Christmas

Christmas morning we woke up, opened stockings, and ate a delicious breakfast as a family. We then headed upstairs to open gifts. Some of the big hits were Evan's new Leapster and a very special scrapbook that Nana made for Papa. The book highlighted Papa's years as a track star in high school and college. It was a touching gift.






After we shared the first part of the day with the Reichs, we drove back to Kingsburg to make some stuffing and cheesy potatoes to take to my sister's house for our family's Christmas dinner. We shared a delicious turkey/ham dinner before again opening gifts with the Ransom clan.

It was a very busy day, but so wonderful to share it with our WHOLE family.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a bit busy this year. We returned from Disneyland on the 23rd, staying in Bakersfield at David and Ginger's house with the rest of the gang (14 in all). The 24th was filled with kid crafts, some relaxation, meal prep, and then Christmas Eve service at church. We returned for dinner and then the kids all opened their new pajamas and ornaments, a tradition in the Reich family.

Disneyland

We spent 4 whole days at Disneyland with Bryan's family, and it was a blast. Evan loved everything about Disneyland from the Matterhorn to the characters. He wasn't afraid of anything and kept saying, "I want to ride rides". He still talks about the things he saw and did there. I think one of the cutest things he came home doing was singing "Yo ho, Yo ho, a pirate's life for me". I have hundreds of pictures but I'll spare you all of that boredom and just showcase a few :)

The Best Surprise

My wonderful hubby surprised me yesterday with tickets to see Celtic Thunder in concert last night. I've really enjoyed their music since last year and didn't think much about going last night until Bryan called in the afternoon to make sure my schedule was cleared. We had fabulous floor seats and it was just amazing. For those of you who are unsure of who they are, here's a video link. They are five of the most talented Irish/Scottish men ranging in age from 16-40. It was the most relaxing and beautiful concert I have ever been too. Thanks Baby!

10 Weeks

Well, today I headed back to the doctor for my 10-week check-up and everything was great. While waiting to be seen I got to visit with a dear friend and her week-old son, Adam, who were also in the office for an appointment. It was nice to meet him in person and chat with Ashley while we waited.

Once I saw the doctor, I got to see our little one on the ultrasound and see his/her little heart fluttering. It's so amazing how fast they grow and change, even on a fuzzy ultrasound photo. I wish I had the photo to share but my poor doc hit "delete" instead of "print" by accident. Hopefully I'll get one to share at my next appointment.

As of right now, I am right on schedule for the due date we had in mind, June 18th. The baby is growing perfectly and developing as he/she should. I am continuing to deal with morning sickness that lasts all day, and have little to no desire to eat most days. NOTHING sounds good, but I force myself to eat cereal, soup, and other comforting foods. The good news was that I lost another 5 lbs. in the last two weeks. That brings my total to 13 lbs. lost for the month. Not the best way to have to do it, but it's weight-loss! And I have been continuing to wake up at 5:40am, eat 3-4 saltines, and head off to the gym three days a week. I don't want to lose the good habits I have formed even though I don't feel well.

So in general, all is well and we're very excited. Our next appointment is December 17th, right before we head off to Disneyland for 5 nights and 4 days of Disney fun with all of Bryan's family. It should be a great trip and we're really looking forward to it. I'm sure we'll have plenty of pictures to share later!

At the Pump

Gas was only $1.99!!! I thought I'd never see it that low again in my lifetime :) What a great blessing it is during The Holidays to cut gas prices in half. I'm just sad to think about how long they will actually last. Lets all hope it's here to stay for a little while longer than we might all think.

Coming Next June...

A little brother or sister for Evan!!!

That's right! We're expecting again. I am actually 8 weeks and 4 days along at this point. We apologize to those of you who are bummed that you didn't know sooner, but rest assured that not many knew any earlier. With our last pregnancy ending in surgery for an ectopic, we have been much more cautious and on-edge thus far. Shortly after I found out I was pregnant, I was experiencing severe pain on my left side (the only side I have a fallopian tube on) and was concerned we were dealing with another ectopic. I have been closely monitored by my doctor for over a month now and on Friday we were finally able to see our little one growing right where he/she belongs.

Please pray with us that this little one continues to grow into a healthy baby that we can welcome into the world next June. As of right now, my due date is set around June 18, 2009. I am sorry for the lack of blog posts this past month, but I am daily sick from morning until night, so sitting at the computer is just not much fun for me. I will continue to keep you all updated.

2nd Annual "Friends At The Fair"

Exactly a year ago, today, I made a post about the good time that my friend, Katie, and I had at the Big Fresno Fair. Well, we've since decided to make it an annual event to see the Christian act in concert, eat corn dogs and cinnamon rolls, and just hang out together. Last night we saw Newsboys in concert. It was a blast. We made it to our seats about two minutes before the show started and enjoyed a 4th row view and up-close shots as the band walked right past us in the aisle twice. I think we're still picking confetti and Captain Crunch cereal out of our hair, clothes, purses, etc. (For those of you not familiar... they sing a song called "Breakfast" which mentions Captain Crunch in the chorus, thus people found it fitting to shower the audience in cereal, LOL) Here's a few photos.

Soccer Fan

This past weekend, we discovered that Evan is definitely a fan of soccer. We went to two soccer games on Saturday. One was for our niece, Sydney, and the second was for our niece, Mikayla. At the first game, Evan could hardly sit down, and hardly stay behind the sideline for that matter. He was yelling, clapping, cheering, cracking up every person within earshot... and it was hilarious. You'd think that he's grown up at sporting events or something :) Here's a few pics of Evan cheering and the girls strutting their stuff too! I'm looking forward to another Saturday of soccer with Evan and the girls!

Evan clapping for the team's goal


Sydney, #3


Sydney on the move


Mikayla running, in silver/black with red hair


Evan yelling at the game


Evan participating in "the tunnel" after Sydney's game


WAY TO GO GIRLS! We love you.

Five Years

Yep, five years ago today began the story of Bryan and I. We hung out that night, hit it off, and the rest is history! I love you, Bryan. Thanks for making my life perfect in every way possible. You still rock my world ;)

Bryan's REAL Birthday

The last post was what Bryan thought was his birthday celebration. On his real birthday, today, he got to go to church, lunch, and a movie with "the guys". All the while, "the girls" were rushing to get his birthday party set up. We had family and friends come to surprise Bryan and celebrate his birthday and getting his Masters Degree. It was such a great day.

Happy Birthday, Bryan!

We had friends come from out of town to celebrate Bryan's 26th birthday with us. Evan was so excited to have a party and help make Daddy's cake. He was so excited that he helped stir the batter and snuck a taste. He proceeded to stand on the step ladder and talk about cake, making cake, eating cake, etc. etc. etc. the ENTIRE time it baked. What a good helper!

My sweet helper

Blowing out candles

Evan finally eating cake. He also woke up that night crying for me and when I checked on him near midnight, he was asking for cake. LOL.

The men in my life ;)

We're in WHAT month?

Am I the only one wondering where this year has gone???

I can't believe that we are going into the last week of September. Fall is here and soon the weather will be changing. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are just around the corner too. I get excited at the thought of all we have going on this Holiday season. I'm ready to go to the pumpkin patch, dress Evan for Halloween, have Bryan's mom visit for 10 days at the end of October, celebrate all we have to be thankful for with my HUGE family in November, and then take our family vacation to Disneyland in December. It's going to be a blast because Bryan's entire family is going, even Bryan's sister and her family are coming to spend Christmas and New Year's in California. It will be Evan's first time to Disneyland and he is currently in love with "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and all of the characters.

I erased the bare dry erase board calendar for the rest of Septemeber and began filling it with an overwhelming amount of soccer games, football games, baby and bridal showers, candle parties, birthdays, weekend dates, babysitting days, Mom's arrival, Halloween, and much more for October. I love seeing our schedule so full of family events. I hope to keep up in pictures, as I have been neglecting that as of late.

Handy Helper

Evan is training to be the most helpful child ever I think. As I made my bed and headed to the kitchen to see what needed to be done next, I heard the dishwasher start. I automatically assumed Evan had touched it (like he's been asked not to numerous times), but today it went further... I walked in to him returning the dishwasher detergent in the cabinet under the sink. I immediately asked, "Did you put soap in there?". His answer was "Yeah", proud of himself of course. So I opened it to see where the soap had been put. And to my surprise, right where it needed to go, lid closed, and turned on to be washed. Funniest thing is, it needed to be done! I tried to convince him that only Mommy and Daddy should touch that, without scaring him out of helping of course!

He's my dusting and vacuuming assistant, my silverware put-awayer, trashman, and much more. I love that he has a heart to serve. One of my other favorites is when I go to step out of the shower and he insists on getting me a towel. He's just sweet and I LOVE IT!!!

Workout or Blackout?

I got up at 5:40am and headed to the gym, a new thing for me that I started last week. I've always shyed away from mornings at the gym, opting for lunchtime most commonly... but my sister can only go at that time, and I'd much rather go and have somebody to talk to. So off we went this morning, working out, feeling good, enjoying the cooler weather when suddenly the place goes black. The power struggles to come back on, then blackness again. A second and third time it flickers, then finally resigns. But we, having woken up at 5:40, were determined to finish... and we did!! No music, no lights, no little "voice" telling us when to move to the next machine. We worked by the little bit of sunlight starting to peak out behind the mountain range, and I felt accomplished. We could have easily given up and headed home to climb back in bed, but we finished! And on top of that, I pulled in to the new (empty) business park down our street, parked, and walked for another 30 minutes. It was the perfect morning to walk because the sun was just peaking over the mountains, the air was cool, and it was quiet. I found myself praying out loud and walking further than I normally would. What a perfect day to workout!

ABC's of being a Help Meet

"And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him... And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam... and he took one of his ribs... And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man" (Genesis 2:28, 21-22).

I've been re-reading "Created To Be His Help Meet", by Debi Pearl, and found this particular list to be a great reminder of what it is that we as Christian wives can do to be the perfect Help Meet to our husbands. I just wanted to share this with my female pals as something to reflect upon.

A - Admit when you are wrong
B - Be positive
C - Cuddle
D - Do it his way
E - Encourage him
F - Fix his breakfast
G - Give back rubs
H - Hug often
I - "I love you" should be said many times a day
J - Joke around in a playful manner
K - Know his needs
L - Listen to him
M - Manage your home well
N - Never hold grudges
O - Open your eyes in the morning and smile
P - Pray for him
Q - Quit nagging him
R - Reminisce about good times
S - Show respect and honor
T - Trust, and earn his trust
U - Understand his needs for reverence
V - Vulnerability is a feminine trait, cultivate it
W - Wink at him
X - X is for private times
Y - Yearn to please him
Z - Zealously guard him with your love

Cousin Fun

This past week, Evan and I spent time with family in Bakersfield. It was so much fun to be with Ginger and Andria while David was away at camp with the youth.

As you'll see below, Evan had lots of fun with Andria. They are almost exactly a year apart, but play so well together. They get so excited to see each other and can play upstairs for hours together, with little to no problems. Andria loves to watch Evan's "Blue's Clues" DVD ("Flue's Clues" as she calls it), and he loves her play kitchen and little pink laptop. It's fun to watch them interact together.

They played in sprinklers, did puzzles, played together, and had a blast. Then, on Friday, we took them to the Fresno Zoo for a morning out. Cousins are just so much fun!!