Christmas!

Yesterday was the official beginning of the Christmas season in our house. In the morning we went to a Christmas family breakfast with Santa down at the police station. The kids had no interest in Santa (actually, they were afraid of him), but we ate good food, won a door prize, and had a fun time!

Then we set off to find the perfect Christmas tree. We decided to just go for a drive to Orting and find a tree farm...it turns out there are at least 10 to choose from in Orting. The first place was not so great, but we found success at our second stop. I don't have a ton of great pictures, but I do have a few. We had originally planned on going with some friends last weekend to find a tree, but I ended up playing piano for a memorial service and Steve had some work stuff to get done. But we had some really great family time doing things on our own, so it all worked out. The kids were happy and enjoying themselves all morning, and then went down for naps as soon as we got home.

I love Christmas! It is so fun to begin traditions with our own little family and re-create some of the memories that are so dear to me from my own childhood. Steve will be hanging lights tomorrow, I'll be finishing putting out the decorations and sending out Christmas cards, and in the next couple of weeks I'll be baking and shopping and visiting with family. There is really nothing about this season that I dislike!

I wanted to use this picture for our Christmas cards but it's a bit blurry. So we used the one at the top of the page.

If you saw our tree right after we finished decorating it, you'd see 90% of our ornaments within about a 2 square feet area. I did some rearranging:)

A glimpse of baby #3!

Can I just say that I LOVE ultrasounds?! I wish it was standard to have them every month! On Monday afternoon, Steve and I had our 20 week ultrasound and saw the amazing details of our newest baby's body. It was so fun! It really is just as cool the third time around. After the technician had finished checking everything she was supposed to, she took several good profile shots. At one point, she held the wand in one place and we watched the baby in real time...it was so cool to see the baby move it's hand around, suck and swallow, and even turn it's head toward us.

Anyway, the baby is as healthy as can be, and definitely a boy a girl, though we don't know which:). It was tempting to find out, especially knowing that the ultrasound technician, doctor, and nurse all knew. But the anticipation is so fun, and maybe will give me extra incentive when it comes time to push for who knows how long.

This baby is definitely our most active yet. I've been feeling him/her for several weeks now. It's hard to believe that I'm already halfway done with this pregnancy. I've been having way too many headaches, but other than that I feel great. Here are a couple of pictures...

Daredevil

Steve needed to make a small repair in the attic last night, so he had the ladder out. I was downstairs, but soon I heard Steve calling me to come get Jayna. So I went upstairs, and there's Jayna on the third step of the ladder! Curious as to how she was going to proceed, I watched her...climb all the way to the top! (Don't worry--I was standing right behind her with my hands ready to catch:) She even tried to get on the very top, but I wasn't going to let her go that far. After Steve came down, I had him "spot" her so I could document her amazing feat. 17 months old and no hesitations! (Of course, Travis wanted to have his picture taken on the ladder, too, but got scared after the third step...I do love my cautious boy!)

Halloween-a little late

We were cheap this year and put Travis in the same costume he used last year - a rooster. And Jayna was a little horsie, complete with sounds! We went to a harvest party at a friend's church, then did a bit of trick-or-treating around our neighborhood.

Mixed feelings

The election is finally over, and I'm feeling many things...

Relief. I am soooooooooo happy for an end to political ads, no more signs everywhere you drive, an end to political debates and whining (or at least less of this), no more wondering how it's all going to turn out. Seriously, this had to have been the longest election in American history.

Heavy-hearted. I am not pleased with many elections results, on both the state and national levels. At all.

And yet, I'm still very hopeful. Believe it or not, Barack Obama is no one's savior. All hope for this world lies in Jesus Christ, and He is the one I will continue to trust in.

Convicted--to pray! If you are a believer, you need to be praying, regardless of your place on the political spectrum. I am guilty...I remember to pray for our nation and our nation's leaders at certain times (election, July 4th, whenever the pastor reminds me to, etc.), but I need to be praying for these people on a consistent basis. And for all of you who are unhappy with our new president, you especially should pray! God will hear your prayers, and it will soften your heart, too.

I'm sorry to sound so preachy...after this post I'll get back to "family" stuff. And in the meantime, I get to watch TV political ad-free! Now THAT is something to be excited about!

P.S. Edited to add...the latest song I added to our blog (playing now) is one of my new favorites, and it is a perfect representation of the hope we have in Jesus. Listen to it!

He survived!

Last Tuesday, after 19 weeks of classes, mock scenes, pepper spray, and lots of testing and physical training, Steve graduated from the Basic Law Enforcement Academy! I'm so proud of him! We had a great day...in the morning, we left the kids with grandma so I could go early with Steve to watch the final inspection and attend a final class with him on transitioning into his new career. I enjoyed meeting his classmates, the people he's been training so hard with and about whom he's told me many stories. The rest of the family joined us around noon, and then we attended Steve's official commissioning for him and the other guy from his department. Then came the actual graduation ceremony for the whole class, which involved a few speeches, awards, and pinning of the badges. I have to tell you now (because Steve never will) that in the award category of "Best Overall Performance" (which is measured by written test scores, scores on mock scenes, shooting range...basically, every type of test given)...Steve was third in his class! (and it was a class of 30, not 5:) Anyway, we capped off the day with a pizza dinner with everyone...really a fun day! Steve was super glad to be done with that step. He then had a good 6 days off before he went back to work this week. For the next 6 weeks or so, he'll be doing more training at the station, and then he'll start patrolling (with a training officer) in December. There really is a ton of training involved, but that's a good thing. Congratulations, Steve!

Final inspection. The guy to the right of Steve was his partner throughout the academy...the one he did all the mock scenes, etc. with.

Dang, he looks good in uniform:) I just realized I should have had him put his badge on.

Family who attended...Steve's dad and his wife, my sister, my grandparents, and Steve's mom and sister. A few of our friends made it up, too...Steve felt everyone's support!

The commissioning ceremony. The guy with his hand raised is the chief of police for Steve's dept.

Steve's whole class at the end of the ceremony. He's the one in the center, in the dark uniform.

Ziggy-zig

Poor Ziggy. This cat has been driving me nuts. I'm blaming it on pregnancy, but every time she climbs on me and starts doing this massaging thing on me with her paws and starts drooling, I shoo her away pretty quickly. So I guess it's no wonder why she prefers Steve over me:) Anyway, despite these quirky habits, I must admit that she is the best cat ever for our kids. Seriously, they can chase her, use her for a pillow, examine and pull her whiskers (Jayna), poke her...you name it, and she has never once swatted or tried to scratch them. And she's much more gracious with them than I am with her...she keeps coming back to them! In turn, the kids love her...so much that Travis was willing to cover her up with his beloved blankie when she was sleeping!