November 17, 2010

We Have a Name for Baby!

We have decided on James Edward.

The middle name is easy: it's a family name. Tyler's Dad and Grandpa's middle names are Edward, as well as several other family members. And coincidentally, It is similar to De Waard, my maiden name. So Yay for the middle name.

The first name, James, has two important components: it is a family name, Tyler loved his Grandpa Jim very much and he has since passed away, but more importantly it is also the name of a book of the Bible that has had significant importance to Tyler and I over the past three years.

Verses from James Chapter 1:
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
3
because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
4
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
5
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
18
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

It has been a roller-coaster ride to be where we are in our lives right now, to see how far the Lord has taken us in our walk with Him, and to have this immense blessing of a second child growing and kicking as I type.

As for what we will call him, it will be James. Maggie and I are permitted to call him Jim or Jimmy, but we prefer that everyone call our baby boy James. For all you non-Southerners, many of our Southern friends have suggested "Jim Ed" as an appropriate nickname. However, we are not the Duggars nor do we live in Arkansas, so Jim Ed gets a thumbs down.

One friend even suggested Edward Spaidhands, but that doesn't really fly, either. =)

Gatlinburg 2010

I LOVE OUR ANNUAL GATLINBURG TRIP.

This year was one of the most fun years we've had. Saturday night a bunch of us rocked (or rather, waved our hands like we just don't care) to music, mostly hip-hop, from our Jr. High days. It. Was. Fantastic. I found myself transported back to 1990: I almost had to reach up and see if my wall of bangs had magically reappeared, and check in the mirror to verify I was not, in fact, wearing my Hammer Pants. Yes, I owned a pair in 7th grade with matching jackety-vest thingy. That's just how I rolled.

I did not take photos of said trip down memory lane (that would be too much incriminatory evidence), but here's the traditional on the cabin porch photo. You will note here that I am a mere 23 1/2 weeks along. I look like the 7-month version of myself when I was pregnant with Maggie.

November 4, 2010

Halloween 2010

We had MANY Halloween festivities this year. It was a lot of fun! Wednesday night she got to wear her costume to AWANA. Friday night was our church's Fall Festival, and Sunday night we took Maggie for her first trick-or-treating night in our neighborhood FULL of children and houses offering candy.

This year she went as Tinkerbell. The dress came from her dress-up clothes, so I bought a bigger pair of wings to go with the dress, put her hair up in a bun, and then had to figure out some shoes.

Tinkerbell's Shoes. I made these myself from a pattern I found online. They did not make it out of the house, though. Maggie didn't like the feeling of the ground below because they were just lined but not padded. I ended up putting the poofs on some sparkly shoes she had.
See, they were so cute!
Our pumpkins. Maggie provided moral support while I carved these.
The pumpkins along with the cool ones I got at the Farmer's Market with Tyler's parents when they were here.
Tinkerbell ready to go to AWANA on Wednesday night.

FALL FESTIVAL
Ready to go to Fall Festival.
Posing nicely for Mommy before we enter the chaos that is Fall Festival. We noshed on hot dogs, nachos and, of course, the Haskins' homemade doughnuts. So good! Then we hit up all the booths for candy.
Bounce house. She got some serious air this year! And then you got to pick a piece of candy when you got out.
While Maggie was in the bounce house, Daddy had to man the candy bucket.
Getting some candy.
Posing in front of the bouncy obstacle course. She went around and around for about 30 minutes.
Zooming out the exit to go all over again.
Climbing up the "rock wall".
Here she is doing a bean-bag toss.
I WANT MORE CANDY!!!
More bounce house.
Night-night!

HALLOWEEN NIGHT

Posing with Daddy right before they took off.
Her FIRST trick-or-treating adventure ever. We started at the neighbor's house. Tyler took her around the neighborhood. He said she was pretty shy about having to say "trick or treat."
Off with Daddy.
What a poser! She came back right away to put her coat on underneath her costume, it was chilly!
She come home with a full bucket of candy, and big smiles! She was most excited about her visit to Miss Cindy who lives down the street from us (she is also the church secretary and keeper of the best candy dish around). She had saved a bunch of candy and a Capri-Sun just for Maggie's visit. What a good grandma, Miss Cindy! Thanks!

I went out Monday with my friend Dixie to pick up next year's costume for Maggie and Baby Boy. We were successful, but you'll have to check back next year to see what we got!

Staining the Deck

Tyler got some help this weekend staining the deck. I am glad I could find some of Maggie's older clothes that fit well enough for her to "help out".

November 3, 2010

Dear, There's a Deer Out There

This deer walked right into our backyard. By the time I got my camera out, it had jumped back to the edge of the woods. But there she is! I love our yard!

November 1, 2010

Spaid Clan Visit

Towards the beginning of October Tyler's parents, sister and nieces came out for a visit. So fun!!!

We did some family pictures (copyright Andrea Watkins)



To the pumpkin patch:







Caramel apples were made
Sprinkles were applied to caramel apples, but I think even more sprinkles were applied to little girls' mouths.
Cookies were decorated
We went to the park.
And even for a walk. At the end of their visit it finally got cooler. Maggie opted for earmuffs instead of a sweater. According to Auntie Tara, the earmuffs stayed on about 2 minutes, then Grampa had to carry them the rest of the way.
It was a lot of fun to have a house full of girls for an extended weekend! Maggie certainly misses her cousins now. We are looking forward to seeing you next summer.

Getting Caught Up - Dance Class

This year Maggie is taking ballet-tap-tumbling at a local dance studio. She LOVES LOVES LOVES it. She asks about it nearly every day. I love watching her have fun and try so hard all at the same time. At the beginning of October there was "Parent View Day". Normally all the moms just sit out in the hallway and watch the girls on the closed-circuit TV. So to get to be in the class to see it all clearly and hear what was going on was pretty cool.

Tap lessons at the beginning of class.
A little bit more tap.
She sits still and pays such good attention! Every once in a while on the way home she will tell me her dance teacher, Miss Debra had to tell her to tell her to sit still because "she had ants in her pants" (Maggie's words, not the teacher's).
And here's a quick video of Maggie working on her ballet skipping. So cute!