Sweetheart

Carys is getting so big! She is talking a lot and she is just hilarious and full of energy. This can make going places alone with her difficult because she doesn't like to sit still in her stroller and she will just run free like a banshee, leaving me to waddle after her. I think I made a little progress on her actually listening to me and stopping when I tell her to.....sometimes.

I am really trying to treasure each moment with her in this sweet time before our family gets bigger. I'm also going to copy this project from Making it Lovely where she is documenting their final days as a family of 3 with pictures, adding a few sentences to each picture, and then putting them all in a book for when she gets older. I hope I can get some good ones with my so-so camera!

I thought it was a cute idea, and since I am 10 weeks away from my due date, I'm going to start now with this one....

January 19, 2011 - Today was like a summer day. We went to the park with our friends and you got to wear shorts. You picked out the purple ones and I put them on. Moments later you came running down the hall with another pair on your head, and one on your arm, declaring, "this is my hat, and my bag!"

Speaking of that little one, here are a couple pics of my belly at almost 30 weeks...

This was so last year....

I am realizing that we didn't take ANY family pictures this Christmas! All I did was take pics of Carys, which I guess is better than nothing, but man, at least one family pic would have been nice. And my little belly is starting to grow a lot, guess I should start taking pics of that too! I think I am going to blame my absent minded prego brain for this one.

Here's what I got from the holidays...

With Grandpa in the falling snow

Ta-daaa!

my princess in her new dress up clothes

two new friends, the mule and the dinosaur!

here was the scene Christmas morning, bed head and all

i thought this was super cute, with her old school horse and butterfly wings

Just kidding, thanks to Grandma, I do have this one of the 3 of us in Idaho!

Happy New Year!

I'm sitting here watching football with my husband while my daughter runs around with her gang of animal figures, and I am blessed and thankful beyond belief. I can't wait to meet our new daughter this year and welcome her to our crew! It was an amazing year, and the first full one being a stay at home mom. I couldn't be happier with our decision to do it.
Still in search of my camera cable but I can share a couple random things that are exciting me for New Year's. I have a goal to get organized this year before the new baby comes. We haven't decided on a name yet, but we did decide that we are going to keep it a secret until she's born.

I just got these drawers from the Container Store for Carys and ?'s closet, let the order begin!


And got a new calendar from Paper Source, its quite fabulous you know.....


Happy 2011 friends!

Merry Christmas

Of course I haven't had much time to update my blog, with Christmas and all the busy-ness, not to mention that Carys spilled juice on my keyboard and broke it (!) and I can't find my camera cable to download pics (i will find you!).

For Christmas I wanted to post an entry from Pastor Greg Laurie's blog a couple years ago, that always stuck with me and made me love the beautiful song "I heard the bells on Christmas Day" even more. Below the story I'm posting the song if you'd like to hear it.
I hope anyone reading this has a wonderful Christmas, and that you are blessed by the joy and reality of Christ's birth!
"Great is the mystery of Godliness, that God was manifested in the flesh"
1 Timothy 3:16

Greg's blog 12/24/08:

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas Eve, I thought I would tell you a story. It’s a story about one of the most beloved of all the Christmas songs we sing this time of the year.

The sadness of the holidays
One of the most familiar songs we hear during the holidays is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and the story behind it is interesting.

In 1860, Longfellow was at the peak of his success as a poet. Abraham Lincoln had just been elected President, giving hope to many.

But things soon turned dark for America and for Longfellow personally. The Civil War began the next year, and Longfellow’s wife died in a tragic accident in their home. Longfellow suffered severe burns on his hands and face while trying to save his wife.

He was so badly burned that he could not even attend her funeral.

Sorrow at Christmas
In his diary for Christmas Day 1861, he wrote, “How inexpressibly sad are the holidays.” In 1862, the toll of war began to mount, and in his diary for that year Longfellow wrote, “A merry Christmas say the children, but that is no more for me.”

In 1863, his son–who had run away to join the Union army–was severely wounded and came home in December. There is no entry in Longfellow’s diary for that Christmas.

A new Christmas song is born
Longfellow wanted to pull out of his despair, so he decided to try to capture the joy of Christmas in verse. He began:

I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men.

As he came to the third stanza, he was stopped by the thought of the condition of his beloved country. The Battle of Gettysburg was not long past. Days looked dark, and he probably asked himself the question, “How can I write about peace on earth, goodwill to men in this war-torn country, where brother fights against brother, and father against son?”

God is not dead
But he kept on going, and wrote in the sixth stanza:

And in despair I bowed my head:

“There is no peace on earth,” I said:

“For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men.”

But then, catching an eternal perspective and the real message of Christmas and Christ Himself, he wrote in the final stanza:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

That’s right, “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep!”

If you want a blessed Christmas Eve tonight, focus on that.


Casting Crowns Live

Nailed It!

I went to the most amazing show at the House of Blues on Sunday night to see Needtobreathe, one of my absolute favorite bands, and they were just totally wonderful, soulfull goodness and I loved every second of it. Six months pregnant and my feet were killing me but I would have stood there for another 2 hours listening to these guys. If you haven't heard their music please do yourself a favor and pick up The Outsiders cd. The lead singer Bear has the most amazing voice, oh man, they just scratch me right where I itch! I found this clip on you tube of the acoustic song they did near the end of their set. This isn't the exact show I went to, but its the same version they did last month.

Let It Snow!

Here she is doing her best to eat snowflakes....
More to come from Thanksgiving in Idaho!

Wish List

Quite possibly the coolest diaper bag by OiOi...though I'm not sure how long it would hold up!


Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.....because ice cream rules


J Crew Bootcut Cords....i wish they made maternity clothes, but its probably better for our bank account that they don't


Chevron Rug from West Elm...I would put this under our dining table


Steve Madden Buckkie boots, I would sport these all winter!