Twas the day before Christmas Eve....

......and all through the house....all my creatures are stirring, even the mouse! :)

Well, I thought I would write a post before our Christmas madness begins. We are about to embark on our first adventure with two children as we travel south for Christmas. We are going to pack up the van and drive to Atlanta, followed by Knoxville to see family and friends all in 10 days...with a toddler...and a newborn! Whew!

As Christmas approaches, I can't help but look back at our year....We have been busy! Savannah turned two, I graduated college, Brent was promoted to Captain, we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary, and Parker was born.....along with countless other blessings and adventures.

Thinking about all of this, I wrote out a list of blessings in my life. I have been blessed with a wonderful husband who loves me more than I could ask for, who loves my quirks, who tolerates my moods, and who keeps me grounded. We, as a family, have been blessed with an income that allows us the freedom to have the lifestyle we want, and with the economy, that is a huge blessing. We are not worried about our job security and can relax as the holidays approach. We have also been blessed with two BEAUTIFUL children who challenge us and are growing us into the parents they deserve us to be. We have been blessed with a loving a caring family who would do anything for us....and do anything for us....at the drop of a hat. We are blessed to have SO many family members who we can count on. We have been blessed with the best friends a girl...and guy...could ask for. I do not know what we would do if we didn't have the support of our friends here in DC, and around the country, while we are away from our family. I am blessed to have good friends from my past that I still keep in touch with who continue to support and love each other, even when our lives have taken us in different directions.

Most importantly, I feel blessed and honored that God loves me and guides me in my daily walk. I have had a recent conversation with someone where we talked about how ALL blessings come from God. How, even when we want to control everything, He is guiding us down the path that He knows is best for us....and if we follow Him, there is no way we cannot be blessed! When we let God be the center of our decision-making, we will make the decisions that will ultimately benefit us in our walk.



It is getting semi-close to time for us to leave DC :( and move on to our next big adventure. Brent just put in his "wish list" of the places we would like to live and jobs he would like to have. We should know something in the Spring and leave here sometime in the Summer. This is going to be a big transition for us because DC has brought so many wonderful people into our lives....including our sweet boy! We are looking forward to moving on, but will miss our friends here TERRIBLY! We are excited to buy a house in our next town, Lord willing, and have something we can call our own. We will be pretty busy until we move. We will hopefully go and look at homes several times in the months following the decision of our next base. Brent is going to be gone quite a bit for work, and we are still trying to plan a family vacation to Maine before we leave here....so we have A LOT going on in the coming year. Please pray that we stay sane as we make decisions and cart our family all over the place.

So, to sum it all up...we have been very blessed in 2008 and are looking forward to all that 2009 has to offer. Thank you all for being a part of our lives in some way, even if it is just reading this blog. This will probably be the last post before our big trip, so I will post pictures and such when I get back! I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Happy blogging!!

Santa...Take Two..and a cute video!

So here is our little adventure to see Santa today. She was so excited and it was the neatest little walkway to go see him. It was different scenes from the Polar Express movie. So, Savannah sat on Santa's lap and even told him what she wanted for Christmas. Here are the pictures from that.









Here is a cute little video of Parker playing with his playmat for the first time.

Santa Baby....

Hey all! Christmas is in the air and Santas are at the malls! Don't you just love the holidays!??!?!

Things have been going well. Parker, although still having some fussy moments, seems to be getting less and less cranky with each passing day! He is also growing like a weed. We had an appointment yesterday and he is 12.5 pounds now! GEEZ! He is cooing and reaching for things now. That is THE BEST! It is precious to see him laugh at himself in the mirror of his swing. He is also starting to like the play mat. We had his birth dedication at church this past Sunday. So, I have added a couple of pictures from that.







We tried to go see Santa on Sunday after church. We had the kids in matching outfits and were ready to take some cute pictures. Savannah keeps saying she wants to see him, which is good, because the last two years she has cried her eyes out.
We said, "Are you going to talk to him?"
She says, "Yes.".
So then we say, "What are you going to say?"
She says, "I am going to tell him what I need."
So, of course, we ask,"And what do you need?"
"You know, some stuff," she replies.
"Stuff?" we ask.
"Yeah, like some food for my baby and a doll!"

So....we thought maybe this year she would actually sit on his lap and play along. However, the line was THREE HOURS LONG! So...no Santa! We were all so sad, but after a candy negotiation, we decided we could see him another day. Today, we had a Christmas party at Brent's office, and there was a Santa there. Pretty pathetic skinny Santa, but...Santa, nonetheless. She was very excited to see him, sat on his lap, but wasn't very happy about it. She didn't cry, so that is good! We are still going to go to the mall tomorrow and try and see him again. We are telling him he is visiting the mall tomorrow to see the Polar Express because they have the whole scene set up from Polar Express where Santa is. She is going to thank him for her little gift she got today, and tell him she needs some baby food for her dolls. So...we will see how it goes.

For now, here are some pictures from the last couple of days. And...hopefully I will have some more Santa pictures tomorrow....with her....actually smiling!!!




He is cracking himself up with his reflection in the mirror!
NO...his hair isn't red, it just looks that way because of all the red in the room!

You might ask, "Why the pillows on his swing??" Well....he pooped all over the cover and this was our make shift padding until the cover dried!

A couple of pictures....so far!

Here are a couple of pictures of Parker in his cute Santa outfit. I hope to keep adding more as the holiday season gets underway!! He's so cute!

Settling In...

Hey all. It has been a while since I posted. We are settling in to a week without family and getting into some sort of routine. I realized today that I was going to have to start cooking again! Which..made me realize...I HAVE to go to the grocery store TODAY! Parker is now a little over a month old. He is a little cutie, but a bit grouchy. Now, he does not cry that much, just kinda cranky. Take this with a grain of salt, because after raising what seemed to be the perfect baby (Savannah) any child is going to seem cranky and a grouch. He is doing well. He is getting up once a night to feed and then eats like a mad man most of the day. He has gained a whopping 3 POUNDS since he was born!!! He is a big boy at almost 12 pounds. We started giving him some Zantac for his reflux and have seen some improvement. We bought a double stroller over the weekend, so now I can take both kids out shopping and on walks, and it has already made my life easier. Savannah loves her new stroller and even wanted to sit in it to watch Dora the other morning while I took a shower...fine with me! She was contained....Parker was safe from her....so, I rolled with it!

We are getting into the Christmas mood! We are planning to put up decorations tonight, as long as we can keep both kids happy long enough to do it. We will see. I have not wanted to brave the crowds, so I have been doing a lot of Christmas shopping online this year. WOW! What great deals, and most places offer free shipping. There is NO need to leave my couch!! This is pretty convenient for when I am nursing and watching the Polar Express for the hundredth time.

We are excited because we have decided to put Savannah in a preschool starting in January. She will go three days a week from 9-12. Several of her little friends here on base go to this preschool and they love it. We are looking forward to her getting some quality time with other kids and some good learning in, while I am still adjusting to being a mom to a newborn. This will give her a few good hours of play time and give Parker and I some good bonding time, as well. Plus, I will be able to get some errands done that will be easier with only one kid!! It works out best for everyone...and she is excited to get to go to "school."

What else is new? I can't think of a thing. People keep asking me what's been going on...and the only thing I can think to say is....I am a mom of two little kids, there is ALWAYS something going on...even if it is not very exciting to report. I will say that I am learning something new every day. I am learning to get by with very little sleep, and learning to not care that people see me with three inch dark circles around my eyes. I am learning, and not too gracefully, I might add, the meaning of patience. I want answers about why Parker cries so I can fix it right away....I have been forced to accept that babies sometime cry...for no real reason....in the middle of the store...but it is OK!! I am learning to put Savannah to bed with one hand while nursing with the other, make her a sandwich while bouncing a baby on my hip, feeding her yogurt while changing a diaper....I have learned that God doesn't have to answer my 29239292 prayers a day the exact way I want Him to! I pray for more sleep, a happy baby, a restful toddler, etc. Some days....I get it...some..not so much. But you know what, this is exactly how I imagined it, and I will be a better person for it! Life's too short....these are the good days! They are character building! Babies grow up way too fast, so even if my days are long and my eyes are tired, I am savoring every moment!!

I'll leave you with a sweet little story from yesterday. We were on our way the the car dealership and Parker was fussing in the back seat. Savannah leaned over, as sweet as can be, and said, "Parker, it's ok. We'll be there soon and then you can drink Mommy's milk." It was funny, but so sweet at the same time. She has simmered down on her obsession with my breasts, and even says to herself, "We don't talk about that," if she starts to make some reference to my breasts. LOL..it is really cute!

Alright, forgive me if this all makes no sense! I am blogging while I should be napping, since both kids are finally asleep. I hope to get some new pictures up really soon!! Maybe even some from tonight! Happy Blogging!!