Christmas 2016

Christmas came and went really fast this year… but we so enjoyed all the time off from work and spending a lot of quality time together.

We went to Grandma and Papa’s house to celebrate first.  Mollie had a great time playing with Henry and got to open her scooter early!  They took turns driving that thing back and forth for what seems like hours.  She also got to help Grandma make a cake, color with Papa Bill, and play memory with Uncle Tommy.  I got to go watch Landry play a basketball game and talk babies!  Nate was excited to get some new headers (whatever those are) for his old truck, and we had fun catching up with everyone.

Next we did our Christmas Eve tradition a little early because we knew we’d be traveling on that day this year.  Mollie got to open one present and we had a family movie night… complete with Christmas pajamas, a pallet, and popcorn.

And, then it was off to Texas.  Mollie was excited to go back to Mamaw and Papaw’s so soon after Thanksgiving.  She got to play with Aubrey and Avery and play a fun game with Aunt Barbara and Aunt Mary where she loooooved gathering up a million little toys.

We hurried home on Christmas Eve…. and then just like that it was Christmas!!!  Mollie got up so excited to open the presents she had been eyeing under our tree for quite some time.  Nate and I loved watching her get every last piece of tape or paper off her gifts and them immediately open them up to play with.  Nate got to open his remote control Millinium Falcon…. It went one direction, up.  And, then we got ready for church because Christmas fell on a Sunday this year.  It was fun to see our church family on such an important day.

Side Note:  We didn’t get to celebrate with Grandmama and Granddaddy…. It’s a long story, but after a lot of tears, confusion and Nate taking a trip down to P-town to talk with them, it just came down to miscommunication.  I’m still confused as to why the date was more important than us being there, but I guess someday I may understand.  I’m just sad Mollie didn’t get to spend more time with her cousins…. We won’t make the same mistake next year.

Baby #2 - 16 Weeks

December 15, 2016

Instead of weekly pictures this time…. I’m going to try for monthly pictures.  I felt horrible the entire first 14 weeks so pictures weren’t a thing I was thinking about.

How Far Along: 16 weeks or 4 months

Size: Baby is the size of an avocado… 4.6 in. and 3.5 oz.

New Baby Developments: Baby can listen to us now!  And, Baby is growing hair and forming taste buds!

Cravings: Food is just now starting to sound good.  I’ve been craving orange juice though.

Aversions: Sausage and Salad

Movement: A few flutters!

Looking Forward To: Celebrating Christmas with our families and finding out whether this sweet baby is a boy or girl.

Best Moment of the Week:  Hearing Baby’s strong heartbeat at our monthly appointment.

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Pregnancy Compare Pictures…

Cookies with Grandma

We have been so blessed to have Grandma come up every Tuesday since Mollie was born.  I hope that Mollie understands how great it is to be able to see your grandparent(s) every week.

At Christmas time this year, Grandma brought all her stuff to make cookies with her girl.  They had a blast baking and decorating every last one.  This will be a special memory for my mom and I, and someday Mollie will look back and remember it too.  So sweet!

Our Sweet Little Singer

December 11, 2016

I love that Mollie likes to go to the children’s things at church.  It helps that my best friend and her former baby-sitter is the Children’s Director and she absolutely loves her.  But one of her favorite things is Children’s Choir.  I can’t even handle the cuteness of her singing…. especially on the stage.  She should be pretty comfortable with it, since she is there all the time and sometimes gets to sing while we wait for church to start.

This year she did awesome!  They sang one song during big church and then presented their whole show that evening.  She took Fluffy up there with her for support…. but by the end she sat her on the floor.  She was too cute up there by her sweet friend Lily Beane.

Grandmama, Grandma and Papa came to watch her cantata debut.  I forgot to take pictures with them… but we had a good time at Braums afterwards.

Lydia Joy

December 7, 2017

Adoption is a long and hard process. Over the last 2+ years I have watched Zack and Hollie go through every step. There have been so many prayers and tears... A few big changes... And so much anticipation leading up to this night, when we finally got to see Zack and Hollie with Lydia in person. Such joy! She is just so precious!

Mollie picked out a sweet little toy to give Lydia, and late after church on this Wednesday night we loaded up the church van to go to the air port.  I held it together…. thankfully…. and we got to see Hope and Gage meet their sister for the first time.  I even got a couple hugs from my new little buddy!

I can't help but think of what a beautiful picture I've witnessed. Ephesians 1:5 (Msg) says "Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!)"

Thinking about how much my friends went through to take this sweet girl home as their daughter will always bring a tear to my eye and give me such peace about how much THE Father wanted and planned for me, His daughter.  

Feeling such gratitude for answered prayers, the Fuller FIVE, and salvation through Jesus Christ!

Family Pictures + Announcing Baby #2 with our Christmas Card

Melissa and I are too cheap to hire people to take our pictures these days… So we took turns taking each other’s family pictures and they turned out great!  (Taken November 11, 2016)

Like I said before the news about our new baby kind of quietly trickled out…. but our friends that don’t live in Yukon were surprised by our Christmas card.  It was fun to let it out of the bag that way for sure.  After we sent it out, I got a lot of fun messages and texts!