Our Christmas Cards

So, I am a little behind this year in getting my Christmas cards out. I have been meaning for 2 weeks to get to Wal-Mart and get them made. I did, finally, get on the website and decided to go ahead and do it over the internet. I must say, I really like doing it that way. I didn't have to wait for the machine to open up, I seem to always get there when there's a mad rush for the only 2 machines they have. I can just go to the counter back by the cameras and pick them up and leave, what better way to do business at Wal-Mart? I'm not planning on turning into a hermit anyday soon, but I am liking more and more the idea of internet shopping!

Here are a few of the pictures that didn't make the Christmas card.

This would have been the one, except for the painful cry look on Haven's face. He's really not choking her.

This one almost made the cut.

A little secret, we put a movie on the tv behind us so we could at least get them both to stand still and look in the direction of the camera.

18 months

This month Haven is 18 months. It's hard to believe that much time has passed since we brought her home with us. I have a slide show on my computer with pictures of my family and in those pictures are ones from the hospital. I look at those and at her now and it's amazing how much she has changed and grown.

Our Precious Haven,
18 wonderful things about you:
1. You love babies and animals - especially ducks (where did this love affair with ducks come from?)
2. You love your brother
3. You and Jadon will hold hands and run through the house together laughing the entire time - what joy that brings to our hearts
4. You don't run, you prance with arms flailing about (picture Phoebe on Friends)
5. Your laughter is contagious
6. Your smile has one cute little dimple in your cheek
7. You are either very free with kisses or very stingy, never in between
8. Your favorite movie is Happy Feet, I think you just like to look at the penguins on the box
9. Before you can go to bed you have to have your blankie, butterfly blanket and your pillows (there's barely enough room for you in your bed)
10. You are very good at picking up your toys when asked
11. You want to do everything Jadon does
12. When you're ready to eat I will find you have climbed your highchair and you sitting on the tray trying to slide down into your seat
13. You have just started talking so much, some of your words - duck, pupu (puppy), ya (yes), ilk (milk), ink (drink)
14. You also have down pretty good the animals and their sounds
15. You are a care-giver, you don't want to see people hurt or upset you will try to comfort them with kisses, hugs and a pat on the back
16. You and daddy have your own version of the slide dance that you both break into quite often together
17. You are an early riser like your daddy
18. You are a princess and a beautiful princess at that!

We are so blessed with our Haven and we love you dearly,

Mommy and Daddy

Thirteen Reasons I Have To Be Thankful

Okay, so I am taking this off of a friend's blog, Erin. Lately I've been thinking of all the reasons I have to be thankful, the things God has brought me through and how I've been blessed by Him. Thirteen doesn't even come close to the many things I could list, but I wanted to start here.

1. The fact that I have been saved by the blood of Jesus.

2. I am so thankful for the family God placed me in that had me in church growing up and instilled in me the things of the Lord.

3. I am thankful for my wonderful man, he has it all - loves the Lord above all else; loves me and shows it in many different ways; loving, fun daddy; and a mighty handsome guy to boot!

4. Karis, the Lord has taught me so much through her precious, but short life.

5. Jadon, his tender heart and boyishness is very refreshing. He reminds me so much of his Daddy.

6. Haven, she is definately a princess and already a compassionate girl, she hates to see anyone cry or upset.

7. Jude, I can't wait to see how his life will impact others around him.

8. Wonderful in-laws who love me like a daughter and for Mema who watches my two children while I go to work.

9. I am thankful for Pizza Wednesdays, Pappa Murphy's delight means a night of no cooking for me.

10. I am thankful that I finally get to be pregnant in the winter, cool days instead of steamy, hot days.

11. I am thankful that my loving, thoughtful husband takes care of the kids on Saturday mornings and lets me sleep in.

12. I am thankful that we finally got a free standing Chick-fil-a this year.

13. I am thankful that I live in a place where I can experience all 4 seasons. I love the changes in weather and the beauty that each season brings.

I've Been Tagged

Erin tagged me!

Here are the rules:Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share 7 random/weird facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, include links to their blogs. Let each person know by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I love anything to do with Cinderella and plan to pass my collection down to my daughter when she's old enough.

2. Since November of 2002 I have been pregnant for 37 out of the 61 months, and still counting.

3. I love collecting candlesticks from other countries, so far I have collected from 5 countries.

4. I am very, and I mean very, frightened of ticks, I will cry hysterically if I get one on me.

5. I have a secret crush on Bing Crosby, I could listen to him sing all day long and those blue eyes. My husband does know about the crush.

6. I love the smell of rain and when it is storming outside I love sitting and watching it. When I was living at home my dad and I would sit out on the front porch and watch the lightening and listen to the thunder. I find them very relaxing.

7. I love my Friday mornings when the kids will wake up and come join me in bed for a few minutes. That's our lazy Friday, we stay in jammies and lounge around all morning and we eat whatever we want for breakfast.

I don't know who's been tagged and I don't have 7 people to tag... but I tag...

Donna

Costume Carnival

We took Jadon and Haven to their first Costume Carnival at the church this year. It was also the first Costume Carnival at the church. We first went by and saw Uncle BJ, Aunt Karla & Mema & Pappy, after the Carnival we went to Great Gram's and saw Nana & Papa.

Jadon played every game there was and Haven, well, she hung around the duck pond. She honestly preferred to just take home the duck, but the nice lady kept giving her candy (which thrilled Daddy because he got her candy.) I think if she could have put the duck in her princess bucket she would have. They did truly enjoy themselves and it was fun chasing after them and watching them interact with their friends who were also dressed up.

Jadon was a train conductor and when we introduced him to a man in our church who is a train conductor this is how the interaction went: "Jadon this is Ed he drives big trains." Jadon's response, "I can drive big trains too." Not too impressed with an actual man that drives an actual train.Haven was our pink leopard. It was the cutest thing I could find that was also warm. She didn't seem the least bit fazed by anything that went on. She followed Jadon's lead very well.

Jadon and Gavin, Gavin was the black spiderman.

At Great Gram's we met up with cousins on my side of the family, Noah & Adrian, and got to have pictures.

Who says cats and dogs don't get along? Probably helps when the dog isn't real.

Their mom is phenominal, every year she makes their costumes. I definately think they are the best dressed! The boy is a pirate and the girl is a gypsy. You can't see very well, but her costume is very ornate.

Haven and Her Food

The love story continues between Haven and her food. There was a couple of weeks in there that I thought maybe her appetite had come down to a little girl size, but no it is still the size of a grown man's.

The issue was she wanted to feed herself. So, I've handed over the spoon and she is now the feeder of her mouth. My mom jokes that when we were little she did not let us feed ourselves until we were old enough to say, "mom let me feed myself". She was afraid of messes. I do believe she did that although I don't remember actually having said that to her.

Haven makes messes, but she also loves food enough that 90% of it makes it into her mouth. I've been very impressed with her food shoveling skills. How she stays so petite with her man-atite I have no idea, so for now Mommy and Daddy will be her full button.

One great thing for Mommy having Haven feed herself is my mornings are so much calmer. I can get up and get Jadon & Haven's food together (or actually Daddy gets Haven's food together, they're both early risers unlike me and Jadon) and they eat while I eat or clean up around the house or the list can go on. I feel freedom, at least for a few more months. Then I will again have another mouth to feed.

Warning: Mom you may not want to look! Haven's gone from this to a spoon in just a few short months.

Under 100

I am now under 100 days to the birth of Jude Ezra. I am really praying that he decides to come a few days early, as long as he's ready. The pregnancy is going really well and Jude is an active little guy, thank you Lord for that. I have, however, been having braxton hicks for the past couple of weeks. I never remember feeling them before with any of the others.

I will be taking the lovely gestational diabetes test this month. I hate the stuff you have to drink, it's suppose to taste like orange soda. I really hate orange soda to begin with and this tastes even worse than orange soda. I don't know what my wonderful doctor was thinking, but when I was putting the appointment on the calendar I realized that he had scheduled the gd test for the day after Thanksgiving. I quickly called and rescheduled, I really don't want to be tested the day after I indulged in all that good food, let alone be weighed.

I am again thankful for a pregnancy that is going well and for a baby that loves to move. I just wanted to update on our little Jude. Maybe we'll have more ultrasound pictures to post later on.

Pumpkin Patch

Our first annual (hopefully) trip to the pumpkin patch. We all ran through the haybale maze, ran through the pumpkin patch and Jadon picked out a small pumpkin to take home and paint and Haven patted a dog. It didn't take Jadon long to figure out the maze and Haven had to use a little help from Daddy, but she did a really good job getting through it.

The lady that worked there loved Jadon and Haven. Jadon informed her that the pumpkin he picked was his favorite and then gave it a big hug. Going back to Haven petting a dog, this is a big deal. She loves animals as long as there is something between her and them or they are on tv. If they get too close to her she starts screaming. We thought we were going to have to get a dog to help her get over her fear. The first thing she saw when we got out of the car was the dog and behold she ran over to it. We were a little shocked and even more so when she reached out to pet it. The dog was so good and just layed there.

Jadon got to take his pumpkin home and paint it that night. Next year Haven will get to pick out a pumpkin to decorate. She still puts way too much things in her mouth to be given paint. We had a great family day and hopefully going to the pumpkin patch will turn into a Wallace tradition. I'm all about traditions in the Wallace household.

Haven petting the dog, still amazed she went near it.

Jadon going through the maze and then when he made it through. Haven and Daddy going through the maze.

Jadon working very diligently on his pumpkin and the finished project.

Jadon's Birthday Party

Jadon's Thomas the Train birthday party was last weekend. He had such a blast. He still at night during prayer time thanking God for his birthday and his birthday party. Here's Jadon enjoying his party:

Gavin got a remote control snake for his birthday and had to get one for Jadon. Gavin brought his to the party so he and Jadon could play with them together. Gavin has gotten so tall lately.

Here is the track Jadon got for his birthday. The trains are battery powered and he will turn them on and lay in the floor and watch them.

3 Years Old!

Jadon,

Happy 3rd Birthday! You are growing up so fast and turning into a smart, handsome, polite young boy. Your daddy and mommy are so proud of you. You are learning already the importance of reading your Bible and saying prayers. You have a daddy that models that so well for you. I love the questions you are beginning to ask, "Where is God?" and "Can God see me?"

You have started learning the role of being a big brother and love your sister so much. You have started talking about how you will hold baby Jude when he comes so he will not cry. I have all confidence that you will be able to calm Jude when he cries. You on most days do a great job of sharing and playing with Haven. You are always on the lookout for things she should not do or things that might hurt her.

You know exactly what to say or do to make us laugh. The way you dance to the witty things you say to the reasonings of a 3 year old. You bring joy to our lives. Your love of trains, planes and trucks makes for lively car trips, as you call out all the trucks (by their correct names) that go by or any plane that might be flying over. You love bubble baths. You love animals, especially snakes (you are your daddy's son). You love to sleep without your clothes. You change so much everyday, I wish I could stop time for a moment and really be able to take in all the things you do.

You are loved by your Nana & Papa, Mema & Pappy, Aunt Mal, Uncle Matt, Aunt Lindsay & Gavin, Uncle Doug, Aunt Wendy, Lucas, Bailey, Micah & Ruthie, Auntie Karla, Uncle BJ & Great Gram. You are blessed with a big family that loves you and prays for you.

Our prayers on this day is that you would continue to grow in knowledge of God, knowledge that would one day turn into a relationship, and continue to grow into a caring, loving, strong young boy and man.

Love,

Your Mommy

Trains & Babies

This weekend Nana took us to Toys R Us. We looked for Jadon's birthday present and a costume for Jadon and Haven for the church costume party. We ended up bypassing the Halloween costumes and looked over in the dress up area and found the perfect thing for Jadon. He is so into trains right now, well, trains and airplanes. Through searching and looking we finally found it - a conductor's uniform. It is perfect! I think he has worn in everyday since we got it. We even wore it to go grocery shopping at Wal-Mart.

I never thought I would be a mom that let my children wear costumes or shorts and cowboy boots or anthing that didn't match, into a public store. Well, when you become a mom you quickly realize that this is not a battle worth fighting. He's hopefully learning to be his own person and not be swayed by what others around him think. If this small act can help in that direction then he can wear his conductor's uniform or put his boots on with his shorts and even wear his bicycle helmet to the mall with Mema.


We do vow, however, to not let him leave the house in just his Incredibles boxers (that he got from Lucas) and a tank top. Now matter how much he asks! That is not appropriate any way you look at it.

Not to leave Miss Haven out, she too got a costume. A cute pink leopard kitty cat costume. She also came away with a baby bottle so she may start feeding her babies.

This is the baby's last feeding of the day before her and Haven go to bed.

Bubble Baths

Haven got to experience her first bubble bath. She didn't quite know what to think of the bubbles and kept trying to wipe them off at first. Eventually she got into it and had fun splashing around and trying to eat them. I honestly think she feels as though she has not fully experienced things until she has tasted them. Everything, and I mean everything goes into her mouth. Jadon caught a frog at Mema's and held it up for her to see. What did she try to do - she opened up her mouth! Thankfully for the quick hands of Mema. I really hope she grows out of this stage.

Back to bubble baths. Here are pictures of Haven's first bubble bath. They have bath toys, but their favorite things to play with are cups.

This is the closest, so far, I've come to getting them both looking at the camera. Now, work on the smile.

Silver Dollar City

Or as my husband fondly refers to it, Steal Your Dollar City. However, this is one of Jadon's favorite places to go. Jadon loves to ride all the rides and has never been scared of any of them. Haven enjoys trying to run off and give me a heart attack. Thankfully we get season passes for Christmas from Mema.

I always love going down and seeing the beautiful decorations, especially for fall and Christmas. Christmas is the only time I get Todd to go down with us, the rest of the year I'm thankful for grandma's and Aunt Mal who will brave the crowds with us. Here are pictures of our fun filled day. Very disappointing about this trip was that I did not get to ride the rides with Jadon. Everything was prohibited if you were pregnant. So, Mema had to fill in for me.

I don't know why I keep trying to get that perfect picture of them both looking at the camera and smiling. I just know one of these days I'm going to capture it that elusive picture. Still, looking at the camera or not they're stinking cute!

This is one of Jadon's favorite rides because he's tall enough to ride by himself. He's giving props to his mamma.

Hard to see him, but he and Mema are in the 2nd to last cart. Unless your young and agile, this ride is not to fun on the ole neck and back.

Haven did a lot of running, and usually from me.

While eating we also caught a show, this is the Guinness Book of World Records tallest palomino trick horse. Quite impressive in person.

Haven smelling the flowers and holding her teddy bear Jadon won for her. I was so proud of him, he won and prize and picked a bear to give to Haven. Of course, he got another chance because of his kindness and he won himself a puppy, seen below.

7 Years!

On Sunday, October 7 was mine and Todd's 7th Wedding Anniversary. The day I married the greatest man and my best friend.

Puggles

No, this is not an entry about dogs. The Puggles I'm talking about is the new program in Awana and refers to a baby platypus. Our church is in it's 3rd year in the Awana program. And this is the first year that it really excites me. Since they added this new club, Puggles, Jadon is now old enough to go. Last Wednesday was his first night as a Puggles, or as he calls it, Piggles. I was the overly nerdy mom there taking pictures of my son with his first name badge, first time with his new teacher in the opening and playing games with other kids now getting to enjoy Puggles.

Here are pictures of Jadon at his first Puggles meeting. By the way he loved it and came home talking about everything they discussed in class. He can't wait to go back, every day he asks me if it is time to go to Puggles.

Jadon with his teacher and my big red bag in the background. I think when Jude comes I may just carry him in it.

His first craft, a picture of the clouds.