Our Christmas

 We started off Christmas our usual way of going to the Candlelight church service then dinner at Gigi & Bum Bum's. 

(I'll post Christmas Eve pics soon too) 

My mom has always passed out one gift to everyone to open on Christmas Eve and it's always new jammies! This year Violet was a little disappointed that her first gift wasn't a toy. Oh, well :) Gigi and Bum Bum got a new puppy and he kept the kids busy. 

 Santa brought a tractor with MegaBlocks for Zander and a horse with a doll for Violet! 

 Violet really wanted a friend for her American Girl doll. She named this one Emily then said, "I name lots of my dolls Emily." So cute.

 Zander thinks this "Hee-Haw" is his personal horse to ride! Haha. It's hilarious but I'm sure Zander exceeds the weight limit. We try to keep him off it. Here, he's wearing his Daddy's new hat with his Batman cape. He loves to play dress up with anything he finds. 

 Daddy and Violet figuring out her first Legos set. 

Our Little Batman! 

I found this cape and mask at a local craft fair. Zander loves it. 

We had to quietly take it off him after he fell asleep that night. 

 Something pretty cool happened on Christmas Day. It snowed! Yep, here in Texas. We got a few inches. It was mostly ice so not too fun to play in. But Violet was absolutely thrilled. 

We get to celebrate Christmas one more time tomorrow with my husband's family. 

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family & friends! 

~Jesus is the reason for the Season~

23 Weeks Pregnant Update

 There's our sweet baby....BOY!

How Far Along- 23 Weeks 1 Day

Total Weight Gained- 10 pounds as of 2 weeks ago

Maternity Clothes?- Yep, I've kept all my previous maternity clothes. 

I've had to go buy a few long sleeve tops for this one.

Stretch Marks- No new ones.

Sleep- Doing okay. I sleep on my side with a pregnancy pillow. 

I usually wake up 2-3 times to go to the bathroom.

Best Moment This Week- Christmas with my family! 

Violet & Zander were so adorable and happy.

Movement- I feel him moving around a lot during the day.

Gender- We found out Boy at 13 weeks. So, super early! 

We've had 2 ultrasounds since then and he's all boy.

Belly Button In or Out- Still in.

What I Miss- Sleeping on my belly and no back pains.

What I'm Looking Forward To- Seeing our baby in January for an U/S and of course, meeting him in person! 

About 17 weeks to go! I've been looking over names for months. The only first name we both agree on is Asher. Such a cute name and it means Blessed. His middle name will be Matthew after his Daddy. Crazy to think that the boys will outnumber us soon in this household. Growing up with 3 sisters this is all so different! We are so excited to add this baby boy to our family.

Heartbroken.

I like many others are still grieving over the Sandy Hook tragedy. 

Oh Lord Jesus we need you.
 Those precious children.  I can't think of them without crying. I pray you comfort those families.
Fill their broken hearts with peace and love only you can provide.
I pray that people are brought closer to you despite all of this. 

I find myself staring at my precious 5 year old girl and wishing I could hide all the bad in the world from her.
 I can't stop hugging her and my little boy. 

Every night I pray over them that they will always follow Jesus and love others.
That's really what's most important.

Psalm 34:18 

"The Lord is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed spirit."