Christmas 2010

My sister sent thess adorable iron-ons. I felt so crafty putting them on and Lucy LOVED that Rudolph was on her shirt.

Christmas Eve morning we headed to Heidi's to partake of her family's traditional Christmas breakfast. I have been hearing about this breakfast for years and WOW! Hashbrowns, fried egg, sausage patty, bacon and cheese-Heart attack on a plate!

We had the traditional stocking night with Marc's family where we make pizzas, do a skit, have a white elephant exchange and get stockings and pj's from Grandma. So fun. Lucy provided the entertainment from our family by singing Rudolph and telling the story of when Jesus was born with her Little People Nativity set.

Christmas morning we woke up before the kids to open the envelope that would tell us if we would be having a boy or a girl. The tech made SEVERAL pictures for us of evidence that we were indeed having a baby GIRL.  Marc and I hugged one another (I cried a bit) and then we went to back to bed ;)

Christmas morning was magical. David loved all the toy balls he got. Heidi spent the morning with us too. It was so fun to have her there and Lucy loved showing her all her new toys.

I think these were both a hit!

My parents' and Grandma's reaction to opening a pink ornament to announce we would be having a girl (My Grandma has been right on the sex of all three of our children).

  

Christmas night all tuckered out with the special blanket from Grandma Sampson

David loved his blankie too (and the ball)

One last shot of our cute boy with his fabulous pajamas from Grandma Kay (and some balls).

Welcome back my dear friend . . .

Here I am, four months along with my third pregnancy. I am going to try to put into words some thoughts I have had regarding this pregnancy. As I laid in bed last night unable to get comfortable with all the symptoms beginning to come on (nausea, numbness in my hands, congestion, electric shocks in my abdomen . . . ) I thought, the first two times this was all happening to me I found myself running to every book and website I could find to discover what in the world was going on. But this time, it is different.

This time, it feels as though I am welcoming back an old friend. You know the type of friend that you always love to see even though their presence generally brings with it some pain and sorrow. The friend that makes life complicated. The friend that stretches your ability to practice charity. And yet, it's this friend that your life would not be complete without. It would not be complete, because despite all the burdens, the pain and the emotions this friend makes you go through, you know you wouldn't trade the ultimate purpose behind this friendship for anything.

So I find myself saying things like, welcome back numb hands and over sensitive smeller. You are not an easy thing to have back in my life, but you are a very, very welcome site. You are welcome because I have come to learn that all of your dear sweet symptoms lead me to a joy I never knew possible. I know that through the trials you bring me, I am in a better position to be the mother I want to be. And I know that with every pain comes a sweet companionship of beautiful symptoms like feeling my baby move within me. So welcome back old friend. I missed you and I will always treasure the memory of your companionship.

It's a . . .

GIRL!!!

We had our ultrasound . . .

and within this envelope holds our answer. To be opened Christmas morning .  . .

How we spend our days . . .

David can usually be found playing with anything that has to do with balls.

And Lucy enjoys talking about the story of baby Jesus with our nativity puppets or Fisher Price Little People nativity set that we have. It is a beautiful life.

Twas the Sunday before Christmas . . .

It was so fun to put Christmas outfits on the kids for church today. They looked so adorable!

Boy or girl???

I was just reading this post of when my friends guessed if we would be having a boy or a girl when I was pregnant with David. Well guess what? 11 out of 12 of you were right! So please let me know your thoughts for our next bundle of joy. We'll be having an ultrasound on the 23rd, but we are going to wait until Christmas Day to find out what we're having. So please vote, you have until Christmas Morning at about 6am! ;)

Seeing Santa

Lucy was completely in awe as she talked with Santa. She asked him for, "A pink sparkly ball with Arielle in it and to put candy corn in her stocking."

David was not quite so into Santa . . . maybe next year?

The Judds

Marc took me on a great date to see The Judds. He really shocked me with our incredible seats. Third row back and seats 1 & 2 closest to the stage!!! It was amazing!

Naomi came right up and shook my hand. They were both so incredible. I danced and sang my heart out the whole time. "No one could love me like . . . YOU!" Oh such great memories. I'm fairly certain Marc and I were the youngest ones there, but that didn't keep us from blending right in with all the rest of the fans. Such a great night.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

Lucy was so excited to put up our Christmas tree. I kept telling her we had to wait until after Thanksgiving. Is was all we could do to have her wait until the day after Thanksgiving to decorate. She ran around the whole house just gitty with excitement.

We have had some lovely snowfalls combined with some wonderfully unexpected warm days . . .

The stockings are hung (notice the teeny tiny red one on the far right? It's for the teeny tiny baby in my tummy). David stands at the tree with his hands raised above his head and says, "Santa!"

We enjoyed The First Presidency Christmas Devotional with freshly popped popcorn . . .

And the entire bottom half of our tree is decorated with cheap IKEA ornaments that will not break any ones' heart if this little guy gets a hold of them. He LOVES the tree. Today he was taking his toy balls (his favorite of all his toys) and placing them on the tree as a decoration. Oh how magical this time of year is with little ones to celebrate it with. 

***Something I am VERY happy about, I just learned that the "pink sparkly ball with Arielle inside of it" that Lucy has been asking Santa for is at The Disney Store and they're holding it for me. I didn't even know this thing existed until I saw it at my neighbor's house this morning. And the cost, $4.00! What a lovely Christmas miracle.

Lucy's first dance recital . . . Angel Dance

This dance was my most favorite of all. It is the angel dance with Baby Jesus. I love how fitting the music is for this triumphant yet peaceful event. I also love how tender the little girls are with their Baby Jesus dolls.

Lucy's first dance recital

It was so fun to watch Lucy perform. Here is one of her 3 numbers. I'll post the other two later.

Birthday #34

Marc asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told him I wanted him to take the day off so we could spend the time together. He obliged and we had a wonderful day.

We started the day off with a trip to the temple (thanks to my mother-in-law for babysitting). Then we went to lunch as a family. Then Heidi babysat so we could see the Carl Bloch exhibit (amazing!) Then Marc babysat so Heidi and I could go shopping (I got the most adorable boots). And the day ended with pizza and family time. It was absolutely perfect!