Look Who's Feeling Better!

Yes, Micah is healthy again. He is smiling a lot, playing, and just being sweet Micah. We are so thankful that his lungs sounded clear yesterday at the doctor. I am trying not to worry about his stuffy nose as the doctor didn't seem to think it worthy of concern. Have a wonderful weekend!

What We Do When

it is unbelievably cold (schools were canceled here today because it was so cold-a little extreme I know but it really is frigid out there).

We curl up in Mama and Dada's warm, big bed and watch movies.

We shamelessly play numerous video games in our pj's.




We attempt to destroy the playroom with all Micah's new Christmas toys (which all have lots of little pieces) all the while pretending we know exactly what we are doing!



And.....when we just can't take being cooped up anymore, we design an obstacle course to run off some of our boredom!

What's for Dinner

I am making this tonight. It is one of our favorites-you've got to try it!

You can make it ahead and just bake when you're ready. I substitute bread crumbs if I don't have rice crackers-though they are easy to find in the Asian section of the grocery. You can find hoisin sauce (another one of those sauce that you will be licking the spoon!) there also. Also I have, until today, only used ground turkey because I haven't seen ground pork. Kroger had it last week-very cheap ($2.60 per lb.). We'll have to see if it makes a difference. Oh, and this is great leftover! Enjoy.

Again

So... Micah has pneumonia again. He had it back in November, it took him a good 6 weeks to recover, and after having a healthy boy for Christmas, he came down with some breathing troubles last week. The doctor confirmed pneumonia in a different location. I was puzzled, asked if we should be concerned, and he said maybe. He looked through Micah's chart, said he has previously been a healthy boy, and told me that for now we would consider it a fluke and chalk it up to a bad year. He did say that if this happens again, we would have to consider some possible underlying illnesses that could be present. Needless to say, we are praying for a speedy recovery and hoping to bid this pneumonia goodbye at our follow-up next visit and never to return again. On a happy note, Micah has seemed to be handling the illness much better this time. We are so proud of our little trooper as he sucks down quite possibly the worst tasting medicine known to man. Seriously, it is that bad. We get armed with a coke, a starburst, and a bowl of ice cream every morning and evening to help him get the stuff down. He is counting down to the end-only 11 more doses. And brace yourselves for this one, we are hugely thankful for a video game we got him a few weeks ago. This is something I never thought I would say! But, when he can't even walk down the stairs without getting winded, what else can we offer to keep him busy? I can proudly say that my 3 year old can beat me and Matt at at least a couple of the 65 games. A few other favorites from the sickness: A house for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle. I think we seriously read it 3 to 4 times a day stopping on each page to thouroughly discuss what is going on. This is not that short of a book, people! I told Micah maybe we can get a hermit crab from the beach this spring. Wishful thinking! Hopefully, the update in a couple of weeks will be of health, happiness, and the return of my energetic little guy. We would love your prayers for his healing!

*this picture is courtesy of Taylor from our New Year's trip.*

My New Favorite Snack

So, I can see from the last post that my husband apparently highjacked my blog! While he is off cheering for the Titans with his family, (they got great seats and offered a ticket to Matt, which he was hugely thankful for) I am home in my pj's enjoying some computer/reading/tv time while the boys take a nap. I am also enjoying my new favorite snack:

1 sliced banana
1 sliced apple
1 spoonful of Nutella (chocolate, hazelnut spread)
1 spoonful peanut butter drizzled with honey

Yep, it is a pretty good day, all except for the missing my best friend part!

Go Titans!

Trip with Friends

We had an extended vacation over New Year's because of the way the date's fell. We decided to use our long weekend to take a trip to see our dear friends, the Brown's. The trip was great. I have officially decided that I have the best travelers ever. They seriously made the 4.5 hour trip with hardly a fuss, and we didn't even have to stop. *side note: the trip home wasn't quite as good, but Owen and I had a little head cold and we had to stop for a meal making it a little longer. Despite my feeling during the last half hour of the trip, I think they still did great considering. We really just spent the New Year visiting with our friends and eating lots of snacks (a wonderful cheese ball with strawberry preserves and some artichoke dip that Taylor made and a buffalo chicken dip that I made per Matt's request.) The kiddos had a blast (I think Dylan has her first crush-on Micah!), and we even got one day pretty enough to play in the grassy spot across from the Brown's house. The rainy day wasn't so bad either as we had a fun day at IKEA and Mellow Mushroom!

You Have to Try This

....if you like ketchup. While visiting at the Brown's for New Year's (more to come from our trip later), I tasted a new find of Taylor's: Private Selection's* organic tomato ketchup. I think I could seriously eat a few spoonfuls for dessert! It is especially great for us because it has no high fructose corn syrup (Owen is allergic to corn.) I definitely added it to my list and was so happy to find it right with the other ketchups for only $1.85 for a 20 oz bottle. So, if you like to dip like me, head over and buy a bottle of this. You won't be sorry.


*Private Selection is one of Kroger's store brands, which I highly recommend. It is great quality, and they carry lots of affordable organics with this label. Sorry to those of you without my favorite grocery store.

Christmas in Memphis

*all the grands, and great-grands with "Pa Pa, Bill"*



The day after Christmas, we loaded into the Subaru and headed to Memphis to have Christmas with Nana, Mimi, Pa, and Bill. The weather was fabulous, and the boys were so excited to have so much attention from the family, whom they love. Really, the whole Christmas week was that way. What a blessing because Micah's first two Christmases were filled with tears from being overwhelmed, and Owen was a bit unsure of all the commotion last year. This was the first time Matt and I have really been able to watch our families enjoy our boys at Christmas time. It really took a lot of pressure off us as we were able to watch them have fun instead of trying to keep them calmed down the whole time. Much of our family came over on Saturday to have food and exchange some "dirty santa" gifts. It was 70 degrees and windy: wonderful for all the kids to be outside! Owen and Micah took turns flying their new balsa wood toy airplanes while Matt threw the football with my brother and cousin. The trip was a wonderful close to the Christmas festivities.

*opening a new drum set from Nana*

*comparing watches with Uncle Andy (he got a watch that was just like Uncle Andy's!) *

*Owen found a new best friend: Pa, who is my Uncle Phil*

*With Mimi and Pa. Owen seriously sat in this chair with Pa the whole night*

Recommendation From the Christmas Loot

Thought I would pass along this recommendation for all you with little ones out there. It is a great story book with beautiful illustrations.

"I would urge not just families with young children to get this book, but every Christian--from pew warmers, to ministry leaders, seminarians and even theologians! Sally Lloyd-Jones has captured the heart of what it means to find Christ in all the scriptures, and has made clear even to little children that all God's revelation has been about Jesus from the beginning--a truth not all that commonly recognized even among the very learned."
--Rev. Tim Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York
This is what the author said in an interview when asked why she wrote the book:

"When I first saw that everything in the Old Testament, is pointing to a child—the one who is coming—it blew me away. Suddenly, here was a way to read the Bible without it leaving you condemned (I’ll never keep all the rules all the time) or in despair (how can I ever be as brave as Daniel? or David?).

I found it so moving when I started to discover how the Old Testament is basically one long record of failure—the failure of God’s people time and time again to live rightly, to rescue themselves—and that the stories in the Old Testament are all getting us ready for the One who is coming. They are all signposts to the True Hero, the True King, the True Prince, the True Servant, the greater David, the greater Daniel. The Rescuer.

As a child, I thought the Bible was packed with rules you had to keep (or God wouldn’t love you) and heroes setting examples you had to follow (or God wouldn’t love you). I thought, in short, that the Bible was all about me and what I should (or shouldn’t) be doing. Until I read a Story.

It’s the Story running like a golden stream underneath all the other stories in the Bible: the story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them. Suddenly, I realized the Bible wasn’t about me and what I should be doing at all. It was about God and what he had done. And it changed everything.

So, throughout the mapping out of the book and writing the stories, I was resolute in my determination to avoid even a whiff of moralizing in terms of applying the stories. The absolute last thing I ever wanted to ask a child was: “And what can we learn from David about how God wants us to behave?” The story isn’t there to be an example for us to follow. If that were the point, Jesus would never needed to have come. We could have saved ourselves.

The story is there because it’s true and because it’s telling the bigger story—of the greater David who is coming. To do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves, to fight the battle we could never fight. To be the Hero we all need. To be our Rescuer.

I wanted children to know this Story—and to meet this wonderful Hero in the pages of this book. Because rules don’t change you. But a story can."

Christmas Morning

After our long night, we all enjoyed sleeping in until 8:30 (Micah slept till 9). We had made a monkey bread type dish the night before, and the sticky, sweet goodness was waiting for us when we woke up. I was even able to make Owen his own special version which he called "candy bread." We then brought up the stockings (we wanted to keep the boys in the playroom to eat some breakfast and to read the Christmas story before heading down to see their new gifts.) Owen's was filled with his fair share of trucks and Micah's had a new watch. After lining up all the trucks and setting the watch, we headed down for Micah to find his new keyboard and for Owen to find a new discover rig jeep. They were having so much fun, they didn't even realize they had more gifts to open. That was one thing I really enjoyed about this Christmas. They would get so excited about each gift, and we would have to open it and play with it before they were ready to move on. They each got some new books to add to our library, Owen got some alphabet blocks and some alphabet magnets (he is very interested in learning his letters these days), and some slippers, while Micah opened a new analog clock for his room complete with hygrometer and thermometer, some dominoes, and a jelly belly gumball machine. The fun lasted till lunchtime, and naps followed soon after. The afternoon and evening included lots of playing with the new toys. Matt's family joined us later for pie and mulled wine. When Micah had to go to bed, he recapped the day and told us how much he loved Christmas. He even began cyring because he didn't want Christmas to be over. The best part was that we were able to tell him that it wasn't quite over because we were going to go to Nana's house the next day for another Christmas. He was relieved and finally settled down once I confirmed that Nana would indeed have a Christmas tree at her house!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was always a special day when I was growing up, and we wanted it to be a fun day for the boys also. We had decided the week before that we would get together with Matt's family after we went to church to eat and exchange gifts. Since it was sure to be a late night, we were expecting some tears and cranky boys; you just never know how they will react to so much when they are so young . There were some tired boys, but certainly no tears. They had a blast. Owen was a bit squirmy at church, but Micah warmed our hearts as he belted out "O Come All Ye Faithful!" Once at Grammy's and Gramp's house, they were in constant awe at all the presents. Micah was true to his character-he would oblige us with a few gasps and ooh's and ah's, and then turn back to figuring out their computer. Owen was beside himself. He opened a few trucks, a Thomas the tank engine, and then, by far and away his favorite gift, a garbage truck. He didn't put it down and played happily with it for the next two hours. We didn't venture home until 10. Once at home, we pulled one more box from under the tree. It was a gift to Micah from Owen- a duvet cover and pillowcase covered in numbers from IKEA. Micah was ecstatic and couldn't wait to go to his bed. Owen was thrilled too as he was still in full throtle from the evening's festivities. He brought his trucks to the bed and gave a few jumps before we told him he must go to bed. I don't know that he has ever stayed up that late in his life. He went to bed laughing about his "garbee guck!" Micah settled into his new covers and fell asleep rather quickly too after all the excitement. What a wonderful evening. Matt and I got the downstairs ready for the next morning, and went to bed. We then stayed up far too late chatting about our sweet boys and how much fun they had that night.

Merry Christmas

...and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins
Matthew 1:21

Micah's Christams Program

Micah's Christmas program at preschool this year was "Silent Night Around the World." Each age group sang Silent Night in a different language and then they all sang a few songs together. The three year olds took the Spanish version Noche de Paz. The boys wore sombreros and looked adorable. We were really proud of Micah as he stood in front of many people and sang all the words. We even saw him singing along in French and German--didn't even know he knew any of those! Afterwards, he asked if we could go to the mall for some ice cream. He knew exactly what he wanted: birthday cake flavor with sprinkles!

Brotherly Love

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. Psalm 133


Sharing a special drink of fresh grapefruit juice. I don't know if it was the new light-up cup (courtesy of Publix-apparently they thought our boys needed a treat!) or the fact that I added a spoonful of sugar, but these boys couldn't get enough!
Micah says quite often these days: "Owen is a funny guy!" He loves the fact that Owen can talk more now and often laughs hysterically at some of Owen's expressions.
As always, Owen is smitten with his big brother.
Big hugs at the mall after Micah's Christmas program. They were chasing each other and giving tickles and ended with a big hug. So sweet!

Six Years

TO MY WONDERFUL WIFE:

I love you. A lot. No words can aptly describe it. Six years and two boys later- its stronger as ever. I am so blessed to have you. You definitely are the unsung hero of the Morrison family. You keep us happy, healthy, well fed, neat and clean. So- thanks for six great years and many more to come.

Something to Warm You Up and Make You Happy

I have been making this the past couple of evenings for a night time treat. Matt and I have curled up with our mugs and have watched a couple of movies. It is really easy, makes your kitchen smell yummy, and is cheap because there is no need to use nice wine in this recipe. So... make yourself a pot tonight and enjoy!

I have tried two different recipes, but we liked this one best:

Mulled Wine
-3 cups red wine
-1 cup sweet vermouth
-1 cup orange juice*
-1T sugar or to taste
-various holiday spices** (I used ground cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon sticks)
Combine all ingredients and simmer at least 20 minutes on the stove top.

This made enough for about 3 large mugs.
*You can also use apple cider
**I also used a spice bouquet one night, it was good, but I felt like the ground spices lent more flavor. The ones that don't dissolve will just sink to the bottom.

Praise the Lord!

So, I am feeling depressed today. Maybe it is because Matt had a ridiculously long weekend and now he is back at work (always hard the day dada goes back to work.) It is even harder because it has been cold and drizzling for about a month it seems. We are going stir crazy. There is literally nothing left to do. I can tell that the boys are bored because they keep asking to watch "Thomas" which is a sing along Thomas the train video that keeps both boys thoroughly entertained these days. I can't stand to see them stare at the TV for more than 20 minutes or so, but we have exhausted all our options. We build some towers, watch Thomas, read some books, watch Thomas, dance to some Christmas music, watch Thomas, take a hot bath to warm up, watch Thomas! I wish I was more creative. Maybe tomorrow I will make play-dough like the Myers. Anyway, as I am tempted to wallow in my "misery" (I even called Matt complaining-yes, I stooped to that level. Sorry Matt!) I remembered some wise words spoken at a Christmas ornament swap last week. The hostess, a sweet lady who hosted about 20 young moms at her home, shared with us that when she is tempted to pity herself, she instead turns and praises the Lord. Well, Matt told me that I should blog as it tends to lift my spirits a bit. I was pondering what to blog about and remembered Charlotte's words. I began praising the Lord as I emptied my camera for these precious children that the Lord has entrusted me with. But I felt myself bordering on becoming more depressed as I feel like I wasted the day being grumpy and thought of all the ways I could have been a better mother. Then I remembered to praise the Lord for being with me on the bad days too. He has given me these children and this incredibly challenging job, but He has promised to stay with me and help me. I hate that I am so stubborn that it takes these reality checks to make me realize I need Him every hour.

Annie Hawks wrote:

"One day as a young wife and mo­ther of 37 years of age, I was bu­sy with my reg­u­lar house­hold tasks. Sud­den­ly, I be­came so filled with the sense of near­ness to the Mast­er that, won­der­ing how one could live with­out Him, ei­ther in joy or pain, these words, 'I Need Thee Ev­e­ry Hour,' were ush­ered in­to my mind, the thought at once tak­ing full pos­sess­ion of me."

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

So now onto my post and the adorable boys that inspired it:


Owen has been extremely interested in going "pee peezzzz" in the potty. He comes running when I remind Micah to go potty. He will open the toilet seat for Micah, watch him do his business, then flush for him, and put the seat down. Usually, he will then get his potty seat from under the sink and put it on the toilet. I figure I have to let him try, even though he hasn't quite gotten the skill down for releasing anything. He will push really hard and wait so patiently, sometimes becoming quite frustrated that no "pee peezzz" will come. All of this really just makes me smile!
This is Owen and Oliver at the Myers' house after church on Sunday. Raechel cooked us a delicious meal and afterward, the boys wore their tupperware hats as they played in the playroom. I didn't actually witness this, but Matt said these boys were having a blast. This picture definitely brightened up my day.

And finally, this one. Micah got really excited about this book last week. It is called Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells, and is one of the Max books. In the story, Max and his sister Ruby each make their grandma a birthday cake. Max's is an earthworm cake with caterpillar icing and red hot marshmallow squirters; and Ruby's is an angel surprise cake with raspberry fluff icing, silver stars, sugar hearts, and buttercream roses. Micah asked Matt if mama could make him a cake like this and get him some red hot marshmallow squirters. I thought it would be funny to duplicate Ruby's cake. I was buying all the ingredients to make the special cake when Matt found this one in the bakery already done up. What are the chances that there would be a bright pink cake, angel food no less, already made up for $3.50? We got it out last night, and Micah had a blast pretending to be like Max and Ruby and licking off all the "raspberry fluff icing." We also picked up a pack of Gushers- you remember those gummy candies that squirt in your mouth- to be the marshmallow squirters. Needless to say, we all had a big sugar fest last night!