Videos Captured By Uncle Jared

Uncle Jared spent Thanksgiving with us this year.  It was a real treat to have him visit over the holiday.  We never have a chance to head home for Thanksgiving because the break isn't long enough, so we usually celebrate here with dear friends.  This year we were able to celebrate with friends and family and it made Thanksgiving extra special.

Evelyn had a field day with Uncle Jared.  She was only too happy to get him up first thing in the morning and to run him ragged.  We went on walks, watched movies, played with Uncle Jared's phone (and any other piece of technology Evelyn could get her hands on), cooked, baked, danced and laughed.

Here are just two of the videos Jared captured from the weekend together.  The first is a video of Evelyn singing several songs on a platform she found in the middle of our walk.  The "stage" was just her size and apparently beckoned her to sing aloud for all who would listen.  The second video is of Evelyn coloring with Joe and telling Uncle Jared what she wants for Christmas.  Her second answer is priceless.  We think it's really code for "Mom and Dad, I want a backyard!"

Advent Is A Time Of Waiting...

This Advent we not only wait in eager anticipation for the birth of Christ but we also wait for the birth of our second child (who was due yesterday).  We've prepared our home and hearts for Jesus' birth and readied ourselves for the newest addition to our family and still we wait.  We know God has a plan, now we (I) just need to be patient enough to wait for its unveiling.

I'll admit, in the last week I've done everything to keep myself from going crazy.  As the contractions come and go, so too do the waves of hopefulness and frustration wash in and out.  

Lighting the first candle- for hope, on the Advent wreath was easy this year.  I had nothing but hope in my heart as I looked ahead to the coming weeks; my Christmas shopping and many tasks on my to-do list (getting a Christmas tree, wrapping presents, cleaning the house and mailing gifts etc.) were already finished, in anticipation of our new baby's arrival.  I even had hopes that because I was so prepared, the baby would surely be early.  

Our tree all decorated

Santa hats I knit for Evelyn and the new baby

The second candle- for peace, was slightly more difficult to light.  I hit week 39 in my pregnancy and the hope I felt one week earlier disappeared.  Although, I knew my heart should be filled with peace, I was instead agitated and annoyed.  I should have been thankful that my baby was content to stay tucked away but I was almost bitter about it, thinking that the second time around he/she would come much sooner than Evelyn did.  I came down with a bad head cold at the beginning of the week and my spirit was anything but peaceful.  Thankfully, my superstar husband and daughter carried me through the most challenging parts of the week.  As we entered the weekend and the Third Sunday of Advent, I had embraced some peaceful thoughts about the state of my pregnancy.

39 weeks

My superstars

We lit the third candle on Sunday night.  The third candle is pink and represents joy.  Yesterday, was my due date (40 weeks).  It was a day filled with joy and peace.  Evelyn and I baked cookies, read Christmas stories and colored all day long.  It was a precious day full of amazing memories that brought me so much joy.  Watching Evelyn's eyes light up as the cookies baked in the oven or the pure joy that exuded from her little body when we read The Polar Express for the very first time was enough to fill my heart with joy and to set me straight.  

Cupcake jammies must be worn when baking Christmas cookies

The final purple candle won't be lit until next Sunday, but it represents love and I'm certain there will be an abundance of it in our household as we welcome a new child into our lives.  I'm thankful to God that my final weeks of pregnancy coincided so beautifully with the season of Advent.  We wish you a very blessed Advent and a Christmas filled with love and family.