Christmas catch-up

What a great Christmas season we had!!! We have such an amazing family, and it was soooo great to spend some really quality time with all of them. I'll warn you though.....this post has a TON of pictures!

We opened presents with Max a few days before Christmas. We just didn't have enough room in the van to pack all those gifts!!! He understood that it wasn't actually Christmas yet, and he certainly wasn't complaining about getting to open them early!! We're in super saving mode these days, planning for bringing home baby number two so we tried to be as frugal as we could with gifts this year. We scored some good deals though, and Max loved everything he got! One of Stephen and I's fave purchase was his new Bible. We went with the "Jesus Story Time Bible". It's seriously awesome...definitely less "picture" Bible than his last one, but still very much meant for children, with every story being brought back to God's awesome plan for salvation. It really helps Max see God's "big plan" and nightly we get to remind him of Christ love and sacrifice. Love that! Max also got a super cool Texas A&M jersey, complete with his name on the back. He really hasn't taken it off since he opened it! But, I think his favorite gift from us is a new...slightly more impressive than the last, acoustic guitar. Last Christmas we bought him one, but all the strings had broken by the time he'd had it 72 hours! Well, he's had it a good two weeks now...and we haven't lost a string yet! Max also received a gift from the sweet couple, Lek and Edmond, in Thailand that loved and took care of him from the time he was an infant until the day we came to bring him home. I LOVE that Max has that special relationship!








A few days later, we packed up the van and headed to North Carolina for some super fun time with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt 'Ginia and Uncle Ryan. We had such a great time with them and started a new tradition that I'm super excited about! Grandma and Grandpa took Max out to pick out his very own little Christmas tree. They brought it back to the house and decorated it. It was super cute sitting out on the back porch! Then, the day after Christmas, they planted it in their yard! I love that every time we visit, Max will be able to see how tall its growing! Santa came while we were there..and Max could hardly contain himself when he saw his present. He kept asking "do you think its a football helmet?!?!?" Well, sure enough, Santa knew just what he wanted, and he got himself an A&M football helmet!! This boy is by far the cutest football player ever!! We headed to the local high school and let Max play on their field. He really felt like hot stuff! Super fun times in N.C.!!!













We were home for just under 24 hours, just enough time to do some laundry, then we headed off to my folk's house to celebrate New Year's and open more presents. Max and his cousins had a blast playing...you guessed it, football! The boys got matching pj's that glow in the dark, and for some mysterious reason, they had a really hard time getting to sleep :) Max got a Wii from my parents and it included Rock Band, so you know he was sold when he opened the box and there was a big guitar inside! We went bowling (and yes, my sons eyes are closed in those pictures. He's got this thing lately about making the silliest faces possible in every picture!), celebrated my dad's birthday, ate lots of yummy food and just enjoyed being together...exactly how I like it!












Time with family always flies by way too fast...but better that way than the other I guess!! Love, love, love Christmas time, and I'm usually a little bummed when its over. But, you know, I'm pretty excited about 2012! Praying this is the year we see our sweet girl's face! And speaking of our girl...she was in EVERYONE'S thoughts this Christmas. Max opened her gifts for her, a super cute stuffed animal and sweet book about a little girl and her dad (that totally makes me cry every time I read it!) from Grandma and Grandpa and a tiny pair of diamond stud earrings from Meemaw and Pops that match the pair they got for her sweet cousin Clara who my brother and sister-in-law are bringing home from Ghana very soon! Seems like just yesterday I was typing the post a few Christmases ago when Stephen and I were opening all of Max's gifts, longing for the day he was here with us. And, now he's here, and helping us prepare for his sister! God is so good!

The cutest little shepherd boy!!

Max was in his first CHRISTmas play at school! It was the sweetest thing ever!!! His preschool class sang and everyone had a speaking part (in groups). Max has been practicing, and practicing, and he knew his lines by heart! Of course I cried, and he was as proud as can be! Here's his part...complete with hand motions!

Clop, clop, clop went the donkey's feet
Clop, clop, clop down the stoney street
Nod, nod, nod went Mary's head
She was tired and needed a bed
Knock, knock, knock went Joseph at the door
Do you have room for even one more?
No, no, no the innkeeper said
I don't even have one more bed
Wait, wait, wait the innkeeper said
You can use my stable instead
Shh, shh, shh what's that I hear?
The cry of baby Jesus, oh so dear!

Love, love, love amidst the gifts and parties and holiday fun, that even at school Max is learning exactly why it is we celebrate!!!

The most wonderful time of the year!!!

We are having sooo much fun making CHRISTmas memories around here! Tonight's agenda.....baking and frosting cookies! Max was the perfect little helper, and had a blast decorating each cookie. I remember doing the same thing as a little girl, and its so cool getting to be Mom and watching my little boy love it to! Now we're all camped out on the couch, enjoying our cookies, watching Frosty The Snowman! The perfect night!

Yay for CHRISTmas!

Our tree is up and we are LOVING it! Max's favorite thing to do when we get home from school or from running errands is to ask "can I plug in the lights now?!?!" It makes him feel so grown up! Its fun to experience the CHRISTmas season through Max's eyes this year. He's really understanding everything so much more this year. We've talked about how much more important it is to give rather than to get....and how Jesus is the best gift ever given. Our sweet little smarty pants reminds us every day "God loves us sooooo much that's why we have Christmas!" We've got lots of other fun things planned for this month. Can't wait to experience them all with him!

The cutest Indian ever!!!

Max had his Thanksgiving feast at preschool today.....and he had a blast! The kids were supposed to dress up as either a pilgrim or an Indian, and Max chose to be an Indian! A friend of mine at church, who is a kindergarten teacher gave me supplies that they use in her class to make costumes for their feast....so we set to work! We had a lot of fun putting it together, and Max had even more fun wearing it! The feast was great (the teachers always do such an amazing job with the kids!) and he looked soooo darn cute! Unlike last year (after only having been home a month) Max really understands what it means to be thankful....and how incredible our God is! His prayers tonight showed just that. "God, I'm thankful for my mommy, and my daddy. And I'm thankful for my house, and Charlie (our dog) and for my muscles that are getting so big!" Goofy, but straight from the heart! We have soooooo much to be thankful for...and this little boy is a HUGE part of that!!!

Its official....he's a boy!

Well, we had our first trip to the ER on Monday....let me tell you, it was horrible! Max and his cousin Noah were having a great time, dancing in the living room when...BAM! Max flipped himself right into the coffee table. He split his left eyebrow right open!!! And he did it good, let me tell you! We rushed him to the ER and he bought himself three stitches. The doctor really did a great job, and I don't think he'll have much of a scar thankfully.

I have to tell you though...being a nurse.....its WAY different when you're mom!!! It was the HARDEST thing I've ever had to do watching Max being strapped down screaming "Mommy, Daddy don't leave me!!!". He was so scared, and he hates needles and hospitals anyways, so this was ten times worse for him. But, we all made it through together, Stephen and I just kept reminding him that there was no way we were leaving and we held his hand through it all. Afterwards Max really thought french fries and ice cream would make him feel better....so of course we agreed!

He's one tough kid! The very next morning, he was off to school to show off his battle wound. And he hasn't complained of it hurting since! Hopefully that's the last ER trip for a while!

Tomorrow?!

Today at lunch, Stephen and I were chatting when Max all of a sudden said "Excuse me Mom and Dad." He looked pretty serious as he asked "Can we bring my sister home tomorrow?" Oh bud, how I wish we could say "yes!" and have that be the case. We had a really good convo about how we have to wait, and continue to pray for her, for her health, and for her to be well cared for...just like we did Max while we waited for him to come home. He really seems to understand exactly what is happening through this process, and we loving sharing with him about it. I know among other things, Max is super excited to FINALLY one day have a picture of his sister. We're right there with you kiddo!

Yesterday we went to Cracker Barrel and picked up the CUTEST little baby doll!!! A friend of mine on a facebook adoption group had spotted it and posted a picture...I couldn't resist!!! She has dark skin and black hair, just like our perfect little girl will have! And its super soft! You could tell Max was a super proud big brother carrying it up to the register. Can't wait to see the two of them together!!!

Our paperwork is moving along really quickly and we're praying like crazy for continued smooth sailing......we're coming baby girl!