Our Gingerbread House

We made a gingerbread house...one that we've had for probably 4 years (I think it was left over from my class the year I had Raleigh).  Raleigh wanted to eat everything and I had to tell her no since it was so old!  :)  We had fun icing and decorating it!  Definitely something I hope we can do every year!

Tongue out = concentration!

 Utilizing the self-timer  :)

36 weeks...getting closer!

At 36 weeks baby boy's heartbeat was strong! Only 4 weeks left! It's crazy how different I feel from Raleigh's pregnancy. I love being pregnant, but my body is definitely older and not as prepared as I was with hers. It's still a blessing to feel every movement...I love it and him!

Dancing with Daddy

Raleigh asked Jason to dance with her and how can he say no!  So dance they did.

Visit with Cousins

We made the trek to Rome to visit Jason's aunt and uncles house.  His cousins were also in town so we were able to see them and their kids.  We really don't see them enough...I think the last time we saw them was after Jason's grandmother passed away in 2008.  It was nice to talk with them some and have Raleigh meet her cousins.  She actually played with them!  For anyone that knows her well, she doesn't go upstairs/downstairs in someones house well without us.  She went right up to play with Riley when we got there.  It was a great time...hopefully it won't be as long before we see them again!

When we were trying to get everyone together for pictures Raleigh wanted me to take one of her.  I wish I had noticed sooner what a great house they had for pictures!

 Raleigh (4), Ava (2), Will (7), and Riley (5)

Will and Ava belong to Megan and Riley belongs to Marty

 Jason and his cousins...Marty, Megan, and Johnny

After our visit with them, I got to meet Coo, Amanda, and Robin for dinner!  It was great to see two different groups in one trip!  :)

Christmas Party Time!

The Child's World Christmas party was great as always...well, maybe not the craft. I planned the craft. A pom pom Christmas tree. The pom pom's were falling off all over the place because the kids would touch them before they had any time to dry. Oh well...it was better than trying to do the other things I liked that involved paint. :)

Kim played "Pin the nose on Rudolph" which was a lot of fun.

Then it was time to eat and none of the kids complained about that! Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Jesus Party!

During church on Sunday, the preschool department had a Happy Birthday Jesus party complete with a class nativity picture.  Here is Raleigh's class!

A Baby Shower Full of Blessings!

Words can't express how blessed I am with wonderful friends!  They showered my baby boy and me with so many useful goodies and now I feel so much more prepared for his arrival.  Andrea hosted our morning brunch at her house, so many brought yummies, Mandy photographed everything, and we all had a great time.  I'm so thankful for my friends that took time out of their busy Christmas schedule to come and celebrate with us and missed those who couldn't be with us.  Thank you ladies for a wonderful morning and for being such wonderful friends!

 Sweet Kallie and Quinn

 Rebekah and Stacey

 I wanted Raleigh to feel included so I brought her along, but the girl had gifts open before I could process what was in the one before.  I'm glad she was excited (and she's at an age where gifts are fun to open) so hopefully she'll be just as excited when he gets here!

 His very own tractor!

 Thanks to Pinterest and me pinning lots of "letter walls" Andrea helped to plan for everyone to bring a letter for me to then use to decorate baby boys wall in his room.  I couldn't have been happier because I wanted to do this, but had no idea how in the world I was going to find/come up with 26 letters!  Have I mentioned that I have wonderful friends?!?!  The best part is that some of the letters have something on them that reminds me of the family that gave them to us so I think of that family every time I look at the letter.

 Little Alexis sporting baby boy's frog hat that was made by Tiffany

Andrea set up a photo booth in her bedroom and we had so much fun...especially with the signs!

 Can we say huge?!?!  I guess it's a good thing I love being pregnant!

 This photo needs to be submitted to awkward "friend" photos!  :)

 Love this one!  Since I'm writing this after the fact I'll share this story.  When I sent a text out that we were on our way to the hospital Christa sent me a text back telling me that it would be ok to tell her the name then.  :)

 Only Cindy!

 Thanks Mandy!!!  Is it odd that someone so photogenic as Mandy was the one behind the camera? She needs to be in front of the camera more!

 Raleigh displaying her name for baby boy!

All the letters on the wall...a perfect gift!

As a favor to everyone, Stacey gave each person a card with the letter that she brought that has a verse or blessing on it for them to pray for us and our baby boy.  She also gave us a set.  So appreciative for all the time and thought she put into this!