Merry Christmas from Virginia!

Just wanted to share a few pictures from our time thus far in Virginia.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

We made it to Richmond!

Yes, friends...we all made it to Richmond this weekend. Josiah & I flew out late Thursday night, after a delay of a couple hours. Andy began his drive Friday evening after the movers loaded up the contents of our apartment and got here late Saturday afternoon. We've been having fun catching up with family and RESTING! Grandparents are an amazing thing! My mom made Josiah a Christmas outfit and he wore it to church last night...I know I'm biased, but I think he's pretty darn cute!

We head to Raleigh tomorrow to close on our house and officially become grown-ups. Yeehaw!

HELP!!

I'm buried under a pile of boxes!!!


A special thanks to Tyler & Kami who have helped us immensely with this whole packing process...you're amazing!

All I Want for Christmas

is my FIRST TOOTH!! Josiah is breaking in his first tooth as we speak. You can barely see the top of it coming through the gum, but he is definitely letting us know it is there! He now has his fingers in his mouth constantly...


YAY for fun firsts! More importantly, YAY for Tylenol!! We'll let you know when it actually pops through...

You Know You're a Mom

and married to a full-time seminary student on the brink of graduation (& working, preparing for a new job, moving, etc.) when your only break from your son for the week is your annual exam at the "woman doctor". Isn't that how every woman wants to spend the 1 hour of true freedom that she has had/will have for weeks?!?

I should also mention that this adorable child of mine has decided naps are for wimps and "sleeping through the night" actually means waking up at 2:30 am, 3:30 am, 4:45 am, and 6:00 am. I believe he is upset that we're moving away from his friends, therefore attempting to thwart our efforts by making us too exhausted to move. Since we're moving back to the South, I'll just say "Bless his heart".

On the whole moving note. It finally hit me today that we are actually moving in 2.5 weeks. On the drive home from aforementioned doctor's appointment, I started crying. I thought I would only use this blog for fun pictures, never to vent my emotions, yet no matter how hard I fight it, I am a member of this "internet generation" and am therefore emoting online. I am thrilled about Raleigh and know the Lord has amazing things in store for us there, yet I am really sad as well. Today it is for some silly & not so silly reasons - I love my OB/GYN; I love our pediatrician; I love our church; I love my hair stylist; of course I love our friends and the fact that I can just walk to most of their apartments; I love being able to walk Bella in the neighborhood in my PJ's and nobody cares; I love that I can talk rap music with some of our college guys and nobody thinks it is weird; I love that I know exactly which aisles to go down at my grocery store for the things I need.

Praise the Lord for being able to miss these things and more. Praise the Lord that Christmas is coming soon and there will be the hands of grandparents, aunts, and uncles who want to hold my child. Maybe I'll even get to go on a run by myself, without the dog and the stroller...I'm not even sure if I would know how to do that...

Turkey Day

We celebrated Thanksgiving by feasting at our house with 2 great families - the Porters and the Andersons. We had yummy food and such a fun time with everyone. Even the 4 kiddos (ages 2, 9 months, and 2 five-month-olds) did well.

The Table

Decision at the Grocery Store: Wine or Flowers?

Answer: Free Centerpiece = Leaves picked up on run that morning :)


The boys with full stomachs

Some of the girls and kids

Always time for a story

Like I said, it was a fabulous day with great friends...so much to be thankful for!

We Are Homeowners!! (almost)

Last weekend we traveled to Raleigh and put a contract on a house! We have never felt like such grown-ups. So...we're officially "under contract" or "pending" or whatever the correct term is. Hopefully the inspections go well and we can put an official "sold" sign on the house soon! Our plan is to close December 18th, so the next 3-4 weeks are going to be crazy. One of my (Amy) favorite quotes is..."Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all". I never knew that it would be so applicable to my life.

Here are pictures of our new house. We didn't take any from inside...

Looks like we're definitely going to need to invest in a rake or two.

Here is Redeemer Presbyterian Church - our new church home!


Andy had a birthday while we were there, so we put together a little party for him...complete with singing & cake.


Josiah got to meet Rachel (one of Amy's best friends) for the first time. She is living in Raleigh right now. We can't wait to be close and able to see her more often!

Stronger 2

Here's another video- make sure you wait for the smile at the end...

Stronger 1

I know you're not supposed to let your baby listen to rap music, but Josiah has obviously inherited his mom's taste in music (and her rhythm!).

Thanks to Ames for the Kanye CD for my birthday! Make sure you turn up the volume...

Mimi & Papa came to town

Mimi and Papa (Amy's parents) came to visit us this past weekend. It was so great to see them and they had a lot of fun playing with Josiah. We enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather, I got to go running with my Dad, Andy & I went on 2 - yes, 2! - dates, we took a few naps, fixed my sewing machine...all kinds of great things!

Here they are with their favorite grandson...

Grant's Farm

We took advantage of a beautiful fall day this past Saturday and went to Grant's Farm with the Porters. You'll have to ask Ben for the full history behind Grant's Farm, but it is the homesite of Ulysses S. Grant that was bought by the Busch family in the early 1900's. They kept rare animals on the farm and later turned it into a public park. You can get a tour of animals roaming around, walk through exhibits, feed baby goats & chickens, and of course, sample 2 free Anheuser-Busch products. No wonder this is a favorite for seminary wives & their kids!

You pay by the car to get into Grant's Farm. Since the birth of Josiah, it's been a bit trickier for the Porters and us to get around in one car, yet we didn't want to pay for 2 cars. Here to save the day - the Volvo Wagon! Anna & I each took a turn riding in the "way back". Fun when you're 6 years old...a bit awkward now. Especially facing all the other drivers...one guy was definitely laughing at me.

The kiddos buckled up and ready to go!

Enjoying the free beer

Family pic


Bigger family pic!

It was a little chilly, so Josiah wore this hat my mom (Mimi) knit for him. Isn't it sweet?

Fall Break - Party Time

We have had a busy weekend here in St. Louis. The seminary is on Fall Break, so Andy has been home each day and night...such a treat! We've taken full advantage of the break - resting, hanging out with lots of people, and of course, finding any excuse to have a party.

Party #1 - VA Tech versus Boston College - We had a few people over to watch the game on Thursday night. We're not going to talk about the last few minutes of the game...

Josiah sporting his VA Tech gear!

Ella in her VA Tech cheerleader outfit. She loves hanging out with her Lindenwood boys - Tyler & Brandon. Unfortunately, Josiah fell asleep before the Porters came over, so we didn't get a pic of both of them in VA Tech apparel.

Party #2 - Tyler's "The Office" Birthday Party

I am sure there are people who look at this blog who do not know what "The Office" is...it is a TV show that pretty much everyone out here is addicted to, at least in our age group. It's pretty stinkin' hilarious. Anyway, for Tyler's 20th birthday, his friends threw him an "Office" party. we all had to dress as one of the characters, we played Office games, watched episodes, it was great!

Josiah & I as "Future Pam" & "Jim, Jr."

Tyler & Shannon, aka "the I.T. guy and Angela"

Cake time

Andy as "Andy Bernard" and Ben as "Michael with the burnt foot" playing the Diversity Day game

Hannah & Lauren, aka "Pam" and "Kelly"

Ella & Josiah decided to have a pajama party towards the end of the night...I don't mean to brag, but aren't the precious?!? As you can see from the pictures, Josiah is mostly mesmerized by this cute older woman...


Party #3 - Dinner at the Wood House

Who knew eating rice cereal could be THIS much fun?!?

More 4 Month Old Pics

Josiah here...after taking a break from snapping pics for a couple weeks, my mom finally decided to pull out the camera again and capture how cute I am these days!

My Aunt Emily made me a "taggie" and I love holding it, grabbing all the ribbons, and chewing on them, of course. You'll find it in my hands most of the time these days!


I have started eating rice cereal! I had no problem learning the whole "spoon" thing (surprise, surprise...no problem with something associated with eating) and am learning to use my tongue well to swallow the cereal. I smile and laugh the whole time...I even open my mouth in anticipation of the next spoonful! Here I am with a cereal beard and a big grin.


These are just some pictures of me getting out of the bath a couple nights ago. I still love my baths. Mom & Dad might have to start wearing rain ponchos soon because I kick & splash the whole time, spraying water all over the bathroom. It's fun, though!