Success!!

After our church Christmas program yesterday, Santa showed up! We have a wonderful man from our church who dresses up as Santa during the holidays and he made his appearance. I was so hoping that Halle would maybe recognize him and feel comfortable sitting on his lap, since every time she sees Santa, she talks about NOT wanting to go by him. The more Santa lingered around, the more comfortable Halle got. So we decided to take a family pic with him and she quietly but seriously sat on his lap without saying a word. Unfortunately, we don't have that picture yet. But a few minutes after that, all she said was that she wanted to see Santa again and that she wanted to "hold him." So here we go- she let him pick her up and she talked to him and told him, "I want to buy candy for Christmas." He told her all about Jesus birthday and how he comes to remind the kids that that is the reason we celebrate Christmas. It was so precious for me to watch, and she even gave him a kiss! So here's Halle with Santa, at 2 1/2- she wouldn't stop talking about him on the way home from church.
"Santa come to my house when I wake up and bring me presents. Santa have white gloves, I love white gloves...he's a nice man!"

Getting ready for baby

This past weekend some friends threw us a couples shower for baby girl. It was a lot of fun having husbands and wives there. The ladies of course dominated in the game, Battle of the Sexes and then men had to serve us hot chocolate. It was a nice touch! It was such a blessing for us to get some things that we really needed for the new baby, plus a lot of fun for us to hang out with church people outside of church. I walked away feeling very loved and so much more ready for our little one. Diapers and wipes are ready, plus a few cute outfits, in case she happens to arrive early- don't worry mom, I'll try my hardest for her not to. It really made me kick things into gear by sorting through all of Halle's baby things and see what I need and don't need, or rather what's usable and what's not. Here we are enjoying the festivities!








Being pregnant at this time of year and watching all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations has made me constantly think about the world preparing for Jesus. I mean, if the world possibly knew that a Savior would be born, what type of preparations would be made, and how much commotion would be involved in getting everything "just right." It's amazing that Jesus was born into a world, so unaware of His coming. It makes me think of Christmas so differently, as I anticipate celebrating his birth as I'm working so hard to get ready for our baby's birth. It makes me so honored to be carrying one of God's creations, and helps me to imagine a glimpse into what Mary must have gone through. Here's to the season about so much more than we can imagine- a King arriving as a small, helpless, baby, to save us all!

Halle Cakes
On another note, Halle and I attended at PTA event last week at a local pizza buffet restaurant, called CiCi's. All of the kids got a tour of the kitchen- which was not that thrilling for her- got to make their own pizza, and a craft. Halle really took a lot of time making her pizza, and a mess I may add, plus making her stocking- or "craft," as she says. Here she is with some other friends getting the job done!

Cookies!

Last night I hosted my first event for the church and women's ministry- an ornament and cookie exchange! Everyone brought 3 dozen cookies or goodies, plus the recipe, and an ornament to exchange. Every available surface in our living space was covered with goodies! Yum! You can see below our spread- as I took these pictures, I thought, isn't it funny that we take pictures of food- I mean what do I do with those pictures- well here we go!






We had about 25 ladies over from about age 85 all the way down to me- that's right, the big 27. It was so great to have such a mix of wonderful women in our home. We had a blast eating of course, playing a few dorky games I insisted on, and exchanging ornaments. Here are some pics of the ladies after a game we played- and my team yes, as you can see won, so we're sporting our #1 to rub in our win.






Acting out 12 days of Christmas- always proves to be an embarrassing and fun game!






Thanks ladies for a great time!

I tried

This morning I attempted to get at least one good picture of Halle for our Christmas card. After 85 pictures taken, I got one. One- I tell you. It's nearly impossible to take a photo at the right moment of her- when she says, "cheese" and her mouth looks all strained and ridiculous. I pulled out all the stops- sang silly songs, bribed her with candy, had her repeat certain words. After I got one good shot of her, I tried to get one on the timer of the 3 of us to us for something at church. Well needless to say, this is the best shot. Super serious Halle. If she's looking at the camera, and doesn't have her hands in her face, I have a few things to be thankful for. Here's our fam of 3 soon to be 4, 6 more weeks!

New toys are so much fun!

Here's Halle enjoying one of her Christmas gifts from Brian's parents this past weekend.

A Bradford Christgiving

What a busy week with family, food, and celebrations! Brian's family came over for most of last week to celebrate Thanksgiving with us and our Christmas. It was great to have them here, and Halle loved having extra playmates! My first attempt at a turkey was successful and we had a great meal. Saturday night we celebrated our Christmas with them. It was fun to see Halle open all of the presents, saying, "this one is for me," at every one. Such a hard concept for a 2 year old to grasp that every present is not for her!

Here we are at Thanksgiving:



Here's some pics of our gift exchange- so much fun!







Here is Halle's big present from her Mimaw and Pipaw- it's a princess vanity piano. she loves it!! She loves looking at herself in the mirror and dancing to the music. And here's Halle, also with her Aunt Lisa and a couple others!

Halle's antics

I've been trying to take in every moment that I have with Halle until the baby comes. I know things will be different when I have to divide up my time. She's just a ton of fun to be around- mostly talking my ear off all of the time. Here are a few funny things she's said lately...

Hanging up her pretend cell phone and looking at me, "That was Papa, he called me a message."

In the car, "Mommy turn it up bery loud"- she loves music

"When I 5, I have to go to school, I have to go to kindergarten and then I have to leave Mommy. Don't worry Mommy, I'll come back and get you."

"Mommy, I need a kleenext."

"I'll be right back, I have to go get a screwdriver." Coming back with a tape measure- "Roll your sleeve Daddy, I have to measure you. (Looking at the tape measure) How many are you?"

"I'm so proud of you Mommy." This said to me after I went to the bathroom- you can tell we've been potty training.

"Seat belts- so we can be safe!" Said each time we get in the car.

"I don't need a pository Mommy, I can push it out myself." We've had some constipation issues.

And here's our little munchkin the one day it got cold here this week and I got Halle a new hat. Now it's 70 degrees again- so much for fall! How can you resist that cute face?

A wonderful blessing!

Brian and I have been sharing a car for over a year now. We decided to sell my car when Brian went back to school in order to continue making payments on our Envoy while he was a student. We assumed we'd be able to get a 2nd car once he got a job this year. Well as it turns out, we've been sharing one ever since we got to TX. There just didn't see to be any money in our budget for another vehicle. This has led to a lot of stranded days for Halle and I and a lot of coordinating on both of our parts. Saturday night, my dad arrived after a 14 hour drive with a mini van for us! I never in my life thought I'd want a van or be proud to own one- just not the coolest car ya know? But I've been wanting a van so bad with the upcoming arrival of our 2nd child- 2 car seats, strollers, and everything else that goes along with them. We have received an ENORMOUS blessing! The van is great, in great condition, rides wonderful, and my favorite part- the doors open by the click of one button- so more free hands for me! Halle loves it, riding in a new car- which she is referring to as "Papa's car." On top of the car- we got to spend about 5 days with my dad. This is the longest I've gone in my whole life without seeing my family, so it was great to have my dad with us here for a few days. Halle had him very busy! One morning I got done showering and walked into Halle's room to find this ...



What a sight! She had him covered in a blanket and all sorts of toys around him. We were able to give him a good glimpse of our life here in TX. The weather has been beautiful, so we took advantage of being outside. One day, we took a picnic to the beach and Halle loved playing in the sand- and was sad she couldn't go in the water.






We loved having Papa here with us- and we love our new blessing. Each time I get in the car, I realize what a huge blessing a car is- let alone a van that just meets our needs. Thanks Mom and Dad for your giving spirit and generousity!

Fall in TX

It's starting to look like fall here- although it doesn't quite feel like it. But, I'll take 70 degrees over 100 any day. Plus it's been fun for us to have some beautiful weather for playing outside. Yesterday I decided to work on raking some leaves and a sweet little girl insisted on helping. Although her idea of helping was not what mine would be, we had fun! She calls it, "digging the leaves," and each time we've been outside since, she's asked to "dig the leaves." So, my front yard is still covered in leaves, but we've found a new way to occupy Halle's time. It's not often I can claim sweating from raking leaves, but yesterday I was!