Ringing in the New Year

It is SO hard to believe that it will be 2009 in a matter of hours!! This year has been one of immense change for Brian and I: 2008 started off with an engagement :) and culminated into a summer wedding and, albeit a little earlier than we had planned, the news that we would be welcoming a baby into the world in February 2009...

Despite all of the chaos and change, we are definitely looking forward to the upcoming year. I know I speak for both of us when I say that each day brings us more and more excitement (and some apprehension) as we think about Lily and dream about what she will look like.

In other news, we are both enjoying our break very much. Christmas was great, with the usual delicious smorgasbord of Mexican food at my parents' house on Christmas day. We spent the 26th with Brian's family, opening up gifts and going out for a nice dinner. We also had the chance to catch up with Brian's brother and sister-in-law--Darin and Lisa--which was great, considering we had not seen them since the wedding.

Today is my birthday and, despite the fact that I tried to convince Brian that it is just like any other day, he insisted on cooking me a fancy dinner. His original plan was to make lobster, since I had never had it, but the store "forgot" to order it (although I'm not sure that it is a typical order in Alliance, NE). So, he reverted to plan b...here are some pictures:

As you can see, there is certainly no shortage of beef in Box Butte County, Nebraska :)

Brian said I could have first pick of the cut of meat. After attempting to eat the entire thing, I assured him that I thought there would be enough scraps left over to tide him over until breakfast time...:)

 

Tomorrow, January 1st, we will be headed down to Scottsbluff to watch the Huskers play in the Gator bowl--I know that Brian would want me to say this, so, just for him-- GO HUSKERS!!

Today also marks Week 32 in our pregnancy journey.

Here is our 8 month shot

And, for a change of scenery, here is a picture that actually shows my face :)

Brian and I are very grateful for what the past year has brought us and are very much looking forward to what the new year has to offer...we hope that your lives have been as happy and as blessed as ours!!

From Us to You--Merry Christmas!

Ho Ho Howdy-

Brian here, taking a turn at the keyboard after a LONG semester of grading (the less-desirable part of teaching.) We have finished our busiest half-year as a couple: Lily on the way, Erica taking 15 hours at CSC (she still has her 4.0!), and myself with six classes plus a lab (as I said, much grading.) We are, of course, thankful that we have what we do, especially with regard to the current economic climate.
Everyone is well up here in Box Butte County--Erica is plumping (Ha!) the critters keep each other on their toes, and, according to all we have heard from the docs, Lily is healthy and developing. After February, we will certainly have a full household. We wish you all the best, and hope for a safe and warm holiday for everybody!

Getting into the Holiday Spirit*

Hey everyone :) Brian and I have slowly been getting into the holiday spirit. At first, we were both kind of disgusted by the fact that WalMart had their Christmas decorations out and were playing Christmas Carols--of course, that was the day after Halloween :) We finally got our tree up and are slowly putting up some decorations around the house. There aren't any presents under the tree as of yet--but I'm sure that will come too! Here are some pictures:

Our beautiful Christmas tree. It is a little hard to see the whole thing, because we had to put it in the office, but in real life, it is gorgeous--even if it is fake! Ajax still tries to eat (and climb) the fake tree, so I bet it is better that it isn't real...

We bought Koda this hat in an attempt to get her to wear it for our Christmas photo--she would rather eat the snowball on the end. However, she was sleepy, so I managed to get this one shot :)

We are still waiting for the semester to be over...each day brings us closer! Today marks the beginning of the third trimester for me--28 weeks or 7 months! Hard to believe!

7 months!

Yes, those are some beautiful stretch marks crawling up my side--guess they are unavoidable :) Hope you are all well!