favorite shots

Isabella in a cute red dress. *note the sparkly red shoes*


The changing table is a happy place for Bella (pictured in green). She smiles the most here for some reason. (Diaper changes can sometimes take 30 minutes because of this...)


Maw Maw and Paw Paw in their element.


A family shot that is the least terrible of all of the ones we have taken....

)
The Graves family. Next year there will be another little one in the picture! How exciting!! A lady at my church said "the more kids you have, the more selfishness is driven out of you" So hooray for their journey to selflessness! We hope they will join us in Lynchburg and we can journey together. :

getting cuter by the minute

Bella learned to smile last week. It is so exciting to make her/watch her smile. I never thought something so simple would give me such joy.

She continues to LOVE bath time and smiles big smiles when daddy sings her "My Girl". She doesn't smile quite so much when I sing.... (I'm sure it's not because of my voice though.)

Bella got to meet Maw Maw and Paw Paw and the other GA relatives. She was loved by all and had some special bonding with Maw Maw (who is supplying her with very cute dresses).
Aunt Lydia and Elijah were able to come to GA at the same time. We had lots of fun and were able to take cousin and Great Grandparent pictures. Elijah passed on a cold he had and hit Bella on the head with a butter churn. Elijah also played with me a lot (which I loved) and was super sweet when taking pictures with Bella. I hope he and Bella will be very close friends.

On the way home Bella was able to see both sets of Grandparents and Uncle John & Aunt Heather.

It is exciting to experience God's truth that "children are a blessing."

ISABELLA

Well, it's been over a month since baby Isabella was born. We have done a really horrible job of updating this thing! She was 21 inches long, 7.7lbs, and healthy as can be. Now she is 10lbs...growing like a weed!

Here is a link to a lot of pictures: McKinley Picasa Photo Album
We'll try to update this with a link when we add pictures. It takes entirely too much time to add them to blogger.

We got a chance last weekend unexpectedly to go visit both sets of Grandparents in Augusta and Columbia. We are so grateful that they live in such close vicinity. They really enjoyed seeing Isabella and she loved seeing them.

In other news, we have created a videoblog for our family on youtube. They are yet to respond on what they think of the idea, but we hope it will catch on and be a source of fun in the years to come.

Here is our first post.

Pregnancy comments....

My sister Lydia, who is very good at blogging, brought up the interesting topic of pregnancy comments. These are some of the ones I have received:
"I can tell your gaining weight in your face now."
-co worker
"I think you are going to have to work on your butt weight the most after the baby comes"
-husband
"Are you having twins?"
-stranger at Kroger
"We better get out of the hallway now, there's not enough room"
-Pastor
my favorite is:
"You are such a cute pregnant girl, you are just all belly"


The baby is due in 3 days!!! I've had some contractions and am 1cm at my checkup on Wednesday. I am hoping to go soon as I would like to be home for Christmas... (not to mention I have cute Christmas pj's for Blueberry)

Lyd & Eric arrive on the 19th. I have been anticipating our long visit with great excitement.
The McKinleys will arrive on Christmas Eve so I know Christmas day will be very special. :)

Currently sipping my rasberry tea and hoping for some baby action. (Even though labor scares me!!)
God is faithful. I certainly am mad at Eve for eating the fruit though....

Thanksgiving Tomorrow

Blueberry is now full term. I am anxious for him or her to come out, but nervous about how I will handle labor. My pregnant body has become more awkward in the last week, and I find myself slowing down...

Nana and Papa are coming in tonight. Nana is making the entire Thanksgiving dinner which is really really nice (especially because I worked today and tomorrow and have never made Thanksgiving food. :) I just remembered we don't have enough glasses for everyone at the table... (plastic cups from a pizza place anyone?)

We already have the house decorated for Christmas. I have to work this weekend so we couldn't have done it then, and I am anxious for it to be ready for the Grave's arrival. They are coming to spend Christmas with us (which is a big sacrafice I think) and I hope it is a very fun a special one for them. I am currently feeding the baby some egg nog. Yum. I think Blueberry likes it. Joseph does not however, and compares it to drinking snot.

The nursery is coming along well. I chose a bright yellow color and am accenting it with black sheep and white furniture. (ok, i stole the idea from pottery barn kids...) I think it will be very cute. Mom reapolstered (sp?) the rocker I got and it is super cute. Nana is buying the pottery barn lamb bumper so I think it will turn out well.

I love the little Blueberry and am so excited to find out if it is a boy or a girl!!! Joseph and I feel like it is a girl, but everyone is dreaming about it and it's always a boy...

a post from dad

This is dad's first post on the blueberry blog. This is a note to all of our friends and family who are praying for us and helping us out with getting ready for this baby blessing to arrive. Thanks so much! It means so much to Abigail and I who were blessed with this gift very unexpectedly, leaving us feeling very unprepared. God has proven himself faithful to us through you and your ministering to us. We can't wait to hold this baby in our arms and introduce you to eachother. It will be a very special time indeed.

a synchronize swimmer?

I don't just feel the baby kick anymore, I feel it move and flip flop inside me. I will look down and my stomach will be lopsided (Blueberry seems to favor my left side). I can't tell what body part I feel when it's moving, but I think it might be it's little bottom. I just hope it does not like the frank breech posistion that it was in when we had our last ultrasound.
I finally have two days off of work! I started a home health job, so I have been a busy girl... I am 26 weeks now, so I only have to keep it up for 14 more (and then on to the easy task of labor and child rearing....)
Looking forward to time with family at Myrtle Beach as well! I just need to somehow find a maternity bathing suit and a nice dress to wear. Lynchburg is not a hot spot for shopping (except the J.CREW store!) so this is no easy task.
Still working on my wedding thank you's (how embarrassing).
We pick up Jackson from the vet today (his manhood has officially been removed...) Hopefully this will help his potty training.
God's faithfulness continues. He has faithfully provided and I am confident will continue to do so. I am sad that I do not have more time at church to minister. I miss that, but look forward to the opportunities after the baby comes and we have somewhat figured out how to be parents.