Bright eyed and sensing excitement, EB was up early this morning, anxious to see what was under the tree. Armed and ready with the video camera, we too her over to the pile of gifts and helped ehr realize how exciting they are…of course, there is more footage, some exciting clips from Christmas Eve at DB’s grandmother’s house - but I wanted to post this as soon as possible for Honey, Jessi, and Granddaddio to see…more to come, I promise!

 

After publishing, I realized that it is kind of fuzzy - I will fix it later

 

Napping with Papa D,cooking in the kitchen with mamaw Wilma, playing with Mamaw Pearl, shopping at West Town Mall in Knoxville - EB’s first Christmas has been an extravaganza so far. She is having the time of her life cuddling with grandparents, laughing her head off with Michael, using her little walking toy to zoom around the house, and getting into all sorts of crazy messes.
DB and I are really enjoying our time with his family, too, and treasuring every moment. DB hunted with his uncle, which consists of sitting in a truck on the farm with the heat running and watching out the window for the deer to just walk by - is that really hunting? We made 16 cheese balls in the church kitchen with Wilma, played a roaring game of Monopoly with Dave and Lauren, visited with a ton of extended family, and we are looking forward to seeing the rest of the family over the next few days…we have a had a few fluke, wobbly steps that are more like lunges, so we are watching everyday for full on walking - we’ll keep you updated, although EB is cuddlier than usual, so her feet aren’t getting alot of floor time…

After a bittersweet departure from VA on Wednesday evening, DB, EB, and I made our way to the great state of Tennessee for Christmas.  Since coming to TN, EB has been introduced to a newfound love…playing in the kitchen cabinets.  She is having blast hanging out with her grandparents and exploring new territory.  Of the 113 pictures I took today, I couldn’t narrow it down to one to post - these faces are just too funny.  Papa D had a great few days playing with his little princess, and now Mamaw Wilma is living the Life O’Reilly with her live play toy as well.  EB is basking in all of the attention and showing off her newly acquired skills, which everyone appreciates just the right amount according to the little performer.

 

 

 

Please pray for our last few weeks with family, that it would be a special time of memories and fun as we prepare to move overseas on January 10th.

DB and I have always enjoyed lazy Saturday mornings together.  We would sleep late, lay around reading or watching a movie - often wearing pajamas until the afternoon or even all day.  The past 9 months this has not been really possible because EB wakes up everyday at 7:00 on the dot ready to eat and play.   But alas!  We have finally trained her to be lazy with us some Saturday mornings.  I hear her talking, I go get her up, change her diaper and bring her back to our bed where she burrows under the covers, cuddles up to us and gives us another thirty minutes of laying around.  Glorious, wonderful, lazy Saturday morning.  It is already 9:00 and we are still in our pajamas!!!!

Please pray for our family that over the next three weeks we will find special moments together in all of the craziness, and that our time with the Wrights, Adams, and Hardins will not be rushed and jam packed with “stuff” but filled with precious memories of spending time together.

I am about to send out our first email update.  If you do not receive it, please leave a comment with your email address - I WILL NOT post your comment - or just email me.  We would love for you to be a part of what we are doing overseas!

 Thanksgiving here at the Farm was a lot of fun!  We had a delicious meal with 380 of our friends, and then the evening was spent playing games, watching movies, and eating yummy goodies cooked by friends.  We played a very fun game called In a Pickle - I highly recommend it.  It is especially appealing if you like to think outside the box, have an active imagination, and can convince people something is what it really isn’t.  Seriously - hours of fun await you if you play this game!

Early the next morning we loaded a bus and went to Washington, DC where we spent the whole day doing cross-cultural things.  It was fun, we learned alot, and EB handled things beautifully.  Friday I came down with a cold, and spent all day Saturday and Sunday in my pajamas without leaving our apartment. It was a blessed two days of doing NOTHING, preceding what promises to be an extremely busy week.  We have two more weeks here in Virginia, and just a little over a month before we leave for Central Asia.  YEAH!!!  

Every morning as we stroll through the freezing Virginia air to take EB the quarter of mile to the nursery, we cover her stroller with this beautiful blanket (made by EB’s awesome Aunt Jessi), feeling confident that our precious little treasure is safe from the blustery wind.  Little did we know that EB finds a way around our well-thought-out protection…