Crosby Thanksgiving and Christmas

David and I usually spend our Thanksgiving with his family (and always have a wonderful time!), but this year plans changed.  We found out that Howie's family was going to be in Delaware (visiting Hannah's family) during the week of Thanksgiving, and Alenna's family decided to join us in NJ so they would be close enough to meet Howie's new son, Gavin.  When Dad found out that 3 of his "kids" were going to be in one area, he and Gene decided to drive up from NC. 



Dad and Gene.

This was the first time I'd ever hosted a Thanksgiving, so I was a bit overwhelmed that so many people were attending!  But Alenna offered to help me with the entire meal, so it turned out to be nowhere near as stressful as I had envisioned.  The guys helped out too by frying the turkey out in our garage.  Everything turned out great, and we all enjoyed the company and the food!


Dad and Howie "supervising" the frying turkey.

Our delicious dinner!

Dan and David... relaxing after our big meal.



Howie didn't get too far with carrying this heavy load!

 

Howie, Hannah, Ellie and Gavin

 

Sophie was tired after our long day... so Cora laid down to keep her company!



Dan, Alenna, Aiden, Seth and Cora

We knew that we wouldn't all be together again this year, so we decided to get together on Saturday morning to give gifts to the kids and celebrate Christmas together.  The kids were told that they would get to open gifts from youngest to oldest, and I assumed that Gavin would have the first turn.  But then Hannah told me that our baby had gifts too!

David opening a gift for our baby.



Me with Seth and Aiden.

Ellie opening one of her gifts.

  

Aiden with one of his gifts.

 

Cora shows off a Christmas dress that David and I gave to her.

It's been 10 years since I was with my father, sister and brother for Thanksgiving, and it was wonderful to be together for a few days last week.  Now that I've hosted my first Thanksgiving, I won't be intimidated if my family joins us again.  In fact, I hope we don't let another 10 years go by before we do it again!

30 Weeks and A Haircut

Hard to believe that we're at 30 weeks today!  The last 15 weeks have flown by, just like everyone said they would.  Things have been going well, and I'm really enjoying this pregnancy.  I haven't taken on any water weight yet (that I can tell) so the typical 3rd trimester complaint isn't an issue, and for the most part I'm able to sleep. 

While I'm settling into this new role as a mother (as best I can, since it still seems very surreal!), I decided to take on a mom haircut.  And, I've got to admit, the additional 10 minutes each morning does make a huge difference!  I'm not completely sure that this is the style I want to stick with, but for the time being it's working out well.

Baby Shower

This previous weekend I had my first baby shower, hosted by my sister, Alenna, and one of my best friends, Carla (with help from my cousin, Kim, and friend, Launa).  I thought it was a great event, and I really appreciated the time that I got to chat with many friends.  The attendees included 7 family members, 2 high school friends, 3 previous co-workers, 2 ladies that I met through the church I attended while growing up, 1 friend from college and 1 friend that I originally met while at camp as a teenager!  Quite the mixture of friendships, and I felt loved by the overwhelming excitement and joy for this new child.

Thank you to everyone who attended!  I appreciated having you there!

Preparations

David and I began taking birthing classes with a local, independent teacher at the end of September, and we are both enjoying it. But, much more important than our enjoyable experience, we are learning a lot! Our instructor, Morgan, has been teaching this class for over 10 years, yet it is still obvious to see her passion for a natural birth process. It is encouraging to hear someone talk about childbirth in such a positive way, instead of with the anxiety and trepidation that many in our culture associate it with.