Is vacation really over?!?

This is going to be a LONG blog entry because the past few weeks have been so eventful, so don't say I didn't warn you!! Ryan had a doctors appointment on the Friday before we left and everything went well - he got a great report from Dr. Roth. I went so we could show Dr. Roth that we were pregnant...he was so excited! We *LOVE* Dr. Roth - can he be an expert in everything we need a doctor for??

We celebrated Christmas with Ryan's parents in Nashville on Friday night. We had a great meal at Maggiano's and exchanged gifts at our place. It was fun to have the "baby gifts" this year! We then left for Atlanta for the holidays. We had a great visit with the Morgan family on our first Sunday...it was *so* great to see them. Ryan and Missy are both doing well - please continue to keep their sweet family in your prayers!

My mom & dad planned a trip to the King Tut museum for all of us on Monday so that was a fun adventure. I went registering with mom, Sarah & Meredith for baby girl at Babies R Us - it was overwhelming and a long day, but fun nonetheless! The entire week when I was gone shopping with the girls, Ryan was on the computer doing research on cars - I seriously think he could run a car dealership after all of the time he put into looking at various cars! We are still on the hunt...but leaning towards a Honda Pilot or Toyota Highlander...maybe?

Christmas Eve we went to church & our traditional family dinner at the Japanese Steakhouse. We started a new tradition this year where we divided up and did the "Secret Santa" so we didn't have to buy 7 gifts! We opened up gifts that night and just had a great time together! Baby girl, a.k.a. "Petunia" got more gifts than anyone! Check out the stockings...yes, one says Petunia:

Sarah & Ryan spent the night at my parents house for most of the week and Meredith & Patrick were also there all week, so it was great being able to spend so much time with my family! I MISS THEM ALREADY!!! Meredith & I stayed up all night the night before we left to sew the baby bumper! I can't believe we really did it...THANK YOU, Meredith!

I got to see my extended family and had fun comparing pregnancy stories with Shelley who is 4 weeks ahead of me. I also got to see Heidi & Lauren which was such a treat!

Now on to the BABYMOON!!!! The irony of the entire trip was that we were surrounded by inconsolable children! Our flight to Orlando had a poor little guy that cried the ENTIRE time and then we had one particular ride at Hollywood Studios where we had another little guy scream bloody murder for at least an hour! We kept saying...okay, okay...we get the picture!!! Taking that aside, we had a FANTASTIC time in Orlando. The weather was great - somewhere between 75 & 80 degrees every day we were there. We took it easy, I read Twilight, Ryan did Sudoku and continued to look at cars online, spent time out by the pool - I even got sunburned, went to Hollywood studios, watched Vandy win the Music City Bowl in leather recliners at the ESPN Zone - GO DORES!, marked an item off Ryan's bucket list by attending the Capitol One bowl, had breakfast every morning on the boardwalk, ate entirely too much thanks to some great dinners and fantastic sundaes from Ghirardelli & the Fountain! It was so much fun to just spend time together before our life turns upside down in a few short months! A few of the highlights are pictured below:

We were so sad to leave, but had to come home sometime. We got back on Saturday afternoon and Julie & Rebecca were waiting in Nashville! We had a fun weekend celebrating Julie's 30th birthday! Big THANKS to Don & Scout for keeping the kids for the weekend and to sweet Ryan for letting us girls rule the house right when we got back from vacation.

It's back to reality this week...and reality is certainly setting in! It is hard to believe that in less than 3 months, we will have a baby in our house! It feels like the time is flying by so fast...sometimes it takes my breath away. I was in Chicago this week for work - my last official trip for work until after the baby comes. I hope I don't go crazy being at home for the next 6 months!!

As we reflect on 2008 & embark on 2009, we are reminded of how truly blessed we are and how much we have to be thankful for. God has blessed us more than we could have ever imagined or deserved - we pray that His blessings pour out for you as well in 2009!