Christmas with the Huffs

I am sure we are all feeling it, but Christmas time (which starts the week before Thanksgiving) is sooooooooooooo busy! Why I don't I start back then and let you know what has been going on in our lives. I will give you headers, so you can find your spot again if it takes too long to read in one sitting - I am an organize freak!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a blast! We went to my mom's in the morning and had lots of yummy food. We even got a great picture of the four generations, who just happened to be color coordinated. And then still-preggo Crystal and I got belly shots, and my sis was home from being 27 states away! That evening we went to the Huffs and had dinner with the whole family. Both Jeremy and Jordan were in town, from Uganda for five months and BBC. Josh was really excited to have his brothers home. And my honey helped put up Christmas lights while Charis napped! Yea Christmas decorations!

Baby Shower
The day after Thanksgiving Talitha and I threw a "baby" shower for Crystal, which was actually a shower all about Crystal. The presents were for her, not Noah - pampering stuff, post-push-the-baby-out clothes, etc. All of her close friends gathered for a night of yummy food, manicures and pedicures and a time of celebrating our wonderful sister.

Cell Phone
So my cell phone made us sad this past month. Josh and I survive happily on 850 minutes a month, and joyfully accumulate any rollover minutes for future months if they aren't used. However, I knew I had been using it more since I started my new job. So after three months of work I decided to really look at my bill and see if I was going over each month and how many rollover minutes we had left. Well, surprise, surprise! I took a look at my bill to see that not only had I gone over each month, I had exhausted our 2000+ rollover minutes and I was now facing a bill of $750. So sad. Long story short - my boss helped out with a portion of the bill, we upped the plan to 2100 minutes a month and my boss will also be helping out with that each month. It did however mean that until the next billing cycle came around we couldn't move to this new plan, so I couldn't talk to any of you for weeks. All is fine now and I will be answering my phone if you call!

Noah

My adorable little nephew entered the world on Monday, December 3 at 10:01pm. I was standing at the door and heard both his first cry and Crystal's few moans of pain. (I heard a lot of laughter during the pushing process - give me what she had when Selah comes around!) He is beautiful and I think he is a perfect mixture of Jordan and Crys. Being only 7lbs. 10oz. and 19 inches he is a little thing and feels like nothing compared to Charis' 23 pounds. She says "Noah", but it doesn't sound anything like it, but she does say baby and has given him many kisses on his head. And Josh even had the joy of holding him when he was a few weeks and having him fill his little diaper in Josh's hand!

Christmas Walk / Christmas Sing / Choir Party

This year instead of a Christmas Concert at church we decided to take "our show on the road." So on Friday the 7th the small ensemble (us, Josh's parents and the Jacobys) went to 3rd Street in Geneva for the annual Christmas Walk. We wandered around caroling and handed out flyers for our Christmas Eve service. I really enjoyed myself, even though my toes were frozen by the end of the night (I even had three pairs of socks on!).

The following weekend the choir and ensemble went to some nursing homes to bring some Christmas cheer to the people that lived there. We had a warm reception and it was great to visit with the people there. I hope we take our concert out to people who don't hear the message of Christ more often in the years to come.

We finished up the evening at our Pastor's house for our choir party. Yummy food, good fellowship, what more can you ask for?

Staff Christmas Party

On Monday the 10th, we had the FVBC Staff Christmas Party. We didn't go to a restaurant this year, but instead gathered in one of the lady's homes. It was really nice and again, food was superb! And we did our Christmas gift exchange, which involves everyone taking a gift in a certain order and stealing gifts. Poor Josh was left with the "we gave a gift to this charitable organization in your name" gift. While it is a nice idea, I don't think it is exactly appropriate for this type of gift exchange. Even so, we had a great night.

(Anyone noticing how many times we have had to drop Charis at a sitter yet? Don't worry, it only gets worse.)

Youth Banquet

The youth banquet was last Friday and it was so much fun getting dressed up in our formal wear. Josh was busy playing some jazz / Charlie Brown's Christmas music all night, so I hung out with my girls. We had a great time and laughed a lot. For pics of us, click here and here. And for a snazzy shot of Josh and I, click here.

Most years the Youth Banquet takes 10 leaders 15 hours of prep each, but this year we went to ECC and had them take care of everything. It was so simple and their culinary students made really good food (don't you love this time of year?).

Work

Work has been really busy, but I have been doing a pretty good job of keeping it during the times that I need to. A lot of closings last week and a lot more this week, but it is good for us financially. Speaking of, we have paid off our big huge debt! Praise the Lord! So now we replenish our savings a bit and then we will tackle a much smaller debt, my car loan. Yea!

Brunette

I am now a brunette. And when I say brunette I mean I am a brunette like my sister Talitha. I have always wanted to try it and on Wednesday my hair guru and good friend Steph dyed my hair. I really love the color, but I am adjusting to having some dark tresses on my head instead of the blonde. And I am also adjusting to people completely shafting me when I walk by because they don't know who I am. And Josh is adjusting to people thinking he is cheating on me with another girl.

I don't have pictures now, but after this weekend I will put something up.

Wedding Festivites

Our long time friend, Anna Jacoby got married last night. It was a beautiful event. The reception was at Pheasant Run and everything was the best of the best. We wanted to stick around for dancing, but Josh was fighting a horrible cold and the main course wasn't served until 9:15pm (again, our poor daughter out so late!). The Jacoby's had asked Josh to play his trumpet during the processional, but a few days before the wedding they asked him to "take care of the music." Basically Josh played a zillion instruments and sang for various songs, and he did a great job. So we had two fun-filled busy nights that we were out and yet it was all worth it for Anna and Brian.

Selah

Selah is growing fine and is about 2lbs and 15 inches long. I am officially in my third trimester and am beginning to feel it. Last night I had to move to the couch in the middle of the night just because I couldn't get comfortable in the bed. She is a strong kicker, but Josh still says he hasn't felt her. How can you not feel something when I look at my belly and see a huge kick?

Charis

My little girl is so wonderful and is such a joy to have around. She has been such a trooper with all of our busyness this season. She has been having a great time with her grandparents. Here are some of the new things she is doing: Saying "Map!" when Dora asks, "Who do we ask for help when we don't know which way to go?", and putting up her arms in the "I don't know" way when we ask where someone or something is, and she even peed on the potty for the first time yesterday at Nana's! Ah, the simple and silly joys of being a parent.

Christmas Prep
With Christmas around the corner a lot of my time has been filled with much of the normal Christmas preparations. I have ordered and sent Christmas cards, made and delivered candy plates, bought and wrapped Christmas presents and planned for all the food I will be making and consuming over the next four days. However, I haven't taken the time to just sit down and reflect on what all this busyness is for. I had a great short-story book that tends to align my thinking that I haven't read yet. Please pray that I stop running around like Martha and start sitting like Mary.

What is to Come...

This weekend starts the kickoff of Christmas celebrations. I won't take away from future posts (haha - will there truly be future posts?), so I won't mention much here. Until then...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Josh, Moriah and Charis

(and Selah - check out that belly!)

Being a Keeper of the Home

I don't really have much going on in my life right now. It is the calm before the storm. However, I have been learning a lot. I don't really want to write a dissertation, so I will try to sum it up. In Women's Biblestudy we learned about being keeper's of our homes. I learned lot of reasons why I should be a keeper of the home, but here are some of my practical resolutions:

• Get up half an hour early to work or clean the house
• Stop working at 5pm to be with the family
• Plan my meals for the week on Monday
• Get a cleaning schedule together

Something else Josh and I have been talking about is me not working anymore. And strangely enough, I am the one struggling with it. On December 1st we will have finished paying off two HUGE debts that we have had for a while. So starting in the new year the income we were putting towards this huge payment we could now use to pay off other debt and save for a home. But we don't need to, and frankly, my "keeper of the home" duties and motherly responsibility has been falling be the wayside recently. I finish working satisfied, but stressed, and come to Josh and Charis who are wondering when dinner is going to even get started. I am totally disappointed in myself. What is my real priority? My family or some loan file?
We did decide that until Selah comes in March I have a good routine set up with Charis to keep working (as long as I work on my resolutions). But when Selah comes I am going to be done, or significantly cut back. Most of you would be jumping for joy to think that you never have to work again, but I am still getting there. (Why am I so messed up about these things?)
Anyway, that is what I have been learning... and needless to say I have a lot of work to do.

Check out Josh's Blog

He updated it with adorable pics and spoke the words that I have been feeling too.

http://thejewfirst.blogspot.com

Updated Family Pic

My Fall Poll

So, I want to take a poll. (Thanks Grace and Josh) Anyway, the following questions are about Fall and if you are reading this your required to answer at least one.

1. Among the four seasons, where does fall rate?
2. What is your favorite apple?
3. What is a tradition that you do during the fall?
4. Have you ever been in a Corn Maze?
5. Can turkeys drown by looking up into the rain?

These are my answers. I put them down here to let you contemplate your own first - I don't want to sway you to try and be as awesome as I am.

1. I like summer the best because of the sun and the stuff you can do outside. Spring next because it is beautiful to see the world come to life and I get to anticipate summer. Fall after that because it is so pretty with the leaves changing and there is nothing quite like putting on a sweater. Winter just sucks. Without Christmas it would be a waste.
2. I will only eat Granny Smiths. They are firm, not mealy, and tart. All other are gross. All warm apple desserts are "grosser than gross".
3. In the fall I go applepicking with my mom's side of the family. I will have to blog about that soon. And I make sure to always drive down Grandma's Lane or Route 31 when I have to go somewhere because the leaves are so beautiful.
4. Ever since BBC, I have tried to go every year and it is awesome! We went to the Jonamac Orchard this year and got freaked out because it was haunted. So much fun!
5. I know the answer, but I want to see what you guys think. (Why do I know this you ask? I had to put together a Thanksgiving Trivia Puzzle for the youth next week.) The answer will come "soon".

8 Years

So one of the most frustating things about getting married was that you had to start from zero in the "how long have you been married" questions. I mean the five years of dating is completely wiped out. (I am sure Kati can relate.) And now that it has been three+ years since we got married I have even begun to forget when our anniversary was - was it October 30th or the 31st?
Anyway, the other day I came home from a bridal shower when Josh had a gift for me sitting on our bed. He had gotton me a gift for the eight years that we have been together, married and otherwise. Wow! Eight Years! That is almost a third of my life! A third of my life I have been with Josh. It makes the previous life without him (and Christ) seem like such a long time ago - PRAISE THE LORD! I am so blessed.
What was the gift you may ask? Well, it was something I really wanted, but couldn't bring myself to buy because they were so expensive. A pair of Sketchers shoes. Yes, I am a loser. But my husband is so sweet. He remembered the exact pair, color and size.
But after eight years you would figure he would remember that kind of stuff.

FYI

Just so you guys know...

• I blog about every two weeks (when Crystal and T start freaking out).
• I check the comments you leave about once a week.
• I check my email every 3-4 days.
• I have not checked any of your blogs in at least a month.

So, besides that I am busy jerk of a friend, if you want to reach me, call me. And if I call you and ask about your life and you think I should know something, I won't, so humor me.

I believe one day I will be better about this. We can at least pray.

Love and miss you guys

~ Moriah

It's a Girl!

Yep, we are having another girl. We plan to name her Selah from the Psalms. I am glad Charis will have a sister, considering how much I appreciate Talitha. Let's just hope they get along better than we did growing up!

Californ-I-A!

Am I the only one who knows that Beach Boys song?

It has been more than a month since we went on our trip, so lets see how much I remember (while I am distracted with Dora in the background).

It started by flying into San Diego to go to Josh’s cousin’s (dad’s side) wedding. It was really nice and we had a great time with his family out there. I have an interesting story about how I met the bride, but I am not sure it is quite appropriate to post here – but make sure to ask me about it sometime. Don’t ask me why we didn’t get out our camera until we left here because it would have been nice to have more pictures of family.
While we were out there we got to see our friends from BBC, Matt and Christa. It was so great to see them. They are the kind of friends that we really easily reconnect with. We enjoyed dinner with them, spent the night (yes, the three of us), and went to church with them the next day. Their church is great – really solid and I learned some things about echtypal and archetypal knowledge (ask me about it). Josh even got to play bass b/c Matt leads worship. That afternoon we went to a wild animal park that is nearby. Check out the sweet pictures.

This is one plant - and a stork is standing on it.

Watching a bird show

The next day we hung out with Josh’s fam again and then left Monday morning for LA. We drove through downtown LA and into Beverly Hills and Belair (I was humming the Fresh Prince theme song the whole time). We also stopped at Grace (Johnnie Mac's church) where the Huff's used to attend. That night we stayed with some friend's of the Huff's and it was there that Charis took her first steps, real ones anyway. After our time in LA we drove the six hours up to Santa Cruz.
Okay, side note. I was horribly sick this whole trip. I puked multiple times everyday, including in the car, when I couldn't wait to get into a bathroom. I would start to mentally freakout everytime we had a drive ahead of us. So yeah, not so fun.

Silly time with mama in the car

Can you see Charis?

First steps

Santa Cruz was great! We walked the pier, played in the ocean and ate good seafood. We even found a donut place called Ferrell's Donut House. I was so excited that I made us stop and get a donut. (Yeah, that sat well in my system while we drove another couple hours.)

Charis LOVED the ocean!


We finally made it to San Francisco, to Toni's mom's house. She has such an interesting place. It is decorated Japanese like, and they have a shower with a picture window (imagine the wall that keeps the outside out being a huge window - floor to ceiling. She said "it's like you are showering outside." I look out and I see the neighbor's window - no joke.) We spent time with Toni's family and I got to meet people whom I have never met before.
On Thursday we went to downtown San Francisco. We got to see Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. I ate Clam Chowder in a sourdough breadbowl while sitting on San Francisco Bay. We got Charis some little Alcatraz (I started to type Azkaban) pajamas that look like prison clothes. The streets were amazing and you can only imagine what they did to my system. We got to go on Lombard street though, which was an ... experience.

At night we stayed with Toni's dad. They were so nice and it was great to stay in one place for a couple nights. We even got to go in their hottub each night - ahhhh! And they have a whole flock, herd, gaggle? of hummingbirds. It was amazing! On Friday we celebrated Yom Kippur with them and the rest of the family. It was very yummy.
And we got to head up to Napa Valley ~ Wine Country! We went to the Mondavi vineyard and had some amazing wine. In fact, I found my all time favorite wine. It is sweet, but actually has a wine aftertaste, not the koolaid aftertaste that comes with most sweet wines. Anyway, we couldn't tour the place because of Charis, but we had fun walking around anyway.

So we had a fun and busy trip to Cali. Not exactly a vacation where we rest, but I am glad we did it. Until next time!

Random: I was surprised how hilly and brown everything is - definitely not that pretty, but then again I didn't get that far north.

Her First Birthday

Yes. I am finally going to post pictures and tell you about her birthday.

The actual day of we were at my cousin's wedding, so she had fun with grandpa and grandma. (I was only kinda sad that I wasn't with her - not that she remembers. And I knew they would shower her with love on her special day.)

We had her little shindig on Labor Day. I meant it to be simple and informal, with just immediate family, but because it was Labor Day the extended clan was over. I didn't mind that at all, but I didn't want them to feel they had to bring gifts. They did anyway. It just shows how the family loves everyone of us, even as we get more and more removed. (BTW, does anyone understand the whole great-aunt, cousin-once-removed, 2nd-cousin thing?) Charis had so many gifts and frankly she wasn't quite into them. While I am proud she has learned to be content with one toy for a while, it made it difficult to keep the gift opening going when she wasn't really paying attention.


Then we tried the cake. We set it up outside, but the mesquitos were HORRIBLE, so after two minutes we were back inside. Charis was not interested in her cake. This was her first real taste of processed sugar and she didn't want it. Grant it, the frosting was really sweet. She wouldn't play in it either. (See we taught her so well - "don't play with your food," "you don't need sugar," "be content with the toy you have"...) She eventually ate a little cake, but it wasn't the glorious and messy feast that I was hoping for.

All in all, it was fun yet stressful day. I will leave you with some pictures of her enjoying the cake batter I prepared earlier that day. (At least she kinda likes sugar!)

Puking and Lab Tests

I had my monthly doctor's appointment this past week and I lost another three pounds. Not a big deal in my mind, but it has been accompanied with puking. So my doctor made me go to the lab to get blood work to check my thyroid and she gave me a perscription for my nausea. I don't see what the big deal is. With Charis I think I lost 15 pounds in the first trimester, but I guess I wasn't throwing up. I don't get it.

Sometimes pregnancy sucks...

... but I have been feeling the baby move.

Check out Josh's Blog

You will see a fabulous update!

http://thejewfirst.blogspot.com/

Packing

So we leave for California in 39 hours and I haven't begun packing. That is pretty frightening for me. Especially now that Charis has been added to the list. And not only that, she doesn't just need clothes and toiletries. She needs her whole world to move with us to California. I mean how many of you bring your bed, lunch chair, eating utensils and all your food with you when you go on a vacation? Not many I would guess. I am just glad the airlines let you bring 3 items each. But realize that since Charis is not paying (but sitting on our laps for 4 hours!) she does not get to bring 3 items. I estimate the 6 items Josh and I have will be 1 car seat, 1 pack and play, 1 stroller and 3 pieces of luggage (I hope to pack her booster seat and fan - HA!). This would all be fine if we owned 3 pieces of BIG luggage. But no, we have the big, medium and small, which isn't "just right". (Yes, I am thinking of Goldilocks and the three bears.)
Oh and speaking of flying... I asked the doctor how I can knock out my child on this trip. He told me unoffcially that Benedryl sometimes works. He then qualified it by saying, check it first, because some kids gets wired. Yeah, Charis gets wired. Well, at least I am glad we tried it out before we got on a plane with an off the wall, non-walking, but wanting to be moving toddler.
So anyway, I need to pack. Yeah, I am going to wait until tomorrow.

Dunkin Donuts

I am not sure if I get cravings, but I have definitely been wanting some Dunkin Donuts recently, more specifically a white long john and a boston cream. So good. Josh got it for me about a month ago. He walked in to wake me up from my afternoon nap to some yummy donuts. It was wonderful... and I have been wanting it again.
Jordan and Crys sometimes get them Sunday mornings, and I almost called them to pick me up some. Too bad that they didn't even go that morning. Then Sunday afternoon Josh said he would go get me some. I was so excited. I went to my nap anticipating yummy donuts when I woke up and felt 100% okay with not sharing with my bible study girls who would be there when I woke up. 4:30 rolled around and I happily bounded out of my bed looking for the blessed orange and pink bag... but I didn't see it. I looked at Josh and asked him if he was able to run out and he said that they were out of my donuts!

I was seriously, seriously bummed.

And today was jammed packed with a quick run to the doctor to look at a TB shot and then up to Algonquin for a petting zoo with Em and her girls. But I squeezed in my Dunkin Donut run. It was wonderful and if any of you want to get me some more I will happily take them!

My Baby Turned One...

...and I can't find the camera cord. As soon as I do you will see some adorable and hilarious pics. Hey, can someone tell me how to post a movie?

My Schedule

I think it is only fitting for you all to understand my daily / weekly schedule, so maybe you will understand why I have not only not posted in forever, but why I no longer check my email or your blogs. (Ignore my double-negatives.)

I start my day between 7:30 and 8:00. This is the time I do my devotions. It is much needed and I have been VERY lax recently. But I am back in it now.

Between 8:30 and 10:00 I get both Charis and I fed, dressed and bathed (not in that order). And I try to pick up the house.

By 10:00 I tend to have something going. It is either errands, Women's Bible Study or a wonderful walk with Jan Stern through our incredibly mosquito infested neighborhood. If I am miraculously at home I try to wash dishes, vacuum Charis's leftover macaroni off the floor or fold laundry as quick as I can before Charis "helps" mama... unfold it.

Charis wants to say hi:
``````````gafdsxdb ny xcta kl pk jm,

12:30 is lunch time for Charis, so I get her fed and let her play while I eat. Then we hang out until nap time at 2:00.

Once she is asleep I go to work - in the second bedroom / office - PRAISE THE LORD! This lasts until 4:30 if I have a lot to do. If I don't I try to take a nap, a much needed 1st trimester of pregnancy nap.

4:30 hits and Charis needs another meal. By the time this is done Josh is home and we have started our evening. Sometimes we are out, at church or my parents, or sometimes we have his family over. Something is always going on.

Charis goes to sleep at 9:30 and I am in bed by 10:00, again I blame Colby. And yes, I get almost 10 hours of sleep each night.


So I will admit that there is lots of time that I could blog, but it just gets away from me. And as you can see from above, Charis wants to say hello to you all too, thereby making it even harder to pull a computer out. I do have more time with this job. But it is more time with Charis, and not really more time for my self. NOT THAT I AM COMPLAINING!

I hope that gives you a glimmer into my life. It isn't exciting, but I love it and amidst the "mommyness" of it all I feel very blessed. Love you all and will talk to you soon!

So Much to Say

I have so much to say and update on, so instead of doing in it one long post that will surely be delayed another week, I will write in quick little spurts. So enjoy.

And Crystal stop harassing me! : )

Baby Girl

She has such a sweet face

Look at those baby blues!

Exploring mama's "bottle"

Wrestling with daddy... not my neck...

...it tickles too much!

Josh and I have been trying to figure out a mystery. We come into a room and find Cheerios everywhere. Each time this happens we try to find the caper, but to no avail. One day we set up a hidden camera to try to catch this bandit... unfortunately the images were inconclusive.

Once we catch this little mess-maker we will let you know!

Finally Back

I am finally back to update about everything...

Dad is doing great. He had his other surgery on Tuesday and was sent home on Wednesday. He has been lounging and going a little stir-crazy. He already went on a five-mile bike ride, but I do think he is taking it easy. He started working from home today, so you can definitely pray that the typical stress that comes with his job will lessen.

This past weekend I had my seven 9th grade girls from my biblestudy spend the night. We had a great time. In September we will be having our annual Film Festival, so we made a movie to submit. It was parody of the Chronicles of Narnia, making fun of the animals that weren't invited to the battle - including a worm, duck and an extra, extra "fluffy" lamb. It was hilarious.

Pregnancy is going fine. I have learned to manage the morning sickness, Praise the Lord! It was really beginning to take over my life. I think my due date has changed again - March 20, because I am not on a strict 28 day cycle. (Don't worry guys, I will leave it at that.) I have no idea when this kid will pop out, so I am just saying I am due mid-March.

The job is really fun, but I can't wait until I am all set to work at home. I am still waiting on my computer and fax to get all the kinks out, but I figure by the end of the week I will be set.

That's about it. Sorry it took so long to get back on here, but work has been keeping me busy. I promise to update again soon.

Dad's Heart

Josh and I were woken today by a phone call from Talitha telling us my dad had a heart attack. First of all, he is doing fine. Mom and he were at the hospital when it happened and he immediately went in for surgery. They put a stint in and he is now recovering. He will be here a couple days, have another procedure to deal some other artories and then go home.
If you know my dad, you know his reaction. He is frustrated. He exercises and eats better than all of us. I mean he started having chest pains while he was on his daily 10+ mile bike ride to the train station. He is a warrior... a lion, and does not like to be wounded or weak. But aside from that he is recovering well.
I am at the hospital right now and will check in again later. But please keep our family in your prayers.

Colby's Debut is on March 13

So I found out that Colby is due on my sister Talitha's birthday, and it is only fitting that Talitha help me figure that out. Sometimes I wonder if I have a brain. If you are a boy and don't want to read a story about my ordeal with dates and the female "inner clock" then I suggest you stop now. For the rest of you, here is the story. (Grace GGG Meter I would say a 2.)

My first period after a glorious year and half off was May 1st. So I was expecting my next one on June 1st (yea Kati!). It did not come. Looking back I don't remember when it did come, but I did remember that it was 37 days in between them. So I did the math in my head and got June 17th. (Yeah, I know.) But something didn't feel right about it. We left for summer camp on the 18th and I didn't remember having my period then. And we found out we were expecting on July 14th (yea Tobi!), so that felt really early for June 17th, but not out of the picture. Then all my evil morning sickness symptoms seemed to come early. Even with all of these things I couldn't put my finger on it, so I just told the doctor June 17th and they said I was due March 25th ( Mom's birthday).
Well, after my appointment today - which is a story in itself, that you will get later - I called Talitha to discuss. I told her my due date and then expressed my confusion about it. It was only then that I realized my simple adding problems. Yes, I know, June 6th, not June 17th. Everything makes more sense. I am 9 weeks along and Colby is due March 13th - thank you Talitha.

...Maybe I should have done math in my senior year... but then again, how much is Calculus going to help with figuring out your due date?

New Job and Morning Sickness

Today was my first day at my new job, and I was so excited! I walked in and he essentially said, "Can you send this out?", which means prep the file to go to the investor/underwriter. (Not sure if that clarification made it any better for you.) I kinda looked at him funny, thinking I don't know your software, I don't know the state of this file, I don't know where any of your forms are, etc. But then I did it! It was very satisfying.
After that I insisted on a little more training, more like self-training though. I started hunting around the office for the stuff I knew I would need to process files. The only way this job is going to work is if I we both are VERY organized. No problem for me and I will get him there.
I guess nothing I did today was very exciting or impressive. It was the feeling I got doing all that unexciting, unimpressive stuff - THIS IS WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING! I am not meant to watch other people's children. I am meant to sit in a cubicle, stare at a computer and play with paper. And it is glorious!

On a sadder note, my morning sickness sucks... no actually, it blows. It seems to be worse this pregnancy than with Charis. With her I would be nauseous until around 11am and then it would be fine. This time I am throwing up, feeling completely drained all the time and even nauseous all day long. It is a sad thing. I just hope it ends with my first trimester, like Charis. Otherwise I am going to give Colby a timeout (I don't think spankings will be quite effective yet.)

OH! AND TODAY IS MY HONEY'S BIRTHDAY! He is 26 and not dead and I am glad because I like him! I am so blessed to have Josh as my hubby. He takes care of me when I am lazysick all the time and loves Charis so much. It is so beautiful to watch. So happy birthday honey! I am so glad that I get to spend my life with you!

1-2-3 GO!

Such an amazing picture. I want to know where this place is at!

(Bonus points to the person who can tell me what movie my title is from....
Hint: "Uh-uh. Not this man's pinto.")

Number 2

Can you see what she is holding... or more like what she insisted on chewing on? (Yeah, I know it is really disgusting, but at least the cap is on.) So number 2 is on the way.
We found out a few weeks ago. I am due at the end of March and I am not sure how far along I am. Some places say 6 weeks. But if that is the case we found out before you are even able to find out, so I don't get it. My first doctor's appointment is next week, so I will let you all know.
As you have read in my previous posts, I was not very excited about having another child. God has graciously been changing my heart. I am not jumping for joy or wanting to talk about Number 2 every waking moment, but I have accepted it. The prospect of getting out of my job has helped immensely. (Are things all beginning to fit together?)
Here's an interesting story for you... Josh and I weren't going to tell anyone about this until either his birthday next week or Charis' next month. (Don't you see how my excitement was bursting?) But last week Josh's boss Doug out of the middle of nowhere asked him if I was pregnant. Josh was stunned and tried to avoid the question while figuring out how he found out. Doug proceeded to tell Josh that a woman who used to attend the church mentioned it while his family was getting their hair cut. Doug questioned her whether that was right and if she meant my sis Crystal, but she was adamant. We eventually figured out that the person who told her had mixed up Crystal and I and this rumor was beginning to get around.
So Josh called me with this news on Tuesday while I am in bible study with my girls, one being Doug's daughter, who also heard this rumor. I am freaking out and immediately rush Whitney into the other room to tell her to keep quiet. But when I come back the girls are all looking at me questioningly, so I tell them. Then that night we told the family and it has been slowly getting out since then.
But this is my official announcement to my blogging family. I am pregnant with Number 2, "Colby", which actually has no correlation to the names we have chosen. You know and I will continue to keep you updated.

I don't know about this!

Don't worry, these pictures were taken weeks ago

and this... applicator... has long been thrown away.

Charis Girl

This girl is growing up so fast. I mean doesn't she look more like a toddler than a baby? Kinda sad. But I love her baby blues!
Charis changes each day. She recently cut her top three teeth and just today I saw she cut another one on the bottom. She was clapping yesterday. Charis is fully proficient at waving hello and goodbye to anyone and everyone. She even says "hi" - or at least has the same inflection as we all do. She says "mama" and the other day said "dada."
Charis pretty much runs when you hold both hands and is getting pretty stable when you only hold one hand. In fact the other day she took a couple steps before she fell into my arms. I don't know if that counts as first steps, but since both Josh and I were watching it we might take it as such.
She eats like a horse and loves pasta and meat. All in all she is growing up really well. Hope that brings you all up to speed. Enjoy some updated pictures...

She loves her Care Bear

Baby Genius
(actually mommy is the genius)

Doesn't she look so old?

The Huff clan with Jordan and Crys before Jeremy left for Uganda
(and that's Jordan's girlfriends Jana - I love her and I hope they get married!)