Birthday, Thanksgiving, the start of Christmas decorations

My birthday 28th and Addie's 2 month birthday were on November 23. The night before my birthday Josh took me out to dinner. He asked a friend who is a restaurant reviewer to suggest some cool places to go for my birthday.We were planning to try a little hole in the wall authentic Italian restaurant but it turned out to be closed on Sundays. So, instead we went to Cheesecake Factory - one of my favorites and where we went the night we got engaged.

For my birthday present Josh (and I guess Addie) gave me a beautiful ring from James Avery. It is a heart that symbolizes a mother's love. It was a wonderful present.


On my actual birthday we went to breakfast (something I love to do) before going to the doctor for Addison's two month check up. She had to get some shots but she was a very brave girl and only cried for a few minutes. I think Josh hated it more than any of us. He hates needles so he hated it even more to see his little girl get them. He decided he was proud that he got through it without yelling at or punching any nurses.

Later that afternoon I got some flowers from my friend Melanie. It was a flower cupcake - very clever. Some other highlights were new running shoes from Josh's parents (more motivation to keep getting in shape), a perfume and necklace that says "Hope" (Addie's middle name) from my dad and step mom. I celebrated my birthday with my mom when I was in Oregon so that was a lot of fun to. She gave me a new yoga mat (more things to help get back in shape).



I went to work Tuesday and Wednesday. It was good to start back on a short week. Addie came with me Tuesday and stayed home with Josh on Wednesday. She will start going to Ms. Connie's house tomorrow.

My brother and sister-in-law were here for Thanksgiving. We had a great time - relaxed, played games (Banana Grams and Balderdash) and watched A Christmas Carole. Krista and I got up to go shopping on black Friday and got some amazing deals.





Today I began to decorate for Christmas - this is what I have so far.....


Tonight we will be going to the Pottberg/Thompson house to see friends of mine (a lot like a second family sometimes).

So - things are good.

C- Christmas

Since it is the day after Thanksgiving I thought it was neat that today's letter is C and today is the day I get to officially start the Christmas season.

I LOVE Christmas. I love the lights, music, decorations, the smell of Christmas trees, candles, angels, presents, egg nog, snacks etc. One of my favorite things is buying presents for people. I like getting them, but buying them is way better. I love to pick out things that I think are perfect for the people I love. I love to wrap beautiful packages and watch as they are opened on Christmas morning.

I am thankful for the wonderful memories of Christmas I have growing up. We had advent boxes that we opened every day of December. They usually had a piece of candy or something small. My parents also gave us Twelve Day gifts. On the twelve days of Christmas we got a small present in our stocking every morning. I got things like a book, cool socks, earrings etc. It wasn't so much that my siblings and I liked the gifts, it was the excitement and anticipation each morning. Each year my mom either bought or made us all pajamas and we got to open them on Christmas Eve. Sometimes they all matched, sometimes the girls matched and the boys matched, sometimes they were all unique. Each year we would take pictures in our new pajamas in front of the tree.

I love the times during the holiday when we get to relax and celebrate with friends and family. I love the messages of peace, giving, love and forgiveness that are heard around Christmas. I love that people who may typically be grouchy or keep to themselves are likely to be more open and joyful during this time of year. It really does seem that there is magic in the air. I do wish that celebrating Christ was more a part of our secular Christmas celebration and I try to focus on that personally.

I am thankful for almost everything about this time of year and I can't wait to start making new Christmas memories and traditions with my daughter.

B - Brothers

I have two brothers, Jae and Sean and Josh has one brother, Jared. Today I am thankful for our brothers.

My brothers are both super tall (one is 6'5" and one is 6'6") and blond. We look nothing alike which makes sense because I'm adopted. They are both unique in their own weird and wacky ways but I love them. Sean and I were close growing up but don't get to talk much now. He and his wife Ashley live in Tennessee where Sean is in grad school at Harding. He is very smart and into philosophy, religious studies and history. Sean was always his own person and we had a special bond. Jae and I didn't really like each other growing up but are close now. He works for ACU and will be here for Thanksgiving with his wife Krista. He has been blessed with an ability to make friends easily and help people feel included. He loves working with college students and international students. I could write for a long time about both of these guys and what makes them special but I am trying to keep it short. I have great memories with them as kids and adults and I'm excited to see how our relationships change as we get older.

Josh's brother Jared is the same age as me. After Josh and I got engaged (Josh was no longer at ACU) Jared came up to me in the campus center and said something like "Hey, you're gonna be my sister. Cool". Jared and his wife Lauren live in San Antonio and I cannot wait to see them for Christmas. I always laugh so much whenever Jared and Josh get together.


Jared and Lauren


Sean and Ashley


Jae and Krista

Thankfulnes Project - A

I love the holidays, including Thanksgiving. But, I want it to be more than just turkey, football and pie so I am writing about things I am thankful for. I was originally just going to write about one thing each week. Instead I decided to write about one thing for each letter of the alphabet and try to finish by the end of the year. I am sure there will be intermittent posts about things going on with us etc.

Since A is the first letter in the alphabet and is also conveniently the first letter of my daughter's name I think that is a great place to start.

Addison Hope Jones - I am so incredibly thankful for her. I am thankful for her sweet smile, her beautiful eyes, silky hair, and sweet hands. I am even thankful for her crying and poopy diapers. Josh and I have wanted a baby for so long and she was worth the wait. I look at her and sometimes get so overwhelmed with love it makes me want to cry. I am thankful that I will get to be her mom, help her learn and grow, watch her become her own person and a person who loves God, pray with and for her, laugh together and so many other things.
Yes, I am definitely thankful for Addison.

Oregon

Last Thursday Addie and I boarded an airplane headed to Portland, Oregon. My mom and step dad live full time in their RV and they were in Oregon. They flew Addie and I out there to spend about 5 days with them.

I was nervous about the plane rides since Addison had been really fussy the week before but she did great! Almost no crying either time. I nursed her or gave her the pacifier on take off and landing and she slept most of the flight. Even though we flew into Portland we were actually staying about 3 hours away on the coast near a town called Newport. I had never been to the west coast other than San Diego. It was amazing - an ocean with huge rock cliffs right next to a dense rain forest. It was pretty cold so we didn't spend a lot of time on the beach but we did take several walks. The last few days we were there the winds were really strong and the ocean was had giant waves and was almost totally white.

We were able to visit several small towns along the Oregon coast. In one of the places we spent some time on the bay front that had lots of great shops. We ate clam chowder at a little whole in the wall restaurant that was amazing. We saw sea lions lounging on the docks and watched fishing boats bring in baskets of freshly caught crab. We toured a winery and I bought two bottles of local wine that are amazing!

Addie was a trooper and was carried in her sling most of the places we went. She loved all the cuddles and attention from Mom, Larry and even their dog Sandy. I loved time with my mom - she made me some of my favorite meals, we played cards and she helped me sew a skirt.

We also celebrated our Christmas while there. One of the things we gave Mom and Larry a web cam so they can get on Skype and see Addie. Grammy made Addie a beautiful warm sweater and she is working on a red knitted jumpsuit that wasn't quite done yet. I got some beautiful jade jewelry that Mom bought in Canada this summer at Jade City - 80% of the world's jade comes from here. I didn't get to open Josh's presents so we brought them home to him.

It was a great trip but it makes me sad that Addison won't remember any of it. It is neat that my parents are so flexible and live in so many cool places that I can go visit to see them. One another side note, my brother has an interview at a school near Portland after Thanksgiving. If he gets the job it would definitely be a place I would love to keep visiting.

Enjoy the pictures.


The airport before we left - Josh was able to walk us to the gate and hang out for a few minutes.


Ships in the bay in Newport


Devil's Punch Bowl - the water was swirling so fast!




This is drift wood in a creek at the camp ground. It used to be on the beach and the week before we were there a storm moved it all the way up to this bridge.


sea lion in Newport


Mom, Addie and I in front of crab pots that fisherman use


We made a sign for Addie to hold and texted Josh a picture. He reallllly missed Addie (he missed me too). It was hard for us to talk to Josh regularly because of bad cell coverage.


Sandy, mom's dog, loved Addie. She would bark at us if we didn't get up right away when she was crying.


saying goodbye at the airport in Portland

Addie's first retreat, fussiness, books and other news

Addie went on her first youth group retreat this past weekend. She did pretty well - I was surprised. Everyone loved her (duh) and she was never lacking in attention. It was kinda funny that when I asked some of the kids if they wanted to hold her they were reluctant and really nervous.

The theme was Glory and we talked about living in God's glory, living for God's glory and reflecting God's glory. It was a little different that the retreats Josh usually plans. God worked powerfully during the weekend. Going on retreats with Josh also always make me think about my own youth group retreats growing up. I love those memories and pray that these kids will be blessed through retreat times like I was.

Once we got home however, Addie has turned into a little bit of a devil child. She started the few days before we left being very fussy. It pretty much stopped over the weekend and now it's worse than ever. I took her to the doctor because I honestly didn't know what else to do. Her cry sounded like a hurt cry, she was not sleeping longer than an hour at time and she wasn't eating as well. The doctor (not our regular one) made Josh and I feel pretty dumb and just said it is normal fussiness. I know all babies get fussy but these seemed different for Addie. Anyway, I guess it is the regular stuff that can set in about 6-8 weeks. Ironically I got a book that I ordered in the mail yesterday - Your Fussy Baby and Healthy Sleep Habits;Happy Child both by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. I started reading the Fussy Baby book today and the first page says this "If you have already delivered your baby and are exhausted, worried or both turn immediately to chapter 7 for a quick background summary and plan of action". I love that. How realistic of Dr. Weissbluth. I don't have time to sit and read two whole books - I don't even have time to take a shower some days. Anyway, I read chapter 7 and while I have realized I am not a fan of parenting books (they stress me out), I love this book already. It is concise, gives options and is not a "my way or the highway" book. It also is encouraging to us as parents, advocates for fathers being involved etc. I'll let you know more as I try to go back and read the rest of the book at some point. I haven't started on the Healthy Sleep Habits yet but it to has a Crash Course chapter.

Addie and I leave Thursday morning to fly to Portland, Oregon for a few days to see her Grammy and Grampy. They are actually staying near Newport Oregon on the coast so once we get to Portland we have about a two hour drive. I'm nervous about how Addie will do but I'm also excited for the trip. I get to go shopping for my upcoming birthday, see the coast (never been to the Northwestern coast), maybe see whales, eat yummy food and spend time with family. So, as long as we don't get kicked off the plane for a crying baby things will be fine. Josh is sad that we are leaving (I'm sad to be leaving him). But, I am a little jealous that he will get 5 nights of uninterrupted sleep.

I am sure I will have lots of pictures and stories when we get back. Pray for patience for me, calmness and peace for Addison and a safe trip.

If I had time to blog...

*I would write about how even a rash on my little girl and a small fever make me so sad that I can't make her feel better.

*I would write about how now that Halloween is over I am ready for Christmas! I love Christmas time. I love buying present for people, wrapping presents, ornaments etc.

*I would write about how I still struggle to take a shower regularly since Addie has been born. I will have to change that when I start working again.

*I would write about being excited for the youth group retreat this weekend but also a little worried about how Addie will do.

*I would write about how frustrating it is that my maternity clothes are to big but most of my regular pants are still to small.

*I would write about my mixed feelings about going back to work in a few weeks.

*I would write about going to visit my friend Melanie in Wyoming a few weeks ago.

*I would write about how I will never again take sleep for granted.

If only I had time....

(Hopefully some of these may actually get written over the next few weeks. We'll see)