blessed beyond measure

Soooo. It snowed. Yep. Before Christmas. The weather was cold and wet at the same time . Brandon took our official measurement just as the storm was letting up. Eleven inches! And if reports from the news are to be believed, we got less than any area encircling us. Of course, much of the snow came in sideways with the strong winds, so it is really different depths wherever you look. Very exciting. They say it won't all melt away by Thursday/Friday, so we can look forward to a white Christmas! Nothing helps along the Christmas spirit like when your view from the window matches what you see in all the Christmas movies! Snow always brings out my inner Aunt Bee, so I have spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen. Homemade vegetable soup Homemade cinnamon buns (soy-based, so Trey could enjoy too!) Homemade pumpkin bread Yeah. Take that, morning sickness! Then my folks made it over today for some outdoor playtime with Trey. This time was so much more fun than last March, when ...

Christmas is coming, the goose is I am getting fat... We're getting more and more excited about Christmas every day. We had such a great time this past Sunday, where at church we had the children's program, handbell mini-concert, and choir cantata all on one night. It was just magical. Trey did a great job at ringing his gigantic jingle bell, and much to my relief, did not think it was a ball and try to ping someone in the congregation. AND, he sat relatively still through the handbells and choir, allowing all of us to watch the entire program! We have another weekend full of events coming up. That is, unless certain so-called "weather experts" might actually be right about certain white fluffiness coming our way. If so, I'll take it! Can't get much more Christmas-y than that. Well, the title of this post comes from the rapid pace at which my son seems to be changing these days. I'm not sure if time is going faster or if he is experiencing a seriou...

What are we getting ready for? A dry-erase calendar full of basketball games and holiday related events - in short, Christmas! The morning sickness has subsided a great deal, which means I can get excited about parties and dinners AND volunteer to cook a lot of food. Which I have done. And will continue to do for the rest of this month. Basketball is in full force (three games this week!?!). Our weekends are swamped, kicking off this weekend with company and Trey's third annual Christmas program at church. Family gatherings, friend gatherings, Christmas plays, living nativity... Merriment all around! I am almost done with gift-buying, which may be a record. I am almost done with Christmas cards - yet again, another record. Boy, it makes a huge difference having a child old enough to self-entertain for more than 3 minutes at a time. The house is decorated, though somewhat more low-key than in years past. Let's not get carried away. And amid the hustle and bustle, headl...

Wednesday night marked Brandon's debut as head coach. Though the game did not go as well as any of us would have liked, the guys showed glimpses of what they could do and how well they could play together. Hopefully the long season will help them grow to where those moments of solid play last for most of the game. Loss or not, it was amazing to be there and watch as my husband stepped into a goal he made for himself long, long ago. Brandon, we are so proud of you, and know that no matter what, God has brought you to where you are, and He will use you. We are your permanent cheering section. Trey was our pregame entertainment, dancing to the big boys' music. He did much better this year than last year, with relatively little whining. Only maybe a dozen times or so did he ask to go out on the floor and play in the game. Coach, before the game, with his game face on. This may or may not be the moment that someone walked by and asked if he needed a Tums. Can't see Brando...

It's been a while since we've done a Trey update, so here goes. - He is aware that there is a baby in Mama's tummy, and that sometimes the baby makes Mama not feel good or need to eat something at odd times. He loves looking at the ultrasound pictures. In fact, while we were looking at them the other day, Trey named the baby. Ladies and gentlemen, the little one shall henceforth be known as "Dolphin". - In our house, Trey will only eat two meals per day. He shuns dinner completely. Never even makes it to the table. I'll ask him, "Trey, are you hungry? Do you want to eat dinner?" The response is always, "No, I don't like dinner." Hasn't eaten dinner in over 2 weeks. I don't know if this is OK or not. - A few days after the "Daddy can't count" incident, Trey surprised us by counting to twenty correctly, and he has done it correctly ever since. Little stinker. So we've returned our educational focus to ...