Thanksgiving 2009

Erin is my sweet potato masher!

One cute, drooly girl!

Yummy...it was quite a spread.

Anna had no time to pose for a picture.

Erin and her 2 Grandmas.

What a sweet profile.

Dance party on the porch since it was a beautiful day.

My side of the family (can you see why I was referred to as a pumpkin!)

Joe's side of the family.

One of our last photos as a family of four!

Thanksgiving was so wonderful this year. It was very relaxing and enjoyable. We had a lazy morning at the house as we watched the parade and prepared our portion of the meal. Then we joined my parents at Joe's parents home for a delicious meal. I wish I had more room in my stomach, but I ate in between each of my naps. It was a gorgeous day outside so we all got to spend some time out on the back porch being entertained by little girls! We have much to be thankful for this year. When I think back to the beginning of the year and all that has transpired, I honestly feel like I could write a book. 2009 wasn't what we had anticipated it being, but I'm starting to figure out that nothing ever is quite what we anticipate. I am thankful for where the Lord has us, what He has brought us through and where He is taking us! And I'm very thankful for the people He has surrounded us with (that's you!), that make each step of life so much more bearable, enjoyable and special.

A Special Treat Day!

I've always loved the day before a holiday - I love anticipation, excitement, and this year - a full day off of school for Erin. We even managed to convince Daddy to take the whole day off! So off we went to Build-A-Bear to make a special birthday present for Megan Joy. Erin made one for Anna before she was born so we wanted to carry on the tradition. Anna had a blast with the whole procedure and she picked out the bear's dress. Erin was such a big girl and filled in the birth certificate and chose Joy Elf as the bear's name. After the mall, we had a family lunch together and then the girls fell asleep in the car. It wasn't the plan, but traffic was terrible and it took us 45 minutes to get home from Lynnhaven Mall. We decided since nap time was over early we would attempt our first movie as a family. We took the girls to Cinema Cafe and again, Anna had a blast and actually sat in her chair for the entire movie. It was off to church for our Thanksgiving Eve service after that. We had the best day as a family of four just spending quality time together! I love days like that!

Giving Thanks

Erin had a Thanksgiving feast at school last week where they sang 3 songs before eating. It was so cute and she enjoyed the time with friends. We had our Thanksgiving with my family last Sunday because most of them were going out of town. You can't see Blake, but Anna and Blake made it to the big kid table this year! By next year, the kids might just out number the adults! We are very thankful for our family and being so close to them. The kids are blessed to grow up with their cousins!

It's Judd Time...

The Judds made a special trip up to visit with us before the Thanksgiving holiday. Erin was beside herself excited to see her best buddy Anderson. Of course we had to make her lay off the hugs and kisses, she tends to smother him! Anna found a new love, light sabers - poor girls don't ever get a taste of that! We made a special trip to Baba's house because Ryan and Anderson requested to ride the "Big Trucks." It was even nice enough for a picnic lunch. Then Sat. evening we made our way to a member's preview of the Botanical Garden lights, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We always love our Judd time and look forward to many more visits - here and in Georgia!

Oh Marbles....

We made our annual trip to Raleigh a few weeks ago to visit with our dear friends the Williams. We always caravan down with the Jacksons for a weekend of fun times and great memories. The "big" boys go to a Georgia Tech game while the girls and the kiddos find fun things to do. This year we finally made it to Marbles the Children's Museum downtown. I've always wanted to go and everyone was at a great age this year so that they all enjoyed it. I couldn't believe how huge and exciting the museum was. We could have spent all day there. Anna had the time of her life and all the kids had a great time together. Our favorite part was the Mr. Potato Head land and playing with the water works!

The Final Stretch

Today marks 1 month exactly until my due date!!!!!! Which means Megan will be here very soon! We are so excited and all anticipating her arrival. She's got quite a Christmas layette and her room is all set up. Anna has transitioned nicely to the big girl's room. The only problem we have now is that Megan seems to want to make her entrance into the world difficult. She is currently head-up, so we need her to do some flippin' in the next few weeks. It's hard to believe the time is upon us!

The All Clear!

Anna got the all clear Tuesday from her surgeon to resume normal eating activity, and for Anna, that means eating like a pig. She has been so patient with us as she has been on a liquid, or should I say mush, diet. She ate just about everything we ate, except it was in mush form. I think the hardest thing for her was not being able to chow down on rolls and bread. So last night to celebrate her return to the land of the eating we took her to Cracker Barrell. I have never seen her devour food so quickly and in such great quantity. It was so much fun watching her eat and smile! We are so thankful for her fast recovery and can't wait to see all that she can do now that her palate is repaired!

I stated in my last blog that I wanted to find the time to write down what the Lord has taught me through all of this. I think if there is one overlying theme it would be that His timing is always perfect. I have always struggled with wanting to be a planner and letting God know when it would be a good time to do something. I have some control issues! But, through everything with Anna I can see God putting me in the backseat and tellling me that I'm not driving, He is. I had to accept that all of her appointments were made in His timing, not mine. I wanted all of this taken care of back in June when it was first realized. I was perturbed to not get to see an ENT until August, and then not having surgery scheduled until October. But, I learned to sit back and take the appointments as they came, trusting that God was in control and placing us in front of the exact doctors Anna needed to see at the exact time she needed to see them. Even the day before surgery, after waiting 6 weeks, I knew that if she woke up with a fever or cold and couldn't have the surgery, there was a reason. It's a rather freeing thing to be able to take things as they come and trust that God is in complete control of even the littlest things. You can start to see God working in those little things, where you may have missed Him before. So through this all, I did learn to take it one day at a time and trust that God was in complete control, even of the litttle details, and on the other side of it, we are rejoicing in His faithfulness yet again.