Ah... Christmas, you were great! : ) p.s. - can our baby just get here already?!

Well, to say the very least, we had a GREAT Christmas!!!
We got to spend Christmas Eve with our second family, The Redden's.  We hadn't seen them in a long time so it was really good to go up to Wyoming and just catch up with everyone.  Christmas morning we went out to my parent's in Wellsville.  We had a really good time opening presents and having a yummy Christmas breakfast : ) Mom and Dad spoiled us and baby!  They got us a very nice stroller/car seat combo!  And some really cute pajamas for baby : )  It got us really excited, and got me wanting our baby to just get here already!!!  We had a really fun Christmas dinner with my whole extended family.  Everyone had to bring a food item from a different country.  There was a lot of good food and lots of fun.  In my family, between all the little nieces and nephews that I have, there are 9 kids under the age of 8!  I LOVE being around all of them, and this too go me REALLY EXCITED for our little babe :) !  Monday, the day after Christmas we went to breakfast with all of my buddies from high school.  It was really good to see everybody with all of their little babies, and again I left just really wanting our little one to get here faster!!!  Then we went to a movie with the fam, it was a lot of fun!  John decided to go duck hunting after the movie so I was just lazy at home for the rest of the night, it was really nice.
I most of all just loved being with John and being with Family and Friends for Christmas.  It always helps me realize how blessed we are when the holidays come around.  I am so grateful that we always have somewhere to go to celebrate and know that we will always be with people who love and care about us!  I'm also so grateful for the opportunity to celebrate an occasion that changed the world forever, the birth of our Savior!  I know that we should celebrate this occasion everyday, but it just seems a little bit easier at this time of year.  We are so blessed for all of the many things that we have been given and for all of the tender mercies that we experience everyday and we know that it is only through our Heavenly Father and our Brother Jesus Christ that we receive any of these blessings.
I am so excited for the New Year and for all of the many adventures that lie ahead of us.  It is really crazy to think of all of the changes that are happening to us, but more exciting than anything!!!  Wahoo for new beginnings and new adventures : )

The AWESOME new stroller for baby : )

The joys of not knowing what we're getting, we get two different sets of jammies : )

Week 22 Baby Belly : )

Can anyone say. . . TERRIBLE AT BLOGGING?!?!?!?

Oh gosh, I just really suck at this... in my defense, I have been busy with other things... being pregnant (that involves a lot of "resting" and "growing baby" time), crafting (and yes, this is a priority) and lately, not because I want to SCHOOL WORK : /  I am in my last two weeks of my Medical Assisting program at BATC and that means, stress time!!!  But, I've actually done very well at keeping up on my work and am not TOO stressed.... yet, ask me how I feel next week when I have to take two final tests and do one big final pass off of all of the skills that I have learned in the past 15 months..... GAH!!!!!!   But it will all be worth it in the end, I will be done and will have learned so many great skills that will help me find a job that will help support our little family : )
The most exciting news as of lately..... my amazing husband is an official college graduate.... AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I am soooo excited, happy, and PROUD of him!!!  I know, first hand how dang hard he as worked to get to this point so I know how happy and excited he is too!!!  Other good/crazy news, he has an interview with the state of Nevada in January!  It is for a Game Warden job.  The interview is in Vegas, but if he gets it, they could place us basically anywhere in Nevada.  Nevada wasn't our first choice of places that we would want to move for a job, but when John looked around at all oft he state websites in the Western United States, it was basically the only place hiring for the specific job that John wanted to apply for, so he took a stab at it and filled out the application, and a few weeks later got an email letting him know that he was going to be interviewed!!!  So..... we could be having a baby in Vegas..... wooo hoooo!!!!  LOL!!!  So, we get to go to Vegas for our Birthday's now : ) I love how things just seem to work out ; )
Okay, now for a baby update.  All is going well!!!  Baby is growing right on schedule and so is Mommy.  We had a 3D ultrasound yesterday and it was way cool to see our little babe!!!  We are so excited to be parents and to have such a blessing come into our lives.  Sometimes I don't feel like I deserve such a blessing, but I am so grateful that Heavenly Father is giving us such a great opportunity to learn and grow in such a big way   : )  I'm feeling Baby kick and move around A LOT!!!  I haven't been sick or anything, just really tired, which kinda sucks, cause I like to go, go, go and it is getting harder to do that without wanting to die every night when I get home.  I haven't had any weird or random cravings...if you know me, you know I LOVE FOOD, in any form, and I have always been a big eater, so having to eat a little more to give Baby nutrients has not been tough for me, not at all : ) oh yeah.... a staple in our house these days, CREAMIES!!!  If they aren't in the house..... WATCH OUT!!!  Good thing we live across the street from the grocery store, and good thing John doesn't like ice cream, so I don't have to share hahahaha!!!!!  Okay, I've blabbed enough!!! Here are some pics : )

Top pic, 18 weeks.  Bottom pic, 20 weeks : )

These are kind of hard to see.... the first two are profiles of Baby, kind of hiding his/her face.  The second one is of the back of the baby, and you can kind see his/her little bum, so cute!  And the last one is the back of Baby's head and his/her arms.