Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Fun Moments with Family

The snow has just stopped falling. It was really pretty, but no accumulation on the account of it being so warm here in OH. My dad has spent this morning playing with H3 and it's been fun to watch. H1 and H3 came upstairs a bit before me. After I showered and made it up the stairs, I heard her giggling from inside the pink castle tent my parents gave her for Christmas. Sure enough, I also heard my dad's voice coming from inside!



Right how she's trying to get him to play grocery store. Apparently, we need to get onions and cookies. She likes the latter, but not the former, so not sure why those are on her grocery list, but it's funny! Moments ago, my dad was humming the theme music to "Jaws" and chasing her around the living room with a couple stuffed animals. Her giggling is hilarious to watch! She thinks it's the best thing ever. I love watching my daughter play with her grandpa! My mom hasn't been feeling the best this time around, but H3 is still enjoying seeing her. They read books together and play with her new toys. It's cute!



We've gotten to take a few drives to see the Christmas lights people still have out, and that's been a fun family activity. H3 loves all the lights and so does Grandma!

Our home inspection is set up for next Monday, January 2nd, at 4pm. We're heading back from OH tomorrow afternoon, and we're planning to have a fairly quite New Year's weekend. I'm trying to plan something fun for celebrating H1's birthday. I'll let you know what I come up with!

~H2

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas!

We've had a very busy Fall season, thus the lack of posting on here. I'll try to get back to that, but we'll see. As a part of this season of giving, I want to add two things that I'm thankful for that God has given us this year. First, given that the inspection and appraisal go well, H1 and I will be closing on our new home on February 10th! We found out just a couple days ago that our offer was accepted, and that completely took us by surprise. We made an offer on a house that we really liked, but we offered a significant amount less, expecting the owners to counter our offer. They didn't. They accepted the whole offer, including payment of closing costs. After four years of renting in this area, it looks like our little family will finally have a home!





The second event of thankfulness is more monumental. I'm happy to announce that our family is growing! We are expecting the arrival of H4 in July! This has been a difficult first trimester for me. All the worst possibly symptoms of pregnancy hit me full force from the 4th week and continue unabated. I'm really looking forward to the hopeful decline of some of these issues within the next few weeks. We've been in to the doctor several times so far, including the ultrasound. Our little H4 seems to be doing very well and so far my general levels of bloodwork are stable. They are concerned about my thyroid, since the pregnancy and birth of H3 caused quite a few issues for me. For now though, we are giving thanks to God for this little miracle, whom we had been praying for!

In the beginning of December, H3 and I made a trip to Florida to visit a dear college friend, Kristina, and her husband. We had a wonderful time catching up and getting the house ready for the birth of her little one. She gave birth a week after we left to a beautiful little girl. My friend and her husband work at a Christian boys ranch, called Teen Challenge. H3 and I spent a lot of mornings walking around the property. The days were in the 60s and 70s while we were there, perfect for our walks. I'm so thankful that God paved the way for us to make that trip.






The Christmas season finds us in Ohio, visiting my family. It's quite chilly up here, but beautiful as always. My parents are having a wonderful time watching H3 with all her little antics. If I could ask for prayer for 2 things before I close out, one would be for our precious baby, and the other would be for my mother. Her health has not been good, and right now she is waiting for surgery on her right shoulder. She also needs a left knee replacement and reconstructive surgery on her right foot. Multiple falls over the past couple years are responsible for these complications. She's been having difficulty getting around. The shoulder surgery is scheduled for February 15th at this point, given that all the pre-op stuff goes well. This looks to be a long year coming up for her, and prayers for her recovery as she goes through these will be much appreciated. Thank you.

In the midst of everything this season, don't forget the reason for celebration, of His Gift to us! Blessings and Merry Christmas to you!

~H2