Guess what I've been up to??

I have told Jerry for a long time that I thought it would be fun to get into a craft of some sort.  I always secretly wanted to monogram everything for the kids, so I thought that getting into embroidery and monogramming would be a fun thing to do.  I researched, and researched and decided on a machine that I'm absolutely IN LOVE with!!

I've monogrammed jammies for the kids and their cousins for Christmas, Valentine's shirts for my kids and a couple of our friends' girls.....now 2 more Valentine's Day shirts for my favorite twins in the whole wide world, Caleb and Calvin (my nephews!!)

I've already bought some fun green/cream chevron fabric for St. Patrick's Day shirts, and have been talking with a friend about making a shirt for her son's first birthday!  I'm so excited to dive into more embroidery!!

Christmas Morning 2012

The kids woke us up at 7:15 on Christmas morning.....they were antsy to get to see what Santa had brought them :)

 Treyson got just what he asked for.....the 3 jerseys that the Arkansas Razorbacks wear (white, red, and grey ones).  He also got a Razorback shirt, undies, socks, some toiletries, and candy

 And Anniston got exactly what she wanted as well!  Her American Girl Doll!!  Santa also left her a new coat, socks, panties, toiletries, and candy!

 This is Caroline, her new American Girl doll

 Hiding her eyes from her big present!

 A new bike!! (Her knees were hitting the handle bars on her old bike-ha!)

 Time to watch Dadoo open a few presents.  The kids got him a Razorback crocheted hat......

 .....and a Razorback visor

 And the biggest surprise for Dadoo?   His new iPad Mini!  Finally, Mommy was able to pull a surprise over on the sneaky Dadoo!!

Christmas was very different for us this year, in a wonderful way.  Jerry and I decided that we were going to scale way back on gifts this year.....mainly to keep the holiday in perspective.  Why do we celebrate CHRISTmas?  For Jesus' birthday!!  (our kids now enthusiastically say this)  We kept telling the kids that Christmas is all about His birthday, so we need to be focusing on the good we can do for others, and not be as worried about wanting to receive.

We let the kids pick two angels and we bought them their Christmas presents.  It was so heart-warming to watch them get so excited for gifts for another child--priceless!

We then decided that we would be offering 3 gifts to each other (Mommy and Dadoo included), since the Wise Men brought 3 gifts for the baby Jesus.  This was very hard to do....picking out 3 special things is surprisingly tough!  Treyson got: Wii games (Football and MarioKart), Wii hunting, and a snowmobiling adventure with Dadoo when we go on vacation to Keystone, Colorado.  Anniston got a new bicycle, subscription to Highlights magazine, and a snowmobiling adventure with Dadoo for vacation as well.  (Santa is who brought the jerseys, American girl doll, etc).

The kids appreciated every single gift, and can tell you every single thing they got.  Holidays in the past get so "present-filled", that we can't even put all of the new toys out, and the kids forget about over half of it!  We loved how things went this year, and will definitely be keeping the tradition up. (This did not affect the grandparents at all....we still let them (and the aunts/uncles) give gifts...but this is how we're choosing to celebrate at home)  In today's world, it is so hard to teach gratefulness.  This is one simple way that we are hoping to encourage our children to give more than they receive.

Merry CHRISTmas to all!

Little Bit #3

I see a sweet little angel who appears to be in deep thought

This was taken a week and a half ago, but I am finally getting around to sharing it :)

Oh, how excited I am to meet this sweet little one!!

Treyson's wish for Jesus....

I saw this posted at Treyson's school, and thought it was too cute not to share.  

Merry Christmas!

almost 22 Weeks!

On Wednesday, I'll hit the 22 week mark.  I am finally feeling like a normal human being again.  I get sick in the morning about 2 times per week, but as long as there's no nausea, I'll take it!

I feel like my belly is growing at a rapid pace.  We went to a family gathering this past weekend, and I was nervous that a few people's eyes were going to pop out of there head based on the looks my belly got--geesh!  So apparently, I'll end up being about as big as my car by the time 4 more months goes by.

The kids are still sweet about the baby.  Anniston tells me she only wants a healthy baby, and Treyson wants a healthy baby BOY!  Oh goodness.....this could be interesting!

I posted an ultrasound picture of our LB3 on Facebook, and so many people commented on it being a boy.  We were ASSURED that nothing was showing, but of course....it upset me and then I wondered, and lost sleep....it was awful.

.....so I emailed the ultrasound tech the picture that I had posted (obviously I deleted it from Facebook), and her business parter (another ultrasound tech) looked it over after reading my concerns I had emailed to her.  I liked that she reviewed it, since she didn't even do the ultrasound....therefore had no clue the gender.  She said that she could not even see the tiniest glimpse of anything that would show gender one way or another.  She then proceeded to take the ultrasound pic I sent her and labeled everything.  Long story short....everybody looked at the pelvic bone and assumed it was a boy part!

This sweet thing may be a boy, and I will be elated for another boy.  But I was so nervous that a picture was given to me that showed something I didn't want to see.....thank goodness she cleared it up.

I'm sleeping well again :)

Playing with Dadoo

One of Treyson's favorite things to do is go outside and either kick field goals, punt, or throw a ball up in the air and hit it with his bat.  As soon as we get home (assuming it's warm enough/not wet), the backyard is where you can find him.

This particular day, he was kicking field goals.  Dadoo came home, went straight outside to play, so I caught this series of pics....LOVE THIS! 

(I also love how he puts his arm up in the air before he takes off.....you think this kid pays attention when he goes to a game??!!)

Love this little boy so much!!

Breakfast with Santa

While Mommy was out of town, Dadoo took the kids to Anniston's elementary school for a pancake breakfast with Santa!

 Telling Santa what he's wishing for....

The kids are so excited for Christmas this year.  We have been stressing about who's birthday we're celebrating--JESUS-- because we're having some major changes to our Christmas gift plan here at our house.  The kids really do understand what we're talking about, and I am so excited to get our new tradition started :)

Merry Christmas!!