What an amazing 3 years it has been! Three years ago today I stood in front of my friends and family to pledge my love to the man of my dreams. I remember at this exact time I was standing in the bridal room at the church looking out the window talking to Josh on the phone watching him and his groomsmen get their pictures taken. He couldn't see me, but, I could see him. I was sooo excited for this day! I had waited a long time to marry my prince and there he stood waiting for me. It was such a precious day and the best day of my life. In the 3 short years we've been married we've been through so much. This is the first anniversary that we have not been out with Echoing Angels and NOT in Topeka, KS. That's where we spent the first 2 anniversarys because of EA gigs. LOL...not necessarily the place that most girls dream of going for their anniversary, but, still have a lot of fun memories of those days. Tonight Josh is taking me to The Melting Pot to celebrate our anniversary. That is our favorite restraunt so any occasion we can go there to celebrate we do. We've decided not to exchange gifts this year because we are awaiting the best gift we could ever ask for...our little girl. Now if she would just cooperate and come we would appreciate it! I think Lacey has gotten to comfy in her mommy's tummy. But, we are anxiously awaiting her arrival. Anyway, I am so thankful that the Lord brought Josh into my life. I am such a blessed girl! God knew exactly who the right person was for me and Josh was it! I love you baby! I'm so thankful for you and for your heart and your unconditional love! I'm so excited to spend the rest of my life with you! I love you baby! You're my everything!

I was reading Cami's BLOG update yesterday and God spoke to me. Cami is very pregnant, waiting on the arrival of her baby any day now. She and Josh are SOOOO excited to meet Lacey and the anticipation is mounting.

This is how we should be with God. So pregnant with His vision and so full of His greatness that we can't wait to see what He is about to do! That we wait in eager expectation and stand is wondrous anticipation at the fulfillment of His promises and prophecies. Just as a mother and father wait for the birth of their child, so we wait with that same intensity on our savior, and then rejoice when the blessings are poured out!

I started looking in the scripture to see if there was a verse about this so to confirm what I was hearing and here is what I found.

Romans 8:19
The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.

Want to know what is SOOO totally cool about this verse? It is the beginning verse to one of the songs on the album and I didn't even know it until I read it! Its actually what that whole song is about and it never hit me until today. That song now has new meaning for me, it now speaks to where I am. It is one of my favorites anyway. If this album doesn't go anywhere, it won't matter, because it has already fulfilled it's purpose by speaking to me. It is confirmation for me, that was I hearing God and not my own voice today. (The song is Love So Beautiful, by the way)

So here we are, waiting on God for the revelation, so pregnant and full of anticipation that we are about to burst at the seems. We are expectant, we know God will fulfill His promise in His time....

Psalm 5:3
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

It is just a few days left until New Year's Eve and I still can not decide what I want to do. The guys are going to be in Virginia and I would love to go and Jon really wants me to go. However, there are two little boys that I can not stand the thoughts of being without. Allison and Megan are riding up with the guys and have said they would help me if I decide to go, but a 5 hour drive with a 3 year old and a 4 month old may not be such a good idea. If Jon and I were going by ourselves then that might be another story, but we will be traveling with several people and I would not want me and the boys to be a burden on anyone. On the other hand, I think it would be a lot of fun and I can not remember the last time Jon and I got to spend a New Year's together. Before Jayce was born I traveled a lot with the band, but since his birth my traveling days have become numbered. So..... a decision has yet to be made.

So Lacey's due date is this Friday...New Years Eve. We are sooo ready for her to come. Especially me. LOL...it's crazy how uncomfortable one can be the last weeks of pregnancy. Don't get me wrong...I'm extremely thankful for this little miracle. But, boy, I'll be happy to have my body back to where I'm not uncomfortable all the time. However, as of this past Thursday, our doctor told us that we were still not dialating. Ugh. So, please pray with us that she comes soon. So the countdown continues.

On Friday, I took Emily out for a girls morning out. Her birthday was on Dec. 26th so we celebrated a little bit early. We went to the Waffle House for breakfast and then to the nail spa to get pampered. It was such a fun day being girls and getting our nails done. We've decided that this needs to happen more regularly. I told her that every girl needs to have pretty nails on their birthday! I'm just so thankful for her and her friendship.

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas weekend with your family. Josh and I did. Our families are small enough that we spend them together. Only people missing were my brother-in-law and sister-in-law who were with her family in Utah. But, we had a wonderful time together eating, opening presents and watching Christmas movies. For those that are not in Georgia, we even had a WHITE Christmas! Yes, we got snow. The first time that Georgia has seen snow on Christmas in like 128 years. So that was pretty fun. The only downside to this weekend is that I was a bit under the weather. Yes, I got a cold. I went my whole entire pregnancy without getting sick and the week that I'm supposed to deliver I get a bad cold. I'm starting to feel a little better today. But, look forward to the day that I feel human again.

Josh is back at work this week. But, as he has been telling everyone he's "on call" with me just in case Lacey comes. LOL. He's so cute! I am grateful though that his shop is only like 7 minutes from our house. So he's not that far away. I've planned on doing some cleaning up from Christmas but have been told by Josh that I need to relax this week. But, I tend to be a littel stubborn, so we'll see. Maybe I'll compromise and do some cleaning but relax some too. :-)

I recently read a book by Francine Rivers (big fan of hers) about Mary, the mother of Jesus. The book was fantastic. Its Christmas time and the Mary is a hot topic at most churches these days. But one new lesson stood out to me as I read this book, something I had not thought about before. Mary waited a LONG time to see the fulfillment of her vision, of the Holy Spirit vision given to her on the night of Jesus' conception. 33 years! Holy cow. Can you imagine? God himself speaks to you and your husband about your son saving the world and being the chosen one, and you have wait 30 years for the vision to even start!? And back then, people were married at 14 and had kids at 16 and were in their life trade by then too. Mary's son, not married, a carpenter, with seemingly nothing else going for him. All her other friend's sons were probably husbands and fathers. I really can't imagine the impatience Mary must have felt. Really God?! Seriously....didn't you say he was going to save the world....get on with it! That would have been me...totally true. And after about 20 years, she probably questioned the vision. Did I hear that right? What exactly did you say? Maybe I was dreaming? But at last, Jesus' ministry begins at 30 years old and he becomes what was foretold.

Maybe you got a vision from the Lord a long time ago as we have about Trey's ministry, that hasn't been fulfilled yet. Maybe you are questioning the original word God gave you so long ago. When we were at Liberty Hill, there was a dear woman on the prayer team that could open the thrown of God when she prayed. She seemed to have a direct line up there. When I became very restless a couple years ago because I wasn't seeing the pieces of the vision fall into place, she came up to me one day and said she was praying for me and what God told her to tell me was "Take heart!" She said that she had no idea what that meant but she wanted to tell me. I went home and this is what I found,
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD; be strong and "take heart" and wait for the LORD

And so I wait....

Stay tuned for Great Expectations Part 2

As I am sitting here typing, I am thinking about all of the time I get to spend with my family over the next few days. Tomorrow begins our Christmas festivities. Jon is playing at a church for their Christmas Eve service and then it is off to my in-laws for lots of games, food, fun, and presents. We will then go home and finish our final preparations for the boys' Christmas. I can not wait to see the look on Jayce's face Christmas morning. He just turned three last month, so he is slowly, but surely understanding what "Claus" is all about. Christmas day will open presents at home and then we will travel to my oldest sister's house for my side of the family's Christmas. There again will be a ton of food, lots of hugs and kisses, and presents. I am one of five girls and we try to get together at least once a month with our parents, but rarely do all of my nieces and nephews get to get together- since there are only 11 of them!! Times like these are very special for us.

Oh my goodness am I tired. It's 930 in the morning and I could go back to bed. But I can't. I am at work, finishing my long work stretch. I haven't had a day off since 2 weekends ago and I am feeling it. It is incredibly busy too. People always want to squeeze in surgeries before their deductable starts over in January. But in addition to all the elective surgeries, people seem to be sicker this time of year. So my days have been filled with some very stressful situations....not everybody is making it home for Christmas, sadly. But today is my last day for a week so I am hanging in there. Not a single gift is wrapped, all piled up in my dining room. I even started shopping early this year, but it turns out it didn't help much in relieving the stress. Tomorrow is full already with wrapping, cleaning, and cooking. Somewhere in there I would like to see trey and the kids. I asked our wonderful babysitter Natalie if she would come over this evening as my personal assistant. She agreed and loves to wrap so I am SO happy to have her help. Trey offered to help wrap, buuuuttt..... he's terrible at it! So I reassigned him to some cleaning and to putting toys together. He also has to finish some shopping , no doubt for me. :). Ok, I have to get back to the OR, break time is over.

YAY! It is finally here- my Christmas Break! I have been waiting for this week for months!

What a crazy busy weekend...but amazing weekend. This was the first weekend in awhile that Josh did not have anything going on so we were able to spend it together. It was sooo nice and much needed. Friday night we pretty much stayed in and chilled out at home. We watched "The Polar Express" and ate pizza. Saturday, we braved the mall and WalMart and went out to do some last minute Christmas shopping and made it out unscathed. But, it also helped us to get some good walking in as well as we are trying to do whatever we can to start dialiating since to this point haven't. Sunday we went to my parents church. They had a special service happening and wanted our Gracie Bear to sit up on stage with them. She was such a good girl. We were such proud puppy parents! Then last night we ended the weekend hanging out with our small group. We had our annual Christmas party and had such a great time. We are so fortunate and blessed to have such amazing friends in our small group!

It's hard to believe that I am heading into my last 4 days of work this week. But I am soooo ready!!! And I am soooo ready for Lacey to get here. I have had the worst sleep the last several days from being so uncomfortable trying to sleep. Waking up every hour. Not fun. And yes, I know that sleep will be hard to come by once she arrives. BUT, I can deal with that if I'm not having to wake up every hour aching. I will miss everyone here at the station, but, boy I am sooo looking forward to some time off to spend with this little girl.

I have just finished an insanely busy Saturday shift...broken femurs, broken hips, sick gallbladders and I can't remember the rest. I am in the middle of a 9 day stretch and have to be back tomorrow, Sunday, Christmas Sunday...bummer. But I have Christmas eve off and the weekend and we plan to attend a Christmas Eve service this Friday. I am now headed to meet Trey for a shop til you drop marathon this evening. My mom has the kids since I am working and Trey is leading worship tomorrow. We will at least get to be together with no kids this evening even if it is filled with shopping, which neither of us really enjoys doing. I am looking forward to spending some time with my husband. He, however, has been feeling sick. I think he and Josh have shared the strep throat. Trey's is acting like Tonsillitis. He was feeling a bit better this morning so hopefully he will feel like going out. But if not, I will finish the shopping and bring dinner home, so all is not lost. I am actually off now to get new tires put on my car. I have been putting it off, but they are now BALD and I have no traction when it rains and its getting pretty scary. The band made a little money this month and now I am going to spend it on tires! Bummer but really needed.

Today is my last day at work until January 4th! I am so excited. I feel so blessed to have a job that allows me so much time off, and also allows me to do something I am so passionate about. My kids have such a gentle, loving spirit about them today. Maybe they too are getting into the Christmas spirit, or they realize they better behave today so it will be a fun day instead of a day of them getting into trouble. :-) The have brought me some of the sweetest gifts. Many of them homemade. I do not teach in the richest part of the county, but I wouldn't trade my kids for anything. Their riches lie in their heart.

Jon and I are going to try and get the rest of our Christmas shopping this weekend. I would like to be finished by the end the weekend because I will not be able to use my right hand past Tuesday of next week. I have yet to figure out how I am going to function without the use of my right hand. Oh well, where there is a will there is a way.

Okay Wednesday, what else have you got? Bring it on. It's already been a crazy day. Yesterday afternoon Josh came home early from work because he was not feeling well. He had been fighting a cold for about a week. But, now...he's REALLY sick. I think he might have strep throat. He was running a fever last night of almost 102, but, of course he's a typical man and wouldn't go to the doctor. He vowed he would be better today. Yeah right. LOL. I ended up sleeping down on the couch because he was freezing and needed the heater on to try to warm up, was tossing a turning and coughing a lot. And me being 9 months preggo, can't stand a lot of heat these days, exhausted and having to get up at 4:30 am this was not a good combo. So I went downstairs and tried to sleep on the couch. My back and hips did not appreciate me doing this. I just feel so bad for Josh because he's so miserable. So I sent him to a doc in the box today. Hopefully they will be able to give him a shot or medicine to make him feel better. Plus, I need him well soon since Lacey could be here any time. So if you think about it, say a prayer for Josh today that he feels better soon.

God sets us up for trying experiences to shape and mold us. He is the potter and we are the clay. He wants to put us through the fire so that we are refined into what He wants us to be. Not every trial we endure is from the enemy, though we like to blame him a lot. Only God knows our future and how we will be used by Him to set up His kingdom and our struggles are key in helping others see God for who He is, that is, if we endure them with faith and grace and come out the other side a stronger person... because we have learned so much about God through the experience. However, there is a break down in this formation from a child like follower to an on fire believer, when we sit and do nothing when put in the fire, when we fail to seek Him and fail to learn what He is setting us up to learn. He WILL keep dangling you off the cliff again and again until you get it! He WILL keep you in the fire until you change, until you are refined.
Christ has already given me one ultimate free gift and the rest of the promises come with responsibility. God wants me in His army, and I can not be soldier ready for battle if I am not conditioned. He puts us through trials to test our faith. Recently, I have felt targeted and have been tested physically, emotionally, and spiritually. My armor has proven weak during this time of testing. As I was praying one night, distraught over some things, asking God "why?"....God asked me, "where is your breastplate?" Honestly, I hardly remembered the passage enough to answer. Um, I'm not sure God....? So I began to read about the "full armor of God" again. Yes, that passage from your church vacation bible school when you were a kid. I asked God to speak to me over each piece of armour, explain it, and here is what I got...

Ephesians 6:10
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

The Belt of Truth:

We need to “provide for honest things not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” II cor 8:21
Ok, its time to tighten my belt. Search my heart, oh God, for any impurities, any moments of untruthfulness and make me clean. Am I standing on Your truth? When I go through tribulations, help me stand on the truths in the word of God.

The Breastplate of Righteousness
Whenever the enemy tries to accuse you, the breastplate of righteousness is your trusty defense. If the Spirit of Christ dwells in you, then God receives you as His son or daughter no matter what the devil says.

"For he hath made Jesus to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (II Corinthians 5:21).

The righteousness of Christ in you is what matters — not your shortcomings and failures. This does not mean that your heavenly Father is indifferent to your sin or regards it lightly. Rather, as a loving father corrects his child, so the Lord corrects you (see Hebrews 12:5-11). At times His chastening may seem stern and unfair, but He is working to mold me into the likeness of Christ. He desires that "the peaceable fruit of righteousness" (Hebrews 12:11) be produced in my life.
In Isaiah 59, the Lord put on righteousness as a breastplate and went out to fight evil and corruption. "And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke" (Isaiah 59:16-17).

The Lord shares His righteousness with His children, for they, too, must encounter evil and corruption. The world we live in is full of sin and spiritual darkness. People all around us are in desperate need of the light and life of Jesus Christ. ….you must learn to defend yourself. Walk around like you have been given righteousness through Christ, not like you are defeated! You’ll be shocked how fast the Devil will run with that kind of attitude! His righteousness protects us!

Sandals of Peace
How beautiful the feet that share God’s word (Romans 10:15) It is interesting to me that along with all the other armor spoken of in Ephesians, ready "feet" is included in that. But God expects us to share our faith with other people and to be ready to do it at a moments notice. Yet we are sent forth "as sheep in the midst of wolves; so we must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."(Matthew 10:16). God will place us in situations when we need to stand in faith, and knowing that it might be hostile, He has provided us the rest of the armor to protect us, to protect our "feet". How cool is that?

Shield of Faith
"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."--- Ephesians 6:16
In Romans 10:17 Paul writes: "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." We increase our faith by reading the Bible. If you want to live a life without fear you need to read, study, and meditate on the Word of God.

Helmet of Salvation
This is the salvation provided for us by Christ on the cross. It is the protection over my head...knowing that Christ has already won and taken victory over Satan. It is my promise that "it is finished!"

Sword of the Spirit
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing assunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." --- Hebrews 4:12

The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God,
" By speaking the Word, your words become energized (Hebrews 4:12)....cool!
By speaking and praying the Word of God (our sword of the spirit), strongholds are broken down in the heavens....wow, even more cool.

Just as Jesus the living Word defeated Satan at the cross, the spoken word now gives that same victory. Remember, it is not the Sword of the Spirit until you speak it. And you have to know it to speak it!!!

So put on the FULL armor of God and watch the enemy run.

I have failed at each one of these at some point. Right now, my armor could use some maintenance...some polishing....some mending. Now that God has mercifully reminded me of these truths, my prayer tonight is start the repair.

This weekend I had the rare chance to travel with the band. We had a fantastic time! All of our families were going to try and go, but I know Emily is still sick and Cami is very much pregnant, and we weren't able to get in to see the lights. So it ended up being the guys, Megan, myself, and Allison, Shannon's girlfriend. We had a great time even though we didn't get to see the lights. We got to go to the most amazing Mexican restaurant. People ask what was so great about it and I really couldn't put my finger on it. It was just great! We then went over to the pastor of Mountain Shadows church's parents house. They were having a Christmas party, but we got there when everybody was leaving because we had a 30 minute wait at the restaurant. See- I told you it was fabulous! I think everybody in town was there. Anyway, we munched on some delicious treats- they had a chocolate fountain with strawberries to dip in. We then went to the lodge where some of the band was staying. We laughed until we cried at all of our crazy stories. Then Jon and myself and Neil and Megan went to our hotel rooms. It was so nice to be kid free and get to spend some quality time with Jon.

We got up the next morning and went to the most beautiful church. It was made out of logs, beautifully decorated for Christmas, and just felt like home. The guys did an amazing job leading worship. We then went down to their fellowship hall- also a log cabin and had a homecoming style meal. Everyone at the church made us feel at home and boy can they cook!!

I was thankful I got to spend some time with Megan and Allison. I feel like since we all live so far a part that we rarely get to spend some girl time together. These girls are hilarious!!! I have know Allison for over 10 years, but it wasn't until recently that we were able to hang out again. I hope that some time in the near future that we girls can all go to dinner and maybe a movie. The guys get to hangout all of the time, so we are due some time where the guys watch the kids and we spend an evening of fun together.

Well, as we draw closer to Christmas and Lacey's due date I'm starting to feel not as stressed and more relaxed. We are getting closer to having our "to do" list done and it is such a great feeling! Her room is nearly finished and is looking so cute. We only have 2 more things that we are waiting on. My father-in-law has made us a diaper changing station and will be bringing that over very soon. And then Josh and I are going to get a pink bass guitar to hang in Lacey's room. Yes, a bass guitar. You don't think her daddy would go without SOMETHING being a bass right? LOL. It's very cute and can't wait to get it. We have a place saved on the wall for her guitar. Trey and Emily let us borrow their glider and it looks so cute in her room. Matches perfectly! So, like I said, we are ready for this little one to come whenever she'd like!

Last night Josh and I were able to get more Christmas shopping done as well. We've nearly got that list complete too. Just a few more things and we'll be done! This Christmas has been harder for me to get out and shop like I like to because I do hurt a good bit being 9 months preggo. So, to have him there to help me has been amazing!

Today I went to my parents church for their kids musical. My momma did a GREAT job with the kiddos as usual. It was so cute! It was call Aaron the Allergic Shepherd. Josh and I were originally supposed to play Mary and Joseph, but, the guys ended up having a gig down near Callaway Gardens so we weren't able to. But, maybe next year.

Today we were all supposed to head down to Callaway Gardens for the night. The guys play at a church there Sunday morning and the church graciously put everyone up in a hotel tonight, including the families that wanted to go. We originally planned to take the kids and go and see the lights at Callaway Gardens...until we found out it was $25 per person, not per car! That is just not in the budget right now. Plus I am still not feeling great, so we decided we would take the kids to see the lights at Life University here in Marietta. I know they won't be as impressive but its free!

I have not been able to sleep. The Medrol-dose pack the DR gave me is a steroid and one of the side affects is sleeplessness. I am totally there and I usually have no trouble sleeping! My body is physically SO tired but I can't get my brain to fall asleep. I just lay there, listening to the ringing in my ears. And I admit it, I am a BIG grouch when I don't sleep and I can get mean. I tried taking a natural sleep aid last night with melatonin in it. I didn't work. Tonight, I am breaking out the benadryl. On that note, I am off to find it.

It's crazy how fast time is flying by! In just a few short weeks our little Lacey Elisabeth will be here. My parents came out last night to help me around the house steam cleaning the carpets and cleaning out cupboards. It's amazing how many things that we got knocked off of our to do list. I think Josh will be excited to see that when he gets home from his time with Echoing Angels.

Josh has been away with EA doing tour rehearsals. I'm so excited to have him home tonight. He's taking me out on a date tonight. We're going to do dinner, shopping and a movie. I'm really looking forward to having some quality time with him.

Tomorrow a few of my friends are taking me for a spa day to get manicures and pedicures. Kind of a last hurrah before Lacey gets here. I'm sooo looking forward to being pampered. I love getting my nails done. Just a very girlie thing to do. Afterward I think we'll grab some lunch. So I'm looking forward to that.

Josh, Echoing Angels and all the families are heading to down to Callaway Gardens tomorrow. Except for me. :-( Being 9 1/2 months preggo it's too hard to travel these days. They will be leading worship at a church on Sunday morning. Just wish that I could go too.

I'm very much looking forward to a break. My last day at work is December 23rd...so just a little under 2 weeks left. Then I'll be taking a 12 week maternity leave. I'm really ready for a break. I think my pregnancy hormones have made my patience and tolerance level pretty low. So, it'll be nice to take a break, learn to be a mommy and regroup before having to go back to work.

Last night was James' Christmas program. Trey was unable to attend because of prior EA band commitments so the proud grandparents went instead! I sang a solo, snot and ruptured ear drum, and it went well. James sang 3 songs with his class. He was SO animated when we practiced them at home, but he stood there like a lump on a log...his lips were moving but there was no one home! I even made him take a nap that afternoon. Oh well, it was really cute and the younger kids were hilarious as usual. I still can't believe that it was his last pre-school performance. He is off to kindergarten next year! AHHHH!

Wednesday night was the Echoing Angels team meeting with Patton House Entertainment management. It was a really nice evening with best friends. (Minus Cami who couldn't be with us. Missed her!) We discussed all sorts of thing....what we have accomplished this year, what needs to happen next year, song ratings and scores, and finances. It was successful and we got a lot done. Andrew Patton did a little workshop with the guys, making them plant tulip bulbs. He spoke a little mini sermon from his heart about good soil, watering, and sun light are the only things that can make that flower grow, just as they need to be planted in the good soil of Christ and watered by His living word and stay in the His son-light. It was really good. And hilarious to watch a bunch of men who have NEVER planted a flower in their life do this! And Andrew said the wives were NOT allowed to care for this plant for the guys, so I am going to have to resist temptation to water the thing when I water my other house plants. If all goes as planned, that tulip will start showing right around the time their album drops....how cool is that? A visual of God's love and promises!

On the sickness front, I have actually managed to get worse. I had that excruciating ear pain again Wednesday night, but on the other side! I prayed all night that it wouldn't burst like to other side but it did! Now I really can't hear! I called the doctor and they squeezed me in this morning at 830. He said on the scale of ok to bad, I had the worst kind of sinus infection. He said there was so much up there, it had no where else to go but out my ear and down into my chest, which is why I am still congested. I got a bag full of samples and 3 prescriptions. I am hopeful to feel better soon. He said the infection should be gone in a week or so and then my ears will be able to heal in another week. I think that is Christmas Eve. That would be good, just in time!

Last night the whole band, management, me, Emily, and Megan got together for the band's yearly summit. Poor Cami was there by phone, but could not make the 3 hour round trip it takes to get from their house to ours. We let her off the hook since she is 9 months pregnant!! :-) (love and missed you Cami) Patton House management company organizes a time twice a year for the band to get together with them to discuss how things are going and future plans. We got together with the other bands that Patton House manages over the summer and then last night it was just for Echoing Angels. We had a blast!! I am so thankful to have such a dedicated, focused team surrounding the guys. The guys are spending the next few days with their management team in rehearsals and meetings trying to prepare for all of the great things God has in store for the band.

It's hard to believe we are 3 weeks out from Lacey's due date. But, the way I'm feeling these days (Big and VERY uncomfortable) I'd be okay with her coming a little early. I went to the doctor yesterday and everything is great! Her heartbeat was perfect. She's still measuring about a week big. Dr. Ruffin checked to see if I was dialating at all and that was a big no. Sigh. That's okay though. Just means she's not ready to come yet. Josh said that Lacey can come any time after Dec. 13th because this is a crazy busy week for him between work and Echoing Angels. I said she could come after Dec. 23rd because that's my last day of work here at the station before I go on maternity leave. But, I supposed that she'll decide what time is the best time for her to come. LOL.

Josh wasn't able to go to the doctors appointment with me because he had to head up to Gainesville to meet up with Echoing Angels and their managment team Patton House Entertainment. They had a meeting last night and then are doing 2 days of rehearsals. Thankfully, my Momma was able to go with me to my appointment. Ever since our 2 miscarriages Josh and I decided that I would never go alone to an appointment again. So, it was so nice to have my momma there with me. I'm so grateful for her and her support. Plus, I know she's just as excited because this will be her first grandbaby. So thank you Momma for coming with me.

Since Josh is gone for a couple of days my parents are coming out to help me with some things around the house today. I wanted to steam clean the carpets in the house so that they are clean when Lacey arrives. My parents have a steam cleaner so I asked my daddy if he could walk me through how to use it. He said no that he would come out and do it for me. Wow...what a blessing! So while my Daddy is doing that my Momma and I are going to rearrange some cupboards to make room for Lacey's bottles, formula and stuff. I am truly blessed with some amazing parents!

Josh and I are anxiously waiting for our Lacey to come. So c'mon Lacey!!! But, as we wait, we are really excited for some of our friends. Jacob (from Rush of Fools) and his wife Amelia were induced last night and should have their precious baby boy sometime this morning. So pray for them and baby Collin!

I just finished my long, very long weekend. I was there from 3pm to 7am two days in a row and we worked most of the night both nights. So I am pooped. But I am already reaping the benefits because I have this week off, the whole week and I know it will go by so quickly. We took the kids to a tree farm and cut down our own tree. It was so much fun, 35 degrees out, but fun. We stopped for hot chocolate first so we were all warmed up! The tree is up in the den and its finally starting to look a lot like Christmas....the star is up on the front porch, I think the Thanksgiving wreath is too, I better get that....tomorrow.

We took the kids to see Santa tonight. That was a lot of fun. James is so excited he is beside himself. He totally thought Santa should come tonight with his big boy bike. I had to dig out his Santa calendar so he could see it wasn't time yet. Eliza was acting really excited to see Santa when we got up close but then when I tried to sit her on his lap, she stiffened up and shook her head no. But he gave her a candy cane and she was all good. We got a really cute picture.

On the sickness front, my ear drum did perforate. Nice, huh? However, the absolutely excruciating pain is mostly gone because of it. I can be thankful for that even though I can't hear a thing! Put one finger all the way in your ear and listen, yes, that's what I hear. Muffled noises. "huh? What'd you say?" And if there is other background noise, I really can't hear you. And to top it off I have drainage from my ear ALL day! Gross! And I've got a really nice ringing in my ear too. So the doctor says to use antibiotic drops for the next 5 days and not to blow my nose too hard, yeah, that's easy since I have a sinus infection and enough snot for an orphanage of toddlers! If it does not get better, I will have to have a minor surgery. I'm not at all apprehensive about that, I do the anesthesia for other people who have it done all the time. Its a 10 minute procedure and I will feel so much better. Its really a matter of...who's got time for that!? Anyway, I am praying for healing and I pray God has a better plan than that. I am still singing for James' program Thursday. I finally picked a song, James' helped me. "Winter Wonderland"..."because it's about a snowman!" Good news, its a nice easy song in a low key and I think I can pull it off. I can hear my voice in my head really good right now! Let's just hope I can hear the music well enough out of the other ear to stay on pitch! It should be fun!

I have finally found time to get on my computer in the past two weeks! We have been busy preparing at the studio for our 7th annual Holiday Show. When you consider costumes, tickets, dress rehearsals, seven sold out shows, and hundreds of students, it takes alot of work and preparation on our end to put it together! All of us have been pulling 13-15 hour days for the past week and I feel like I have been hit by a truck! This is the first day I have had to just sit and relax. It has really been great! I have to admit though, watching the girls perform is extremely rewarding. It makes all of the hard work pay off. I love to watch the parents watch their little ones! You know there is nothing is sweeter than a four year-old in a tutu and a princess crown!

I am at work today. I came in at 3pm and will work until 7 am. I am really hoping that it will not be a busy night. Nobody else fall off your roof and break a hip putting up Christmas lights, we already have one of those on for tomorrow. I wish I could say I am feeling better but I actually feel worse. I am tired of hearing myself complain. I woke up at 2 am last night with the worst ear pain I have ever felt. Really?! What now? It kept me awake for more than 2 hours and I kept trey awake too with my tossing and turning. I took advil and an hour later took the robutussin with codeine that the doctor gave me for my severe cough. It helped finally and I was able to sleep. My ear has killed me all day. I feel like I have 14 cotton balls stuffed in my ear too. It hurts to burp, cough, hiccup, eat..... good grief! I went down to see and ER doc when I got here just to make sure I didn't perforate my ear drum blowing my nose. He said there was just a ton of fluid behind the ear drum. Now I know how my patients feel who come for ear tubes, especially the little babies and kids. No wonder they are miserable! So this is probably now a full blown sinus infection. None of the antibiotics seem to be helping....so I guess time is the only cure....which I never have enough of. I really wanted to ask someone else to work for me this weekend but I really want and need next week off. I want to spend some much needed time with my kids and put up some Christmas cheer ....and rest too some where in there. So I will just have to grin and bear it. I just took advil and aleve, my liver loves me, and I hope the piercing pain will at least leave me for a while. Here's to hoping.....

Today is Friday, but it doesn't feel much like it because I have to work the weekend. Two sixteen hour shifts. It does provide me with next week off, which is a blessing. There is a lot to do and I am feeling stressed. Despite having started my Christmas shopping in October, I still am not done. And it still looks like thanksgiving in our house, with the fall wreath on the door. I really wanted our decorations up early this year because I was so excited about it, mostly because James was. But getting pneumonia has really stunk. It has squashed some of my Christmas spirit. I am hoping to get it back really soon. We plan to get our tree on Monday, so that should help. James' Christmas program is next week too. Last year trey sang one song which was really cool. James sat right beside him playing his out of tune guitar and singing loudly. This year Trey is busy that night and they asked me to sing instead. Yikes! I am really stressing over that! I haven't sang a solo in a while and I will have to use a track which I don't like, live music is always better. I haven't even decided what to sing, Christmas music is always difficult for me because its usually not in the right key. And I've been too sick to practice. Yes, I'm a little bah-humbug today. I feel like I need to sing though because the pre-school has been so good to us, allowing us a flexible schedule and discount rates. So I guess the Christian bookstore is at the top of my list now.

Tonight we are having dinner with my friend Sarah and her sister for their birthdays. We are going to the cheesecake factory. I haven't been there in years- 5 probably. So I am looking forward to that. Trey and the kids are meeting me there so it will be good. Maybe I will skip food and head straight for the dessert menu! That will lift my spirits!

I can not believe it is December 2 and I have a lot of my Christmas shopping already done. Jon and I decided to brave the crowds on Black Friday and I was able to get a few presents then at really good deals. I am usually really stressed as the holidays approach because I have such a large family to buy for. On my side of the family, I am one of five girls. So this means other than buying for my parents, I have four sisters, their husbands, and eleven nieces and nephews to buy for. That is over 20 people just in my immediate family. Then on Jon's side, we buy for his parents, his two sisters and their families. This totals up to around 14 people. So, having to buy for close to 35 family members is a lot so you can see why I am so happy about already having some of my shopping knocked out. I am also a stickler for trying not to put anything on a credit card and so far I haven't had to!!

Jon and I are going to try and go get some more shopping done this weekend. I have two weeks off at Christmas and I would love to be able to spend the entire time with my family and not having to go shop during that time.