Christmas Greetings 2011 {Jeremiah ~ 1 Year, See Why I didn't print the letter!? Ha! :-}

We started the year on January first with a brand new 1 year old, which was very exciting.  Jeremiah has been growing well and growing up rapidly ever since.  He’s still my “baby” and probably will be for a long time.  There’s something about having older siblings to compare to (size, ability, etc.) that makes the youngest always seem so much younger for longer…but then again they really are learning at a much more rapid pace than the others because they are trying to catch up to the others!  Interestingly, Jeremiah is also our “largest” boy in size at certain age markers so that is funny to me.  He is in some 3T clothing already and isn’t even 2 yrs. old yet.   Jeremiah had a great year this year.  He began sleeping through the night around 12 mths. old when he started to grow out of his acid reflux issues just like his Dr. said he hopefully would (yay!).  It was a rough first year sleep wise but he’s been a dream sleeper/napper all this year unless sick so, wahoo!!  His ear tube surgery went well this fall and I feel his language acquisition is finally going somewhere because of it.  He could understand and obey age appropriate commands but the language output was simply garbled and jumbled.  He is finally now able to repeat and imitate certain sounds successfully and his spoken word bank is growing – praise the Lord!  He didn’t suffer from ear infections but the thick fluid trapped behind his eardrums for whatever reason did cause some minor hearing loss which resulted in delayed speech b/c the poor thing couldn’t hear clearly!  For example just the other day he clearly said, “Bye-bye” instead of “Dye-dye” and at almost 2 years old he can FINALLY say, “No, no!” instead of “eh, eh” and just shaking his head “no”.  I was very hesitant to have the tubes put in b/c of the caution we now have to take w/ not getting water in his ears because he LOVES the water but all has turned out well.  His hearing and language acquisition are more important than swimming at this point so after exhausting all other potential remedies we decided on the tubes.  We will have to have custom ear plugs made for the pool this summer  b/c he is a little fish but that is no big deal.  We are thankful for the remedy and the kind doctor who helped us.   As a former “pool rat” and with my history in diving/swimming – deciding on the tubes in case of potential future ear issues was hard for me, but God is good and he is doing fine so far.  Jeremiah’s bright eyes, smile, infectious laugh, wonder, and desire to be just like his big brothers are such a joy to all of our hearts.  His favorite thing currently is (gasp!) trains.  Tractors are an extremely close second especially since he got to go w/ Ryan to farm *alone* for a whole morning this past fall.  He is also really getting into books and loves being read to.  He can finally sit and listen to a whole book but part of me thinks it’s because he can actually hear and understand the story!  Jeremiah also likes to draw/scribble, color, sing and dance, and rock with me before bed/naptime.   Although I cherish every moment of his “littleness” and would love for him to stay this age forever, time marches on and he’ll be the big 2 here in just a few weeks on New Year’s Eve.  We can’t wait to see what God has in store for our sweet Jeremiah Michael this year especially towards the end of April. Here a few more of sweet J during the shoot - didn't have very long with him as he gets cold easily! :)  XOXOX ♥

*** 2011 has been a wonderfully blessed year for all of us and we are so thankful to the Lord for that. We hope and pray the same for you and your loved ones.  Thank you for allowing me to "go green" on the letter portion of our Christmas greetings!!  I did not intentially do this to save paper but rather ran out of time (haha!) and well...it actually worked out quite well AND I saved some paper (and lots of ink!).  As you can see the boys are growing so quickly.  It is a joy to watch them grow and thrive.  Truly, being their mom is one of my *best* and most favorite adventures in life so far.  The first and second are of course being a child of the God and being married to my amazing hubby!!  We also wanted to share with you the good news that while Ryan and I actually *shrunk* in size (haha!) our family, like the boys, is GROWING! Yes, we are expecting baby Sieb #4 this coming April 2012! :)  We both did the HcG protocol as outlined and instructed by Dr. Simeons and lost a total of 102 lbs (56 Ryan, and 46 me) together this year.  We are so thankful for the opportunity to get back on track health wise for ourselves, each other, and our boys.  I was especially thankful for the protocol because we knew we wanted to try and add to our family again and I needed my body to be in a good shape to do so!  As I write this our new little one is kicking and moving around (saying, "hello!") and I count it a tremendous blessing.  I think of Mary as she carried our Lord Jesus and what she must have thought...goodness...I only imagine what she went through for all of mankind.  What a humbling and sobering experience to be expecting during the advent season...truly the birth of our Lord and Savior is a wonderful miracle!!  How neat that Mary and Elizabeth didn't need ultrasounds to know the sex of their babies (both boys!) :). We've actually had our ultrasound and are praising the Lord that so far everything looks really good and the baby appears to be healthy.  We do not know the sex of the baby yet, but will be opening a box with either a pink or blue baby book inside on Christmas morning to find out so stay tuned and come back here (if you are not facebook) sometime Christmas evening for the video!! :)  We are so thankful that our Dr. played along and had some fun w/ us putting the "open on Christmas" sticky note on the correct box after I left the room. :)  Would you join us in praying us through this pregnancy and birth of our 4th sweet little one?  We'd appreciate that so much! 

Other than that we are doing well, are healthy, enjoying our different work opportunities (Ryan at Waterstreet Solutions and farming and I growing baby #4, home schooling, making our house homey, making memories with the boys, loving on everyone, and now also selling Thirty One products for some "me time" and to make a little extra income) and we are extremely thankful for all the blessings the Lord has so graciously bestowed upon us on our journey together.  The greatest of these blessings, though, is that even in the absence of any of the previously mentioned wonderful blessings we still have and always will have what makes Christmas a holiday in the first place; the birth of our Lord and Savior.  Nothing, even the absence of gifts or any other earthly acknowledgement of Christmas will ever change that.  We are so thankful that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:16).  As we think on and ponder the beauty, innocence, purity, and wonderment of baby Jesus in the manger (and the *what*, *why*, and *how* it took to get Him there) we can't help but look with repentance, hope, and utter gratitude to the cross.  We pray that you, our friends and loved ones, experience the true love of God and His forgiveness in His Son, Jesus, this Christmas season and always.  Merry Christmas and much love to all and to all a good night!  ♥ All our love, Ryan, Rosie, Caleb, Benjamin, Jeremiah, Baby #4, and Sadie (woof!).

{Some pics from our Christmas 2011 Season so far...♥}

Matching Christmas jammies!!

Mishcheivious!? :)

"CHOO CHOO, Mama, CHOO CHOO!!"

"THE BOX"!! No, I have no desire to open before Christmas morning (okay, I have a little one LOL), but I can't wait to share the surprise w/ R and the boys (and my mom) all together!!

Here he/she is!! Looking perfectly healthy and trying to suck on the hands/thumb already - what a miracle!! Thank You, Lord for this sweet, sweet baby - we cannot wait to meet him/her!!

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:11-16

Frosting!

Waiting for The Nutcracker performance.

Our beautiful tree complete with homemade paper chain garland from when we moved here in 2008 and all of our ornaments were in storage. :)

"Mmmm." :)

Us and baby #4 at 20 weeks along at the 2011 Purple Diamonds Thirty One Christmas party in Springfield, IL.  (Read: DATE NIGHT for Mommy and Daddy!!)

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

~All our love,
The Sieb Family, xoxox ♥