Pretty ornaments

We will have to have a new family ornament next year. :)

I love putting up the Christmas tree. I love all the special ornaments. We have several that "have special meaning." Each year I do struggle, though. I do not want to be conformed to the world. I know Christmas is one of those times that Christians tend to struggle with that. We say we love Christmas because it's about Christ's birth, but then stay so busy that there's no mention of Him.

I love what some of my friends do like read Luke 2 to their children everyday leading up to Christmas. By Christmas they pretty much have it memorized. Each year I try to think of new ways to stay Christ focused, but it is difficult. Mainly because I fail at being consistent.

This year we have some different ideas for gifts. I will have to fill you in later about those. :) We are not buying gifts for anyone this year. (except a couple for our children) This has come about for many reasons. First, we can't afford it. We refuse to go in debt to buy presents. Martie quit UPS this year, and we realized when doing our budget if we cut out on gift giving (birthdays and Christmas) we could afford it. I know that sounds awfully harsh. We look at it like this, we would rather have daddy home at night tucking the children in, no more rushing family devotion time, more time to serve others than him working to pay for more unnecessary "stuff."

Don't get me wrong we are not cold hearted, just being real. We live in a world today that insists we "keep up with the Jones'." We REFUSE to buy into that. Children here in America have way too much stuff. We don't want our children growing up to think that our love for them is measured by the stuff we buy them. I don't think gifts are bad. We love receiving gifts and giving them. However if it requires us to go in debt, we won't do it. I guess in all this rambling all I'm saying is there is a balance.

We are still trying to figure out that balance. Hopefully one day, one year, I will have it all figured out and we will have developed our own family traditions. (and I will be consistent) :)

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and you truly take the time to reflect on the reason for this season.

It's a ............

We are having a healthy baby, a baby that loves to move their arms, and a......................
THUMBSUCKER!

That's about all we know about Mangum baby #5! hahahaha

That's right, we DIDN'T find out. It was very difficult for my sweet husband. He does not like surprises. My favorite part is listening to everyone's reactions. So, it's time for everyone to start their guessing.

Boy/Girl?
How big?
Look like?

Ultrasound is tomorrow!

Well the "big" ultrasound is tomorrow. We could find out what we're having. I can honestly say this is the first time I haven't wanted to know. This baby is our tie breaker! There are 3 men in our house and 3 women! I can imagine that moment in the hospital when we find out. I can almost hear the drum roll. hehehe

Well, now reality. Almost everyone else around me is dying to know what this baby is. Sooooo, we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if we know or not. What are your guesses? I truly have no clue with this one.

I will say that I am sicker with this one than any of the others. :( I'm 18 1/2 weeks and still sick almost every day. On the bright side, since I have to have a c-section, I'm half way done. That does not even seem possible. I'm praying the second half of this pregnancy goes better than the first.

I haven't blogged much lately. So I'll do a quick update and give pictures. :)

Martie- quit UPS, we are truly sacrificing so that he can be home with us at night. He's still in school, working on his MDiv. The church is going great! This last year has been crazy. God is doing some really amazing things in the life of PBC. (www.pbcnc.org) The website needs work, but hopefully with all that is going on, it will be updated more.

Taylor- swimming year round with a home school team. (Durham Dolphins) I really love the coaches. They are both Christian girls who love these children, and want to show them Jesus. Taylor's doing well in school. She's very driven. (Thank God) Since I've been so sick, she's been the one pushing me.

Ethan- he's learning a lot with school. He's reading quite well. He has stiches right now. He cut his hand over the weekend on a Christmas ornament. So we took an exciting trip to the ER. He was very brave.

Andrew- well he's still Andrew. :) We were surprised it was Ethan having to go to the ER and not Andrew. hehe He loves to write his name. :) Which is spelled "A" hahaha That's the only letter he's mastered. Again, that is mostly my fault. He is the most adventurous, but at times he can be the most lovable little boy. I love when he climbs on my lap to cuddle.

Tabitha- she has changed the most. She talks ALL THE TIME! She'll *try* to say anything you tell her. It's so cute. She's trying to be adventurous like Andrew, but loves the gentleness of Ethan. She loves when Taylor takes lots of pictures of her. She is very cute saying, "CHEEEEESE."

Here are some of the things we have learning in school:
History-timeline from "Creation" to "The Act of Supremacy"
We have also read, The Golden Goblet, and some American History readers. We have also memorized 12 history sentences. They have been from the Greek/Roman gods, 7 wonders of the Ancient world, the split of the Roman Empire, to the Muslim Empire.
English- Taylor has memorized all the English Prepositions, Ethan some of them.
Latin-we are memorizing Latin Noun Declensions.
Scripture-We have memorized together Exodus 20:1-17, we also do Catechisms, and we have some bible grammar that the children have to memorize.
Science- We've memorized lot's of science facts, such as the 5 kingdoms of living things, the classification of living things, parts of an animal cell, parts of a plant cell...
Math- memorized skip counting numbers 1-15, squares, and cubes
Geography- memorized 60 countries, rivers, lakes in and around Africa, Asia, and Europe

Now on to the pictures! :)
I took these before church one Sunday.