Waiting for 2

I am not only waiting for my daughter, I am also waiting for my niece or nephew! YES, I AM GOING TO BE AN AUNT. Can you tell I am just a tad excited?!?!

Next year is going to be a big, busy, full year for our families. What JOY!

We wait and wonder who will be here first ;) My sister is due late May. I love the idea of little girl cousins. Alex has all his toes and fingers crossed it's a boy :) My boys want another boy! Ha.

My sister and I can wait with anticipation together!
We can be first time mom's together (This will not be like the other 3- I can throw my old tricks out the window)
We can talk about nursery decor together.
I can watch her get bigger and bigger and be thankful I am not ;)

I am so thankful that God would bless me with this surprise, while I wait for my little one. I know our wait is going to get harder and feel longer and I am so excited that I have this little spring arrival to look forward too!

Ry Guy

I am enjoying my days with him. It's amazing the volume change when the older 2 leave for school. I feel guilty for the first few minutes b/c I am thankful to see them off. But I recover awfully quickly ;)

 

Mostly I am thankful for this time with Ryan. Soon it won't just be him and me during the school days (I think about that almost daily). And I know his world is going to be rocked. I have had this year (2.5-3.5 yrs) with all three boys at home one on one. I consider it a gift to be treasured. 

Ryan continues to be a busy busy handful. He is going to be quite the force to be reckoned with. Yesterday, my mom and I "lost" him in a dept. store for maybe a minute. A very long minute. He is quick, quiet and sneaky. He got far. Scared the .... out of us! Not him, happy as a clam. He stayed strapped in the stroller after that.

He can destroy things in a second. He is very creative. And not afraid of much. It is very obvious he has older brothers. The things he says... oh my goodness. Probably not too many 2 yr olds say "shake your booty" on a daily basis or has gangnam dance moves ;)

We love him to pieces. I am going to miss his little voice. I am going to miss his silly stories that don't make any sense. And I am dreading the day that he and I can't sit side by side in his nursery rocker (for some reason that has become a measuring tool for me).

I love that he makes me laugh every single day.

He is trying to grow up too quickly. I am doing my best to stop him :)

More Gifts

I just added some new girlie bracelets to my fundraising page. They are made with memory wire and just wrap around the wrist. Same $2.50 shipping applies.

2 sizes are available

The small ones are for 2 yrs and under.

Larger ones almost fit me, definitely 10 yrs and under. 

These sweet hair bows were graciously donated by a friend, who is also in the midst of the adoption of 2! Thanks Elizabeth.

At the Beach

As much as I HATE the drive, it is SO fun to be at the beach for Thanksgiving.

We picked the wrong day to go on the beach. Sat morning before we left, we went to check out the beach. The temperature had dropped about 20 degrees and it was VERY windy.

Still plenty of beach. Pretty amazing, actually.

Most of the damage occurred near where the bay and ocean meet.

This is a 2 lane highway with connecting bridge off in the distance.

Along the inlet

ThankFULL

Look what accompanied Ryan on part two of our trip.

 Sugarplum's great-grandmother (EJ's mom's mom) could not resist :) 

EJ was SO excited to wedge that in ;)

Lord willing, that will be Sugar plum's spot next Thanksgiving!

 

 We had Thanksgiving dinner at the beach with EJ's dad and dad's mom.
At 91, she still had a big hand in the cooking. An amazing lady!

She and Mason are so cute together. He is SO sweet with her. Be still my heart.

Saying "turkey"

A few weeks ago, we weren't sure we'd be having Thanksgiving together. With the storm, Sandy, heading straight for their beach town, we weren't sure the condition of the house. Plus, Nana just recently underwent surgery. We had A LOT to be thankful for as we gathered around the table together.

We spent Black Friday, cruising the street of our beloved beach town and enjoying the freebies of the small town's Christmas festival.

Later that evening we walked back for the tree lighting.

Thanks for the lighted hats, PopPop!

Turkey Bowl Rookie

Owen had his first shot at the infamous turkey bowl this year. EJ is passing the torch. It was a very small turn out this year which left EJ sad and also sensing the end was upon them. He has been playing with a core of guys since his high school days. Only 1 other "original" showed up this year to play.

Owen had a blast. I hope he is still satisfied to play with 3rd graders at recess ;)

The weather was great. EJ's mom even came to cheer!
The younger two kept themselves occupied.

After the big boys finished the little one's played.

The other "original," Ryan K. below in navy shorts, (the best man in our wedding) has 2 boys.
The older 3 had a great time playing with their dads.

Holiday Travels

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of fun with EJ's side of the family. The boys missed 1.5 days of school ;) It was WELL WORTH it to beat the traffic rush. All 3 drives were smooth. Which makes a big difference in my mind and attitude. First stop, EJ's mom's house. We got there with daylight to spare (another huge difference) and the boys were able to get some energy out! We also spent some time with EJ's mom's mom.

Wednesday we visited some quaint shops with an arcade type place.

Showing off their "prizes" from the arcade!

We ate lots of yummy meals out.

And drove through an incredible Christmas lights show.

More Gifts

God is at work, softening hearts to help bring our daughter home. It's awesome to witness.
My friend Courtney B. is donating proceeds from her etsy shop from now until Dec. 31.
Go take a look, its super cute stuff!
We are blessed!

Guys Weekend

My man got away this weekend. Glad he had something just for him.
3 from here met up with another 5 for a football game. 

Phil, Cary and EJ

 

I teased them for packing like girls (too much). They barely had room for everything. Okay, so maybe girls wouldn't bring a grill and enough hamburgers for 2 each ;)

He had a great weekend and loved seeing their old stomping grounds.