Nebraska Thanksgiving 2011

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

This year we spent it in Nebraska for the first time in a few years! It was really fun to be there for the long weekend and get in lots of good time and celebrating with family and friends at our "home away from home"! Our actual feasting on turkey day was done at the Eccleston's! As you can see, Lori had a beautifully set table and everything was very yummy!!

We played a family football game and then ate 4 to 5 times as many calories as we burned

(and I didn't even play, oh shoot!!)!

That night we walked around downtown Omaha and checked out the city all lit up for Christmas! It was really pretty and not even too cold to stroll around!

The next day we went down to Lincoln for the the Huskers game verses Iowa. Now if you know my family, you know we LOVE the Huskers. In fact, my parents, brother, sister, hubby & I are all graduates of UNL. My parents dear friends and neighbors, the Connells, are huge Iowa fans and for as long as I can remember there has been friendly banter about what would happen if the Hawkeyes ever met up with the Huskers. This year all that taunting came to a head when the Thanksgiving game was set up between these two since Nebraska joined the Big 10, and naturally everyone in the families had to go to the first game between the two. The guys all had tickets and the girls all hung out and chatted in the Champions club.

with Andy and Jules!

Our old stomping grounds!

Loved him when we were students & even more now!

All the Richard/Connell boys (the ones in RED celebrating a Husker WIN!!!)

Big kids:)!

On Saturday we headed out to Ashland to see my mom's side of the family. We had a taco feed...some where between Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner I think:)! We celebrated all the holidays, Aunt Nancy's birthday & the upcoming arrival of 2 babes into our family! My 2nd cousin Emily is due just a few weeks before me in March so the Aunties and Grandmas had a surprise baby shower for us!

Sapp girls

pregnant mommas!

It was so fun to celebrate these babies with the family and for me it was so special as I opened my first "girlie" gifts. I had to keep pinching myself when I opened Mary Jane bow socks and pink onesies and tiny adorable shoes. It made it feel really REAL and I am more than thrilled!

And, last but not least we celebrated Christmas early on the Eccleston side since we are staying here in Illinois for the first time ever this year! It was actually really exciting and wonderful to not be rushing from house to house but to just enjoy a full night of fun with Ryan's side! We ate pizza, opened gifts, made ginger bread houses & even ate Christmas cookies!

Eccleston girls

(I always say that you can tell which one of us is not blood related because I tower over the girls, so Lori stood on her tip toes, haha!)

Eccleston boys

The whole crew

And speaking of babies due just weeks apart, here is the first shot of baby Bebee & baby Eccleston, cousins that will join the family this Spring! We are so excited!

And that was a weekend to be thankful for! I don't think we are recovered still, haha! We are still super tired and getting back in to routine, but we are just so happy to have made it there and back, safe and sound and feel full with great memories of all our family and friends we got to see and spend time with! Now we are officially ready to start the holiday season! Griffin is SO excited this year, I can tell it is going to be magic:)!

Thankful 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We have so much to be thankful for at this house...

namely little hands that make little hand turkeys around here!

Sugar & Spice & EVERYTHING...

If you can't tell by our faces, please read the balloon!

We are thrilled to announce that a sweet little PINK bundle will be joining our family in just about 4 months! AH!

At 15 weeks we had an elective scan (I couldn't stand the wait...and all my friends were doing it...Mary Beth & Jenni!!) and as I lay on the table that Saturday morning I heard words I couldn't quite ever invision until that moment, "You're having a girl!" After 2 boys, it was pretty hard for us to believe them. I laughed/cried for the immediate half an hour following the big reveal and then off and on for the rest of the day. After collecting myself, I made Ryan drive directly to a store entitled, "Hair Bows"! Here's what I purchased first for my petite princess...

Surreal to buy ruffle undies and polka dots tights, yes! I had a little ruffle tushie when I was little too, so I just had to buy them when I saw them.

And when we got back to my moms that afternoon we walked in on some dessert making for dinner that night, so Ry & I popped a few drops of red dye into the cool whip and made the pink reveal at our little family gathering. It was amazing to have people share in our joy in the moment.

BUT as the weeks went on, I started having trouble believing it was true. I kept freaking out that she had maybe sprung some male parts, and Ryan kept shaking his head out my doubts. (Baby C, daddy knew the whole time:)!). Then today we saw this...

...and I'm a believer!

Here I am at (almost) 20 weeks on the day we got confirmation you are a girl, little C!

And we got your "thing 3" patch all fixed to a HOT PINK onsie!!

And here are just a few more shots from the ultrasound! Your tiny toes and sweet profile melted dad & I's hearts but our favorite part of seeing you was your darling little button nose! I can't wait to see it while holding you in my arms!

I shed a lot of tears yesterday, but they were very very happy tears. I have a true peace like I have never really felt before about my life and where God is taking it and how he is shaping my family. This little girl seems like the missing piece to the puzzle and I can't believe how blessed Ryan and I truly are! We haven't gotten to plan when/the order of/sex of our kids and maybe in the moment would have said we would have had things differently, but it's now that we can see the whole picture, that we see what God was doing and how perfectly for us everything fits together! I remember a few times in my life wondering if I would ever be able to even have kids, and now I am about to have 3. I keep counting my blessings and pinching myself! I absolutely CAN NOT wait until this little gets here to join the craziness!

Bring on the Sugar & Spice!

The 3 of you...

Dear darling babies,

Yesterday morning when Beanie woke up I went to get him out of his crib and sat down in the rocker to ease him into the day. As we were rocking, sleepy Griffy stumbled out of bed and made his way onto my lap as well. I was savoring the quite and sweet sleepy moment with my 2 boys when it occurred to me that I had all 3 of my kids on my lap at the same time. I can't imagine that will happen often too often as you all are insistent on growing at such a rapid rate. As the boys woke up more and we started laughing and talking, baby C made a huge kick right into the center of my belly. Even though the boys didn't know, it was a precious sibling moment and I love that even the babe in my tummy wanted to be a part of it. I imagine listening to the 3 of you for the next "forever" amount of years talking & laughing & fighting & teasing and experiencing one of life's best gifts together...having brothers and/or sisters! I feel so blessed to have mine and I can't wait to watch your relationships, inside jokes & stories unfold.

I love you 3 so so so much,

Mom

Halloween 2011

Our "one eyed monster" & doggie had quite a Halloween. By the 31st they had been in their costumes 3 days in a row and were ready to get the actual Trick or Treating on the road!!

Beanie's first time really Trick or Treating. He was so curious about what was going in his bag. After checking it out and sampling the treats, he was on board. Not so on board with his doggie hood falling in his face however:)!

Sawyers squealed with delight each time heading up to the door and by the end of the night he was an old pro at running up to each door and standing there looking pathetically cute and in a few cases trying to take the whole candy basket from the person passing out the treats! We trick or treated with some neighbors of my moms and their kids, who have 2 girls, and they all really felt the magic of this holiday which is just for them!

We tried to get one more set of pictures before we had to say goodbye to Halloween for another year, but the boys (as seen on G mans face) were ready to be done for the night! Griffin did ask me first thing the next morning though if we could do it all again today...when I tried to explain it would be another year, it was a lost cause! We're already brainstorming ideas for 2012's costume! So grateful to share these iconic moments with these little boys, my actual "dreams" coming true right before my eyes...trick or treating with my kids!