A Nice and Quiet Christmas

First off, we hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas filled with family, friends and lots of fun! We celebrated Christmas a little bit differently this year since my due date is only 2 1/2 weeks away (can you believe that?). Rhonald, Mason and I spent Christmas home alone this year and although we missed seeing family we had a wonderful day! After we woke up, we opened stockings and gifts and then had a nice breakfast. We lounged around all day and then I made a traditional Christmas dinner which actually turned out pretty well! We had every intention of going to see a movie in the evening but so did everyone else in Northwest Arkansas - every movie we wanted to see was sold out! Who knew that was such a big Christmas tradition for people!!!! Santa even spoiled Mason with several new toys and treats and by 9:00 he was sound asleep. We both agreed it was an amazing day and one we needed....the calm before the storm!

A Weekend Full of Blessings

We were blessed with not one but two baby showers this past weekend. It was so wonderful to have them at a time when our parents could be here to celebrate with us! On Friday night my friends from work gave me a shower and I must say, I was speechless at the amount of love that was shown to us from them! It was so much fun to share stories about having babies and get lots of advice from people that I have grown to love so much. On Saturday night we were blessed with a shower given by Rhonald's work and a few other friends. It was so neat to have him there and be able to share that time with him and his friends. Our parents felt so welcome and had so much fun meeting our friends. It was so much fun to come home from each shower and put baby Nicholas' things away. I think I rearranged our gifts several times before I found "the perfect" place to put everything. We kept saying how lucky Cole is to have so many people who are excited about his birth and meeting him. We have only lived here for 2 1/2 years but have made so many friends - we are so thankful for everyone who shared in this weekend with us. We have never known such love and excitement!

The Long Awaited Nursery

Rhonald and my dad painted the walls a tan color
Then they spent the morning putting the furniture together
The larger glider is new - the smaller rocker was Rhonald's when he was a little boy
Our "theme" is a vintage cars theme

We had a very fun and eventful weekend! The thing I have been most anxious about is getting the nursery ready before Nicholas gets here. With a lot of help from my parents we were able to accomplish this task in only 2 days. It was so much fun watching the room come together-a room I have been dreaming about! Rhonald and my dad did all of the labor and then my mom and I decorated the room. Although there has already been some rearranging of decorations (and I realized I did not think to buy any lamps) the room is basically done and ready for our son. We keep walking in there and talking about how real it all seems now. I spent some of today rocking in the glider and looking at all of the books that Cole has. I cannot wait to read them to him and lay him down for bed in his crib. One gift that was very special was that my mom took Rhonald's old rocker from his childhood and had it redone for Cole. It meant so much to Rhonald to be able to share that with Nicholas. We can't wait to see him rocking in it! Putting this nursery together was an amazing time and I know none of us will ever forget it!