Dec. 6

Can I even tell you how much I love this picture and the one below? After all the pictures I've been taking TRYING to illustrate the holiday season, these two definitely do the trick. :) The joy on both my sweethearts' faces, the lights from the Christmas tree ... happiness.

Our Sunday started out at our favorite place to be on Sunday mornings -- church. Emma LOVES the Christmas decorations at church. She gasps and points and says, "Tree!" over and over and over, running from one tree to the next. She loves the lights and the all the gorgeous decor. I really can't wait for her to see our own Christmas tree (coming this weekend, hopefully!).

Yes, I totally brought my camera into church with me that day. I have no shame. I love our church and why not take pictures of some of the things that make it so wonderful?

This is Pastor Mark, the Children's Pastor at our church. He befriended us from the get-go and has been a friendly, welcoming face every week. He is the Pastor who did Emma's dedication last year. He's just a wonderful man of God, always cheerful and encouraging. We trust him greatly and are thankful our church has someone who is so passionate about families, children and God to direct all the programs Emma will grow up in over the years.

The awesome worship music at our church just rocked the Christmas music on Sunday. There is nothing better than a great worship group at church ... except for a great worship group who sings AWESOME Christmas music. I just love this place. Should I use the word awesome/great a few more times?

This is our beloved Debbie. Or, I should say, EMMA'S beloved Debbie. This is our saving grace in the nursery, the one person Emma trusted. The one person who could hold Emma and make her feel comfortable when we left her to play in the nursery. Everyone knew Emma from the beginning as the little girl who only loved Debbie. What was so great was that Debbie loved her right back. We knew if Debbie was there (as she most often is), that Emma would be happy. Emma has learned how to say Debbie's name and in the mornings before we leave the house when I ask Emma if she's ready to go have fun at church, the first thing Emma says is, "Debbie!" I love hearing Emma say, "Bye-bye, Debbie!" And the big news ... Emma does not even put up a fight or shed one tear when we leave her in the nursery each week. She leans out to Debbie right away when we see her, Debbie says, "There's my girl!" and Emma doesn't look back. I'm so glad she has learned to have fun playing with her friends at church!

After church, we came back to the house for lunch and Emma played dress-up in Mommy's jacket. :)
Then Gramma Pam and Uncle Wyatt (aka Wy-Wy) came up from Olympia to play with Emma while James and I took off on The Great Hunt for the Perfect Family Car. What a fun weekend for Emma -- visits with two of her grandparents, playing with her Uncle Wy-Wy (who we think she has a slight crush on) ... she had so much fun. Both James and I talked once again about how lucky we are that Emma has such great grandparents (and family) and even more, that she just ADORES spending time with them all!

After James and I spent about four hours doing some car searching and test driving (more info on that later), we met Gramma Pam, Wyatt and Emma at Red Robin for a quick dinner. Here's Emma doing one of her favorite things -- playing with a cell phone, watching videos. That girl is really into technology!

Snuggles from Gramma!

Wearing Gramma's scarf -- cute snow bunny!

Ooh, and can't forget to show you the surprise Gramma brought up with her this visit. She got Emma her own little broom! I think I literally squealed when I saw what she'd brought. Emma has really taken to sweeping and doesn't even like it when I sweep because she just wants to do it herself. She tries to take the broom away from me and yells out, "Eye-nye! Eye-nye! Eye-nye!" as she points to the broom. (FYI, if you're not already aware, "Eye-nye" is how Emma pronounces her own name. I don't get it either. She can totally say "Emma" properly and even spell her own name but when she refers to herself, she says "Eye-nye." Go figure.) Thank you Gramma Pam, for the fun gift! I'm also very excited about what a little bird told me -- that Santa might be bringing Emma her own little vacuum cleaner this year too! :)

She's a cleanin' fool. I love my little helper.

Whew! These posts for my December Daily are really getting long! I have some great pictures from today (Monday, Dec. 7) but they're on a different camera and I'm waiting for someone to email them to me so I can share them with you! Hint, hint ... Amy H. :) I've also got to share my 30-week prenatal appointment stats ... and our son's name! Yikes! Lots of posts ahead. But for now, this preggo momma is going to enjoy a small bowl of ice cream (please, oh please let there be some in our freezer) and then go to bed. Night, night!