A bit of Christmas cheer!

I love decorating our house for every season, but I especially love decorating it for Christmas!  And a big part of that is because of our ornaments.  Decorating our tree has become a fun walk down memory lane for us each year.  (that's right--I said "us"--Ben even participates in this!)  Here's how we do it...

We pick out a tree (we're real tree kind of people).  And p.s., I want to find a place around here where we can actually go cut down our own tree and not pay a fortune for it.  Maybe we should just start cutting one down at my Mom's and bringing it back home from Thanksgiving.  Hmmm.  I digress.

So we get the tree home, get it in the stand, and get it watered.  The white lights go on the tree first--and we load them on there--the more lights, the better.  Then, the fun begins!  Ben unwraps each ornament and as he's handing it to me to put on the tree, we talk about where it came from, who gave it to us, what the story is behind it, etc.  (I label them with the year and the "story" when I get them so we don't forget.)  Almost every ornament on our tree has a story.  I love that!

This is the final product...

Here are some other Christmas-y pictures from our home...

The stockings over the fireplace (it's so exciting to think that there will be another stocking up there next year!  and a sweet friend has already given us a new set of stocking holders for our family of 3--plus the dogs, of course!)

Since the big tree is in our front room, I like to put a baby tree in our family room (these ornaments don't have a story, other than they are all tiny and I "stole" them from my mom!)

I even spread some Christmas cheer to the dog kennels!

This is one of my favorite things--all of our cards from friends and family!  We LOVE getting cards with photos and updates!  Can you spot yours? 



















And one last favorite thing--the lights that Ben puts up on the outside of our house!  I didn't think he would have time to do it this year because he's been working a lot of overtime (he's an amazing husband who works hard for our family!).  But he surprised me one day and put them up while I was at work and I thought he was sleeping from coming off a 48-hour shift.  Our neighbors have commented each year on how much they love our star.  I love it, too!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Love, Team Huss

Mixed Emotions on These Numbers...

We just got our December numbers via email!  We tried to prepare our hearts for whatever movement (or non-movement) we would see, but we were still kind of bummed...

#22 on the girl list (moved 4 spots since 11/4/2010)
#14 on the boy list (no movement since 11/4/2010)
#14 on the sibling list (moved 5 spots since 11/4/2010)

Yes, you read that right--we moved the most spots on the sibling list, which makes our numbers the same for boy or sibling.  And remember, in our instance, the siblings would both have to be between 3-12 months, which most likely means twins!  Yow-za! 

The reason for the mixed emotions is that we moved 9-10 spots from October to November, so it kind of took us by surprise to move ZERO spots on the boy list this month.  But alas, we know that God has our perfect child (or children) for us, and we'll wait patiently (haha--yeah, right--not exactly patiently waiting over here!).

Christmas is celebrated in Ethiopia in January, so I don't know of any reasons that the referral process would slow down in December.  But we'll see...

Making Progress

In the last few months, we've made some progress on the baby front...I guess most of it would be considered "nesting"...

Decided on the nursery design

(NOTE: The animal fabric will be the dust ruffle on the crib and the valance over the window)

(NOTE: This is a picture of the stickers we ordered--this isn't a picture of our room)

Bought a car seat

Were given a dresser/changing table

Bought a crib

Made the bathroom more "cute"

Bought a glider

Registered at Babies R Us and Target
Got 3 immunizations in preparation for going to Ethiopia (ouch!)

We've still got a way to go, but it feels good to be making progress!  We should have our December numbers soon, so stay tuned!

Taking the Guess Work out of SHOPPING!

It's pretty cool that it has become an "in" thing to shop with a purpose.  You know, buy things that benefit something or someone.  I LOVE that!

On one of the ba-gillion blogs that I follow, this mom of 9 kids (4 bio; 5 adopted) spent her "free time" compiling a list of things you can purchase that benefit orphans in some way.  I love it!  A one-stop-shop (blog post) where you can buy cool things that will make a difference!  And Team Huss made the list! ;)

Hopefully this will make your shopping experience this Christmas a little more enjoyable!

Come on, you know you want to.  All the cool kids are doing it!  

Just click here to give gifts that give life.

We're in the TEENS!

Just got our new waitlist numbers and we're in the teens, people!

#26 on the girl list (moved 9 spots since 10/6/2010)
#14 on the boy list (moved 10 spots since 10/6/2010)
#19 on the sibling list (moved 9 spots since 10/6/2010)

This is our month to receive a phone call from our case manager rather than an email (it alternates each month).  The phone call months are great because you get to speak to your case manager, but it usually takes a lot longer to get your numbers because they have to call a lot of people.  Well, our case manager was sweet to send us these November numbers via email while we wait for our phone call.  Yay!

Shorter than the Charlton Heston version

Our pastor recently finished a sermon series about the 10 commandments.  The series was titled "Playground." 

Huh?  What does a playground have to do with the 10 commandments?

Well, he used the analogy of how every good playground has good boundaries.  Think about it.  As parents, that's what you look for in a good playground for your kiddos.  One with fences or something to keep your child from running into danger. 

Get the analogy?  God gives us boundaries because he loves us and wants the best for us!

My pastor is a much better communicator that me, but here is his summary of the 10 commandments.  And you know how I love a good "executive summary!"

God's Commandments (Exodus 20: 1-21)

Important point:  God had already established the relationship (v 1-2).  Rules without relationship equals rebellion.

Let this sink in:  God’s laws and rules were never given as a condition for a relationship with Him, but as confirmation of a relationship with Him.

Here's the breakdown:

First, honor God (v 3-11).

Second, honor parents (v 12).

Third, honor people (v 13-16). 

As a part of that, honor bodies (v 13), marriages (v 14), possessions (v 15), and reputation (v 16).

Last, guard your thoughts (v 17).

Note:  He would rather us not sin out of fear of Him than to keep making wrong decisions (v 18-20).

Closing thoughts:  In His boundaries there is freedom!  He isn’t trying to control me, He’s trying to help me live in freedom!

In Writing

My friend Brooke and I just entered a FITNESS CONTRACT.

(NOTE: I can't get pics to upload right now, so check out her blog for our pics.  She's much more computer savvy than I am anyway...)

We're not overweight girls, but we are out of shape girls. And feeling a little squiggly around the edges...if you know what I mean.

And well, there is no time like the present, so we decided it was time to get in "go mode." It's helpful that we're both of the organized (read: a little bit OCD) persuasion because we had all sorts of fun using forms and files to lay out our personal, ULTIMATE GOAL for this process, as well as how to manage it along the way.

And it looks a little something like this: Every Sunday, we will "check in" with each other, listing our exercise/work out goals for the upcoming week, and "checking in" on whether or not the other kept to the plan she turned in the week before. This involves some specific information and numbers you will never see because it's none-ya, but in general, it's just a manageable exercise schedule.

The fun part is, if one of us falls off the wagon, you can expect public ridicule on my blog or hers.

Just kidding.

Maybe.

We haven't decided.

But we have decided on a reward system. It involves putting money in a jar each week to save for a girls’ weekend when we’ve reached our goal weights/shapes. 

We would LOVE to have your help along the way.  We need a little “tough love.”  Keep us accountable.  When you see us, ask us what we’ve done that week on the exercise front.  Do NOT be the “nice friend” to us.  Do NOT affirm us if we give you excuses.  Instead, pull a Jillian Michaels on us and give us a verbal thrashing.  Seriously.

And feel free to pass along ideas, encouragement or hardcore trainer lingo in the comments!

We'll keep you posted on our progress...