Christmas Stockings... FINALLY!

So, back before we had kids one year for Christmas, I made Laron & I some homemade Christmas stockings. I had a neighbor help me make them because I thought theirs looked so cute, but it ended up being TONS more work than I thought it would be or should be for something seemingly so simple. And so I vowed then & there that our kids would NEVER get homemade Christmas stockings... at least not from me!

But, our first Christmas after having Skyler, I really wished I had a cute homemade one for him to hang next to our cute stockings, so I totally simplified down my original pattern for our stockings, bought some cute Christmas fabric, & then never got around to actually making it. Then Kimberly came along last Christmas-time & the hopes of a cute Christmas stocking for her came and went with her birth as well. So this year I was determined to make my children their Christmas stockings...

I still haven't gotten around to putting their names on their stockings yet, but I guess that'll just have to wait until NEXT year, when I know what name to put on the third stocking...

So yep, if you're thinking that this looks a little like an announcement of some sort, you're right! We are proud to announce that we're expecting baby #3 on June 11th! I'll be 14 weeks along tomorrow (which means only 26 more weeks to go!) & have spent the last 7 weeks in survival-mode as "morning sickness" (a.k.a.-"all day sickness") has gotten the better of me... So there's my excuse for the lack of posts over that last 2 months. I've been feeling pretty good though the last couple of days, besides still being constantly exhausted, so I kind-of feel like I'm coming back from the dead or something. Now I have to re-figure out how to me a good mom & wife again... Thanks Laron & Skyler for picking up my slack over the last two months! I couldn't have done it without you! Laron's been cooking just about all of our dinners & dishes, watching the kids on his days off, and even doing an occasional batch of laundry. Skyler "babysits" Kimberly in her crib until I feel good enough to get out of bed, is my constant helper, and is my encouraging coach while I'm throwing-up. (After I threw-up for the first time, Skyler said, "Wow! That was amazing! I haven't seen that in a long time!") Thanks guys for brightening up my days & loving me despite my imperfections!

So, with all of the complaining out of the way, I have to say that we're really excited to add this third baby to our family. Way back when Kimberly was just a newborn, we both really felt like baby #3 was supposed to come sooner than later, so we just left the timing up to God & trusted in Him to not give us anything we couldn't handle... And we really feel like this baby is coming the exact month it should be! So when this baby is born next June, Skyler will be almost 4, Kimberly will be 18 months, & then we'll have a newborn. I have to say that I'm a little nervous about three, but we figure God must know what He's doing & this must be what's right for our family.

Skyler keeps telling me over & over the last couple of weeks, "Well Mom, we already have a baby sister, so maybe we should have a baby brother next." We keep trying to tell him that Heavenly Father has already decided whether we're having a baby brother or a baby sister, so we'll just have to be happy with whatever He decides to send us... We'll keep our fingers crossed for you though Skyler! We should be able to find out the gender at the end of January, so we're excited!