Christmas 2011

This Christmas has been a blessing in many ways. In no particular order, here are five blessings of this holiday season.

1. On the first Sunday of advent season, BJ and I got this:If the joy and anticipation of a second child isn't a blessing, I don't know what is. I am 9-1/2 weeks along, and our due date is July 23rd!

2. This was my first Christmas hosting at my own home. Due to all-day morning sickness for the past four weeks, I was totally useless, but it was still wonderful having my family in my home for a holiday. And of course, my work horses of a mother and father made up for my inability to do much more than lay around and moan.

3. This was also our first Christmas with my brother's fiance, Stephanie. She entertained Shepherd during the moments my nausea subsided enough for me to get in the kitchen, did a lot of her own delicious cooking to contribute to our feast, and washed lots and lots of dishes. Like I said, this is a list of blessings.
4. Yet another first, this was our first Christmas to share with our new church family. The Christmas Eve service was touching and a wonderful reminder of what we were all celebrating in the first place. Just in case you were wondering, we did wake Shepherd up and take him to the service. He was in a daze the whole hour, so we are pretty sure he thought it was a really bazaar dream. Here is a picture of our family at church Christmas morning, and for the record, my appearance in this picture is not due to over-indulgence over the holidays, but rather to the fact that woman show a lot earlier in second pregnancies.
5. And last but not least, Shepherd was, as always, a blessing to watch this Christmas. He still is too young to really get the whole present thing, but his personality is developing in big ways, and he did really enjoy studying all of his new toys. So on that note, here are some pictures of our little guy playing with his loot.