Seven Weeks to go!

I just realized that I put the picture of Claire, Mary Evelyn, and I up twice. OOps! Oh well, we're cute enough to be seen two times. It was great getting to see them at the shower, though we didn't really get to talk that much. We'll have to get in some quality time before the baby arrives.
I cannot believe that we have 7 weeks until the due date! It's crazy to think that I'm going to be a mommy that soon. Brian and I have been trying to guess whether the baby will arrive before or after the due date (March 22). We're just playing around, of course, cause we have no clue! Baby Chisholm will get here in God's perfect timing, no sooner, no later. That's so wonderful to know.
Like I said in my last post, the baby is moving like CRAZY! He/she is getting bigger and is letting me know it too! I'm really going to miss being able to feel him/her moving inside me! That has been such a joy and a comfort for me. It's been something that no one else can experience, not even Brian. And it's been so special! :)
Brian has talked to the Fores (they are the people we stay with in Rison who have taken us under their wing and have really helped and loved us) a couple times this week about houses and renting and all that stuff. We should know something about renting a house from the church maybe next week, and we're still thinking and praying and waiting on buying a house. There is one house that has been stuck in our heads that we looked at. It is a big house and would be an awesome place for a family, but it needs a good bit of updating and renovationing. Still, it's where I've been kinda picturing us in the future, you know? But please be praying that God will give us His wisdom and that He will make it very clear to us what we should do and what we should not do.
I'll be on the coast this weekend for another shower and it's going to be fun! It's going to be all family. All my crazy aunts and cousins are invited, so it should be an event. And Brian's aunts are coming too. My grandma is hosting it at her church and she has been so excited about it!
I have been planning to leave tomorrow to go to Madison so I can ride with my parents and sister down, but the weather is supposed to be bad, so I may leave Friday morning instead. I'm praying that we will have a safe trip. I just hope the weather doesn't get too bad and prevent me from going.

I had my first baby shower this weekend in Madison. My mom hosted it at her house and it was wonderful! She did such a good job. We had yummy food and punch and a precious Winnie the Pooh cake. She made the cute centerpiece out of diapers and put up the crib so we could presents in it. The green chair and the little white and green rocker were presents from my parents. They recovered them both for us. The rocker was mine when I was tiny and my sister, Elizabeth, has one too. They surprised us with it right before the shower. We love them both!!!! And I know Baby Chisholm will love his/her rocker. My mom also planned cute games for the shower like guessing different kinds of baby food and guessing the number of candies in a baby bottle. We had a great turnout and everybody was so sweet and fun and generous. We have been so blessed by the many people who love us and who have given us so much love, support, and blessings. We received the cutest stuff! Lots of Winnie the Pooh themed items, which I was so excited about! And tons of blankets and precious outfits for the baby! I had a great time! And I know that everybody else did too. Way to go Nana!!! You're already an excellent grandparent!

Brian and I got back to town Sunday night and we have a busy week ahead. This next weekend I'll be going to the coast for another shower and poor Brian will be home all alone. He'll have Lucy girl though.

We start our childbirth class next Monday and I'm really excited! The baby has been moving like CRAZY and I can kinda tell the difference between arms and legs and stuff. I have been getting uncomfortable at night. God is preparing me for operating on less rest, and I am thankful for that, even though it's not all that fun.

More updates to come.

Christmas 2006--Our First Christmas!

Here are some of our Christmas pictures. We spent the weekend on the coast and then came home for Christmas Day. We brought the presents from Brian's side of the family home with us so that we would have more presents to open Christmas day and it was so much fun! Brian gave me the pj's I have on. He got a hat from his sister and didn't take it off all day. He loves it! Lucy got a ton of toys and treats. She liked thatmonkey! Brian smoked a turkey breast and I cooked a bunch of stuff--green bean casserole, stuffing, cherry cobbler, and bread. It was really good and we had tons of leftovers. The day was good, but it felt weird for both of us because it was the first Christmas ever that we weren't with our families. I guess that's part of being married and growing up. Lots of change! And in a couple months there will be even more changes! Praise God that He's in charge of it all and that he's with us through everything! God has truly been providing everything that we need when we need it! God is GOOD!

I realized before I posted this that I haven't mentioned our dog Lucy!!! You'll see her in a few pictures. I am ashamed for not mentioning her! She is the best dog ever! We've had her for about 6 months or so. She just wandered up one day in June and we kept her. (She didn't have any tags, so we couldn't find her owners.) She is so sweet and affectionate! She of course loves Brian the most, but she loves me too. We're excited to see what she is like with the baby. I know that she's gonna be great with Baby Chisholm! She'll protect him or her like crazy.

Belly Pictures!!!

Ok, so these pictures are really really out of order. I'm still trying to figure this thing out. The one where I'm standing in the kitchen with the black shirt on was taken at about 17 weeks. At this point I thought my tummy was getting big. Ha! Little did I know. The one of me in an orange shirt and red pants (that's a cute outfit huh) was taken at 20 weeks and there's a little bit of difference in that and the 17 week one, but not much. All of the others were taken today, January 4 ,and I'm about 29 weeks now. BIG difference!!!! There's no need to lift up my shirt now to see the belly. I Love it!!! It's funny, because I feel so normal that sometimes I forget I have this huge belly there. So, there are some belly pics finally! We've been really bad about taking pictures, these are the only ones we have. I'm sure that once the baby gets here our camera won't leave our hands much. Especially since lot sof people will be relying on this blog to be able to see Baby Chisholm. And now we have a scanner to put stuff on here more often. Still, if I get lazy about it please fuss at me!