Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year.  We spent Christmas Eve with Ronnie's family and then Christmas Day with my family.  The boys were showered with gifts from both sides of the family, and I especially enjoyed snuggling with my favorite gift: baby Gavin!  We also celebrated our own little Christmas at home with just the 5 of us.  Five, wow!  We are getting to be a big family!  It's so much fun watching the boys open gifts, and Brayden and I enjoyed making a cake for baby Jesus' birthday.  Brayden even participated in the reading of the Christmas story this year!  

I've been so forgetful the last few days, that I forgot to take any pictures of Christmas!  Fortunately, my brother Corey always saves the day with plenty of pictures, so here are some of the highlights from the big day.  

Visitors

We have enjoyed having many friends and family visit while both in the hospital and at home.  It is so wonderful to have so much support and love surrounding Gavin's birth.  Here are some pictures from the hospital.  We packed out the room!

Sledding

While Ronnie and I were at the hospital with Gavin, Brayden and Landon spent the night at my parent's house.  They had a blast sledding outside.  I think what made me laugh the most was that when I saw these pictures, I realized that Brayden was wearing Landon's snowsuit, and Landon was wearing Gavin's!  Ha ha.  Oh well, who cares what you wear as long as you are having fun, right?  

Gavin's First Days

Gavin Thomas is here!!!

Because Christmas is getting closer and closer, and I just kept getting bigger and bigger, we decided to induce labor 6 days early (the baby was due on Christmas day).  Of course, this happened to be the day of the biggest snowstorm we've had so far!  Ronnie and I trudged through the snow this morning at 6 a.m. to get to the hospital.  Once we got here and checked in, they started me on pitocin at 7:30.  The doctor arrived at about 8:30 and broke my water.  The contractions began kicking in right away, but really weren't too strong until about 9:30.  After a couple hours of hard labor, Gavin Thomas arrived at 11:22 a.m!   He was so much larger than we anticipated-- a full 8 pounds!  The doctor thought that he would only be 6 1/2 pounds!  He was 20 inches long, and of course, I think he's the most beautiful baby in the world!  He is very alert and is keeping me up at all hours of the night already.  Whew, we have a busy couple months ahead. 

Probably the highlight of the day for me was when Brayden and Landon came to visit.  Brayden was SO EXCITED to sit and hold the baby, who he adamantly calls "Dylan".  Ha ha, that should cause for some confusion.  =)    Landon enjoyed poking his head and climbing around the hospital room.  I will be posting more pictures as we take them.  Thanks for all of your prayers.  God has truly blessed our family with a beautiful gift just in time for Christmas!  I'll post some pictures tomorrow... 

The Last Week!

So I've officially reached the last week of pregnancy!  Yay!!!  I could have sworn I was in labor last night... I couldn't sleep and I kept getting contractions, but alas, I woke up and no baby!  I am very excited for our new baby and will be posting tons of pictures when he arrives.  Right now I just don't really have anything to take pictures of. 

I recently went to a women's ministry event at our church in which the speaker was Candace Cameron.  Remember DJ Tanner from Full House?   She had a very powerful testimony and I was very encouraged by how God is working through her.  What struck me the most probably was the fact that she took ten years off from acting in order to exclusively stay home with her kids.  She spent her days changing diapers, cleaning house, cooking meals.... and then would wake up and do it all over again!  Sound familiar to anyone?  I was really challenged to continue to let my household be my ministry and not to get caught up in signing on to too many projects/volunteer positions, etc.  My kids and husband are a great ministry opportunity and this is what God has called me to do right now.  

So keep praying for me as this last week unfolds!  Can't wait to meet our new little boy!

First Snowfall

So it was the first snowfall of this winter.  We were outside playing in the snow as soon as they woke up!  Brayden was so excited and really enjoys the snow this year.  We have a small hill on the side of our house, and Brayden LOVED sledding!  Landon, on the other hand, was a bit more cautious.  This was his first time being out in the snow, and he is so tiny that he had quite a bit of trouble walking in it!  I'm sure these will be the first of many snowy pictures to come.  

Christmas Photo

Back Row L-R:  My husband Ronnie, brother Cobey (18), brother Carey (16), brother-in-law Nate (married to Kellie), brother Corey (20)

Front Row L-R:  Me (nine months pregnant now!), sister Kaylie (14), Landon, Brayden, sister Kellie (due in April with first baby), sister Kaycie (22)

We had a great Thanksgiving (and celebration of mine and Ronnie's birthdays!).  We went over to my parents house, and as usual, it was a busy and active holiday.  The guys all went outside and played flag football while the girls stayed inside and cooked the turkey dinner.  Ronnie decided this year that he wanted to fry a turkey in this deep fryer thing.  It actually tasted really good!  Unfortunately, the oil didn't heat up in time for the actual dinner, so we enjoyed it after dinner.  Kind of like a 'round 2' of turkey.  We also took our annual family Christmas photo that keeps getting larger and larger each year.  Next year there will be two new kids in the photo!  (mine and my sister Kellie's)  Here's the final product.  

Another adventure we do each year is to get up at 4:30 in the morning and take advantage of the 'early bird' specials at stores.  Surprisingly, I didn't feel very tired this year.  I think it's because Landon wakes up every day at 6:00, so the early morning hours are beginning to feel very familiar.  But I can't complain, because today he woke up at 7:30!  What a nice break!  Hope everyone's Thanksgivings were wonderful!

(picture taken off of my brother's website-- coreybienert.blogspot.com)

Couch Jumping

The boys discovered a new game today.  They took all of the cushions off of the couch and enjoyed jumping, flipping, and falling on the floor.  It's always fun to see them playing together, not arguing!  It's getting pretty cold outside, and we are already getting a bit bored inside.... so the creativity has to flow in order to keep them busy during the day!