First Thanksgiving

Hurray for our first Thanksgiving with the sweetest little blessing from the Lord. Trey and I stayed in Canton for Thanksgiving for a number of reasons, but one main reason was to celebrate our first Thanksgiving as our tiny little family. I am so glad we chose to do this. The few days Trey had off turned into such a restful, joyful time for us. We all got sick, too, which made me doubly thankful we didn't travel! Sickness aside, though, it was a wonderful time. Some of the highlights include watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Trey and Kate while I worked on our Thanksgiving meal, eating Thanksgiving dinner with Trey on our china, and napping the day away with my loves. We all got dressed for our Thanksgiving meal, but the rest of the day was spent in pajamas. It was delightful! Here are a couple pics of Kate on Thanksgiving day.

Another highlight for our Thanksgiving holiday was taking Kate out to our horse, Pasquale. She and I sat in the warm car most of the time, watching Trey ride and enjoying the heat. But she did get on the horse with dad for a little while, and she rather enjoyed it!

Have You Ever?

Have you ever had one of those moments where you just sit there, taking in your life and trying to comprehend some of the blessings in it? The other night, Trey and I were snuggling on the couch getting ready to watch a movie. Kate was fast asleep in her crib. While we sat there waiting for the laptop to boot up, Trey scrolled through his phone looking at all the pics we have of Kate. As I watched him do this, my heart swelled with love for this man I have chosen to journey through life with. He is my best friend. How am I so blessed that I would have such a man of godliness and integrity to be my life partner? Then I thought about the fact that we have a child in the other room. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. This beautiful baby girl, sleeping deeply all snuggled up in her crib, is our daughter. I had to get up, walk in her room, and just stare at her for a while.

Ouchy

That is a word I've thought a lot lately. Last Thursday, in spite of my many desperate attempts to postpone or cancel, Trey took me to Baylor to have my tonsils removed. Overall, I would say my recovery hasn't been nearly as bad as some of the horror stories I've heard. I think it's also been put in perspective because I had a baby earlier this year...nothing compares to that pain and recovery! But it definitely hasn't felt good, either! I'm currently laying here with cold packs on my throat, enjoying some downtime while my baby girl is sleeping.

We have had some wonderful help with Kate over the past week, and we really couldn't have done this without the help from friends and family. Trey's mom stayed with us through Sunday, then his sister Lee helped me Monday and Tuesday. My friend Cammi came out yesterday, and a lady from church helped last Sunday night. It's funny how much this wipes you of energy. I told Trey I only have energy for one big task a day...and it takes me forever. Of course, Kate is a big task in and of herself, but with the help, I've been able to manage. Today has been my first day without help at all. And I am already tired :) With that being said, I'm going to close my eyes for a little while longer while baby girl sleeps. Perhaps a more interesting post will come later, my friends! But I wanted to take this moment to say a big THANK YOU to all friends and famliy for your help, and for those who couldn't be here, for your encouragement and prayers! ...and your excellent advice, Natalie Pippin :)

G is for Galaxies

If you're wondering what this is all about, visit here to start at the beginning!

G: G is for Galaxies, 10/29/11

This past Saturday night, after putting Kate to bed, we ventured out for our G date. It was my turn to plan, and I went with G is for "galaxies," or "star-gazing." I found the Astronomical Society of East Texas online, and they happened to have a Star Party this past Saturday. Astronomy societies have star parties all over so that they can get the public involved in astronomy and allow them the opportunity to see what it's like to view the skies up-close and personal.

The great thing about this date is that it was free...or, at least it was intended to be free. After leaving our house with Kate all snug in her bed, we both decided we had the munchies, so we drove through McDonald's. Hey, that's what dates are for, right? We headed to Tyler, which is about 45 minutes away, and arrived at the Tyler Junior College about 9PM. We walked right up and the first thing we got to see was Jupiter. They had their telescopes already set up, and we could just walk up and take a look. Jupiter was very clear, and we could see the rings around the planet as well as its four moons in orbit. It looked something like this, except we no color.
We also got to see the Andromeda Galaxy, which was more like a little blur since it's so far away. So cool, though, to imagine what it must be like. And even cooler to know that my God created all this.

Unfortunately there was too much light pollution (yes, that's what it's really called) to be able to see much else, but we did get some lessons on the constellations and different stars. We also talked with the guys about coming to Canton sometime so we could invite our friends, and they are going to come! I absolutely cannot wait. I love astronomy, and it is really dark out here so we should be able to see a whole lot!

It was fun to take a little jaunt out and do something we've never done before together.