Christmas Delight

December consisted mostly of morning sickness, bronchitis, and a lot of needless crying due to the high volume of hormones coursing through my body. It was a pleasant surprise when the sickness finally passed and Christmas arrived in full force.

Unfortunately the needless crying is still happening. When I say needless, I mean, that after waiting a long time for a table at a restaurant, I cried when we were finally seated. And I got a little teary when the food came. I know it's ridiculous. I just pretend I have an eyelash in my eye. I got a little weepy reading a book on budgeting, but I hear that's pretty normal for everyone.

Christmas this year, was full of fun and wonder. I managed to get all the Christmas shopping done early which I LOVE! It feels so good not to be in a rush, scurrying around trying to take care of things that ultimately, aren't that important. We spent a few days before Christmas visiting with Matt's family in Columbia, came home from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and then went to Asheville for a few days after Christmas to see my family. I love our tradition because right in between all the chaos and excitement that is extended family, we still get a couple of relaxing days of just the three of us without distraction. And this year, after our Christmas Eve service, we had a super fun chili and game night with some friends from church. It truly is the best of both worlds! And even though it was 70 degrees in South Carolina right before Christmas, we had some light snow flurries in Asheville!

Addison's big Christmas present this year was a kitchen, complete with a little table and chairs. She loves it and it is so funny to watch her cooking in her kitchen because everything she does and says, I do and say. This is a real wake up call that I am her role model and I am being watched! After a couple of days, we moved the kitchen and table to her room. Matt peeked in on her playing one morning and she looked at him, patted the seat of the chair, and said "Come here." He sat down and she proceeded to stir up some imaginary goodness in a pot and fed it to him. And then she said, "Good?" just like I do. I could just eat that up. The cuteness that is.

She also LOVED eating her breakfast and lunch at her little table on Christmas Day. I brought her some finger foods on a plate and she got up and got her play fork from her kitchen to eat with, since I didn't bring her one. So funny.

all the cousins in their matching pajamas.

Matt practicing being a daddy of two.

My sister and I with our little ones. 

Mimi (my mom) and Addison

Pop-Pop (Matt's dad) who works at Anderson University, and Addison in her Anderson cheerleading outfit!

And now for the New Year!

It's in the water!

About 3 months ago, I woke up, went downstairs to fix my usual cup of coffee and it just didn't taste right. I thought maybe it was the water so I dumped it, refilled my Keurig with bottled water and made another cup. It tasted pretty bad too. I dumped it out and went with orange juice instead.

Even though I was afraid to say it aloud, I knew what that meant. There is no other reason why I wouldn't like my coffee. This had happened once before, but only after many, many months of hoping and pleading and praying.  The next morning, after Matt left for work, I pulled this out, and just as I expected, a bright blue +.

Despite the sheer exhaustion, sickness, and frustration that nothing tasted good or satisfied, it didn't feel very real, until today, when I finally heard that little heartbeat for the first time.

I heard that beautiful miracle of life inside me. Again.
Again. How gracious our God is, to grow our family.

Wright Baby number 2 is expected to arrive on or around June 20th, just a couple weeks after Addison turns two! And we are thrilled!

Lighting Up and Letting Go...

Christmas is here! I can hardly believe 2011 is almost over. I still pause when I write the date because it doesn't seem like I should already be writing a 12. Last week, I finally decorated for Christmas. It was a daunting task this year since I've been sick and I have an 18 month old. On the other hand, I've had the chance to see the excitement of Christmas through this little girl's eyes and it's been pretty amazing. 

While I usually get out all the decorations at once and just get crazy all day, I had to do my decorating a little at a time this year. It started with our two little lighted trees on either side of our front door. Matt brought Addison outside to see them after they were plugged in and she thought they were the most amazing little trees ever. It was dark and cold outside, but she cried when we made her come back inside the house. I knew then, that she was going to go crazy over Christmas. 

So she would have some inside lights to admire, I went ahead and put up our garland on the mantle and she oohh-ed and ahh-ed at it for days. 

This weekend we finally went and got a tree and I decorated it Friday night after Addison went to bed.  I opted to do a lightly decorated, Charlie Brown Christmas tree this year since I anticipate I'll be redecorating it frequently. I put soft ornaments on the bottom that she can't hurt. When she came down Saturday morning she went straight to the tree and said, "BALL!!" (she's holding a ball ornament) She circled the tree naming different things and especially people in the pictures. She was completely amazed. In less than an hour a candy cane was broken and a few ornaments had already come off the tree. I decided to let it go. Christmas only comes once a year. In her little mind, every ornament had a story to tell.  I enjoyed sitting down by the tree and telling about all the characters and people and pictures. It was a tree-full of memories!

Each year, my mom has gifted me with a piece of my nativity. I finally have the complete set and love having this reminder in our living room, of who we are truly celebrating this Christmas season.

On the bar in the kitchen you'll find a candy cane bar, with the morning sunrise flooding in the backdoor. How blessed am I, to sit at my kitchen table and be reminded of His mercies, new every morning by this perfect view of the sunrise. 

Presents are already wrapped under the tree, but many of them have been relocated to be used as a chair or stepstool or purse by my wild child. She knows a good resource when she sees one. I've only had to rewrap one gift so far. Hopefully, that will be the only one.

And Addison's nativity sits low on the coffee table so she can play with it often. Usually I will find the wise men on the couch and baby Jesus in her toy baby stroller. But I hope every year, as we talk about Jesus, she  will come to understand the beautiful sacrifice that God made when He sent His precious Son to live and die for us.

I also picked up this amazing book this year. It is full of ideas, stories, crafts, recipes and wonderful teaching moments for mom's and dad's to use to help our kids see Jesus in our holiday traditions. I can't wait to use this book every year with my kids! If you want a copy, they are only $7.95 at my parent's bookstore (Greentree in Asheville) and there's just a few left. I'm happy to pick up a copy for you! Anywhere else, you'll pay $15-$20 but it's worth the money! This is a book I will use for years and years to come! 

I can't wait to see Addison's face when she comes down on Christmas morning, but I hope when she thinks about Christmas, Jesus' birth is the first and most important thing that comes to mind.

Here's wishing you a blessed and Christ-filled Christmas!