2015 Goals~

We are almost into 2015!   Alex has been home since Christmas Eve, so we have spent some time decluttering and organizing.  My heart overflows when he starts cleaning;-)  That is a stretch for him to say the least!  

Tonight over supper we hashed out some family goals for 2015!  I find that we are much more focused, and we see progress when we set goals.  Even more so when he is a part of the conversation!  I have also learned to keep my list streamlined to help it actually remain attainable.  That doesn't always work out for me, but it is at least a start!

So here are the family goals for 2015.

1. Pay off Alex's undergraduate loan by October 1, 2015
Alex was on the 5 year plan 10 years ago, so his loans were a bit more than mine when we exited school in 2004.  To date, he has about what I had at this time last year left on his loan.  We managed to pay off mine last year, so this year we are tackling his!  We have 100% of the loan to go!  

2. Establish a will
I looked back through my blog, and this has been on my goal list since 2010.  I've failed at it 4 times.  I don't know why this one is so hard for us to accomplish.  Well, I do know.  I hate to think about death, and even more so, I hate thinking about the possibility that I will not be around to see my children grow up.  That notion alone makes this a daunting goal for me.   If it is to be accomplished, Alex is really going to have to do the upfront work on it.  I may just have to communicate that to him if there is any hope that this will actually be a reality.   

3. Read the Bible in 2 years
This was also a goal from last year.  I did pretty well until August when I got pregnant and went into survival mode for 12 weeks due to horrible morning sickness.  We are starting a new plan at church in January, and I'm going to start again with the hope that I can finish the Bible in 2 years.  That seems doable!

4. Go on 1 family vacation
We did not take a vacation last year.  Alex was crazy busy at work, and it simply didn't happen.  We determined if you don't plan for it, it will not happen.  Alex has already been in contact with a vacation planner.  We are headed somewhere, and we aren't planning it, so we know it will happen!  I'm excited!  It will be our first trip as a family of 5.  I'm sure it will hold some adventures!  

5. Have a baby
This seems like an easy one to accomplish, but it will change the family dynamic a bit.  The house is so excited to welcome our baby girl.  Even Isla seems to think that this will be a blessing now, and she has vowed to help change diapers.  We will see if she is still singing that tune in 3 months!  

That's it!  Hopefully these will help us stay focused on what is important to spend out time, energy, and resources on as we step into 2015!  Happy New Year!!

Christmas 2014~

Christmas has come and gone!  My most favorite holiday of the year has passed us by, and we are resuming to normal life again.

I am enjoying not returning to work until Friday, and Alex has taken some time off through the week as well. Life is good!

Here are the highlights of our Christmas 2014!  It was a good one!

Santa came!  Barbie house for Isla and Air Hog for Rowan!  They must
have been good this year!

Sweet boy~

She's excited~

Lego City~

Teamwork for this one~

Playing before we head to Grandma and Grandpa's house~

Sly smile~

Somber face~

We headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house mid morning for more Christmas fun!  We had a great time relaxing and enjoying some new toys as well as Grandma's good eats!

Egg nog mustaches with Grandma's egg nog!

Old Soul~

We played a little memory with Aunt Reesa~

Oh, the competition~

What could it be?

Stressful day for Big Al~

New game-jumping~

Headbandz!  The greatest game ever!  

 Family, good food, and a lovely day it was! 

The Anticipation of Christmas~

Alex bought a new camera the beginning of December.  Our camera was many moons old, and we had to replace the batteries every time we used it.  For real...  I just went through over 200 pictures that he took in the week before Christmas!  Oy, oy!  If he keeps that up, I'm going to have to teach him how to edit them and blog;-)

Here are the winners from the week before Christmas!

Isla spruced up for her school Christmas program~

Sibling love~

Daddy made yummy cookies~  

Isla sang at big church~

The kids lounged for me while I got stuff done early in the week~

Pretty girl~

We made a dash to Grammy and Poppy's house!  Isla made herself right at home~

We saw Santa Clause~  

Oh, the anticipation~

Grammy has bar stools~  Fun!

Cousins came for a bit~

Cousin love~

Tuckered out Isla after the visit to the farm~

Daddy helped us make a Gingerbread house~

Teamwork~

Sweet boys~

The final product~  

Christmas Eve~

Fundue and Bubbly when we got home~

Love her~

He's pretty fun too~

Yummo~

 Whew!  What a week full of great memories!

Baby #3 Update~

I've hit a nesting spree in our house, so I figured I should document a little bit of Baby #3s progress before it is over;-)

My baby bump at 25 weeks~

Latest Doctor Appointment: I failed my 1 hour glucose test at the beginning of December.  I have never failed with either of the other two, so I had not expected that at all.  This last Monday I went and sat for 3.5 hours in the OB waiting room and had 4 blood draws to see if I did in fact have gestational diabetes.  My dad has been a diabetic for 45 years, so this weighed heavy on my heart.  They called on Tuesday and said all was fine, and I passed.  What a sigh of relief!  I got to hear Baby Girl's heartbeat, and she is doing great! We are measuring right on target, so we should see her on or around March 27.  I go to the doctor again on January 7, and then I'm already to every 2 week appointments!

Weight Gain:  I've gained 17 pounds now at 27 weeks.  I've never gained more than 24 pounds at the end, and it is not looking optimistic that I will stay under that with 13 weeks to go.  I'm sad about it, but it is more important that I grow a healthy baby.  I will just have my work cut out for me once she is born.

Cravings:  I haven't really had any cravings with this one.  Perhaps it is that I'm just too busy/tired to really think about a specific craving.  I miss wine-A LOT!  I'm pretty sure I will be bringing a bottle to the hospital with me to celebrate the arrival of the little Miss;-)  The upside is that our family budget has benefited from my lack of wine consumption, though;-)

Complaints: I hurt...  all over...  Baby #3 is much more painful than the other two.  Perhaps it is due to being 32...  My back hurts, my hips kill me, and I feel like my pelvis is splitting in two pretty much all of the time.  I've never been a medicine taker, so I just grin and get through it.  I'm still sleeping okay, which is amazing, but Baby Girl comes alive as soon as I lie down at night, so I'm trying hard to enjoy her playtime during my sleep time;-)  

Nesting: We have put the two big kids together in bunk beds, and we are slowly transforming Isla's old room into the nursery again.  I'm digging out what baby stuff I can find, and we are slowly getting ready.  It's amazing how much more prepared I feel having done this a couple of times before.  

To Do List: We still need to purchase a new car seat for the baby and a few clothes to get us started.  I picked my car seat out yesterday, so now we just need to purchase it, and we will be ready;-) 

Thirteen weeks to go until we see our little addition!!

 

   

The Christmas Story~

It is no lie that I absolutely love Christmas!  Everything about this blessed holiday brings me a great deal of joy.

It is the morning of Christmas Eve, and Alex has scampered off to work for his last work day for a week. Yippee!! Our presents are wrapped and underneath the tree, my children are watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and I am finishing my morning cup of coffee. There is an overwhelming peace with my soul today.

We will spend our day at home with our family and then attend Christmas Eve service with our church family.  Christmas Eve service is my most favorite service of the year, and this year is no different.  It is such an awesome reminder of the reason for the season and the impending celebration of life given to a tiny baby so many years ago.

Our church children made a recreation of the Christmas story, and the incredible journey the birth of Jesus brought to Mary and Joseph.  It is sweet to see our church children recreate this amazing story, and I am particularly partial to the littlest lamb and King Herod!

Blessings to you and your family as you celebrate the birth of our Savior!  May you have a peaceful and joyous Christmas!  Merry Christmas!

Family Pictures 2014~

We hadn't take family pictures since 2012.  It was time, and I'm excited for how well they turned out!  It took 20 minutes and T.H. Peterson Photography to make them amazing!  Our blessings are many!