Updated Pictures - Birthdays, Christmases...

Party at McDonalds with good friends

Jack's birthday party with the family

Christmas at the Hanks

Christmas at the Fures

Best Buddies

Lexi in her pretty gold dress

Christmas program

After helping Daddy shovel

New Year, New Trimester

Well, now I am at 12 weeks and am starting to feel better (she says hesitantly). Here's hoping! I was able to have an ultrasound Saturday and heard the heartbeat and saw her moving around. Matt thinks it's a boy, and Jack and I think it's a girl. I hope we win! I guess we will find out in about 6 or 8 weeks! Looking forward to that, and I know we will be excited no matter what.

So now we are just looking forward to our trip to Florida with Matt's parents. And then hopefully spring and just waiting for the baby.

Matt's job is still there - praise the Lord! - and I am still babysitting for now. Not much else happening. Busy with church and family as usual. But things are good and happy that the weather is in the 30s this week!

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! We had a great time with family and nice to have Nancy home! We got lots - too many - of wonderful things! I am feeling better the last couple of days -knock on wood - so am hoping to be getting more back to normal. Now a month full of birthdays! Nancy, me, Jack, my niece Chelsie - and that's just family. We have a ton of church people born this month, it seems! So a month of birthday parties, then a vacation to Florida, and then I should be able to have an ultrasound. And then just waiting for July to come around. Maybe it will go quicker then!

I LOVE Jesus!

Matt said, "Jack, the next section we will be reading in our devotions is about Jesus being born." Jack said, "Oh, I LOVE Jesus!" It warms our hearts. And he is so into birthdays for everyone that it is exciting that Jesus is having one.

Big Bro!

Yes, Jack is going to be a big brother sometime next July. We are excited about it, and he is positive it is a baby girl. I just thought it was funny that he had an opinion about it, but he is adamant that it is not a boy; it's a girl.

Now we're just looking forward to Christmas! I'm feeling pretty good so far, so here's hoping that continues. I am enjoying the fact that I get to stay home this time in my pregnancy and that Matt is home on the weekdays now. Even though the weekends are tough with his schedule, he is staying strong; and hopefully in January, one of the weekend shifts will change to a weekday.

So time is moving on and hopefully will go quickly this pregnancy! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Looking so forward to next week! Thanksgiving is my favorite family time of the year. Lots of traditions and good food! Can't wait. Jack has figured out Christmas. Whenever he sees decorations, he says, "Look! Christmas!" He loves snowmen and Jingle Bells. It's so fun. There should always be kids in our Christmases. He is practicing his songs for the program this year and knows them so well that he mostly sings them in a silly voice now. I hope it goes okay! It amazes me how much they can take in at this age. He has 5-6 songs some of which have several verses. It's scary knowing that he can remember so much! It makes me wonder how many things I'm doing wrong that he is filing away in his memory. And Christmas music is on the radio - it's finally becoming a reality that the season is here. So anyway, hope to post more at some other point soon. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Halloween

Mommy as Mommy, Jack as Woody, and Bailey as Peter Pan

Lexi as Alice, Levi as Woody, and Jack as Woody

Cookies at Kowalski's - He racked up there!