Merry Christmas to All!

Well, everyone else is getting their annual chronicle together and sending it out in their Christmas cards...except for me. Sorry to make you jump through hoops to catch up on our year! Outside of adding Emma to the mix it was a pretty low-key kind of year for us, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Let's see...in retrospect:

• Aubrey and I flew to IL at the end of January to surprise my grandma for her 87th birthday. It was great to get to see the friends and relatives associated with a whilrwind trip, but boy, did we miss Daddy!
• Emma Sophia embarked on her voyage into this world precisely at 12AM on her due date (June 22nd). We are hoping that bodes well fore her punctuality and prompt obedience throughout life! She arrived at 3:04PM and it would have been sooner had the doctor been in the room. Her labor and delivery were much more tolerable than Aubrey's (the epidural worked really well this time) for which this mommy was very grateful. Daddy's schedule was a lot less chaotic than it was when Aubrey made her debut (second day of school of his first year as administrator - I don't recommend that one!) so he was able to help out a lot, especially where Aubrey was concerned. Aubrey loves her little sister and has only endangered Emma's life once (that mommy knows of) as she was trying to pull her out of the recliner so she could "hold her." I stepped around the corner just in time to hurdle to the recliner and prevent disaster.
• In July our 4th anniversary (has it really been that long?!) came and went without a lot of hoopla, seeing as we were still adjusting to life as a foursome. We are just grateful that we are still this much in love and having this much fun after 4 years.
• For Aubrey's second birthday we headed down to Columbia, SC for her first trip to the zoo. Her favorite attraction? The merry-go-round, of course!! It was about 94 degrees and I had a sinus infection, so that put a bit of a damper on the day, but we are definitely looking forward to a return trip this coming spring or summer. We did get a bit of an education as we "enjoyed" (I use that term loosely and you'll understand why as you continue) the elephants. We were about 30' from the "herd," watching them swing their trunks and do other harmless elephant kind of things when all of the sudden one of them heard nature call and decided to answer (funny, I didn't hear a thing!!). And let's just say he had a full-blown conversation. Elephants might be known for having small brains, but the rest of their anatomy makes up for the lack of gray matter! This guy went, and went, and went, and went, and of course we had a front row seat for this phenominon. I looked drop-jawed at David, he looked at me (drop-jawed), and then we looked at Aubrey who hadn't taken her eyes off of this amazing turn of events. We were hoping this might help with the potty training, but alas and alack, not yet. So, for the next 2 months, whenever Aubrey saw a picture of an elephant she would emphatically announce to anyone who would care to listen, "POTTY!" Thankfully she has returned to calling them by their given name and now just says "potty" when you ask what an elephant does.
• For Labor Day Daddy gave himself a birthday party with his power tools and built a swingset for the s. We love to "schwing" as a certain little someone calls it.
• David coached both the JV and V s volleyball teams this fall and is already looking forward to next season.
• Aubrey had her first haircut on October 31 at Jellybeans in Greenville. If it's the very first time their hair has been cut, it only costs a penny!! Don't worry, we kept it long enough to put into piggies!
• We headed to a pumpkin patch in mid-October and Aubrey enjoyed roaming and playing with all of the little pumpkins.

That pretty much summarizes the highlights of our year. God has again proven Himself good and faithful, and for that we are ever grateful. We are so thankful for the friendships and family we call our own. If you are ever near Charlotte, please give us a call (704.821.2422/704.609.3484); we would love to see any and all of you (just not all at the same time, please!).

Have a wonderful holiday season!

We 4 (and holding) Kings Labels: Christmas

Rookie's Debut

Well, here we are posting our very first blog. Not sure exactly how or if this will turn out, but there has to be a first if there is to be another, I suppose.

The Christmas holidays are well underway at the Castle (our home) with too many things left to do before we end up in January! David and I were talking through the next couple of weeks and it looks like we might have a night at home as a family once in the next ten days. Last weekend we were in Maryland where David officiated the wedding ceremony of one of his former students (in MD you do not have to be ordained to officiate...go figure!). So, we were able to see his old stomping grounds and meet and greet a lot of people he knew while he was there.

As to the s, Aubrey is loving life as a 2 year old and enjoying being a big sister with all of the joys and thrills that that title brings. She makes us laugh on a daily basis and is coming up with new antics to entertain us with. Yesterday it was singing into the "microphone" - the tripod we had used to attempt (yes, I said attempt...the Christmas picture cards might be a little late in arriving this year...) our family Christmas picture. She is counting to ten (minus seven and occasionally five, but who needs them?) and can find several letters (especially A for Aubrey and E for Emma) on the fridge and even store signs. I'm a little nervous that she is going to be passing mommy's mental prowess (what's that?) before she's 4! Speaking of "what's that," that's her favorite question to date. She hasn't hit the "why" stage, but I have a gut feeling it's just around the corner. Oh yes, and she wants to see anything and everything, including the wind. A typical conversation goes something like this: A: "What's daaat?" M: "That's the wind blowing outside." A: "I wanna see." M: "Well, we can't see the wind, only the effects of the wind." A: "I wanna see." M: "See the trees and leaves?" A: " It's blowsy!!" and then we are off to the next "what's daat" without even skipping a beat. My husband prayed for a curious child. If you ever have a prayer request that you need fulfilled, give him a call.

Emma is just smiley. She has discovered the world of solid food (can you really call cereal and stage one baby food "solid"?) and is loving it. Her toes are her favorite play things (and snacks when she's not eating) and who needs entertainment when you have a bathtub? I'm so thankful for a laid back baby. She's incredibly awesome and I can't imagine life without her.

Speaking of the munchkins I'd better close this thing. If my computer doesn't explode when I try to post this thing I might be able to do another one later (notice the broad time ramifications!). Have a wonderful holdiay shopping experience!

Jill for all