this year at Christmas. The lyrics are so beautiful, and I get goosebumps and teary-eyed every time I hear it.

Child of wonder, close your eyes

Rest here in my arms tonight

Someday you will save the world

But tonight I'll hold you right here in my arms

Precious miracle of life, child of love

Gift of hope, the gift of life from the Father above

And you were made for all mankind

You will always be mine, child of love

Gabriel's promise has come true

God has blessed this world with you

And as I humbly hold You now

In my heart I know I'm holding Heaven's child

Precious miracle of life, child of love

Gift of hope, the gift of live from the Father above

And you were made for all mankind

You will always be mine, child of love

Child of wonder, close your eyes

A Christmas craf tthat I made is actually something that I made a school with my fourth graders called light bulb ornaments. All you need is an old, light bulb that has burnt out, some paint, hot glue, and fabric scrapes.

Last year we made snow men by painting the light bulbs white, then putting textured snow over the paint, painted on a face, used some fabric scrapes to make a stocking cap over the metal part of the light and used yarn to make a scarf. We attached an ornament hook to the back of the hat with hot glue.

This year we made penguins. We pained the bulb black and white, painted buttons going down the middle, used hot glue to attached the eyes, pipe cleaner nose, and mittens cut out of fabric. We attached the hat to the metal again and then attached a pom-pom to the corner of the hat. They turned out so cute this year. I can't wait to make these ornaments with my children someday.

I hope that you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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3 B's: Bread Baking, Birthday and Baby Boy

This week was quite an eventful week for me. All three events starting with the letter B! The best thing about the week happened on Monday when Brett and I had our first ultrasound of the pregnancy. We had been waiting anxiously to see what our little one looked like and to make sure he was developing healthy. We also got to find out that Baby Osborn was, in fact a boy! We were so thrilled. Both Brett and I wanted a little boy more than anything. Everyone kept telling us that it was going to be a girl through. Even our Bradley instructor thought it was going to be a girl. So I was mentally preparing myself for a girl. I knew that I would be delighted to have a girl, but there is family significance to having a boy. I even had a dream the night before that it was a girl, so I was pretty sure that I was having a girl. When we got into the room, the nurse told us she wouldn't tell us, rather let us try and figure out on our own. At first it was hard to even figure out what I was looking at, but then he moved his legs. I couldn't believe what I saw! I was speechless when the nurse asked me what it was, because I was afraid to jinx myself. Then Brett boldly asked, "Is it a boy?!?" The nurse said yes, and I burst out into tears of joy I couldn't believe my eyes, it was the second best thing I heard since becoming pregnant (the first being when we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time).

Here is a picture of his little, perfect foot!

and here he makes his grand debut with his first picture.

The second fun thing about this week was bread baking day at school. Every fall the fourth grade makes Bread-in-a-Bag. A retired teacher provides all the supplies and she even makes each student a jar of jelly. She and two other retired teachers (one who I got to teach with my first two years) come up to school to teach the fourth graders how to make bread. The kids love it and the whole school smells so good for the day. At the end of the day the students take home a bag with a whole loaf of bread that they made, a jar of jelly and the directions with the recipe so they can try it at home with their family. It really is an easy process!

Here is the recipe:

Mix 4 cups of flour, 1 package of yeast, 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt in a large gallon zip lock bag. Close the bag and shake to mix well. Open the bag to add 1 1/2 cups of hot water and 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Close the bag, and with your fingers, knead the dough until well incorporated. (The students loved this part, and since everything was in the bag, no mess on the desks or their hands!) You may add more flour if the dough is still sticky.

Spray bread pans with vegetable spray. Divide the dough into two equal halves. (Each bag makes two loaves of bread.) Put the dough into the bread pans and spray with vegetable spray. Let rise in a warm place. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Let cool, then remove from pans. So easy! Plus you could easily add other spices like fresh rosemary or cinnamon.

At the end of the day we let the student try a little bit of the bread with the jelly and butter. We made our own butter too. All we did was put heavy cream in small little containers, seal tightly, and passed them around the classroom as the students took turns shaking the cream until it harden. We added a little salt for flavor, but it was pretty easy. Our kids loved the day! I loved the day too, except I was totally exhausted at the end of the day being on my feet all day and leaning over their desks to help knead.

Along with both these events, yesterday I celebrated my birthday with wonderful husband. He brought flowers home from work the night before, and we had dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant (we both agreed on no birthday gifts for each other this year as we are saving money and getting ready to bring our little boy into the world!) It was the end to a perfect week!

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October Bliss

I love fall. It is one of my favorite seasons of the year. I love the way the leaves change colors. I love the crisp, cool change in the weather. I love all foods and beverages that contains apples, pumpkins and squash. I love how October leads into the holiday seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I wish that parts of fall were not overshadowed by what our society has placed on Halloween. There are parts of Halloween that I enjoy and think are fun and festive like pumpkin carving, dressing up as a favorite character and trick-or-treating. However I hate the evil, scary side of Halloween too. I hate that every time I sit down to watch TV, I have to turn the channels during a commerical because of the evil images of movies or other advertisements. Despite all the evil images around, I focus my eyes and heart on what is Good and True, and that God has blessed me greatly this year.

Tonight on our walk with Rocco, I collected a handful of colorful leaves for a fall craft. Brett said that the sight of me, a pregnant woman, binding over to pick up leaves every few feet was quite entertaining for him:), and now my back is killing me, so maybe it wasn't a good idea after all, but I'm still excited have time this weekend to work on my fall craft!

Speaking of Rocco, Brett took this picture the other night as I was practicing my tailor sitting.

Apparently he enjoys it when I'm snacking on his level! Fall Blessings!

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busy...busy...busy

Every August comes the season of pure business for me. In fact I often call August the non-existent month because it just flies by before I even know what hit me. Don't get me wrong, this "back to school" season is my favorite time of year. Even though I greatly enjoy the refreshment and relaxation of summer break, I love to get back into a schedule again. I love school and I love teaching. I love the anticipation I get before school starts as I begin to make plans and preparation. I love how nervous I still get after five years of teaching for the first day of school. I love meeting my students for the first time.

Well as usual, I am full swing into the school year. This year the beginning of school has been a challenge for me as I am coming out of my first trimester of pregnancy. I have been battling exhaustion, nausea and mood swings. I have been calling myself a "slug" because it seems to take me twice as long to do things than I normally require. Even grading papers is taking me longer this year!

Now that I am (finally!!!) starting to move out of the first trimester slump, I am really enjoying my students, our daily routine and just being back at school. I'm trying really hard to stay in the moment and capture all of the memories and joys of teaching. This will be my last year teaching for a while, at least teaching other children. I have always wanted to stay home as soon as my children are born, and I finally get that opportunity next year. With Baby O due late February, I will take off two months of school this spring and return in May to finish the year. Then I will begin the process of packing everything up and saying goodbye to the profession that I have longed for my entire life. I was one of those people who always knew I would be a teacher. It is something that I have worked for very hard and waited a long time to fulfill. God graciously gave me the opportunity to serve at my school for five wonderful and challenging years.

I am confident that as soon as I hold my baby in my arms I will be fully ready to give up my career. To be honest though right now, I am really struggling with the thought of not teaching again for a while. I know that God will be working in my heart this year to begin the process of re-prioritizing things in my life and I know I will be a better mom because of it. Until then though, I am going to enjoy my final months of being a fourth grade teacher in the public school system.

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