An update

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. We've had a busy holiday, and I just didn't have the energy to blog. But now we're home and enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon, so here's what's been happening with us.

We spent a great Christmas day here at home. It was the first Christmas we've spent in our own home since we've gotten married, and we had fun spending it together. Jacey helped me open her presents, since she can grab things very well now. After lunch we started packing up things for our trip to Nashville. Mitch was so ready for the vacation. I was a little worried about how Jacey was going to do traveling in the car for a day and a half, but she was such a good trooper. Mitch and I decided to just take it easy, and however long it took was ok. We arrived there at about 2 on Thursday.

The last visit to Nashville back in October was very hectic. We all wanted to just take things easy and relax. I didn't see everyone that I wanted to this time, but the family time was priceless. Mitch and I even went on our first date in four months! We definitely did ourselves a disservice by not going on a date earlier, and have resolved to go on one at least once a month now. Christmas with my family was great too. We were spoiled and loved it. Mom and I now have webcams so that she and Jacey can get to know each other even though they're apart. Charlotte got an Xbox 360 for Christmas, so she and Mitch played Guitar Hero III and Halo 3 most of the week. They were a blast to watch. No one plays Xbox with Mitch so well, not even me.

For New Year's Eve Charlotte invited all of her college friends to dinner and a sleepover. They wanted an excuse to dress up (mainly the girls did, I'm sure) and to see each other over the break. She cooked a really good batch of lasagna and peppermint ice cream cake. She also looked great, I might add, thanks to some help from her big sister. We got her a complete outfit in about and hour and a half (jewelry and shoes included!). The next morning we figured out that about 15 people slept over that night, including ourselves.

On Wednesday we headed to Atlanta for the National Conference on Youth Ministries (NCYM) and hooked up with Shawn and Katie Frazier for lunch. It's so nice to be able to see them now that they live in the Nashville area. Mitch and I both miss all of our Harding friends, and look for any opportunity to get together. They are both doing a wonderful job as teachers at Middle Tennessee Christian. That evening we arrived in Atlanta and really enjoyed the next three days. Mitch got some good ideas, but also connected with a lot of people he hadn't talked to in awhile. I love watching him and knowing what a good job he's doing. Jacey's schedule (and her learning that she has a voice) didn't allow me to do a lot of things, but I was able to go to one class on "preparing your daughter for every woman's battle." Basically it was how to prepare your daughter to be sexually pure. Sometimes having a little baby makes you forget about the lessons you as a parent are going to have to teach later on. I learned many valuable things that will hopefully help Jacey and our future children.

By Saturday we were ready to start towards home, so we returned to Nashville to do some laundry and rest up for traveling. We made it home on Tuesday and were so glad to see our beds. Right now we're mainly caught up with rest and taking care of things, but Jacey's having difficulty taking her afternoon nap. She cried for an hour or so both Wednesday and Thursday. She did ok yesterday but today reverted back. She's just not able to put herself back to sleep without a lot of help. I'm not suprised, since she had a stressful two weeks. It's just hard to know what to do and when to pick her up and not create bad habits. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon.

Our big Christmas present arrived on Wednesday...our new couch and loveseat! We are now finally grownups. At least that's what it feels like. They're very pretty and very big. We are loving them. Anything is better than a worn-out old futon.

Well, that's what's been happening these past few weeks with us. Hopefully I'll have some pictures for you soon.