Christmas cookie decorating

The week before Christmas, our friends the Tullys invited us over to decorate cookies! Six little girls at one table. Nate was sitting at the end but somehow he managed to avoid being in all the photos.

 Evelyn was already overdue for her nap at the beginning. Emily's face makes me crack up every time I see this picture!!

Lizzie, Naomi, and Olive waiting patiently.

Emily and Evelyn both greatly enjoyed the red sprinkles. Even when you have an entire plateful of sprinkles, your neighbor's are always preferable. 

Some of us ate more than we decorated...they were so tasty!

Thanks to the Tully's we were able to enjoy the tradition of Christmas cookie decorating without two entire days devoted to baking, decorating, and cleaning up all the sprinkles!! 

belly @ 32 weeks

Emma is getting big!!

P.S. Please ignore the evident disaster in the background. My excuse is that this was taken on Christmas Eve!

Christmas 2013

Christmas always seems to fly past after being so long anticipated and this year was no exception. Since Emma's arrival is getting closer (!!!!) we decided that we would stay in GA this year. The relaxed pace has been wonderful. We had some of our favorite Christmas traditions, and Nate and Evelyn were old enough to help me enjoy them this year which definitely added to the joy. We went to a tree farm and eventually found the perfect tree. Brett tried to convince me to buy a tree at Wal-mart, since it is a lot cheaper, but that would have felt almost sacrilegious. After spending several glorious years owning a Christmas tree farm as a child and growing up with the family tradition of cutting a tree, the whole process of picking out a tree is one that should not be skipped! I did manage to get some pictures.

My sweet mom sent us an Advent calendar from Cape May, like she has every year. Nate and Evelyn would remind me every morning (and sometimes throughout the day), to "Open a door!" Another tradition that I have retained from my childhood.

At the beginning of December, I ordered Handel's Messiah and a CD of children singing Christmas hymns. We have really enjoyed both of them! Having beautiful music playing in the background lifts my spirits and delights the children. I need to order some more CD's to play in the kitchen that are not holiday music. I've always loved the pianist George Winston and plan to order a CD of his. We've also enjoyed a CD of classic hymns sung by children. I'm hoping my kiddos learn some hymns from listening to it. Any suggestions of beautiful music that your family loves? 

Sadly, I did not get many pictures on the actual Christmas day. A few blurry ones of the children opening presents, but that was all. We opened presents at home, then went to Papa and Grandma Hawkins for breakfast, and then drove up to north GA for Christmas dinner with Brett's maternal grandparents. Although I greatly missed the usual chaos of 12+ people opening presents, we had a wonderful day and I enjoyed the children's excitement. 

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas too! 

Charleston overnight

This actually happened about a month ago, but I wanted to document it because otherwise there is the distinct danger that I will entirely forget about this trip and may even deny it's existence. My brain is mush!! 

Brett had an overnight job in Charleston and I had never been to that beautiful city, so I went along. The kiddos were delighted to spend the night at Papa and Grandma's.

We drove straight to his first job and I sat in the car and walked around a bit during the afternoon. I read an entire Janette Oak book that someone had left in the car, knitted and listened to the Screwtape Letters, and took a walk around a nearby marina. This was the view from the marina looking back towards the city. 

I love traveling with Brett because he has priority status everywhere he goes, due to his extensive traveling. Everyone scurries to make sure that we have everything we need and I feel a little bit important. =) Because he is a platinum member at the hotel chain that we stayed in, we were upgraded to a gigantic suite. I couldn't help but think about how much the kids would have enjoyed racing around in it. They love staying in hotel rooms. This was the view from different angles out of our porch window. 

We ate out at a nice restaurant downtown and then walked around until I was tired. He had another job in the morning and I was able to get several hours of office done, uninterrupted. It was a short trip, but sweet to spend the time together. I really should go with him more often! Whether with the children or without, we always have a good time. 

Emma Update

Isn't she beautiful?? I am always amazed at how much we can see in utero when I have an ultrasound. The doctor checked all the chambers of her heart and the various portions of her brain. They can see the blood flow through the cord! Everything looked great but she is measuring a little on the small side. While surprising to me, it is not enough to be concerning to the doctors. 

There has been confusion over her due date, which was originally February 9th. I was, and still am (I think), very sure that that date was correct. I have been back over the dates with multiple doctors now and I do not see how it is physically possible for her to be due when they say she is...on February 22nd. I would have had a positive pregnancy test the same weekend she was conceived. 

Apparently that was what was measured at my 8 week ultrasound, but no one bothered to tell me until I was 20-something weeks. Since this confusion, but due to other factors, I have switched back to Dr. Tate, who delivered Evelyn. We were very happy with him, but he is a long drive so we were trying a woman doctor nearby. That did not work out. 

I keep reminding myself that this is not a big deal because she is healthy and growing and will arrive when she's ready. But it has all left me feeling very confused, which easily turns into worry. If I am actually due Feb. 22nd, then I could theoretically have a March baby!!! I used to tell myself that I just had to get through January and then she would almost be here, but now I have no idea what to expect. 

However, our idea of when her due date is will not effect when she actually makes her appearance and she seems to be quite happy and healthy! I love feeling her move. 

We cannot wait to see you Emma!! These blurry pictures don't do you justice.