Christmas card and letter

It's that time of year...

Wow, what a year 2007 has been for the Eggs! And yes, I know I say that every. Single. Year. But, every year it rings more and more true!

• Because Annie was born so close to Christmas, it seems we’re always about to celebrate her birthday as we’re preparing to send out our Christmas notes. So, in order to be fair to our Bittiest Bug, I need to tell you about her first birthday party!. We had a pink and black polka-dot shindig complete with pink and black invitations, a cake decorated with pink and black polka-dots and a birthday girl dressed in a sweater with pink and black polka-dots.
• In January we celebrated Elizabeth’s 4^th birthday three times! Once at preschool on her actual birthday where she got to wear a special crown that she made with Ms. Janet, blow out candles on a pretend cake and bring a special snack. Then, we had a special family dinner on her birthday – at her favorite place to eat, IHOP. Strawberry pancakes are a must! Boop joined us for coffee while we were there. We had a Hello Kitty party that weekend with family and friends; turning 4 was quite an event.
• In February Annie officially became a toddler! Her big sisters were such an encouragement to her as she learned to take those first steps. They cheered and cheered.
• In March, Brad and I celebrated the 21^st anniversary of our first date, the 18^th anniversary of our engagement and our 17^th wedding anniversary. We’ve been together over half of our lives. It’s amazing how much we’ve grown together and how much we’ve been blessed.
• In April we took the girls to see Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes. We had front row seats and it was so much fun! After the show, we changed everyone into PJs and drove all night to Grammie & PawPaw’s house. We went to the Aquarium where, once again, Elizabeth’s favorite things to see were the turtles. Katherine loved the seahorse exhibit and seeing “Nemo and Dory”. Annie loved petting the corn snake and seeing the parrots. Grammie thought she’d died and gone to heaven in the butterfly room.
• In May, we celebrated Nin’s 3^rd birthday along with cousin Sam’s 10^th birthday. We had a party at Boop & Paw’s house. The girls learned to play badminton and loved it! Nin chose Strawberry Shortcake as her theme and at the last minute Wal-Mart saved my sanity by having a Strawberry Shortcake cake kit for a sheet cake. I spent a few days at Portofino Bay Resort at Universal Orlando in mid-May. I had a great time but was glad to come home!
• In June. . . oh June! Well, Happy Father’s Day, Brad! Brad’s Father’s Day gift was. . . a positive pregnancy test. Yes. We are expecting again! This is a huge surprise. Huge. God is the giver of all good gifts, and most gifts are surprises, right? J It was difficult to tell some people, knowing they wouldn’t be excited for us at all. It was a joy to tell others, knowing they would rejoice with us. Telling the girls was the best thing ever. Elizabeth had been praying for God to give us a new baby. She was overjoyed at the news and danced around after we told her. Katherine cheered. Annie, well, she doesn’t get it. . .yet. She will in February, though!
• In July we celebrated Brad’s birthday and tried to stay cool! We also got Elizabeth and Katherine registered for preschool. Nin is so excited about it. She thinks she is going to learn to read this year. Who knows, maybe she will!
• In August, again we tried to stay cool as we welcomed many days of over 100-degree weather. I spent the majority of July and August losing weight thanks to never-ending morning sickness (the kind that lasts all day and all night). Brad was a prince among men as he parented the girls and did housework while I worshipped at the porcelain altar or took medicine and went to bed.
• In September, just after my birthday, the big girls headed off for preschool. What a great adventure. Elizabeth goes every morning and Nin goes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. They both love it. Annie misses her big sisters but loves having some one-on-one time with Mommy three mornings a week. The big girls also started AWANA at church – Nin in 3-year-old Cubbies and Elizabeth in 4-year-old Cubbies. They love the Scripture memory and Bible story time. I am so glad they have this opportunity at our church!
• In October, we learned that we will be welcoming Thomas Harrison into our family in February! Yes, a BOY!! Boy, oh boy! Are things going to change around here!! I’m still wondering what that’s going to be like, but am so excited and thrilled at the opportunity to parent a son. The girls are thrilled that Harrison will be coming soon and are already trying to make sense of just when February is.
• In November, we took another trip to Grammie & PawPaw’s house. We love going over there. There are so many fun things to do – the Aquarium, the Children’s Museum, the Carousel and Park. It really is a fun trip that we look forward to making.
• And we’re back to December – where we look forward to celebrating Annie’s 2^nd birthday with the traditional “Egg girl 2^nd birthday party” – Dora the Explorer. Annie loves Dor-doo!

So yes, 2007 was an exciting and incredible year for us. We look forward to welcoming Harrison about six weeks after Christmas – we’ll let you know when he’s here!