Triumphs or truths?

I have heard this phrase a lot: "Blogs aren't real. People only post their triumphs."

It's true that I post a lot of positive things. And yes, there are a lot of things that I leave out. But that doesn't make what I post any less real. I have plenty of things I could post about and choose not to. I could post about what a horrible mother I feel like I am most of the time. I could post about how much I hate how much my husband travels and is gone. I could post about how I worry that something will happen to him and I will be left raising four kids on my own, or that he will lose his job and we will not be able to make ends meet. I could post about how lonely I feel most of the time. I could post about how I have been hurt deeply by people close to me. I could post about how I feel like I don't have any close friends that I can count on. I could post about how I feel jealous of people with long-standing best friends that they can call no matter what. I could post about how I can never quite seem to say the right thing to people. Or I could post about how I have never gotten over my inferiority complex that I developed being constantly made fun of from 2nd-8th grade. I could post about how much I miss my family and how lonely I feel every holiday spent away from them, or just when things get really hard, and I feel the most depressed.

But I don't.

I don't because overall, I am a positive person. Or at least I try to be. I try to be someone that people want to be around. Someone who uplifts and inspires. I post about things that make me happy, and things that I want to remember.

I don't post triumphs. I post what is true to me.

Finally!

I finally finished some of my projects! I have had some white shirts cut out since I think May, and finally got around to sewing them! One is for my Addy and one is for my sweet little nephew Lukas. Soory it took so long! And Christina, your baby's shirt and hat are finally finished! Yay! With everything that happened with Sean, my projects kind of went on the back burner for a while. (Oh and I made it short sleeves because I was afraid of the long sleeves not being long enough. I just really want it to fit!) I have never made this shirt pattern in anything but white, and I absolutely love it! Maybe I will have to make one for Addy...


Here are a couple of other bags I made:

This one for my awesome neighbor Jeannette (thanks to Lindsay and Nicole for helping me find fabric!):

And this one for my awesome friend Vanessa:

And I made this dress for my friend Tiffani's baby:

I lost my favorite baby dress pattern and I am so sad. I have no idea if I loaned it out or what. Hopefully it turns up. So I had to settle for this one. which is cute, too, but the smallest size on this pattern is still pretty big so she'll have to wait a while to wear it. Does anyone have any recommendations of a baby dress pattern they use? I need a new one.

And what a nice mom I am. Sean has been praying for weeks for it to snow so he could have fun in the snow and make a snowman. So I went out for 5 minutes and even with gloves on froze my fingers numb to make this tiny little snowman with Emily and Sean. They loved it.

Here is the sing-off video mentioned in the previous blogpost. My cool new camera came with a program where I can change video formats, so I did that and now I could post this video. Apparently the other file was too large. So here it is in lesser quality, but oh well. I love how Seany's reindeer ears shake when he nods his head. Totally cracks me up.

Merry Christmas!!!

My December so far...

As soon as we got back from Thanksgiving in California, we had to set up the Christmas decorations. The kids were so excited! Aside from the lights and tinsel, they essentially decorated the tree themselves. I kind of really like it that way, because it takes all the work out of it, and then when they pull ornaments off, I don't have to get mad. Last year they must have had a new arrangement of ornaments daily. This year, surprisingly, they have, for the most part, left them alone. Even Addy.

Here they all are decorating the tree:

After decorating the tree, we realized we didn't have a star. Turns out Sean had pulled over the tree 3 times 2 years ago and on the last one, shattered the star. Oops. Then last year, we went to California, so although we set up the tree, we never replaced the star. So we made a family trip to Walmart to pick out a new one. While we were there, we ran into some friends who happened to be getting the same thing, and we even picked out the same star.

Also that week, I went a little crazy with Christmas baking and got my Christmas plates out to my neighbors early this year. The only drawback: Christmas seems like such a long time away after you do that.

My mom, sister and brother pooled some money together for me this year for Christmas to get me a luggage set, you know, in case I ever decide to go anywhere. When I went Black Friday shopping with my mom and sister, we found an awesome set at an uncommonly good price, which left money for me to do with whatever I wanted. So long as I only spent it on me. Well, I found an amazing deal on a digital video camera and accessories, and I am so excited.

Here is my first test with my new toy:

And I thought this was cute. Music and rhythm moves this little guy's soul:

Addison likes to walk around the house doing this fake laugh. I think it is hilarious:



This past week was "Spirit week" at the girls' school. When I picked Liah up from school on Monday, she was so excited that the next day was going to be 1800s day, and she had an outfit all planned out because "she knows what they wear because aunt Lorie took her to a museum in Yakima that had dress-ups at it!" And she wanted me to make her a costume. That night. I checked the sheet when I got home and was relieved beyond compare when I saw that it said 80s day. not 1800s day. LOL. 80s? Now THAT I can do!

I crimped both the girls hair and Liah wore leggings and Emily wore layered socks and cuffed pants. Yeah, I can still totally do that without thinking about it. Oh what were they thinking in the 80s?? (sorry, if you still cuff your pants...) Thanks to my favorite sister for teaching me THAT fashion statement. I remember one family reunion where my mom crimped my hair, and I felt, oh, so gorgeous.

Wednesday was Wacky Wednesday, and oh, were the girls excited. We went a little wacky.

Emily asked me to paint her nails, so I did, and while they were drying, I had her positioned just so, and while my back was turned, I hear: "Chocolate??" I turn around to see this:

It's official, I have the biggest goober ever. (if you can't tell, she is pointing to her mouth, signaling me to "insert chocolate here") lol...

Sean chillin' with his dad:

Here's a cute video of Addy and Sean being Santa Claus. If you listen carefully, you can hear Addy say "ho, ho, ho" at the beginning. Oh, I love that kid.

Sean came home from preschool on Thursday wearing these:

So, so cute, Ms. Kristen. I love it! Little did you know the sing-off that was about to take place in the Meredith household.

[pretend there is a video here of Sean and Emily having a Rudolph the red-nose reindeer sing-off. blogger=lame and won't upload it!!!]


I found this sign at Dollar Tree, and had to get it. I love it.

Well my biggest news by far is...........................................

No, I am not pregnant... I am no longer blind!!!

Goodbye contacts and glasses!

I had LASIK done on both of my eyes on Friday! I was previously 20/400 in my right eye and worse in my left, but as of yesterday, I am seeing 20/20!!! I don't need contacts or glasses to drive anymore. I still can't believe I can see. It is truly remarkable and unbelievable what modern advancements in technology can do! I am so glad to live in this age where this is available! It is nothing short of miraculous.

[As a side note... They give you an anti-anxiety drug about 45 minutes before you get your surgery done, for obvious reasons, since you're awake during the procedure, etc. I guess I called my friend after I had my surgery to let her know how it went, and apparently I sounded really awesome, though I have no recollection of said conversation. Thank you so much to my friends that watched my kids for me so I could have this done.... and yeah... sorry you saw me after my surgery too... lol. I felt great, I don't know what you guys are talking about... lol]

(p.s. If you are reading this on facebook, you will need to visit my blog http://amymommyof4.blogspot.com/ to view the videos)

Thanksgiving 2009

This year we went to Northern California for Thanksgiving. We drove down Wednesday after Liah and Emily got out of school and got to my Grandma's house in Durham at about midnight. We spent Thanksgiving with my parents and my sister. My grandma got to leave the hospital for a few hours to come have Thanksgiving dinner with us and get a good shower in. My mom and sister helped her get ready after that, and Liah painted my gramma's toenails for her. I thought it was sweet.

The picture above is my sister, Gramma and me. She won't let people take pictures of her, so we snuck up on her and took one anyway. It's for posterity. Besides, Lorie did Gramma's hair, and she had painted toe nails, so why not have a picture. That's what I always say.


The girls had fun playing "Go Fish" with aunt Lorie.
(Sean thought he would get in on the picture too)

Addy fell and got a rug burn on his chin. Poor dude. Still getting used to this walking thing.

Here is Addy with my mom. He really wanted this can of pears.

Friday morning I went Black Friday shopping with my mom and sister. I've never actually done that before. I don't do 4am, but we did go around 10. It was crazy, but I got some good stuff.

After getting back from shopping, we drove to Davis where Jeremy's sister Jessica lives. Jessica and her husband Jared just adopted the sweetest baby, and now that the adoption was finalized, they got to be sealed to their baby and bless him. It was such a beautiful experience. They are wonderful parents to him.

Jared's family flew here from Germany. They are awesome people! One of my favorite moments was when Emily told Jared's brother Stefan to "stop talking like that!!" (refering to his accent... lol) We had Thanksgiving dinner with all of Jeremy's and Jared's family on Friday. Two Thanksgiving dinners in a row. Can one have too much turkey and homemade rolls? I submit they cannot.

We spent the weekend with Jeremy's family and drove all the way home after church and got home about midnight. It was kind of a whirlwind trip, but it was so fun! It was good to see our families.

(p.s. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures after I left my grandma's! Jessica, I need some pictures!!!)

(P.P.S. Today is my favorite sister Lorie's birthday!!! I love you Lorie and I am so blessed to have you for a sister!!!)