Christmas Wrap-Up

Well, the month of December was obviously busy - both at home and work, due to the ONE post I published during the month. We had a blast during this holiday season! Caleb got to experience ice skating and the twins had their very first Christmas! Thank you to everyone for the great memories and thoughtful gifts for the kids! To sum it all up, here it is in pictures...

Caleb Ice Skating with Daddy in late December

"Go Tell It on the Mountain!" Caleb participating in his very first church Christmas Play on December 13th. (He is in the red shirt between the girls in teal and white)

"...A Savior has been born in Bethlehem...you will find Him lying in a manger..."

Tessa's first baby & Jacob rolling in the wrapping on Christmas Eve @ Nana & Papa's House!

MMMM! Wrapping Paper!

Candy Canes for everyone!

The Aftermath!

BIG Decision to Make

For the last several months I have been researching, studying and basically consuming myself about infant vaccinations. This all came to be b/c for a moment in time about five months ago,I was concerned about Jacob's development. Now I admit, I am definitely a person who assumes right away, makes initial comments without all the facts, and worries a ton! So, to say that Jacob wasnt developing "normally" was completely in my head and no pediatrician would have backed my presumptuous thoughts that I kept bottled up inside. (To fast forward really quick - Jacob is a perfectly active, sweet, smiley and curious 10 month old who loves his mama more than anything!). But...I am glad that these thoughts were provoked because it allowed my eyes to be opened to the potentially harmful and unproven effectiveness of vaccinations.

When Caleb was a baby these thoughts never came close to entering my mind. I would take him to the doctor to be weighed, measured and given his shots...because that is just what you do. I really never even thought that I was doing something healthy or good for him, I simply just thought is was the law or something. When the twins came along, it was all the same thing. They have been vaccinated through 6 months and Caleb's last vaccination was at 18 months. But even still with that, the twins have so far each received 14 shots and Caleb, 23.

Seeing those numbers written stirs up a lot of anger inside. I cringe every time I think about the injections I decided to give my children. Knowing all the dangers that these shots pose, I feel it is far more safe to suspend them indefinitely, rather than schedule them and face the unknown of what could happen. The main potential diagnosis being autism. The other factor is the lack of effectiveness.


As the days have passed since I first made the decision along with Brian, I have only felt stronger and stronger about our decision to halt the vaccines. There are just too many unknowns about the dangers of them and I will not have my kids be experimental guinea pigs just because they happen to be born into this generation that still does not know what is causing the increase in autism and tons of other childhood diseases for that matter.

As parents, we go the extra mile to buy organic food, breastfeed and buy the safest car seats for our kids, (because we have done those positive studies & research) yet we turn around and inject them with brain injuring needles that can harm them for the rest of their lives. We just have to be more aware and ask questions about why we do what we do! DO THE RESEARCH - it is there!

I really believe our diets have much to do with the increase in cancer, arthritis, Parkinson's, etc. but I will save those thoughts for another post. I know this is a controversial issue and some may not agree with it, but for my family this is our choice. We are living in a world that is sicker than it has ever been - a world that is falling apart in so many ways and this is one of the ways I feel I can protect my kids - as "oxymoronish" as that sounds.

God placed it on my heart to continue the research I have done and I believe 100% that He is protecting my kids from something horrible. I understand that tomorrow is always full of the unknown, but as I continue to trust in God, I know that he is doing his will and his best for our family.

Wanna Talk?

I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. I have been day-dreaming about how it would be and when it might happen. Well, this morning, November 26th, it happened!

We have the cribs in the twins' room situated across from each other on opposite walls. It is the only way all the furniture would fit into that tiny 10 x11 room anyway. This morning as usual, I heard commotion coming from the nursery with Tessa's voice (cry) resonating the loudest - BIG SURPRISE! :) I walk in to find both babies standing up, holding onto the crib rail, looking and "talking" to each other! It was priceless! Tessa was moaning at Jacob as if to say, "Can you please get me out of here?" And sweet Jacob stood there, smiling through his pacifier at her, probably wondering when she might calm down.

When they both saw me come through the door, Tessa cried louder and Jacob smiled wider. I have very different personalities on my hands. Next time I will grab the camera and post a picture. They are so precious!

Thank You For The Ranch

It is pure joy becoming a parent. You enter a new and profound arena of life that you knew existed, but could have never understood unless this tiny child came to be yours. I also consider it pure joy knowing my savior, Jesus Christ as I venture through this earthly portion of my existence. Without his clear direction for what this life on earth is, I would be a lifeless embodiment, floating through on my way to nowhere. It is all because of Jesus, we are alive and this daily belief and living pours over into our children.

Two nights ago I prepared one of my family's favorite meals, chicken croissants. I paired them with some raw veggies and and side of Ranch dressing. As we sat down to eat,

Caleb says: "We need to pray."

Me: "Okay, would you like to pray tonight?"

Caleb: "Yes."

Caleb: "God...thank you for our food. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you that Jesus rose from the cross. Thank you for the Ranch. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Yes, the prayer is adorable (the "thank you that Jesus rose from the cross" part is my favorite), but this prayer was a maturating moment in Caleb's relationship with God. As he began his prayer, my eyes began to fill with tears. I looked up at Brian and he had tears streaming down his face, too. For the first time in his life, Caleb really spoke to God from his heart. Nothing was rehearsed, nothing was silly. It was a real, raw, straight from the heart connection with the God of the universe. Every other time Caleb has prayed at dinner it has been the "God is great, God is good" rendition that he has come to know from preschool.

I am in awe in of God. I am amazed that he reaches out and grabs the hearts of the tiniest souls and draws them to himself. I really wonder at three years old how Caleb perceives God. Does he understand that God is everywhere even though he cant see him? Does he really get that Jesus was the man in flesh that embodied God the father when he was present on earth? Does he comprehend that God loves him more than Brian and I could ever accomplish?

I do know that he has incredible faith and trust. He believes that God is real. He sees Jesus through Brian and I (though faulty) and wants to be like us so much. Thank you, God for Caleb William Peterson and his heart so full of wonder and belief...and thank you for the Ranch.

Creepin' & Crawlin'

I have waited a week to post this because I have been patiently awaiting my sweet Tessa to begin the independent milestone of crawling, but to date it has not "really" happened, so I will brag on Jacob.

The poor bugger has literally been on hands and knees since the end of September with no luck. He has gone backwards, scooted, collapsed, rocked and rolled, and he was finally victorious on Friday, November 7th - the day after Caleb's 3rd birthday. He was slow going, but was definitely in the right direction, now, just 10 or so days later he is, of course, all over the house! It is fun to watch him go. His favorite thing is to move toward a piece of furniture, hoping to pull himself up and in the last day he has been successful. Brian had to lower his crib b/c he is pulling himself up to stand. He just loves the independence - you can see it in his smile.

Now Tessa...I still am trying to figure her out. She can be the more outgoing twin, but on the flip side she can be passive and quiet. She usually lets Jacob pulls toys away from her without much of a fight. In the last week she has managed to go from an "on all fours" position to sitting up. I am so proud of her b/c that takes a lot of strength....but this is now deferring her from crawling b/c if she gets on her hands and knees, she immediately sits up on her little booty!

The exciting thing that happened last night was that she kind of crawled, but it looked like a motion that Gollum from Lord of the Rings would do. We set out Brian's keys quite a ways away from her and she motioned forward, got into a splits position (the legs in a V one) and kind of scooted herself to the keys. She made it - in a very interesting fashion, but she made it! Caleb never did get the "traditional" crawl down. He always had one knee down and one foot down - to each his or her own.

In other milestones, Caleb now spells his name if asked. C-A-L-E-B.com. It is hilarious, don't know where the .com came from, but kids are funny - they just do and say silly things. Jacob began clapping his hands over the last 4-5 days and you can tell how proud of himself he is! Tessa is now beginning to pull herself up to stand. She did it today in her crib at preschool, so tonight we will need to lower her crib more than Brian did over the weekend. She is so tiny and to see her stand and pull up is just crazy. I imagine in the next week my Angelic Angelfish will become Crawly Crabs. Oh, and Caleb just graduated to the 3 year old class, Salty Seals.