First Sunday of Advent...

May your preparation for Christ into your life again
this Christmas be vigilant and filled with His peace.

Here is the song sung at Mass for Advent:

Holy Darkness, Blessed Night
Heaven's Answer Hidden from our Sight.
As we await you, Oh God of Silence,
We embrace your holy Light!

Preparing to Prepare

The first Sunday of Advent approaches, and I found a statue at Mistletoe and Moss that speaks so deeply of the preparation to welcome Christ at Christmas. I was so excited about it that I jumped the gun and made our Advent Wreath a bit early, too! If you can see Mary and Joseph's faces, not to mention Mary's pregnant self, or how determined Joseph looks (and a bit frightened). It makes me so excited for Advent! I love the HOLIdays!

It's almost here!

My fantastic, beautiful, sweet, fun-loving, funny sister-in-law Julia Dawson is due for she and Pete's (David's brother) first child on Thanksgiving Day! They have kept that sex a surprise so stay tuned to see what new little cousin God gives John Paul... be it Leum Kenny or Cecilia Jane! I know- those are great names.

FYI- that's a sprite in my hand- don't want to scandalize anyone.

Don't say the B word!!

Don't say it! Bed rest?!?!? I was told to "get off your feet" by my OB's nurse when I called with my complaints of intense ligament pain, Braxton Hicks contractions, and a few regular contractions here and there (not to mention a constant headache). What does "get off your feet" mean? I must have forgotten to mention that I chase a 15 month old BOY for a living. Is God trying to slow me down for some reason- I was not under that impression that I was too go go go for my/ John Paul's good, but what do I know?

I have a sexy Velcro belt I will have to wear all the time now to keep my belly up, and today my mom wouldn't let me pick John Paul up. After that half way point (23 weeks to be exact), things get a little too uncomfortable for my taste. Oh well, part of the suffering that makes the baby's arrival all the better, right? In the meantime, I am up to my ears in gatorade and water!

Dear morning nap, it's over for us!

That's right... I think my 15 month old is breaking up with his morning nap... I've said this so many times since June, but I'm serious. But I really like his morning nap. It was so good for him. It was so good for me! I wish this were only a break, but I think he's really made closure.

He's doing the whole "I'm cranky and need to lie down, but I'll fool you for 45 minutes, then you'll need to come get me, ok?" And then we play and continue with our day until 1-ish, at which time he'll only sleep for 1hr. 45min. Is this what it looks like? Come on seasoned mamas... what's a pregnant mom to do? I was so looking forward to him keeping it until the new baby gets here in March, so we could all get extra sleep in the morning. I guess that's a special grace that God gives mamas with babies who are extra close together (which I consider 18 months or less).

John Paul at the Park- brought to you by Maria!

This week, we had Benjamin, Grayson, Gianna, and John Paul at the Park!! It was so much fun.

His favorite slide, he heads down HEAD first! Thank goodness it's enclosed!

Oh, and isn't Gianna just adorable!

Isn't the slide so much more fun with Daddy!?!?!

An attempt at fall pictures

We have 1 tree on our entire property. But oh joy! It is deciduous! So I tried to get John Paul to enjoy the leaves in order to capture some candid fall shots, but alas, he was more interested in his daddy and the basketball. I was not meant to be the mom with the great pictures that were just "snapped"... I'll leave that to Maria Lewis when she comes over! By the way, he cut a molar- is that suppose to happen?

Callin' Baton Rouge

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Having a grateful moment on a Sunday morning. When we moved to Lake Charles, we had no idea what God had in store for us back in my home town. We love our life here, and we are grateful that God has provided SO generously, yet again, as He always does. He has brought us new/old friends and we are SURROUNDED by my family here. I am, however, thinking of the friends we left behind.

I just want you to know that I love you and I miss you! I went through my pictures this morning and found these few- they are mostly of John Paul, oddly enough- and though there are many faces that these pictures do not show (Jaci, Natalie, Linda & Derek, Jansen, Lindsey, Alyson & Jesse, Jessica, Fr. Andrew, Emily, Courtney, Emily, Linzay, Steven, Lauren & Jason, Heidi & James, etc. etc.), know that we pray for you and know He provides for you too. We have other friends whom He has called out of Baton Rouge as well- I am doubly missing you this morning! Kate & Eddy, Lisanne, Camy, Sarah, Valerie & Richard, Dori & Will, Shannon, Katie, Haley, Cathy, Paul, David & Lauren. I pray that God will give us a chance to see you very soon!

It's just a little wound that I ask God to heal. Still, it is Sunday, a day to rejoice. "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Halloween and a Haircut- 2 Bits!

John Paul was his name's sake- Pope John Paul II... see the hat (miter), sash (cincture), and pectoral cross? His robe was size 4T button-down... anyone need one? David was a Queen of Heaven student gone astray- that is a real mohawk that I shaved the night before. The earring is my mother's clip. There are no words. Oh, and I was a ceiling fan- it's ok if you don't get it, because most people didn't.

At the OLQH "Run for Others" where David and our dear friend Fr. Nathan were these ridiculous students (Fr. Nathan wore tatoo sleeves that looked as if he were covered in tats) and ran a 5 k while John Paul and I ran around in the cold- this thrift store find was much warmer for the morning festivities (can you tell it was 6-12 months on my tall baby?).

And the haircut by my cousin Herman. He did well overall. As small nick on his neck at the end didn't set very well with him, but I decided not to post that picture.

Here is the initial reaction to the constrictive cover-up and the somewhat new sound of an electric razor (though he loves when I vacuum, so I don't know that the sound bothered him).

And as always, our little ham did just fine. Here again is "silly face" which he offerred to us on his own. He also had a few Reese's Pieces when things got tough for him... and we sang him his favorite song "We will rock you."

David says he looks like Ralphy from "A Christmas Story"... I'm ok with that for now.
Make sure and check out all our pictures from the last week (complete with a "humpty dumpty" of a sister in law and a "ballerina" of a brother-in-law)! Click on the link under "Our family pictures"