The Great Road Trip of 2012!

We had the great privilege of sharing the day with Blair and Stephen as they became Mr. and Mrs. Skipper this past weekend. It was a blast and the drive was definitely worthwhile!

My physician was not thrilled with the idea of me traveling 11hrs in the car at 37wks pregnant, but I let her know missing this was NOT an option ;)

Well, we made it! Em'ry was the flower girl and took her job very serious. I felt honored to be able to support Blair as a bridesmaid. She was a beautiful Bride and we enjoyed both the wedding festivities and the weeklong visit to Booker.

It is so sweet to watch Em'ry run and play with all of the kids of the family! Long lost cousins who become quick friends and have a blast together. We have been working really hard to build her social confidence as she tends to be clingy and shy. She played hard and tuckered out early, sleeping in my arms not phased by the music and noise :)

Now we are home finishing up the last minute details before Eli makes his arrival. As we laid in bed last night, the last words out of Em'ry's mouth were, "Praise God! We are back in Richmond!" It's so true. As much fun as it is to travel, its always feels good to come home :)

This is what 2012 looks like...

through my IPhone :)

God's not dead! He's surely ALIVE!

Easter was less than traditional this year but when Em'ry emerged from her classroom and told us everything she learned about Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection it made me remember what's really important.

Since we were not able to spend the Easter weekend with our family we did everything we could to make the holiday memorable for Em'ry and special for our little family.

Can't believe its come down to this...

I am so far behind on blogging that it has come down to catch up with a timeline :(

So, here we go...

October
26th-Greg's birthday! We found out we are expecting!

November
19th-We celebrate Em'ry's 3rd birthday
21st-Greg, Em'ry and I saw and heard our little one's heartbeat for the 1st time!
30th-Em'ry's Birthday
Em'ry spills the beans over the phone to my mom

December
15th-Christmas cards announcing our pregnancy are sent out
16th-Our follow-up ultrasound and the first time Em'ry can recognize the little guy as a baby
17th-22nd-Our family Baby Moon to Disney World!
23rd-26th-Christmas with my family
27th-30th-Christmas with Greg's family

January
1st-Family Tradition-We saw Smurfs in the theatre
13th-Our Belly Baby has a heartrate of 156
20th-My mom and dad came down to celebrate her birthday

February
15th-So excited to learn Em'ry will have a little BROTHER! Anatomy Ultrasound
18th-Greg felt our little guy kick for the 1st time!
20th-Little guy becomes Eli Duke

March
1st-Em'ry's 1st Swim Lesson
9th-15th-Spring Break in Branson with the Cades!
16th-Greg and Em'ry get to spend the day with Mimi
19th-Our precious angel Brylee Brooke Brotherton was born
21st-Em'ry's first Dental Visit. She was a CHAMP!
27th-Em'ry learns to swim on her back

Hope to load pictures soon and get back on track :)

Dreams Come True!

What a way to kick off our two week Christmas break! Greg, Em'ry, and I loaded down the car and set off on a 16 hour drive to Orlando.

We spent four days visiting all of Disney World's Parks and talking to princesses, riding rides, watching shows, and eating way too much.

It was so sweet to see the excitement and magic through Em'ry's eyes. It seemed like everything was set up just for her. We never waited in line for a ride, she was pulled from the crowd by workers for awesome photo opportunities, and we always had great seats for the parade which made her think every princess was waving and blowing kisses to her :) Em'ry's favorite attraction was The Storybook Dining Experience in which we had lunch with the princesses and she got to lead the parade while holding Cinderella's hand. She was on cloud 9. Spinning "super fast" in the teacups came in a close second :)

Since I'm almost a month behind in posting, I'll let pictures tell the rest of the story.