Jeff and Irene arrived Monday evening and we had a great week planned. All the cousins were going to be together for the first time in over a year! We all celebrated a snowy valentine's day and the kids had special cupcakes with red frosting. We had alot of fun hanging out at our house the whole week, playing with toys, football- wrestle- tackle, and in the freshly fallen snow! It was sooo cold out, but all the kids got outside one morning for a sledding run down our icy driveway. Friday night, we dropped all the kids at my gym and had an adult dinner out at Ricetta's resturant. The food was wonderful, and we laughed and talked baby names. Saturday, Amy, Irene, and I went to get a relaxing pedicure, and little did we know that Trevor and Breanna would come down with a violent stomach flu that afternoon (I don't think they'll ever eat mac and cheese again!). For the next few days everyone else got sick except Jeff, Lily and I. What a terrible way to end a trip! I'm sure this week is something we won't forget for a long time.

February is here and It's superbowl weekend! We are finally in the deep freeze of winter. 6 weeks to go until the due date! We have just been sticking close to home on weekends and it seems that we are finally in the deep freeze of winter. I even got my scrapbooking closet and room finished :) The kids have enjoyed sledding down our icy driveway (even though Breanna hates the cold!) But their number one favorite acitivity has been playing "football-wrestle-tackle" with daddy in the evenings. It sure gets all the energy out. In the coming weeks we are going to start getting everything out and ready for the baby--then maybe it will hit us that we are going to be a family of 5 very soon! We are really looking forward to Jeff and Irene's visit from Germany in a few weeks when all the cousins are going to be together for the first time in over a year!!!

Shirley T. Prager January 23,1924-January 12,2007

You will always be in our hearts.

A copy of this poem (old and yellowed) was found on Nanny's bulletin board, this is how she would want to be remembered for it was the giving to others that gave her the most joy.

To Remember Me--A Poem by Robert N. Test

by Robert N. Test, American Poet
Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby's face, or love in the eyes of a woman.
Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain.
Give my blood to the teenager who was pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play.
Give my kidneys to one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week.
Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk.
If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weaknesses, and all prejudice against my fellow man.
Give my sins to the devil.
Give my soul to God.
If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I will live forever.

Happy 2007! I can't believe it's January 6th and 65 degrees here in Maine. Here Trevor and Josh were outside in t-shirts playing soccer! With a little more than 10 weeks to go we are all getting anxious to get ready for our new arrival. Josh has been diligently working on setting up his new entertainment system, while I've been trying to "find" all the baby stuff I need, and look for a new dresser. And--with consumer reports just coming out with their new infant car seat ratings--we have to get a different seat than planned (we needed a new/safer seat anyway) I hope 2007 is treating everyone well-Thanks for reading!

Yesterday we got our first real snow that stuck, and the kids (and I ) couldn't wait to get the sleds out! I wanted to take them sledding so bad before I got too big.

Here is a picture of me yesterday at 28 1/2 weeks. I've got a little basketball forming! Things looked great at my last OB appointment a few weeks ago. And even with all the great holiday food, I've gained exactly the same amount of weight so far that I did with Breanna at this point. I'll post my 19 week ultrasound photo soon, since I got a new scanner for Christmas!

Every year just gets better and better. Every year that the kids get older and more aware of the holidays and what they mean, the happier I am, and the more thankful I am to just have them around me for the holidays. I'm so content with my own little family., it's so exciting to discover fun new traditions every year.

Christmas eve, we went to church early in the day b/c it was a Sunday at my brother's church. It was a very small crowd and a nice service. Then afterwards we grabbed some lunch and headed home. We lounged around all afternoon and then got some take out in the evening. I had the scariest feeling that when Josh and Trevor went to pick it up that they would get into a car accident or something and never be home for Christmas. I couldn't imagine my life without them, what it would be like to not have them here for one more Christmas. I was eternally grateful when they walked through that door. After dinner the kids opened up their new PJ's and books for the night. Then Trevor went to spread his reindeer food on the lawn and had to sprinke some on every rock outside. It was so cute. Breanna went to bed straight after books, but Trevor stayed up to watch the Polar Express. After the movie, TRevor set out some milk and cookies for Santa and ran up to bed, I think he fell asleep in no less than one second.

Christmas morning we took very slow. We opened each and every gift one at a time, put it together and played with it for a little while. I think it made the kids a little more thankful for the things they got instead of just tearing into a pile of presents. We didn't finish opening until around 1 pm. We had my favorite Christmas breakfast that I had always had as a kid--Eggs, grits, ans cinnamon rolls. Yummy! Trevor's favorite gifts were a lego set-Star Wars X-wing fighter, a spiderman dress up suit and a Buzz Lightyear space ship. Breanna loved her stuffed dog and set of wooden blocks. My favorite gift that I gave was a DVD to DH of pics of him and the kids together over the years. We both sat and watched it and bawled our eyes out. It meant so much to him.

After we were done, we packed up and headed up to my parents for dinner and then to spend the night. We had a really nice dinner together, and besides the kids being totally overdone, it was a nice time. WE watched a movie and Breanna fell asleep on the floor next to the dog.

As I look back on this last year and forward to the next, I wonder what my life will be like next Christmas--even more magical I suppose. I'm just so thankful for getting to spend one more Christmas with the most important people to me. With the coming of the next year, I'm anxiously awaiting this new arrival--Will I be able to handle 3 kids? My resoultion will have to be to let more things go--my house will never be perfectly clean, and my kids memories will not be perfectly scrapbooked all the time. I will take tons of pictures, and vow to do the best I can in all that I do. I want my kids to know who I am, and how much I love them. If I accomplish that, I have succeded at being the best mom I can be. Happy new Year all! Thanks for reading!

Last weekend was a blast of Christmas Fun! We took the kids on a train ride to see Santa on Saturday (Breanna wanted nothing to do with Santa this year but Trevor was thrilled). Then Sunday we had our 4th annual Christmas dinner with the Day family. We had a delicious pot-roast dinner complete with Whisky sours (which I had to pass on this year). The kids had a blast playing and opening presents. It is so nice to have such great friends. We'll defiantely be sure to continue that tradition for many years to come. Breanna has now taken off "talking" and is very verbal even though we can't always understand her. Her favorite words are "doggie, duckie, and yucky". I've now rounded the bend into my third trimester and all the aches and pains it brings. I'm getting anxious for the end of this pregnancy to be here. Unfortunatley, Trevor has become sick with a bad cold in his chest over the past few days. I don't think anything is more stressful around the holidays than a sick child! I hope he can make his preschool Christmas party tommorrow. For the actual Holiday weekend we are just going to be hanging out at home mostly, and I'm looking forward to this much needed lounging around time. Merry Christmas- and Thanks for reading!!

Welcome to our blog--It's about time we got in on this! Christmas season is in full swing! We are all having a great time being kids! We made several gingerbread houses, decorated our tree, and put up our outdoor lights. Today we had a great time at Sam's second Birthday party and tommorrow we take Trevor to his first symphony concert for the magic of Christmas. In preparation for baby #3, last weekend we finally took the dive and bought a minivan--Yes, never say never! It is a Toyota Sienna and will suit our family from now for a long time to come. We got our first "real" snow of the season the other day-Totally unforcast of course! Trevor loves to go sledding and have snowball fights.