Christmas season!

I know, I've been slacking on my posts. It's just hard to find time to sit down and write so much out, and sometimes it's even harder to find stuff to write about! :P But with Christmas and New Year's behind us, I now have plenty to say and time to say it! :) Since a lot happened, I'll just type out the (very) abridged version. :P

I guess I'll start with the Christmas week! My dad and Saskia came to see us on Saturday to bring gifts, since we weren't sure of our Christmas day schedule. Anna got her first set of stacking cups, clothes, and a book! Andrew unfortunately was sick that day, so he didn't get to hang out with us, but it was still lots of fun!
Christmas Eve, we had a special service at church that Anna didn't sit quietly through (shocker!), but after that we went to John and Rena's house for supper! Rena made a roast out of our own farm pork, and it was super duper yummy! :) After Anna went to bed we set up all of her presents and got ready for Christmas breakfast the next morning!
Christmas morning we all got up bright and early since we were having the whole family over for breakfast! We ended up with us, William and Hannah, and Rena and her two sisters all gathered in front of the fire! We had quite the feast, too! Ham, bacon, sausage, biscuits, croissants, pancakes, eggs, bananas, gravy, and a homemade quiche! Amazingly enough, we didn't have that much left over! After that we all opened presents (in other words, we watched Anna open her presents :P). Anna decided that tissue paper and boxes was much more fun than any new toy, so I'm sure some wads of chewed-up paper found their way into her belly. She got more stuff than I can even remember! It was a wonderful morning though :)

Anna buried under all her toys, and proving that the package is a lot more fun than the toy it contains!

After all of the family headed home, we left to go to Goldsboro to see my family there! My dad, Saskia, mom, and Dave were all there. We all opened our presents there, and Anna once again proved that the cuter you are, the more stuff you get! :P We stayed there for a few hours to hang out, and then headed back home, since we had to leave early the next morning.

The next day, we were all headed to Charleston. After some piddling around in the morning, we got underway and arrived a little after lunch. We took a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city to see all of the historic sites. It was a lot of fun, but very windy and chilly!

We were all cold, but I love this picture of our family! I also love how long Andrew's hair and beard have gotten! :)

That night we had supper at a place called Hyman's, which marks which celebrity sat at your table. We had Oprah, John McCain, Kevin Costner, Sarah Jessica Parker, and a few I can't remember. It was really yummy!

The next few days were full of plantation visits, walks around the town, and lots of time spent together! John was feeling terrible the whole time we were there, so he didn't get to enjoy it as much, but it was still a wonderful few days as a family! :)

Anna turned eight months old on Christmas Day! It is so hard to believe that she is so big already. She's been through her first stomach bug already, which was very un-fun. :( She also has been standing by herself for just a few seconds, when she lets go of whatever she's holding! It doesn't last long, but it's definitely worth celebrating. Her dexterity is amazing, as she recently developed her pincer grasp and watching her use her little fingers with such skill just fills me with so much joy. She's been eating more solids; in her Christmas stocking she got a container of rice puffs and a few pouches of organic pureed fruit (her favorite is mango!). She is still not crawling, but she is so so so close! She's also started having separation anxiety, which is frustrating for everybody, but I know it's just her telling me that she misses me when I leave. :) I love her so very much, and I can't wait to see what new thing she learns next! Here is her 8-month birthday picture:

She is just so beautiful. I can't believe how blessed I am to be her mother. <3

This post ended up taking a lot longer than I thought, and I am exhausted, so I will make a post for New Year's tomorrow. I just can't stay awake much longer! Good night. :)

Philippians 2:8-10 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.