(will add pics later… Harper is melting down)

Well, I will be so happy when I am back to posting about “normal” things. We are back home after our fun but tiresome travel! Here’s the re-cap…

Friday night we had a Christmas party for the Student Ministry staff. We planned to eat dinner and then do a White Elephant gift exchange. Well, part way through dinner Chris started feeling nauseous and decided to leave early. I stayed with Harper, and the Taylor family brought us home. Chris was up all night with unpleasant tummy trouble, so being the *great* wife that I am, I decide to leave him in the bed all alone and sleep on the floor in Harper’s room. (*side note: I have major issues with throwing up. I hate it. Not as much as I used to hate it… morning sickness made me get over some of my fear) Anyway, I didn’t sleep super great… I would wake up everytime I heard Chris get up, plus, I hadn’t slept on the floor for several years, and lets just say, it is not as easy as it used to be.

So, Saturday morning, I had planned to leave at 8:30, but because of the night-o-sickness, and a mini-emotional meltdown by yours truly, we didn’t leave until 3:30. But, we made it safe and sound to Boone, NC by about 11pm. Nancy’s apartment is even more charming in real-life!!! We slept great that night! Her graduation from Appalachain State was the next day – Congrats Minki!!!!! – That night was eventful as Harper threw up – o.joy. But, it was only one time, and I knew it could have been a lot worse! I cannot even express how much I prayed that Jesus would heal her tummy, and that she wouldn’t have what Chris had. Thank you Jesus!!!!!!!! My prayers were answered!

The next day we drove to Raleigh. On the way, we picked Chris up from the airport and then drove to my Dad’s house. We ate lasagna, wrapped Christmas presents (because I hadn’t finished all my wrapping yet), and then went to bed because we were exhausted! The next morning we had our Christmas with them, and were soooooo bleseed by all the many presents we got from them! I will be sharing in an upcoming post what we got for all of our parents… I just can’t yet b/c we haven’t given Chris’ parents their’s. Anyway, it was lots of fun, and we participated in our yearly scavenger hunt created by my dad. Some of the *favorite* gifts included a Wii, a green pea coat, Ralph Lauren PJ’s, and a Britax car seat (praise the LORD)!!!!

The next day we met Crystal and Jeffrey (my bff from childhood and her hubby) for lunch. It was fun to see them and catch up a little bit. We ate at Shane’s Rib Shack. While we were there we saw an infomercial for The Snuggie… we couldn’t stop laughing!! It was just like to good ol days!!!

We drove to Clinton that evening, and arrived just in time for a yummy dinner prepared by my mama. Uncle Bill, Aunt Cindy, Andrew, and Aunt Susan all came over to eat with us. It was so much fun to hang out with everybody.

The next day, Christmas Eve, we hung out, did laundry, and then went to the Christmas Eve service at my aunt’s church. We had to leave early, though because Harper was super restless.

The next morning was fun as we all woke up at 7am, only to go back to sleep at 8 am! Harper woke up at 9:30, but mom played with her so Chris and I could sleep longer… it was such a treat!!!! We slept until 11:30 – unheard of thses days!

We ate our Christmas breakfast – eggs, bacon, & cream cheese cresent roll cake. Then opend presents. Harper had a delightful time, and was actually interested in her presents. She got a cute little baby doll that she kept kissing over and over again. It was so sweet! Mom also blessed us with great presents! Some of our favorite being Padraig Cottage slippers (me & Harps), money :-), and a DVD created by Nancy of Harper’s birth day. I cried my little eyes out as I watched it! I will try to figure out a way to put it on here… it is so good!

Nancy and Will joined us that night after they spent Christmas with Will’s family. We shared our gifts and ate a yummy Christmas dinner.

The next day, we packed up and were about to head out when Johnny called me. He said not to leave yet since they were only 40 minutes away!!! They decided to surprise us and come to Clinton! (They had previously told us that they were going to be spending Christmas at home with their family since Johnny had been deployed recently) It was perfect! Mom cried her little eyes out when she saw them pull into the driveway!

We had such a great Christmas, but after the 2 day travel back home, we were pooped! After church today, I’ve spent the majority of it on the couch trying to regain some energy. We are home for a good long while now, and I couldn’t be happier! I love visiting family, but there is no place like home!!!

Over at BooMama’s they are doing a tour of Christmas decor in your home so click on the button and check it out!

Welcome to our home…

You will be greeted by a GIANT wreath on the door that was given to us by some friends who own a nursery…

Here is our tiny tree that is set up on a table so that our 10 month old, Harper, won’t get into it.


We have another wreath on the other side of our door, as well as lights on the entertainment center – oh yeah!

And in the kitchen… Our ginormous poinsettia (also given to us by the nursery people. They are so sweet!)…

My display of Christmas cards… do you see yours? (You can also see this hanging in the picture above)

And before you leave, why don’t we sip on some wassail…one of my favorite Christmas beverages…and eat some coconut cake.

Christmas Wassail
INGREDIENTS

* 2 quarts apple cider
* 2 cups orange juice
* 1 (46 fluid ounce) can pineapple juice
* 2 (3 inch) cinnamon sticks
* 1 tablespoon whole cloves
* 1/2 cup honey

DIRECTIONS

In a large stock pot over medium heat, combine the apple cider, orange juice, pineapple juice, cinnamon sticks, cloves and honey. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat, or transfer to a slow cooker to keep warm while serving. Strain out cinnamon sticks and cloves before serving.

I would give you the coconut cake recipe, but it takes 5 days to make… who has the time for that? Oh yes, my mother does, and that is why I am going home for Christmas!

Well, this afternoon I had a suspicious feeling I was pregnant. I have been going to bed pretty early this past week, but I thought it was because I was getting sick. Then, my period did not show up, so I had a feeling.

After a delicious GREEK lunch (which I was craving this morning at 7 am), I told Chris I needed to run by the dollar store to get a few things. I picked up some razors, soap, a magazine, and a pregnancy test. I had to ask the man behind the counter for one – so embarrassing! Anyway, I came in the door with my bag of loot and Chris didn’t expect a thing! I put Harper down for a nap, and then went to take my test. With in a minute… sure enough…

POSITIVE.

I had such a surreal feeling. It took us so many months to get pregnant with Harper… I had many, many negative tests, so when this one came up positive, I was in shock. Chris had to leave for night church, so I decided to wait and spring the surprise on him later that night. (Plus, the Titans were stressing him out, and I didn’t want to tell him our good news when he was upset with his team!) So, after he left, I wrapped the pregnancy test up in a cute little box, and put it under our tree.

Once we came back from church, I told him that I had an early Christmas present for him, and I just couldn’t wait until Christmas to give it to him.

Chris was completely surprised and delighted!  When I can figure out how to insert a video, I will!

Catch up… well, it has almost been a month since I posted last! Goodness time flies! In the last post Harper was sick. She stayed sick for about 4 days with a high fever, cold, and cough. We had all the stops pulled out… green froggy humidifier, bed propped up, saline drops, and the glorious nose sucker! By Friday afternoon, her fever broke, and I had to leave her with the grandparents for the first time. It wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be. She did well, and had a blast with Chris’ parents! I was able to accompany my husband to Fall Retreat for middle school and high school and it was SO MUCH FUN! We had such a great time in Kentucky!

(Harper and her Grandaddy. I have no pics of the fall retreat because I forgot my camera!)

We came home Sunday, only to do a few quick loads of laundry and re-group to leave for Georgia on Tuesday morning. We had such a great time visiting family and friends on Wednesday. On Thursday, we continued our travels to Alabama to visit Chris’ grandfather & his aunts and uncles. One of Chris’ cousins has a little boy, Mason, that is a week younger than Harper. And his Aunt Penny has a 2 year old son. It was lots of fun with all the little ones, and I know each year will only be more fun as we get to watch them grow! After eating lots of yummy turkey and casseroles, we drove back to Georgia. Harper did great with all the travel! We timed the trips to her nap schedule, so it worked well!
(Harper and her Great-Grandad)

(Grandma Jo with Mason and Harper)

The following day, Friday, we met up with some of our dear friends, the Harbins, who just had a sweet baby girl, Libby, at the beginning of October.
(Heather & Libby and Me & Harper)

Saturday morning, we got up and drove back to Nashville. Ahhhh, so good to be home for… 4 days.
(Our family in front of the tree at Chris’ parent’s house)

Then, we were off to Pennsylvania for Johnny and Meg’s wedding. Johnny, my brother, and Meg were married by Justice of the Peace in December 2005 right before he went to boot camp. So, now that he is back from Iraq, they had a “real” wedding in Meg’s church. We flew to Raleigh on Thursday evening after Chris left the office. Harper had a blast on the plane! We rode with two girl soccer teams, and Harper entertained them with all of her faces the entire flight. It was great!

That night, we got all settled in, but Harper decided she didn’t want to sleep but for about 3 hours. She would scream and cry when we put her in the pack n play, but would immediately stop when we got her out. I tried to bring her in bed with us (which we never do), so she thought it was play time. She would sit up and clap her hands, try to poke us in the eye, and crawl all over the bed. We were all exhausted by the time we had to leave!

We had so much fun meeting up with Nancy and Will, and Uncle Jack & his family at the airport. On the plane we passed Harper back and forth – we were all entertained! Friday afternoon, we ate a the Primanti Brothers… so yummy! It has french fries on EVERYTHING (including the salads). Since FF’s are my favorite food in the world, I was super excited that someone had thought of this idea!!!
(Our family… Uncle Jack, Caroline, Nancy, Me, Harper, Chris, Mom, Liza, Aunt DeAnn – where was Will?? Oh, he was asleep at the hotel b/c he has worked night shift the previous night)

Saturday was the wedding, which was in a beautiful Catholic Cathedral. The wedding was about an hour away from our hotel, but the reception was back at the hotel we were staying at. The drive there was no problem, but the drive back took us 3 1/2 hours! It was snowing and the roads were icy. But, once we got to there, we had SO.MUCH.FUN!!! That was by far the BEST wedding reception I have ever been to! Great food! Yummy Yummy cake! AND THE BEST DANCING in the world! Harper didn’t last long.. she timed her meltdown right when the entrees were coming out. Chris gobbled his down, took her upstairs & put her down. Then my younger cousins, Caroline and Liza, went and sat upstairs with her so Chris could come down and enjoy the Par-tay! 🙂 (aren’t they sweet? I wish they lived closer!!!)
(Beautiful!)

( Our family after the ceremony) – Oh, during the ceremony Harper did great… until she figured out that her voice would echo. It was quite funny. She did it a few times, then got distracted doing something else – good thing! haha)

(Chris and Harps after her outfit change for the reception)

(Me, Johnny, and Nancy the morning after the wedding.)

We flew back Sunday & were so glad to be home! The next day, Harper was back to running a temperature and had developed a terrible cough. I knew it would happen after being in such cold weather, and the toting her around the eastern part of the US. So, I took her to the doctor and sure enough she had her first double ear infection. She is on antibiotics now, and is doing much better!

We leave this Saturday for Boone, NC to see Nancy graduate – hooray! And then Monday we drive onto Raleigh, then Clinton, then back home after Christmas!!! THEN WE ARE STAYING PUT!

So, if you have read through this entirely too long post… you now know why I haven’t posted in a month. Maybe come the new year, I’ll be back to posting on a regular basis… or not… we’ll see 😉

Well, Weigh In first…

This week: – 2.5!!!! YAY!
TOTAL: -7.5

I’ve been exercising 3-4 days a week, and trying to eat healthy (not legalistic about it… just healthy(er) – AND it’s paid off! Next weeks goal…. 2 more pounds! We’ll see… I didn’t get to go to Jazzercise today and I may not make Friday’s class because…

Harper is sick! My poor baby woke up from her nap feeling rather warm, so I took her temp and it was 102.3!!!! She was pitiful yesterday, but her fever did come down after some tylenol. The nurse wanted us to come in to make sure it wasn’t an ear infection (which is wasn’t). She seemed to be doing better last night. We put her to bed, and she woke up about every 1 1/2 hours with a runny nose and a bark-y cough (I believe croup may be creeping in). Sheesh… I’m tired. It was a long night, but I feel that I have made it through another “mommy milestone.” Last night was so sad because I couldn’t do anything to make her feel better. She was so restless, and I could tell she just didn’t feel good. We made it to this morning when we finally came downstairs at 6:30 to camp out on the couch. We’ve been in our pj’s all morning (and afternoon). I just gave Harps a bath and I’m about to go get a shower – YAY – since she is napping now.

This morning was so awesome! I called a dear friend & prayer warrior of mine to tell her to pray for me today. (side note: Amy has been such a blessing to me & an answer to prayer! We are truly sisters at heart. She has two little boys, and is some one I can always count on to be there to listen and pray.) Around 3/4 pm, I just bottom out physically. However, most of the time, I can push on through this hour because I know Chris will be coming home within an hour, so it gives me that mental boost of energy. Well, because it is Wednesday, he won’t be home until 9 or 10 tonight. So, I know around 3/4 it may be looking a little bleak around here. So, of course she said she would pray. I got off the phone with her – ignored my “crunching” floor calling out to be swept – and went to spend time with Jesus. I KNEW I could not get through the day without Him, and since Harper had been awake since, oh, ALL NIGHT, I didn’t get to spend my time with Him before she woke up. Do you know what my study was on when I opened up my No Other Gods by Kelly Minter???

WEAKNESS with the key verse being…

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Oh, I just started crying because the Lord is so very sweet to his children. He knew exactly what my heart needed. All I had to do was stop and listen. And I’m so very glad I did. Why do I ever try to go about my day with out kneeling before His throne, and listening to what He has to say? To pour out myself on the altar, only to be filled by Him? Have you spent time with Him today? He has so much he wants to say to you!! All you have to do is sit, be still, and ignore your “crunching floor” calling out your name.

May the Lord fill you with His sweetness today! He loves you so…