My Little Mimick

I can honestly say that I love the toddler years, even if they are very busy and I'm very tired at the end of the day. Thomas is constantly discovering how to do new things and say new words. It is wonderful to be home with him and to teach him words and to watch him "get it." One of his newest feats is mimicking whatever we do. If we put our hands above our head, he does it; if we jump, he (tries) to jump; and whatever activity we are doing, he (tries) to help.

Usually, I vacuum once a week and Thomas has always loved the vacuum. He has never been scared of it and I never have to wonder where he is because he is right under my feet! Sometimes he even turns it off in the middle of vacuuming. I didn't understand just how much he enjoyed the vacuum until I walked into the room the other week and discovered this:

Don't worry - it was unplugged! Now I have to be careful if I leave the vacuum out for just a few minutes, because Thomas will be hard at work. I just hope this eagerness to vacuum continues until he is old enough to really help!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve has arrived and I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I love this time of year because not only do we take time to spend with family, but most of all to remember and meditate on the truth of the gospel: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" John 1:14. What a magnificent and beautiful picture of Christmas that Jesus took on flesh and dwelt among us so that we could see the glory of the Father and receive grace and truth! There is no greater reason to celebrate Christmas than Jesus leaving the glory of heaven to live with us and in 33 short years, to die for his people - amazing love!

Our family has the privilege of staying at home this Christmas. We are going to Josh's parents this evening, but they live just across town. My parents are coming here for Christmas day and we are so glad! Since Thomas is a little older now we don't want to travel and we want to begin to make special traditions for our family. We are having Santa as part of our Christmas, and I know many Christians don't, but we both "believed" in Santa as children and enjoyed the experience. However, the emphasis is not on Santa, but on Jesus. Tomorrow morning when Thomas wakes up, we are going to read the Christmas story as a family before we ever open presents. As Thomas gets older, we plan to do the Advent calendar and to place the emphasis on giving to others. Josh and I believe in supporting the Lottie Moon Christmas offering sacrificially and we want to teach our children to give as well.

Something Josh said in a sermon a couple of weeks has resonated with me this year, "Don't have a Charles Dickens Christmas, but have a Christ-centered Christmas." While family, food, and gifts are a wonderful part of Christmas they are not the main thing and my prayer for our family is for our Christmas to focus on our God who came to dwell among sinful people.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Update on Baby

A few people have asked recently how I'm feeling and about the baby. I'm actually feeling great now! Thankfully, the second trimester is upon me, and if it is anything like pregnancy with Thomas, it is the best trimester. The morning sickness lasted the exact weeks and length as with Thomas - 8 to 14 weeks. As you can see on the side ticker, I'm 15 weeks now. I'm reminded once again what a blessing it is to get right out of bed in the morning and spend time with the Lord, and throughout the day feeling energized and not nauseous and tired.

Baby is doing great! Yesterday, we were able to hear baby's heartbeat again and the doctor could also tell that baby is moving around a lot. I expressed to him that I was a little concerned I hadn't felt any movements yet, but he reassured that baby is moving and I should begin to feel those little movements soon - I can't wait! No weight gain these four weeks, but any weight gain I had was probably lost with the stomach virus! Thus far I have gained 1.7 lbs (from last time) and that means I'm still in my regular clothes. However, I could tell yesterday that my jeans weren't quite as comfortable as before. With Thomas I didn't wear maternity clothes until 21 weeks, but I doubt I'll make it that long with this baby.

I'll try to post a progress picture at some point. Confession - I usually forget to take those pictures until the end and there have been no pictures of me taken yet!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the most exciting news: January 15th is the ultrasound!

Disney World

Yes, this took two weeks to post instead of two days. I said in my previous post that I would begin blogging regularly again, but I should have made that a new year's resolution! We have been extremely busy. The first week of December, I was busy planning and preparing a meal for our deacons and their wives for Saturday night, the 6th. We had a wonderful time and I'm so glad we were able to show them our appreciation for all of their hard work in our church. Last week, I was planning on doing a couple of blogs on Tuesday, but the stomach virus had another plan. All three of us came down with it in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. Needless to say, we were completely wiped out and I'm so thankful for my mother-in-law taking care of Thomas. Unfortunately, she and my father-in-law got it after being exposed to it here! Doesn't family share everything?! Thank you Roger and Vivian for compromising your health to help us - we couldn't have done it without you!

And finally, Josh graduated from Southern Seminary with his Master of Divinity on Friday! We left on Wednesday afternoon to travel to Louisville (and no we didn't feel the best) for the festivities on Thursday and Friday. We had a wonderful time and I'm so proud of my husband. He started seminary single with no responsibilities and left married with one child and another one on the way, and not to mention the pastor of a church! I will do my best, Lord willing, to post pictures of graduation later this week, but I will warn you - this week is very busy too!

Without further ado, here are some pictures from Disney!

Cinderella's Castle at Night!

Me showing Thomas the fish at Animal Kingdom.
He fell asleep on the safari ride!

Josh, Thomas, Grandma, & Poppy at the bird show.

Thomas trying to take off his Mickey ears - isn't he cute?!

Thomas mesmerized by the parade!

Thomas & Josh in a parade at our character breakfast.

Thomas meeting Winnie the Pooh for the first time!

He touched Pooh's nose!

My Long Absence

I usually try to post a couple of times a week, but that hasn't happened since September. Morning sickness is the main reason for not posting and we have just been very busy. I'm hoping the morning sickness will subside soon. Thankfully, I'm not "sick" just very nauseous and it doesn't end until sometime after lunch. When I was pregnant with Thomas I began to feel much better around 14 weeks. As you can see on the sidebar, I'm 13 weeks and 1 day now, so I'm hoping next week will be much better. Plus, we are going on another short trip next week and I would really like to feel normal!

Just a little update -

• We heard the baby's heartbeat on Friday, the 21st. I loved hearing the whoosh-whoosh and remembering why I'm sick and that it is completely worth it! Thomas went with us and he started bobbing his head when he heard the sound. He loves to dance and he thought it was music!
• Last Sunday, the 23rd, we left for a week at Disney World! While it was a fun and exciting trip, it was also very exhausting. Thomas was such a trooper with all the changes and lack of sleep. Poor baby didn't get to bed before 9pm anytime we were there and he only had one nap most days. I thought he might be ready to drop his morning nap, but he definitely isn't. By 11am, in the middle of fun rides, he was yawning. I'll post some pictures in the next few days of Sleepy - I mean Thomas!

Hopefully, my posting will become more regular in the next few weeks, even with the Christmas rush. We already have our tree and decorations up. Thomas loves the tree, but I think he is a little mystified by a tree being inside. Pictures of Disney World coming soon - I promise!