Babies Don't Keep

This photo was taken on New Year's Eve just minutes before midnight. It's my last photo of the decade. It's amazing what God has accomplished in my life over the past 10 years! Michael and I rang in the last decade together (we had been dating only about 6 months; we were young, thin, beautiful, energetic... and not nearly as fulfilled or blessed as we are today!). I couldn't help but stand in awe of God's faithfulness as Michael and I welcomed yet another new decade together. I'm confident this will be the best decade of my life... the one I'll cherish and treasure in my heart above all others. I'll get to watch my babies grow. My prayer is that I won't allow myself to get too busy or distracted & miss it. I'm trying to hand over to God my endless preoccupation with keeping up appearances in my home and even in myself. I want my focus to be my family and my relationship with God, and I want that to be reflected in how I spend my time. So if you visit me in the next decade and my house is a mess, we'll know that God's keeping His promises! In preparation for this new baby getting ready to make her debut in just a few weeks, I thought I'd share one of my favorite poems:

Song for a Third Child

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

Facebook Status Updates 2009

• Hannah is eating for ONE... for the first time since 2004! (Thu, 01 Jan 2009)
• Hannah is not motivated to go to bed when Michael is out of town... been doing the zombie tv/computer thing since the kids went down. I would be useless single. (Fri, 09 Jan 2009)
• Hannah is praising God that a heart has been found for Baby Reed!!! Please pray for his surgery tonight! (Mon, 19 Jan 2009)
• Hannah doesn't know how people raise kids in cold climates... one unusually cold day stuck inside & my kids have about torn the house down to the studs!! (Thu, 22 Jan 2009)
• Hannah is very sad that only 3 days in, Obama is living up to my fears. Join me in praying that he will have a change of heart and show compassion to the unborn. (Sat, 24 Jan 2009)
• Hannah is providing a status report that is not about ice storms or snow days... supposed to be close to 80 here tomorrow! (Tue, 27 Jan 2009)
• Hannah went to a nonOB doc today & is on antibiotics for the first time in over 6 years... thanks to all of Wesley's little preschool pals for being such good sharers. (Wed, 11 Mar 2009)
• Hannah thinks it's cool that her best friend from college had her baby today on her best friend from high school's birthday! (Thu, 12 Mar 2009
• Hannah just ordered a $91.00 roll of aluminum foil for my personal use. (Sun, 15 Mar 2009)
• Hannah is officially sick and tired of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (thank you, Wesley), yet never tires of Johnny Depp yelling, "MUMBLER!" (Wed, 18 Mar 2009)
• Tonight is the LAST night of my life that I can say I've never spent a night away from my kids - San Diego, here we come!!! (Sat, 28 Mar 2009)
• Hannah has survived two whole nights away from her kids... I'm extremely well-rested, but low on snugglies!! (Mon, 30 Mar 2009)
• Hannah finally let Wesley try gum (Granddaddy gave him a piece a few months ago and he swallowed it) this morning because he’s been begging for it at church… simply because Mr. Brad comes around with a trash can at the beginning of children’s worship and has all the kids spit out their gum (and he makes it fun). Wes was feeling left out, so this morning I gave him a piece of gum at the beginning of church. When I picked Wesley up from children’s worship, I asked Brad if Wesley spit out his gum. Brad grinned and said, “with PRIDE!” (Sun, 12 Apr 2009)
• Hannah is tickled that Anna Kate keeps saying, “Facebook,” asking to hear the Facebook song on the computer (Search “Facebook Song” on YouTube). She sings along with it! “Faceboooooooo-ooooook, I’m hooooked, on Facebook!”
• Nothing like attempting to sound professional with toddlers underfoot. This afternoon I actually asked one of my managers if he would wait a second while I got Anna Kate out of her crib... it went downhill from there. (Wed, 15 Apr 2009)
• Hannah just realized that Wesley thought Michael was role-playing when he visited his class. Wes brought me a card his class made for Michael and I asked if they made it to say thank you to Daddy for visiting his class. He said, "yeah, for when Daddy came and pretended to be a bug guy.” (Thu, 16 Apr 2009)
• Daddy is SO busted.... he's watching the kids all by himself this weekend while I'm in Birmingham, and my friend just posted pics of my kids at Chuck E Cheese tonight and Anna Kate has a boo-boo smack in the middle of her face! NO mention was made of a boo-boo when we talked on the phone tonight! (Sat, 25 Apr 2009)
• Hannah is getting ready to board her plane home! Can't wait to see my babies and the WORLD'S best husband!!! (And he's not even on FB to read this, so I'm not going for brownie points... just stating the facts!) (Mon, 27 Apr 2009)
• Hannah can't stop tearing up at EVERYTHING I watch on TV. It's seriously like I'm pregnant... minus an actual baby in my tummy. (Fri, 08 May 2009)
• Hannah Anna Kate pooped in the tub today. I had just lifted Wes out of the tub because he had to go potty (on the toilet, thank you very much). Turned around to put Wes back in the tub and AK was holding a log... and it wasn't made of wood. (Thu, 14 May 2009)
• Hannah Michael was on the news again tonight... this glamorous life of being married to a citrus celebrity. ;o) (Thu, 14 May 2009)
• Hannah got her tushie whooped in Wii bowling by her 3-year-old repeatedly today! His high score was 149 with absolutely no assistance from anyone! (Mon, 25 May 2009)
• Nothing like getting back from an 8-hour road trip at 11 p.m., taking 30 minutes to bathe kids and put them to bed, and then working until 2 a.m... at least I can check FB while I fax! (Tue, 26 May 2009)
• Hannah just turned all of her son's underoos pink! (Thu, 28 May 2009)
• Wesley crawling into bed with me this morning while Michael in shower+Mom leaving oceanfront door open to hear waves+Wes asleep under covers+Michael finding Wes missing=frantic search of beach complete with cops, emergency vehicles & water rescue. (Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:24:02 GMT)
• Hannah is in the homeland. Slept in, walked with Mom, went out to lunch, took a nap with Anna Kate, took Wesley to VBS and got to see lots of friends at church... forget the beach, now THIS is vacation!!! (Thu, 18 Jun 2009)
• Hannah spent all day Tues. making AK's b-day invitations - today 5 of the 14 came back marked 78 cents postage due each. What?? For a tiny notecard size invitation with a ribbon?! Called 6 local bakeries until I found one with a Teletubbies cake kit. Spent the morning getting everyone dressed and out the door to go pick up the cake kit and take it to a different (cheaper) bakery only to discover that the chick doesn’t know her Teletubbies from her Backyardigans. Back to square one. (Thu, 02 Jul 2009)
• Hanging balloons and streamers until 1 in the morning... do we love this kiddo or WHAT?? (Fri, 10 Jul 2009)
• Answered prayers are groovy! (Wed, 15 Jul 2009)
• Hannah has chigger bites.... Seriously??? Haven't had chigger bites since the 4th grade! The kids are bite-free. They have considerably less to munch, I guess. (Sat, 18 Jul 2009)
• Hannah is HOME!! Wesley walked around the house hugging things when we got in late last night. Wish I could enjoy this "home" business for longer than 5 days... but it's go to Sanibel Island with Michael for his conference or be a single parent for another 4 days! (Tue, 21 Jul 2009)
• Wesley: Mommy, what's this? Me: a clothespin. Wesley (figuring out how to work it): Look, Mommy, it's a close-pin AND and an open-pin! (Sat, 25 Jul 2009)
• Hannah Me to Wes: Okay, you can have an Oreo, but just because we're at the beach house... that's not a healthy breakfast like we eat at home. Wesley: (after taking a minute to ponder this) “Mommy, breakfast is for houses & treats are for beach houses.” (Tue, 28 Jul 2009)
• So Doctor Langley is predicting a girl (going by heartbeat). He's got a 1-2 track record with us though... he predicted both Wesley and Anna Kate would be a boy. This baby's heartbeat is on the fast side of the spectrum. (Thu, 30 Jul 2009)
• Hannah woke up not feeling great today and the kids are RELENTLESS. They always act out when they know they're not getting my full attention. Fighting, dragging around stools to get into cabinets, crying for fudge rounds and ice cream, taking turns to make sure I’m on my feet at all times! (Wed, 05 Aug 2009)
• Wesley is suddenly enthralled by the "Here Come the ABCs" DVD I bought him over a year ago. It never lasted in the DVD player more than 5 minutes back then. He probably watched it 6 times yesterday (hey, don't judge... I told you yesterday wasn't my greatest day!) He woke up today asking for it. He's working hard at memorizing all the words to the songs. His favorite song: C is for Conifer. (Thu, 06 Aug 2009)
• Wesley is perplexed as to why the Jumparounds suddenly changed their name the The Fresh Beat Band... and they think kids won't notice this stuff! (Tue, 11 Aug 2009)
• Hannah just went through security in like 5 seconds... no stroller, no carseat, no toddlers to wrangle. And everything I need for the entire trip is packed in 1 tiny bag. I'm trip'n! (Wed, 12 Aug 2009)
• Hannah Just got back from a super-fun business trip and I'm ready to throw my boy a party!! I think I get as excited about my kids' birthday parties as they do! (Sat, 15 Aug 2009)
• HELLO, hurricane season! (Mon, 17 Aug 2009)
• Hannah just did the official school supplies shopping trip. I had no idea that supplies were actually cheaper during back-to-school. 70 cents for 12 washable markers at Walmart rocks my socks off! I bought washable markers last spring for over $3! I usually try to avoid the crowded seasonal aisles, but if I'd known everything was so cheap, I would have elbowed my way in there sooner! (Fri, 21 Aug 2009)
• Many thanks to the singles ministry crew that hosted the parents' night out tonight! Not only did you guys keep all of the children alive, they actually had FUN and didn't want to come home! We appreciate your servant hearts... thank you for being a blessing! (Sat, 22 Aug 2009)
• Did anyone else just see Jack Black doing pirouettes in orange spandex on Yo Gabba Gabba?? (Sun, 23 Aug 2009)
• What's that eerily strange sound?? Oh yeah, it's the sound of quiet. Methinks I've heard this sound before... the memory is buried somewhere under 4 years of NOISE!!! (Tue, 25 Aug 2009)
• Last month heartbeat sounded like a girl... today heartbeat sounded like a boy. We find out Thursday! (Fri, 28 Aug 2009)
• Hannah just watched the shuttle launch!!! SO much cooler than I expected! Our neighborhood has a lot of trees so we drove out of the neighborhood and down the road to where we could see the horizon. Could immediately see the shuttle on the horizon at launch and watched it all 8 1/2 minutes until it got into orbit. Now it just looks like a tiny star in the sky. (Sat, 29 Aug 2009)
• Oh peanut butter oreos, what have you done to me??? I used to be such a sensible person. (Wed, 02 Sep 2009)
• Hannah ran out of peanut butter oreos so I'm sitting on the couch with my kids' giant bucket of animal crackers and a can of frosting. (Thu, 03 Sep 2009)
• Wesley: "I'm gonna have another sister and I'm gonna name her Anna Kate AGAIN!" (Thu, 03 Sep 2009)
• Loving on the Griffies twins this weekend. That makes two 1-year-olds, one 2-year-old, and a 4-year-old in our house. All four just had their morning poop... I just changed 3 poopie diapers and wiped the big kid for good measure. That's a lot of tushies!! (Sat, 05 Sep 2009)
• Happy 09-09-09!!! To celebrate, me & the kids locked ourselves out of the house this morning while loading up to take Wes to school... before I grabbed my diaper bag with my keys and cell phone. good times. Hope Michael enjoyed his 1.5 hour round-trip drive home and back (only an hour after arriving at work the first time) to let us in! (Wed, 09 Sep 2009)
• Helping Wesley make a card for his little friend Kendall's birthday party tonight. Me: Tell me what you want Kendall's card to say and I'll write it. Wes: I want it to say, "Dear Wesley, thank you for the play-doh factory, thank you for the dinosaur book, thank you for the markers, and thank you for the colored pencils." Not sure we have the right concept here... (Fri, 11 Sep 2009)
• Sitting here feeling this baby girl groove. It feels funny because my freshest memories of feeling a baby in my tummy are of 3rd trimester kicks... they don't have room to do much else but kick at that point! I forgot how it feels when they still have room to groove... she's going from one side to another and twirling all around. It's like she's doing water aerobics in there! (Mon, 14 Sep 2009)
• Survivor starts tonight and I had spaghetti for breakfast. (Thu, 17 Sep 2009)
• Hannah walked out to put letters in the mailbox this morning & saw the most beautiful, brightly-colored bird perched delicately on the side-view mirror of my car. Had deep thoughts about God cheering me up (I've had a bad couple of days). When I left an hour later to pick Wesley up from school, there was a massive drippy mess of bird poop all over my car. Actually made me smile more. God has a sense of humor. (Wed, 23 Sep 2009)
• Hannah Anna Kate went pee-pee in the potty for the first time last night!! She's already gone again today. She has sat on the potty probably 50 times before this and you can tell she was trying really hard, but nada... not a drop. She finally figured out how to "turn it on." She was so excited when pee-pee finally came out! She immediately wanted to try again but then yelled, "It's not working!!" (Wed, 30 Sep 2009)
• Tonight is Anna Kate's last night in the nursery... tomorrow we move her into her big girl room. This means I have to wean her from being rocked to sleep cold turkey. I know it's way overdue, but I've enjoyed those rockings. Say a little prayer for both of us tomorrow! (Mon, 05 Oct 2009)
• Major excitement over seeing her crib with new bedding in her new room... then big tears and cries of, "I don't wanna sleep in here!" when she realized there was no rocking chair in her new digs. Pitiful cry when I left the room, but it only lasted a minute. And no escape attempts! Fast asleep within 10 minutes. (Tue, 06 Oct 2009)
• Arrrrgh. Neighbor kid Cody starting to go from annoyance to major concern. He's a few years older than Wes and the only kid around, and my social butterfly adores him. He was just teaching Wesley how to ask for beer. He's quite the educational experience. Never met his family and can't keep him from hanging around our place. (Thu, 08 Oct 2009)
• This heat is MISERABLE. It's stink'n October, people! And it's been this way since May. Can't even remember what a cool day feels like. The next person that posts about gorgeous fall weather is in serious danger of being de-friended. I'm just say’n. (Fri, 09 Oct 2009)
• Hannah Wesley quote of the day: "Mommy, my germs smell like french fries." He wasn't eating french fries, and we weren't talking about germs... just another random deep thought by Wesley Rogers. (Tue, 13 Oct 2009)
• Over a week ago our sprinkler system went haywire & I had to shut off the water to the house until Michael could come home and fix it. So we didn't have water for a few hours and the kids were both perplexed. For over a week now, EVERY SINGLE time I turn on a faucet, AK exclaims, "It's working!!!" with absolute glee. The wonder still hasn't worn off. Indoor plumbing... it never gets old! (Fri, 16 Oct 2009)
• The hospital where I will deliver just announced that due to swine flu, effective Wednesday, no children will be allowed in patient rooms. This includes mother and baby rooms, and the new rule applies to siblings as well. So as of now, Wesley and Anna Kate will not get to meet their new baby sister in the hospital. I'm very sad and hoping that the rule gets overthrown by January! (Tue, 20 Oct 2009)
• Hannah got a little too excited during the 48 hours of coolish weather we had this weekend and planned cold-weather meals for the whole week... nothing like a pregnant chic sweating into her bowl of chili on a hot evening! (Fri, 23 Oct 2009)
• Hannah Toot and Puddle must be loaded. (Sun, 25 Oct 2009)
• Hannah Getting ready to head to Beth's ultrasound appointment to find out if I'm getting a future son-in-law or another future daughter-in-law! (Tue, 27 Oct 2009)
• Hannah just got a call from Michael: "I'm-gonna-be-home-late-can't-talk-the-lab's-on-fire-hope-to-still-be-home-in-time-for-you-to-go-to-your-thingy-tonight-love-you-bye." ...just another day in the life of a scientist's wife. (Thu, 29 Oct 2009)
• Hannah is a trick-or-treat drop-out. Record high heat, mosquitoes, pregnant belly and swollen ankles... I made it one and a half blocks. Daddy's on his own tonight! Poor Anna Kate is going to be eaten alive - the little vampires like her as much as they do me. (Sat, 31 Oct 2009)
• Hannah has had dreams my entire life that a tooth/teeth are loose or falling out. So this morning Wesley says, "Mommy, my dream last night was that my tooth fell out." So is this a common dream or am I passing my mutant dreaming genes on to a new generation?? (Tue, 03 Nov 2009)
• Hannah just cannot get sleepy. It's 1:30 a.m. and I still don't want to go to bed. Not unusual for me when I'm not pregnant, but this hasn't happened in a long time! My tummy is getting big enough that a flat mattress is not my friend. Tired, but dread the discomfort! (Mon, 09 Nov 2009)
• Hannah was just standing at the sink scrubbing dishes & Anna Kate started throwing toys. I looked at her sternly and said, "Anna Kate, no, no messes." She looked right back at me and said, "Mommy, no, no scrapbooking!" Whoa, this girl knows how to go straight for the jugular with her momma! (Mon, 09 Nov 2009)
• Hannah just told Wesley, "Guess what?? We're leaving for Grandma's house in just TEN DAYS!" Wesley's immediate response: "But Mom, I want to leave for Grandma's house in just ONE MINUTE!" (Wed, 11 Nov 2009)
• Hannah is addicted to The Match Game on GSN. It's like getting to know the culture into which I was born. 70s, I never truly knew you until now! (Tue, 17 Nov 2009)
• Hannah was driving while the kids were watching a Blue's Clues DVD. Joe talked about Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, & Ramadan (all incorporating images of winter). Then he posed the question, "What holiday does your family celebrate?" I heard a little voice come from the back... Wesley answered matter-of-factly: "summer." Poor little Florida boy! (Wed, 18 Nov 2009)
• Wesley's on the phone with Uncle Corey and Anna Kate keeps repeating, "I wanna talk I wanna talk I wanna talk." Wesley finally turned to AK and said, "Anna Kaaate, exCUSE me, I'm on the phone. CAN you please WAIT???" (Fri, 20 Nov 2009)
• Hannah is playing 2nd fiddle to Grandma and Granddaddy. (Mon, 23 Nov 2009)
• Hannah is sadly finding the rumors of cold weather in Lexington to be greatly exaggerated. So much for my kids' only chance to wear winter clothes in their current sizes! (Wed, 25 Nov 2009)
• Hannah just got an early Christmas present... my Walmart has ALL BRAND NEW CARTS!!! Clean, functioning straps, non-squeaky wheels, and not always pulling to the right! Thank you, Santa! (Thu, 03 Dec 2009)
• Hannah Wesley to AK: (gesturing to a new adult character on a Jay Jay the Jet Plane DVD we borrowed from the library) “Anna Kate, look! Look at her!" Anna Kate, "Yes, she's cuuute!" Wesley: "No, she's not cute... she's a GROWN UP." As IF. (Fri, 04 Dec 2009)
• Hannah thinks some of the moms must have been inside cleaning while I was sitting outside near the end of Wesley's party today... my house is WAY too clean to have just had a dozen preschoolers in it this afternoon! (Tue, 08 Dec 2009)
• Hannah feels like The Grinch tonight. Michael is leaving for a 5-day conference in Indianapolis tomorrow, I'm uncomfortably pregnant, and I just feel like whining. I'm having my own personal little Festivus with the airing of grievances. Tomorrow I will wake up and reflect on how truly blessed I am. But just for tonight, I give myself permission to be Grinchy... 3rd trimester entitles one to such privileges. (Sat, 12 Dec 2009)
• As if to answer my question as to WHY I'm so tired this week... at this moment Anna Kate is running in circles in the foyer and repeating, "I'm two! I'm two! I'm two!" Yes you are. (Sun, 13 Dec 2009)
• Hannah Wesley apparently is confusing the words "guest" and "customer" as I discovered when overhearing him tell someone on the phone that Anna Kate's new room used to be the customer room... now THAT could be misconstrued! Thank goodness he was only talking to Grandma! (Thu, 17 Dec 2009)
• Anna Kate sang "Get Right Church" in her crib for nearly an hour today. Michael put his iPhone under the door and got some audio of it: "Get right church! (clap, clap) Get right church! (clap, clap), Get right church! WooooaOOOaaaaOOOaaa... Get right church! (clap, clap!)..." (Sun, 20 Dec 2009)
• Baby day tentatively scheduled for Jan. 22... as in one month from TOMORROW!! So much to do to get ready - we gotta get crack-a-lack'n after Christmas! Speaking of Christmas, we got 18 Christmas cards and 2 packages in the mail today! Love it! (Tue, 22 Dec 2009)
• Hannah just got the LAST two packages of margarine at Walmart!! And I would have stood in line to check out for over an hour, but they happened to open the lane next to me. Normally there would be a stampede, but I guess my big belly is an imposing presence because it's like the waters parted to let me through. Left with Christmas spirit in check! (Wed, 23 Dec 2009)
• Wesley quote of the day: "Mommy, I got 6 gold medals. The first one is for not giving up, the 2nd one is for crossing the finish line, the 3rd one is for holding up my ribbon, the 4th one is for getting it over, the 5th one is for doing a nice job, and the 6th one is for winning. But that’s it." (Wed, 30 Dec 2009)

Christmas Day

Their first glimpse (I had both kids sleep in the nursery off of our room so I could make sure there were no early morning escapees!).





Santa brought Anna Kate Minnie & Wesley Mickey, and both were holding a special gift - Wesley has a pretty good idea what it might be! ...Annual Passes to Disney World!! The kids have never been, and we haven't been since I was pregnant with Wesley. We are so excited! Wesley thinks he's been to Disney World because he has been to several character breakfasts at the various resorts on the lagoon outside of Magic Kingdom. We see Disney characters and then ride the monorail that goes through the resorts to the ferry landing where we take the ferry boat back to our monorail stop. So when Wes tells people he's been to Disney World and they ask him what his favorite ride is, he tilts his head and taps his chin with his finger as if in deep thought while deciding between "the train" and "the boat." Boy is he in for a surprise when he sees real Disney World!! Santa included lots of pictures so they could get a glimpse!





Anna Kate's Cinderella castle! I seriously almost bought one of these the first time I saw one at Disney World when we first moved here. A children's toy has never spoken to me so directly and awoken the little Hannah inside! It would have been my dream come true when I was little. I figured there was a good chance we'd never have a girl though, since Michael was one of three boys, so we held off. So exciting to finally get to play with it, um, I mean see Anna Kate play with it!





AK opening presents from her stocking. She has such a big girl expression in this picture... where's my baby?? -Below- Anna Kate with her new friends (thank goodness she finally likes dolls!! She really could have cared less until right around the time she turned two, and then it kicked in. Before that she just wanted to do whatever big brother was doing! Now big brother likes to play with her dolls!).





Wesley playing one of his new Leapster games with Uncle Nathan. -Below- Anna Kate holding an impromptu slumber party inside her princess tent from Uncle Nathan & Aunt Angel.





Anna Kate showing off Santa's nibbled cookies and giving out a hearty "Ho! Ho! Ho!"





Christmas dinner... I was playing around with our new fancy-shmancy camera (Nikon d3000) that Mimi & Grandpa got us for Christmas. Not too shabby, eh?! -Below- Wesley showing his approval of Mimi & Grandpa's gift... his first big boy bike!





Big tears after Uncle Nathan and Aunt Angel left this morning (Dec. 26). So sweet. We were so blessed to get to share Christmas with our wonderful family & so blessed by their generosity, but most of all we're blessed to serve such a wonderful Savior, whom we celebrate this special day! Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Rogers Family!

Christmas Eve

Uncle Nathan and Aunt Angel arrived on Dec. 23, and Mimi and Grandpa arrived just in time to get ready for Santa on Christmas Eve! Making cookies for Santa with Aunt Angel (Uncle Nathan was the official froster-helper). You think Wesley likes his cookies??





Christmas Eve Dinner. We've grilled steaks on Christmas Eve every Christmas but last year, when our grill was broken, so we had to go out to eat. It was nice to be back home this year. (I don't think I could have wrested that Gulf Shores shirt Aunt Angel and Uncle Nathan brought Anna Kate off of her to go out anyway!). -Below- Grilled steak and chicken & all my son wants is shredded cheese on a roll!





Wesley & Anna Kate stripping down to put on their Christmas jammies (which they both just opened). No modesty here! I think they were in a hurry because they knew they got to pick a present to open next.





Both kids picked a present from Uncle Nathan & Aunt Angel to open. Anna Kate got a princess camera and took "pictures" for the rest of the night. Wesley got a gorilla pillow pet!! These things are going for like $125 on Amazon now because the manufacturers inundated kids' programming with commercials for pillow pets the past couple of months, and the website completely sold out. Wes asked Santa for a turtle pillow pet, and it's a good thing Santa is magic and has elves that can make anything, because turtle pillow pets were GONE. Yay for Aunt Angel for being smart and ordering this pillow pet last month before they sold out! Wesley obviously was thrilled.





Wesley giving AK some luv'n... I think. Putting cookies out for Santa and making sure they taste good!





Reading "Are you Grumpy Santa??" Every Christmas Eve we also read a special Twas the Night Before Christmas book Wesley got from our neighbors when he was a baby, and Michael reads the story of Christ's birth from Luke. And when I was growing up, we always sang on Christmas Eve, but the Rogers side is not a singing bunch, so I've had to give that up the past few years. Hopefully in a couple more years Wes & AK will be big enough to sing with me... I miss singing! Actually, Angel said she'd sing with me this year, but I never could get Anna Kate to settle down (she had no interest in listening to the stories either) so we just didn't find time for it. I had to hum songs quietly after climbing into bed next to Michael at 2 a.m.





Wesley fast asleep (I wonder if visions of sugar plums danced in his head??) ...A little peek at what Santa brought!

Downtown Lights & Christmas Cheer!

The Saturday before Christmas we met our friends the Canos in downtown Lakeland to see the lights. It was actually a little bit brisk outside for once, and it really put us in the Christmas spirit! We even sat outside at the restaurant because the cool air felt so good to the pregnant mommas! Anna Kate loved her Santa outfit and ran around saying, "Ho! Ho! Ho!" all night long. Although she would not put on a Santa hat!





Isabella checking out the lights & Anna Kate mid-HO-HO-HO!





The kids had a big time running around Munn Park! Munn Park is named after Lakeland's founder (who was from Kentucky, so the main drag in downtown is Kentucky Avenue - woo-hoo!). The monument in the middle (seen in the distance here) is a 100+ year old confederate veterans memorial. -Below- Wesley running to be in the shot... he can't stand to be left out! If we had actually wanted him in the picture, he would undoubtedly have refused to pose. As you can see, the belly's grow'n!





Cute little tushies. Jose, Melissa (pregnant too!), and Isa.





Home and enjoying a snuggle with Daddy before bed. Now we're officially ready for Christmas!!

Make a Joyful Noise!

Friday morning was Wesley and Anna Kate's Christmas program at their sweet little preschool.... their first major production! Wes sang his little heart out, and Anna Kate didn't bolt off stage, so they were both very proud of themselves! Anna Kate's teacher had warned me that we would most likely only get to see Wesley perform. Despite knowing every word and motion to every song (and singing them around the house for weeks), AK flat out REFUSED to so much as step foot on stage during any rehearsal. Michael and I purposely blocked ourselves in on the 2nd row so we wouldn't be very accessible to her, and although she did freeze up when they kids started filing in from the sides, once a teacher took her hand and walked her to her spot, she stayed on her mark. (Wesley - back row, 3rd from left/Anna Kate - front row, 4th from left).





This is how she stood for much of the program... Wesley, on the other hand, was proud as a peacock standing up there singing his little heart out! -Below- I had promised AK a treat if she stood on her green circle, so she was careful to stay on her mark... even refusing to leave it to come to the front and hold her star during one song! In retrospect, I should have worked actually singing into the bribe!





Wesley's big feature! I just can't say enough about how much I love this special preschool and how blessed we feel to be a part of it! It's such a wonderful feeling to know that when your children are away from you, they're surrounded by loving Christian women, learning about the Lord!





Anna Kate sang not a word during the program, but was still pretty darn proud of herself afterward!





And now they're officially on Christmas break... YIKES!!

Random tidbit of the day: I still remember listening to the song It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas when I was little, and I was so personally stung by the line, "And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again!" I remember asking Mom if she didn't like having us home, and she assured me that she loved every minute of us being home and that she never wanted us to go back. Ha! Let's hope my kids don't turn out to be as sensitive as I was as a child, because I'm not sure I could say that with a straight face! I love my kids and adore spending time with them, but let's face it... they're so much cuter when I've had time to actually be productive for a few hours!

Oh, and in baby news, we have a tentative delivery date! Unless my doctor ends up having to swap on-call days with another doctor, it looks like I'll be induced on January 22... exactly one month from today!!