Need more Christmas music?

It's that time of the season when my holiday music collection is getting old.  That's saying a lot, since I've got 190 songs.  Are you feeling that way?  Well, never fear, I have your cure.

Cubworld is giving away five Christmas songs.  Yup, you read that right: giving away.  His music is fantastic and clean.  Check out the site for the free downloads, you've got nothing to lose.  If you like it he has more albums out there.

Keep it coming, Jacob.

Fantasy Couch Shopping

I'm tired of my couch.  You would be too after months of couch-ridden life (verses bed-ridden).  I won't actually get a new couch (especially since Grace is still potty training), but I can pretend.  

Optimistic Couch

Literally has optimistic adjectives all over it.

Cadillac Couch



Dog Couch
There were more ornate ones, but I couldn't get the images. This one costs seven times as much as the one I am currently sitting on.


Lip Couch


Scrub Brush Couch



Flying Carpet Couch



Wall Climbing Couch



Vote for your favorite!

Dobie the Delinquent Disk

Miraculously, my friends haven't given up on me despite my recent transition to an anti-social recluse. Lately people have been asking for an update. If you haven't heard from me, it's because the redundancy is getting embarrassing. I'm embarrassed to keep saying, "No, my health situation isn't getting better. There's actually this new thing going on..."  But I'm not going to lie.  

I promise I am not someone always looking for a health condition. I find no secret joy in the extra attention and dependence. Every day I yearn for more independence; a time when I can pick up and care for my own baby. I've been served and I'm ready to serve.

Since that day is not near, and questions are coming, here's an update.

Facts

I was starting to do much better and loved being available to change a few diapers, make some dinners, and get off the couch. Quite suddenly, my sciatic leg pain has come back. My neurosurgeon estimates that another piece of disk has dislodged and is pressing against the nerve. For seven weeks after my original partial diskectomy (which took out the piece of disk pinching the nerve) I had no nerve pain. Yay! The problem was fixed and there was no permanent nerve damage. So we know this current pain is not just old nerve damage, there is something new going on.  Well, sort of new...

Ideas

Because an MRI image would be vague so soon after surgery (scar tissue), we can only guess what is going on. I didn't really want an MRI before Christmas anyways, in case they saw a need that would land me in the hospital over the holiday. YUCK. 

My guess (and my guesses are getting pretty good) is that my previous disk herniation made the disk go ka-put (aka damaged it so it's now a sickly little thing that can't do it's job). 

Let's name this dear little (L4-L5) lumbar disk Dobie.  Instead of being a cushy, little pillow between my bones, Dobie's squishing out, pinching my nerve, and causing leg pain more severe than ever.  If Dobie was damaged before, no wonder it's now falling apart. If that's the case, let's get that thing out of there so I can eventually get back to being a mother! Well, that's my completely non-medical take on it.  There were way too many if's in this paragraph.

Pain & Permanent Damage

I said that delinquent Dobie was causing me pain.  You might be thinking, "Ah, what's a little pain, be tough Lynn!"  If that was the only effect of the pinched nerve, I'd just say, "Give me narcotics, I'll live through it and take care of my kids!"  (Well, they have given me narcotics and my husband can attest to the fact that they are the only thing keeping me from being a complete scrooge.  To make an understatement: the pain makes me edgy.)  The pain, though, is a message.  Dobie's efficient little nerve pinching could cause paralysis and permanent damage of bladder/bowel functions, leg function, and who knows what else.  I really don't want to know.

Health & Motherhood

So, as I have made each decision about the care of my health and my kids, my top priority has always been motherhood.  I want to do whatever it takes to mother my kids.  In some instances I've said, "Hold off, I need a few days with my kids and husband."  Like now.  In the long run, though, I have to be cautious now so I can be the best possible mother later.  And by later, I mean the rest of my life and the lives of my kids.  

It would be irresponsible for me to throw caution to the wind, stay home with my girls and care for them at any cost, and then end up with permanent damage that will handicap my mothering abilities for the rest of my life.  

To sum it up

In a week I will probably have an MRI and know what's going on.  Until then, Janson, Grace and I are at home while he works, and Mari is up with my parents because I can't lift her.  We are determined to spend Christmas as a family, which means driving up to my parents house to be with Mari.  Luckily Janson's boss changed his mind and he now has Christmas morning off.  How kind.

The Doghouse

What women don't want for Christmas:

Beware of the Doghouse Video

Ironically, I did ask for a gym membership for Christmas.

Nifty Little Help With CHRISTmas

Grace isn't even three yet and her holiday excitement seems focused around Santa, Rudolph, Frosty and presents. Oh, and her upcoming birthday. We've used that to tangent towards "Jesus' Birthday!" with weak success.

So I've been looking for Christ-centered fillers to put in the days of my advent calendar. With the amount of time and energy spent talking about Santa and the works, I figured I could easily dedicate some of the holiday talk to the Savior.

After a bit of searching, I hit gold: the Primary Sharing Time for this month. It has a list of scriptures for each of the 25 days before Christmas. Each one is a story about Jesus.

So each night we'll pull out a piece of chocolate (of course!) and a story about Jesus. Ideally. We'll see how it goes. I expect the chocolate will be great incentive, especially for me.

I thought I'd just pass on this great find.

If anyone else has simple tips for teaching the lil ones the true meaning of Christmas, please share!  Simple meaning very little glue, cutting, tape, toothpicks, flannel boards, costumes, acting out, memorization or choreographed song and dance.   Well, the choreography I may use.

Twilight: Confronting the Controversy

(This is my response to the questions on morality in the Twilight series.)

Reasons my children will be allowed to read the Twilight series:

Edward has qualities rarely idealized of teenage boys in media: chivalrous, commited, loyal, chaste, protective (to a fault) and self-controlled.

Both Jacob and Edward's family characters provide ample opportunities to teach lessons on putting off the natural man and controlling appetites.

The heroine chooses the mature, self-controlled boy rather than the less mature, unpredictable boy.

Premarital sex is shunned.

The heroine, as a married woman, shuns infidelity.

The heroine gets to experience the wonders of motherhood before the saga ends.

The Cullens are a "forever family." (Haha!)

My children will be reading.

My children will be reading something I have read.

The series can invite parent-child discussion about dating, marriage, making decisions, communicating with parents, good versus evil, disguised temptations, and fantasy versus reality.

The Controversial Twilight

I am not ashamed: I like Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series.

I have read the series three times to come to that conclusion. The first time I read the books quickly, intrigued by the plot. The second time I declared mature disinterest... but still finished the series. Then my interest was peaked when I heard of readers that didn't like my hero of the books, they liked 'that other guy.' So then I had to read the books again to see what they were so excited about. I still don't see.

Yes, I will admit that her language is nothing spectacular. She doesn't string words together in a way that leaves me awestruck; itching to read a sentence over again for the beauty of it. Sometimes the cliché phrases make my eyes roll.

That said, I think Meyer is a genius with plot and character development.

Masterful Plot
I am an avid reader and yet this is the first and only series I have had to buy the books because I couldn't wait to borrow. It's the only series I've read more than once. After the third book I was so frustrated that a conclusion hadn't been reached, I swore off the books. The boycott lasted a few months. From what I hear readers get through these books quickly, eager to see what happens next. What she lacks in vocabulary she makes up for with sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat plot.

Dynamic Characters
Have you ever heard of a romance novel where the readers are rooting for different prince charmings? It's rare. Usually we're all rooting for Mr. Darcy or... Prince Charming. It's typical to have the protagonist and antagonist... aka the good guy and the bad guy. That's how I read it the first time. But now I recognize that many readers see my hero as the bad guy. Meyer knows how to cater to her different readers, recognizing that we are not all attracted to the same type of people. I have noticed a pattern: many of the Jacob fans are the younger readers, while the Edward fans are older, often married. Perhaps some young Jacob fans could find their preferences changed ten years from now. Either way, I am intrigued that Meyers is able to create these round characters that trigger such a wide range of responses. For the critics out there, could you create such dynamic characters?

Speaking of critics, I hear some refer to these books as "guilty pleasures." Guilty because the hero is ridiculously chivalrous? Guilty because the boyfriend does NOT want the relationship to progress physically? Guilty because there is NO premarital sex? The moral standards depicted are much higher than most other media. Heaven forbid our youth should enjoy media that shuns premarital sex.

If I am guilty by approving of a male figure that opens doors, shuns long kissing, wants to marry his girlfriend, and is trying to live above the natural man (er, monster) in him, then so be it. My approval of Edward in no way lessens my intense love for my husband. It does make me relieved that my beloved shows no interest in drinking my blood.