Deck the Halls!

Warning:  this is going to be long and full of pictures.  I know it takes me forever to post, but we don't have internet and as you know, this is the busyest time of the year!  Where to begin?  Well, I will just go in chronological order of the events which have taken place...

I am sad to say (yet grateful to say) that we sold my car, Roxy.  Roxy was my first car ever, thus she was mine for 8 years.  We have developed quite the bond, so I had a bittersweet feeling inside as I saw her drive off.  Caleb and I just came to the point where selling her was the wisest decision for us financially.  It's because we have the whole newlywed, student, pregnancy thing going on.  But praise the Lord we sold Roxy for the asking price.  They didn't even try to talk us down!  Answered prayer.  Now, let's have a moment of silence as we remember Roxy.

After saying goodbye to Roxy, we zoomed off in Yoshi (our Japanese Toyata RAV4) up to KC for Thanksgiving.  We spent Thanksgiving with Caleb's family.  We relaxed, shopped, trotted with turkeys, and ate.  It was perfect.  Mike, DeeDee, Danielle, Caleb, and I ran the 5k, and it went well!  We now all have matching turkey shirts.  It was a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Though I did realize later that I forgot to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which stinks!  Oh well :)  

After Thanksgiving Caleb and I decked our halls, making our little apartment look quite festive.  We are now in the Christmas spirit :)  We also purchased a dog-sized stocking for our boy, Brody.  It is hanging on the corner of his cage.  He thinks it's a toy, but little does he know it will soon be filled with treats from Santa ;)  Here are some pics!

There is just something about Christmas time that fills me with joy.  I just love the season.  I think it's because I grew up with an entire family that loves Christmas.  I have so many fond memories from my childhood of our Christmases as a family.  So, I am loving this time of year.  My family takes an annual trip to Bass Pro Shop in Springfield to take pics with Santa.  We did that this past weekend and here is the pic:

 Please excuse my cousin to the far left who was so excited to be in our family picture that she couldn't resist the urge to pledged allegiance, so sentimental.  Our family is continually growing.  We started with five people in the picture and now we have eleven (not including Santa)!  Next year, little Emerson Paul will be in it... as a 9 month old, which is CRAZY!  Speaking of Emerson, I have some belly pics for ya!  This is me at 23 weeks, which is 6 months. 

We took this picture 2 weeks ago, because now I am 25 weeks.  I'm growing every day, because I'm in the second trimester!  We had a doctor's appointment last week and I have gained 16 pounds so far and Emerson's heartbeat was 152 bpm, which is normal.  Here is a little baby update for you: Emerson is about 9 inches from head to bottom (not including legs) and weighs about 1.5 pounds.  My uterus is the size of a soccer ball... Emerson's nostrils are beginning to open this week and his vocal chords are developed :)  He still seems to be a pretty calm baby.  I feel him probably about 2 to 3 times a day, usually in the morning or evening.  I love it when he presses outward against my belly.  You can feel a hard area and figure out where he is.  I just like to rub him when that happens, because I think he can feel my touch!  I am becoming so eager to meet him already, but I still have 15 more weeks.  I know if I'm already getting impatient that I will become even more impatient the closer March gets.  I have to just remind myself that he is still growing and we are in preparation for him.  I would be better if he just waits :)  

Finally, I will conclude with a little bit about my honey, Caleb.  He is doing well and finishes school this week (one week earlier than me).  He has a possible job opportunity for May when he finishes school.  I will reveal more about that as it gets closer.  He has been working on his winter beard for a month now and it is growing in nicely...and thickly... and scratchily.  Anyway, he stopped to pose for a few photos to show off his beard:

What a dork :)  Anyway, I hope this post made you smile.  Enjoy this Christmas season and let's try not to get too caught up in the commerciality of it all...  Love y'all!