"How Wonderful It Is That Nobody Need Wait A Single Moment Before Starting To Improve The World."

~Anne Frank

The ornament we got from Aunt Nettie in the mail today.

How sweet is this?!? This is on the back of the ornament...

Thank you, Aunt Nettie! We love it! What a great reminder of our special Christmas gift this year!!!

Our first official Christmas card of the season AND it was addressed to our daughter from one of our favorite little men...

Thank you, Ry Ry, for the sweet card! It's up on our mantle!

A special mailing from our niece, Caitlyn. A checklist of all she is thankful for...

A special note from Caity...boy is she getting so good at writing! Love you and miss you, Cait!

An adorable little turkey from Caitlyn. What a sweetheart for thinking of us!!!

Wow, another day of surprises and being surrounded by love! I love getting the mail on days like today! As you can see, we were surprised by a lot of sweet things in our mailbox! Thank you to Aunt Nettie, Ryan, and Caity for your nice thoughts! We also got an invitation to a Christmas Party for next weekend (and it included Peyton's name on the invite-how exciting...I can't believe she'll be here soon!). 

Woke up twice last night to use the bathroom but didn't wake up for the day until 6:50am this morning...which I was happy about. Grabbed myself some cereal as it was too late to make cinnamon rolls for Tony for breakfast this morning so it'll have to wait until tomorrow, again.

Tony had barely left for work when my stomach (NOT Peyton) just felt queasy...I laid down and woke up at 11:45am only because I heard Nikki coming in on her lunch break. I got up and had a few episodes of diarreha and didn't start to feel better until about the time Tony got home from work tonight, but whatever bug I had, I feel like it has passed (knock on wood). He must have some natural healing powers over me...either way, I'm glad he is home for the night and that my stomach is feeling normal again.

Tony made some of our Thanksgiving leftover turkey into a dish tonight with seasoning, cream of mushroom soup, and brown rice. With the day that I had, it was the perfect dinner! He's playing video games in the living room right now while I catch up on emails and chat with Nicole on the phone. Going to try and get to bed relatively soon, because I work 8am-2pm tomorrow and I don't want to be dragging butt. 

Lately, with Peyton getting bigger every day and running out of room, I've discovered some new symptoms from pregnancy...As I have mentioned, monkey is already in the head-down position and lays along the left side of my abdomen, upside down. Every morning I run my hands along her spine and try to find her cheeky buns. Her head is a real hard ball close to the pubic bone. Whenever I cough or sneeze, she gets a quick jolt because she is so surprise and out of natural instinct, she juts out her leg. In this process, I feel a painful jab at my already bruised ribcage. I totally understand her reaction, but I wish it were a more comfortable reaction for my benefit...I've come to dread coughs and sneezes for this reason. Very soon, I can cough and sneeze without fear, as soon, Peyton will be on the outside brightening up our lives with her smile.

I think I mentioned this about two weeks ago, but just in case my pregnant brain neglected to mention it, I do have a faint verticle line that some pregnant ladies get down the belly. Mine runs from my sternum to the belly button and I'm not quite sure why it's there. It wasn't there one day and then all of a sudden I woke up and there it was. I'm not sure the significance it holds and I heard it disappears once Peyton is born, but in any case, I have it. 

Now it is time that I go to bed for the night so that I am a pleasant person with the boys tomorrow. There was a lot of stuff that I wanted to get done today that will have to be postponed until another day as I spent most of the day in bed or in the bathroom. Oh well, not the end of the world, and I'm glad I got myself back up to a 'normal' healthy status! 

Thank you to everyone who has welcomed Peyton into this world with overwhelming love and care! I can't wait to show her all of your letters, gifts, smiles, and heartfelt sentiments! Thank you!

Got an update from my stepsister, Theresa, about something we had done last month. A boy battling cancer was putting out a request to get a birthday card from all 50 states and an email went out saying that his wish had come true. I got the following email from her: 

www.caringbridge.org/visit/coltons

I just wanted to give you an update...

For those who sent birthday cards to Colton-- thank you! He recieved a card from all 50 states!! And 12 countries!! The update said he and the family felt renewed and grateful! Way to show the love! :)

What a great way to show support to those who are facing difficulties. I'm glad everyone participated! Thank you to those of who who contributed to the hope this little boy deserves!