Grace is 2 months old today!

Grace's first trip to Walt Disney World!

MERRY CHRISTMAS...from Walt Disney World! Here's just a glimpse of what we've been up to this week! I think Grace fits right in. :)

The Edwards Visit...in pictures

I will blog about their visit later...but for now:

My BFF

So, my best friend, Sarah Ellen, and her hubby Jeff and their adorable son Beck, came this past weekend to Raleigh to meet Grace. We has a blast! Thursday night, our sweet hubbies kept our little darling babies (this was the FIRST time for Paul) while we could have a girls night out! What a blessing! It was so great to just catch up (and vent) with Sarah Ellen. I love having a BFF who has done everything before me. And when I say everything, I mean everything. She is a year older, so naturally she was a year ahead of me in school. We went off to college together (purely by fluke, actually) to Anderson College (now University), so again, naturally she graduated ahead of me. We were both teachers. (OK, I lied, I did get my Master's degree first!!...but not by much...lol.) She even got married the year before me. She also started trying to get pregnant before me.

I will never forget when she told me that there were trying to get pregnant. I was like, what?!...not yet! We still have so much left to do first (I guess I was thinking that I would get pregnant too). So, after several years of trying and not being successful, I was so excited to hear that they were going to start the adoption process with an organization called Bethany. During there process, my husband and I started trying. And after 9 months of trying and 2 "washouts" (where the fertilized egg that never implants, so they don't consider it a "real" pregnancy)Paul and I got pregnant. Sarah Ellen was the first person that I thought of. I couldn't believe that I was going to have a baby before her. She was the first person I called. She was so super excited for me, even though I am sure she was crying on the inside. I will never forget May 24, 2011. I was in the middle of giving a test when I heard my phone vibrate. I opened a text message from Sarah Ellen saying, "Beck William Edwards" with a picture of the most precious, perfect little boy. I started to cry. I couldn't believe it. I knew that they were done with the application process, but I had no idea that they were given a son! (They kept it a secret until they knew for absolute sure). I texted her back and told her to call me as soon as she could. On May 26, 2011, Beck William Edwards officially joined the Edwards family. God knows what he is doing. He knew that Beck was meant for Sarah Ellen and Jeff, and that Grace was meant for Paul and me...and that Sarah Ellen had to be a mommy first. How else could I have done it?

While eating dinner Thursday night, Sarah Ellen and I reminisced about how much our lives have changed since our double date on Valentine's night, 2011. In just a short amount of time, God changed our lives forever, with different methods but with the same end result...we became mothers.

To ready more in depth about the Edwards story, visit their blog at http://everyday-edwards.blogspot.com)

A daddy-daughter tradition begins

So yesterday, my sweet hubby Paul informed me that he was getting off of work early today and
taking Grace Christmas shopping for me. How sweet, I thought, and how scary! So, this afternoon, Paul came home about 4:30 and picked up a freshly fed and changed baby, armed with a fully stocked diaper bag, bottle, and gas drops. He got home about 8:15. During dinner, he told me that they had gone to the mall and Target (both of which I usually have to bribe him or trick him to go to), and that he had fed Grace while out and about. What a meaningful gesture. Honestly, I could care less about what they bought together. What matters most to me is that he took the opportunity to spend time with his daughter, even though she is not even 2 months old, and start a traditionn with the 2 of them. I am so truly blessed!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of him and Grace.

Our first family outing...with an arrival time.

Our Sunday School class had our Christmas party tonight, which started at 6:30. This was the first time that Paul, Grace, and I needed to all get ready to be somewhere and at a certain time. I was also responsible for getting stuffing for 10 and a dessert there as well. (My sweet bestie, Meg, made a pie for me to take...what a blessing!) Paul made the stuffing while I got Grace ready, then he got ready while it was cooking, and a got ready when he was done. We left the house with plenty of time, so I thought, and arrived there at about 6:40. We thought, that is pretty good, they won't have started yet. But they had. We were humiliated. Thankfully, my sweet friend Laura came to us standing right inside the door and brought us to her table to eat. We were so nervous about bringing Grace, since she was the only baby who would be there, but she was great and we had a blast! Every time I am with this group of people, I am blessed. I am so thankful that we found them!

Grace's first Santa experience

Paul's club had a member event where Santa Claus came to visit. Paul and I decided that would be the best time to take Grace to meet him for the 1st time, and would allow for us to take as many pictures as we wanted to with our camera for the right shot for our Christmas card. She did such a great job! I think Santa likes her! I can't wait to "be Santa" in a few years. We even had our first family picture in front of the Christmas tree. What sweet memories!