We're at 25 weeks!

We are more than halfway there. I am starting to feel our baby move a lot more and Jeff can now feel her too when he puts his hand on my belly. I know that was exciting for him. I'm definitely starting to show and the back pains are beginning. Especially because Nicolas is walking full force. He tries to run sometimes but isn't very coordinated at it yet and usually ends up falling and laughing at himself. It's pretty funny. We are enjoying this time but hoping the pregnancy goes by fast with the holidays so we can meet our daughter already! Here are some recent pics. The pregnant one was taken on Halloween and the others just last week.

Nicolas running away from us with a big stick in his hand.
Playing with Daddy.

Halloweenies and Hamboogers

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Many of you know we hosted "HALLOWEENies and HamBOOgers" for our neighborhood this Halloween. Basically, we had a cookout in our front yard for anyone that was trick-or-treating and passed out candy and some hotdogs and hamburgers as well. We hosted it along with two other couples that live in our neighborhood. Below are some pics from our night.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

So, for those of you who thought we were going in Friday for our sono, we did too.....but that all changed today. Kathy called the doctor's office she was having her sono at to confirm the day and time and they informed her they were no longer doing sonos for outside patients. So she called the birthing center where we are having our little one and they gave her a couple more numbers of places to try to schedule a sono. Keep in mind, we've have this appt. for about a month and had not been told any of this information. So she calls one of the places and they tell her they only do sonos on Tuesdays (which is today) and that they had a cancellation. Can she come in at 4:30? So, we went in and the sonographer told us everything looked healthy and that he was 100% sure we were having a girl. Here's a profile pic.

Pumpkin Patch 2008

This past weekend, we went to the pumpkin patch. It was a blast! Nicolas got to taste, touch, feel, sit on, etc. his first pumpkin. To see pics, click on the link below.

Pumpkin Patch 2008

Other fun news: Nicolas has begun to take his first steps....watch out!

Nicolas' First Birthday

Nicolas turned the big "1" this past week. We had a small party with mainly family and a couple of his buddies. We know he won't remember it but it was fun for us! He got some great gifts and his first taste of sugar. He pretty much loved it!

Pregnancy Ticker

Big Bro

For those of you who didn't know......Nicolas is going to be a big brother! We are at 10 weeks and due around March 5. This picture is a good depiction of what our little guy is like. The blurriness shows he's always on the move :) He's almost a year old.....time flies!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommas out there. Since we couldn't be with you all, we got you some flowers.....not as good as in person, but the next to best thing. We love you!

First Birthday Party

How funny is this?! This is Nicolas' first birthday party. His friend Emma Sumlin turned five. He's pictured here with Maggie Curtis. The two are about 2 weeks apart and loving life. You can't tell from his expression, but he is. Jeff said he looks like one of the little Southpark characters in this pic because his hair was doing something a little funky that day. It's probably one of those pictures that he's going to hate us for posting when he gets older. Oh well. He's probably going to hate us for putting the little bear overalls on him as well. We love the little dude! Stay tuned. More fun pics to come soon!

What have we been up to? Well, getting a year older for one. We've both recently celebrated birthdays. Jeff turned the big 3-0! Jeff continues to take classes towards his Master's and is still on staff with Collegelife and Kathy continues to work part-time as the Dir. of Admissions at a private school. Our little guy continues to make us laugh everyday. He now has two little bottom teeth and likes to put everything into his mouth. He grunts, groans, laughs, hugs, kisses, puts his feet in his mouth and refuses to lay on his stomach, to name a few. He pretty much has a mind of his own. He'll humor us by sitting on his own for a while and then he'll randomly decide he's tired of that and rolls onto his back. We love the little guy! Here's a picture of our family on Jeff's birthday.

Our Winter Adventure in March

it's snowing in denton!!! who would have thought? it was 70 degrees only days ago. thus begins our winter fairytale in march. it started out with a trip to the doctor for nico's 6 month shots and ended up with an afternoon spent with our great friends, the elliot's, after losing our electricity. it was an inconvenient yet pleasant surprise. neither one of us remembers seeing this much snow in denton. it was beautiful. and yet we are grateful that we don't experience this sort of weather more often. we're wimps when it comes to the cold! it was, nevertheless, an excuse to play...

snowy rooftops

inside/outside view

our house

First Bites

Nicolas turned 6 months yesterday! In honor of this event, we decided to start trying to feed him cereal as the doctor said he was ready for it if we chose to go that route. So, being the big eater that he is, we thought he would really like it. We also decided to document this milestone in his life. We expected some smiles and some eagerness on his part. Well, we were pretty much wrong. He obliged us by letting us put the spoon in his mouth a couple of times for some photo opps (pictured below) and then he pretty much pursed his lips and would not allow another spoonful to enter his mouth. He also cried every time he saw the spoon. We even let him hold it so he could see that it was safe. After all, he puts everything else in his mouth. Why should this be any different? But somehow, he knew. Today was our fifth day to try it and he's starting to come around. He still makes faces and won't voluntarily open his mouth, but at least he's swallowing some of it and he doesn't scream half the time :)

Rambo(w) in Argentina!

Our friends George and Emily Rambow are serving as missionaries to Argentina with SERVE out of Denton Bible Church, and have been in the center of some horrendous flooding. Nearly 1500 people have been evacuated in and around the cities in which they serve. We have included their last email below. You can read more about the flooding here.

Dear Friends,

Today, as we read the news and hear from friends, we realize that we are blessed. God spared us from the worst of what hit City Bell and La Plata. Due to the intense rains yesterday, over 1,500 people had to be evacuated from their homes. Many had one to two meters of water flow through their houses. Thankfully, we have heard no reports of casualties.

We ask you to please pray with us for the people who lost their homes and valuables to the floods. May the church band together and reach out to those in need. May no one be without a roof overhead tonight (as it is forecast to rain until Monday). And may the Lord use this to bring many to the saving knowledge of Jesus.

Love,

George and Emily

Just some fun pics

hello world!


this is called kissing mama

First Haircut

Who gives their baby a haircut at 5 months? We do. His bangs were so out of control! We don't have any pics of the actual event but we do have before and after pics. Guess he wasn't too traumatized b/c he's still smiling.

before

after

The Mission of God Through a Community of Grace

Jeff was given the opportunity to preach at Axcess on the topic of "The Mission of God in the Church: A Community of Grace." The text was Ephesians 2:1-10. Here is a brief overview:

We live in a culture of "hyper-competitiveness" and "one-ups-manship" that makes genuine authenticity impossible to come by. God has created the church through His grace in order to reveal Himself as God of Grace to a world that is desperate for it.

You can watch here or listen to the sermon here.

Baby Laughs are the Best!

There's something about funny daddy noises, the changing table and naked baby time.
They make him laugh like nothing else. This isn't the best video but it made us laugh.

This is one of my new favorite faces!