Home Team Christmas Party

We had our Home Team/Small Group Christmas Party this last Saturday. We had so much fun! We had a holiday feast with a Tur-Duc-Hen (A hen stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey), fresh green beans, home made rolls, twice-baked baked potatoes, and tons and tons of yummy appetizers before hand.

After dinner we all made Gingerbread Houses. It was so much fun!

Andy and Brittany made a traditional gingerbread house which turned out super cute.

I love the fence made out of bones! (I think they got a snoppy kit).

Justin and Kristen made a log cabin complete with a bay window in the back.

Look how cute their wreath on the door is!

See the bay window in the back? Very clever!

Jake and Kristi made a gingerbread house with iciles hanging from the roof and a garage.

If you look closely their is a pebble rock path made out of chocolate rocks. Awesome!

My sister Michelle, and Drew got very creative and made a boxing ring with fighting gingerbread men!

They even have spectators sitting around the ring eating buttered popcorn!

They made a sign that says 'John 3:16'! Spiritual boxing!

Steven and I made a log cabin with a basketball hoop and a tire-swing in the front yard. We were planning on having an A-Frame roof, but it just would not hold up so we opted for a flat roof instead. My sister took a picture of Steven and I next to our completed house but for some reason its not on our camera anymore. My camera was acting funny around that time and it must have deleted that picture. That makes me so mad! So we only have this one of us, making our gingerbread house. What a bummer!

Steven did such a good job on the basketball hoop! And the tire-swing is off to the left. Pretty cool if I could say so myself! And those were all his ideas!

Santa even visited our house! He is on the roof next to the chimney. (If you notice our tire-swing fell down at this point and would NOT stand back up).

It was such a fun night and it was sad to see our creations go in the trash afterwards but none of us wanted to take them all the way home. That is why we have pictures! Thanks Andy and Brittany for hosting it at your house! I can't wait for next years party (by then we'll have a little baby crawling around)!

19 Weeks!!!

I'm ninteen weeks today! I feel like I got bigger overnight and I'm loving every minute of it. Steven keeps staring at me and then says, 'You're HUGE!'

I think I've felt the baby move a few times. I can't be sure. But I think maybe. I can't wait until I know for sure.

We find out in a little over three weeks what we're having. I can't wait...I'm just counting down the days. Boy...or...Girl?

Broadway's 2008 Christmas Program

Wow.

Double Wow.

Amazing!

Our church's Christmas Program, Simply Christmas, was absolutely amazing! Since I was the photographer I was able to sit through it three times and it never got boring. From the kids’ awesome dance moves, to the bands amazing rendition of 'Christmas Sarajevo' a Tran Siberian Orchestra song, to the dramas, to the very cool, very soulful songs that the choir performed, everything was incredible!

There were so many people who put hours and hours into creating the program, practicing, and executing three amazing shows. You all did such an amazing job and I thank you so much for all your hard work and sacrifice.

Steven and I were talking after, and I was saying how every year they manage to 'best' their last Christmas Program. But this years program was so amazing I just don't know how they'll be able to beat it for next year. Steven says they don't have to, they've reached such a level of perfection they just have to keep it at the same level. I agree but my hunch is they will still 'best' themselves in next years program.

Now for some pictures...I had a very difficult time this year taking decent pictures. There wasn't as much light on stage as years past and I don't use flash so it really proved a challenge for me. But I at least got some decent ones.

Baby Bump!

I'm getting a little baby bump and totally excited about it!!!!

This is me at seventeen weeks.

Mom's Connection

Since I'm expecting, I got to go to my first Mom's Connection Group this morning. It totally rocked! I truly loved every minute of it.

The Mom's Connection Group is for moms who are expecting to mom's who have young kids. It's run by our church. It lasts between an hour and an hour and a half but I could have stayed for five hours just soaking in all the information.

We were able to chat with each other before hand (and I got some fabulous advice about the belly band, thanks Andrea!), get some yummy snacks and then we all sat at tables. At the tables we were able to talk about some challenges and rewards of being a mom. Then they had four fabulous women there that have older kids and have been through most of the sturggles that young moms are going through right now. Everyone was able to ask them questions and get advice. I don't even have kids yet and I learned A LOT!

And even though we were talking about the struggles and problems with children, it made me even more excited to become a mom! It truly is a blessing from the Lord, struggles and all!

I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it and I can't wait until our next one. Thank you to all of you who put it on. It was awesome!

On to Christmas!

We had a great Thanksgiving!

We spent it with Steven's family in Arco. We ate lots of amazing food, played SPOONS, watched football, and laughed a lot! It was a wonderful time with family!

On Friday Steven and I made the one hour drive to Idaho Falls at 5:30 in the morning to do some Black Friday shopping! I was so proud of myself, I had everything mapped out. I had found this website, blackfriday.com where it has all the Black Friday ads online. So I was able to browse through all of them a week in advance and make a printable list of everything I wanted to get. So we stopped at Staples, Circuit City, Target, Best Buy, The Mall, Sportsman Warehouse, Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Auto Zone. I was able to get just about everything on my list and we were finished within three hours! And we even had breakfast somewhere in there. I was so proud of myself at the good deals we got and I had lots of fun shopping with Steven. It was the highlight of our weekend!

Now my goal is to get our Christmas decorations up tonight. My plan was to put them up a week ago but we got really busy. And now I'm kinda dreading it. I usually love to decorate, but this year I just don't have the energy to pull everything out of our shed and pick and choose what goes up, and only for 30 days! I'm especially not looking forward to setting up the tree. What a hassle! But, I know I'll be happy once everything is up, I just need to bite the bullet and do it!

Tomorrow I'll be 17 weeks along! To my excitement, I'm starting to get a little noticeable baby bump! Now I just can't wait until I can start feeling the baby move and kick. Five more weeks until our next ultrasound!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Steven and I are headed to Arco tonight to spend Thanksgiving with his family! I have been craving that wonderful Thanksgiving food for months. I can't wait to dive into it! And, I have cut out soda and sweets since finding out I was pregnant so I'm looking forward to splurging and eating some yummy desserts!


On Friday we are headed to Idaho Falls to do some BLACK FRIDAY shopping. I'm hoping to check off everything on our Christmas list! This will be the first year that Steven is coming with me. I'm so proud of him for getting up early for me. I love you babe!


We'll be back on Sunday night just in time for our Staff Christmas Party which I'm really looking forward to.


Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May your day be filled with food, family, football, and lots of fun!

A little heartbeat...

We had our second appointment yesterday. It wasn't a real fun one. Lots of tests. BUT we got to listen to the baby's heartbeat. It was so cool! It's amazing that you can hear this tiny little heart through all of that stomach! It really is a true miracle!

The baby's heartbeat was very strong and pretty fast. Our doctor is convinced the baby is a girl. Now Steven's a little more convinced. But me, well I still have a gut feeling the baby is a boy. I guess there is a fifty/fifty chance huh?! But we will be happy with whatever miracle God gives us.


We had our second ultrasound scheduled for four weeks from today but we had to change it to the second when in January. Bummer! But we had to since it wouldn't make any sense for the cost of the ultrasound to go to our deductable in 2008 when 2008 is almost over. So we opted to wait and do it in 2009. That means I have to wait seven weeks! Man oh man! How am I going to wait that long?! I think it will help if I start feeling the baby move between now and then. But if not, it will be torture to wait!


Seven more weeks...seven more weeks...seven more weeks...

Byrne Family Portratis

Brian & Ashley are friends of ours and they asked me to do their family portraits. Well, word got around and Brians parents wanted to jump in on it, as well as his brother, his sister, and his sisters boyfriend. So I did a little of everything. They were a really easy family to shoot and the fastest I've ever done and hope I get the chance to photograph them next year too. Thanks guys!

Moms, I need your help!

To all you Mom's out there:

I put together a list of baby supplies that I think we need for the baby. However, I don't know if I'm missing anything or if I have things on the list that aren't necessary. So...I was hoping that you all could help me with that. I'll take all the advice I can get.

Also, specifically, what kind of bottles have you used that you think are the best? And since I'm planning on breast feeding, how many do I need to get? There are so many different kinds and designs out there so I really need some help.

This is mainly for when I register for baby stuff (once we find out the sex of the baby) and I want to make sure I'm prepared. Thank you for your help!

Equipment
Cradling bouncer with vibration and music
Activity Saucer
Jumper
Swing
Stroller and Car Seat combo
Pack and Play
Lightweight Umbrella Stroller
Bathing Tub

Misc.
Boppy
Diaper Bag
Baby Carrier
Shopping Cart Boppy Cover
Fold Up Changing Pads
Pacifiers
Baby Monitor
Receiving Blankets

Feeding
Bottle Drying Rack
Bottles
Electric Breast Pump
High Chair
Bibs
Burp Cloths

Furniture
Crib
Crib Mattress & Bedding
Glider Chair with Stool

Trunk or Treat 2008

Trunk or Treat was awesome this year! We had the biggest crowd, the best activities and games, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous! Steven and I help out every year. Steven is security and I'm the event photographer. And of course we dress up, that's part of the fun! Steven was a 'Chick Magnet' and I was 'Twister.' Here are some pictures of our full filled event...