Merry Christmas!

This year has been so busy for us, especially in the past few months, so I have failed and didn't manage to get Christmas cards out this year. So, in lieu of them, Luke and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year via our blog. We wish we could celebrate the holidays with all of you and we miss you all dearly.

We had a fun visit into Houston the past two days to celebrate early with each side of the family. It was quiet at Mom's house, with only my sister Brittany there. Luke's parents' house was a little more lively, with his nieces and nephew there, but we missed seeing his older brother and his family. We visited my grandparents for a little while on Monday, but I wish we could have stayed longer - I don't get to see them enough.

Tonight Luke and I will exchange our annual Christmas Eve gift (new pjs) after I get home from work, and then tomorrow morning I'll continue the tradition that my grandma started, with a delicious Christmas morning brunch. We're inviting a friend over to celebrate with us, so it won't be quite so lonely. Then I'm off to serve hundreds of other people Christmas dinner/dessert at work!

And a pause for reflection - the state of the economy has helped refocus us on what's most important to remember over Christmas. Usually we get all hyped up on gifts, and though we are still exchanging them this year, it's become less about the items bought and money spent, and more about the spirit of giving. I won't be able to attend any church services this year due to my work schedule, but we'll take the time tonight and tomorrow morning to reflect on the greatest gift of all - Christ.

Luke 2:9-11
"And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them...Do not be afraid; for behold I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

2/3rds of the Way Through

I'm almost done with my second trimester. Things are getting harder, like breathing...I find it difficult to sit for long periods of time because everything in my abdomen and chest all squish together leaving no room for the lungs to expand. I'm thankful that I have a job where I can stand all day (what normal person is thankful for that?!), so that I don't have trouble breathing. Going upstairs at work is difficult. I can't take them as fast as I used to, or else I'm short of breath. Bending over - what a comic sight. I do this weird squatting thing, since I can't really bend at the waist anymore. Putting on socks - ha! I can still see my feet, but it's hard to reach them. I feel enormous - this extra weight really takes a toll on me. And I still have a long way to go in that department - yikes! I toss and turn all night because I can't ever get comfortable, but thankfully I'm still able to lie on my back for short periods of time to stretch out a bit.

It will be interesting to see how I do with work in the next 3 months - my goal is to work until the last possible day, since it keeps me busy and makes the time go by fast. The job is fun, and everyone has been very gracious and helpful as I've gotten bigger.

24 Weeks

I'm liking the Christmas tree as the backdrop for all of my belly pictures this month. Back to the plain boring wall next month.

23 Weeks

I'm actually at 24 1/2 weeks now, but this is a pic from last week.

It's the Holiday Season!

Luke and I finished setting up our Christmas tree last night. We put on the Christmas music and made hot chocolate. I love reminiscing over the ornaments - our tree may not be stylized where everything matches, but each ornament has a story. We purchased the tree Sunday night, but it was too wet to put lights on it, and I fell asleep around 9 pm, so we did all of our decorating yesterday. Trying to get the tree felt almost Griswold-like - I almost talked Luke into a tree that upon getting it home, we would have had to do a chop-job on it in order to get it to stand upright in our living room. Thankfully, he's so wise, and talked me into the shorter tree. Now, if we had only realized that skinnier would have been better too. It's quite fluffy!

The dog has been trying to eat the ornaments and lights, so she's spending time outside whenever we're not home.

Thanksgiving was wonderful, even though not quite on the right day. I had to work Thanksgiving day, so we went to see my family Wednesday, had a great dinner, stayed the night, and drove back to Austin Thursday morning. A whirlwind trip, but we were able to have a great meal with the whole family - all of the siblings were there. We're hoping that even though Christmas will be much of the same, we'll be able to catch all of Luke's family this time.

In baby news - I feel her moving around and kicking much more lately. Some mornings I wake up and it seems like she's doing somersaults in there. The roommate has moved out, so now I can start working on the nursery!! First step is to organize everything and get rid of all of the junk. I really don't know how we accumulate so much stuff. Also, they say that second trimester is when you have all of your energy back, plus some, but I'm not feeling it so much. It must be my work schedule and the type of work I do, because I'm exhausted most of the time. And as I get bigger, it's harder for me to move around quickly, and bending over is almost a no-go at this point. It's just too much effort. I know I have a long ways to go yet, but even this small amount of extra weight makes things difficult. What an incentive to stay in shape after the baby is born!

I'm thankful that I have the next couple of days off so I can finish decorating the house for Christmas and get some Christmas shopping done. I'm also fighting off a cold or sinus infection, so I plan on getting some rest as well.

Luke has been super busy with work - he's having to take over work for a gal that left, on top of his regular duties, so he's a little tired right now. Pray that he'll have the strength to get through the next few weeks, until Christmas when he'll have some much needed and much deserved time off.

Oh yes! I passed my 90-day review at work, which means I'm an official employee now. As a perk, we get a night at the hotel, which will be a nice little vacation for us. Not exactly going very far away, but it's a night out of the house!