Baby's First Nativity Set

My grandmother bought this for Baby VZ . Luckily its not breakable!!

Decorating for Christmas

Christmas Tree already full of presents underneath!

First Christmas Party of the Year. Dave found his lovely top at Goodwill.

Assorted Christmas Bulbs

This year's big purchase at the Craft Show.

Everything but the runner was given to me by my Grandma this year. I love the Christmas cups and the tree is a 15 year old Avon item.

Kitchen Table Center Piece

Thomas the Train, Wrestling, and 1 More Green Bay Packers Fan

       Baby VZ is a boy and was not scared to show it!! On the Ultrasound, he displayed all his glory but would not let the technician take a picture of his arm. Pushing on him and having me roll around for 30 minutes finally worked but to say he has some stubbornness is an understatement. He is quite the mover and I am beginning to recognize the feeling of kicking. Dave and I were both mesmerized by the ultrasound and reality sank in a little deeper that we're going to be parents soon. Now we can start shopping and decorating appropriately. We are so excited and pray that God will give us the perfect name!

Spill

        During the last couple of months, leg cramps have tended to sneak up on me in the middle of the night. I usually yell at Dave for help which sends him into a panic. He says that my tone sounds like I'm dying so it really gets his heartbeat up. He kindly asked me if I wouldn't sound so frantic when asking him to work out a leg cramp in the middle of night. Last night, I broke that promise....

        I was having a hard time sleeping between the hours of 2am & 3am. My throat usually gets dry at night so I have a glass of water by my bed. Somewhere around 3:00 I take a drink of water and then hold it on my chest thinking I'll drink it again soon. Then I fall asleep... Around 5:00, Dave hears a BIG GASP as I unknowingly let go of the glass and it spills everywhere. Down my pajamas, on the bed, on my pillows and Dave claims he got splashed too. By this time, Dave thinks I'm in labor and I am more then mad for the surprise. Luckily it was just water and a plastic cup so nothing is lost. I go and sleep in the lazy boy for another hour and Dave just tries to stay on his side of the bed. Yes, I woke up grouchy this morning even though it was all my fault : )

Fall

       In the past few weeks, Dave has started a new job in Ames. It sounds further away from Des Moines but it is actually the same time. Plus he has two other guys to carpool with so we are actually saving gas money. YAY! Although he has been overloaded with new information and computer software, he is loving it! The unlimited pop fridge and casual dress really suit him. Also he won his wife a whoopy cushion at work for answering questions in his training : )

     I went back to school after a two week vacation and am finding myself pretty tired at the end of the day. It has been good to see co-workers and students since being back. The baby is definitely making room in my stomach and I can finally say that my belly is all baby. Some of my students have already asked if I was having a baby to which I respond with a maybe and a smile. I will probably formally tell some of the older ones closer to Thanksgiving. In the next month we will be finding out the gender so stay tuned!

Painting

So my wonderful in-laws came to our house for 4 days to helps us paint three different rooms. My husband and them worked so hard while I tried to stay away from the paint fumes. Here is the beginnings of the baby's room. The walls are gray and we will throw in accent colors when we find out the gender.

New Car!!

Since our other car was having some problems, we decided to get a newer more reliable car. Also we felt it was a good idea with the baby coming. Safety first! Here she is:

2008 Dodge Avenger

BABY

Dave and I are thrilled to announce that Baby VZ will be here at the end of March! For a little background, We started trying to have a family a little under a year ago and after each passing month I became discouraged. Fears and lies began to creep up about why things weren't happening as fast as I had hoped. Through many prayers and encouraging people, I began to grow in faith that God had everything perfectly timed. AND HE DID! To start with, Dave and I just bought a first house in Ankeny. We have a permanent place for baby to call home. Second, the baby's due date (End of March) times it perfectly for me to go on maternity leave without returning to school before summer. I feel like God gave me little hints of hope by randomly sending me diaper coupons in June, two people had dreams that I was pregnant, and the previous owners of our house gave us a crib, stroller, and high chair for free. God is so good!! When the times comes, we will find out the gender but the name will be secret until his/her birth.Thank you for all the prayers that have already been proclaimed over this baby!