Thanksgiving 2008/Joshua is 2 1/2!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

We actually had Thanksgiving on Friday, instead of Thursday, in Elmhurst. Jane made a great turkey dinner, and we capped off our meal with most of us napping in front of the TV. Way better than fighting with insane shoppers in the crazy malls!

We have a lot to be thankful for this year! Obviously, Jared and I are thankful for Joshua and his soon-to-be little sister, Orpah.

We're kidding about the name...

Here are some pics Joshua took with the family (why didn't we get a family pic?):

Joshua with "Papa" and "Mimi"

Joshua with Uncle Matt & Auntie Anne

Joshua with Auntie Rach

This is a preggo pic of Anne @19 weeks, and me @ 25 weeks

Joshua is 2 and a half years old!

* he's able to hold a conversation with you (in Joshua-ese, of course!)

* he's high energy 24/7

* have you heard him pray? It's too cute!

* he goes to Promisetowne once a week (our church's daycare/preschool program) and loves it!

* he loves to watch Cars, Finding Nemo, and the Lion King

* he still loves his Wiggles!

* he can sing simple songs

* he exerts his will very strongly...hence

* he's been in more time-outs than ever!

* he knows his colors, numbers, and some of the alphabet

* he still loves to cuddle (yay!)

* he understands that he has a little sister coming soon!

Skunk!!

Check out this poor, little skunk! We found him wandering aimlessly in our parking lot with his head stuck in a peanut butter jar!

It's okay to laugh...but say a little prayer for little stinky, too!

This makes it official...

I received my US Passport in the mail this weekend!! Yippee!!

Election Day!

As a new American citizen, I voted for the first time today!!!

It is, indeed, a historical day!

Halloween 2008

In keeping with the "brown outfit" theme, Joshua was a Monkey this year for Halloween ($5 on Ebay!). Of course, he was the cutest monkey around! We had a few trick or treaters come to our home - the little ones are adorable, the junior high kids...not so much. We swear that some high school kids came knocking on our door at 9pm! Not to be party-poopers, but we didn't open the door. Well, it was way past curfew time for trick-or-treating, and our policy of "no costume, no candy" still stands (this only applies to high schoolers though).

The day before, we had our annual Halloween Party at our neighborhood Moms' Group. We had a red dragon, a construction worker, a fairy princess, and a lion (see pic below! Yes, it's still a feat to try to get a group of 2-year-olds to take a picture together). At least there were no duplicate costumes this year! The kids had a good time, and went home with lots of treat bags in their Halloween baskets.

Oh, and on a side note: I ate way too much chocolate that night, and Baby girl was not too happy...or maybe she was? She kept me up all night by kicking and moving around like there was a party going on in there! She did it again when I was sitting in church this morning...no, I didn't learn my lesson from Halloween.

Joshua (monkey), Talia (fairy princess), Joel (dragon on the piano), Jack (lion), Evan (construction worker was MIA)

Sugar and Spice

...and everything nice.
That's what little girls are made of!

WE'RE HAVING A GIRL!!!!!

Here's the email that we sent out:

Hi family & friends,

Just wanted to share our happy news with you...

I went for my Level 2 ultrasound yesterday and we found out that we're having a girl!! We are so happy and just thankful to God for blessing us with a daughter! I feel like our family is complete!! Whenever we asked Joshua if he wanted a brother or sister, he would say "sister". So, I guess he was right!!

The technician was able to give us 3D pictures of her, and she's pretty cute (am I allowed to say that??). The ultrasound also showed no immediate concerns, and it seems like everything looks good - there are no existing conditions to warrant preterm labor. Please praise God with us - He is so good, and is indeed the giver of perfect gifts!!

We'd appreciate your continued prayers for our family and our little sweet pea.

Rejoicing in His goodness,
Yvonne, Jared, & Joshua

Royal Oaks Apple Orchard

Last weekend, we went to Royal Oaks Apple Orchard in Harvard, IL with our friends, the Rayman Family. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and we had a lot of fun. We didn't pick apples, but bought a bushel from the apple store. We also indulged in some apple cidar donuts - yum! Joshua got to ride on a kiddie train all by himself, and of course, the carousel! There were a lot of activities there for kids (we usually go on a Friday), so the place was bustling. Enjoy these pics!