Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone! We had lots of fun opening presents, creating memories, and celebrating Jesus. Jake and Abbey were very excited with the gifts they got. Jake's favorite started out being his GI Joe's and then ended up being a gun that Uncle Joey and Aunt Stacey got him. Abbey's favorite was hard to say. She loves her Diego backpack and all the animals that go with it. But she also liked the "bobble head puppies" as she calls them.
Also, a quick update on Shelley, she is doing well. She is 37, almost 38, weeks pregnant and is 2 cm dilated already. We're taking bets on if this will be a 2007 or 2008 "tax deduction". My bet is 2008, but we'll see.

Clark Griswold Jr.

We put lights up on our house for the second year in a row. Last year was much easier than this year. I picked a great day weatherwise to put them up this year, but everything didn't go as planned. Last year I made sure the lights were all working and put away properly and neatly for this year. Well, I got them out last week and tested all of the lights to make sure they were working. They worked when I tested them, but just like Chevy Chase on Christmas Vacation, I got all of the lights up and half of them didn't work. So, all my hard work was wasted. I took the broken lights down and retested them... they still didn't work. So, I went to Lowe's and bought some more lights. Fortunately these lights worked when I put them up the second time. Anyway, here's a picture of our house at night with the lights on. It's not the best picture, but it will have to do. And yes, our house is still up for sale!

Abigail's New Bedroom

We recently moved Abigail out of her crib and downstairs into a new bedroom and bed. When we were in Philly we went to Ikea and bought her a new bed and dresser. We took my old nightstand and vanity (from when I was younger) changed the hardware to match her new dresser and put it all together to make a bedroom set. We are really happy with how it turned out. Abbey is sleeping really good in her new bed and seemed to adjust well. The first night she slept from 7:30pm - 10:00am. It was the longest she's ever slept straight in her life and we were laughing because she was probably thinking "finally guys, a comfortable bed!" Thanks grandmom & grandpop for the mattress... it saved us a lot of money and here's the pictures that you wanted to see grandmom :)

Christmas Traditions

A few nights ago we decorated our Christmas tree. Every year gets more fun with the kids as they are able to do and understand so much more about Christmas and get into these traditions that we are starting as a family. The next day we went to the Leachs (good friends of ours) and Jacob, Abbey, Danielle & Connor made cookies (along with mine & Lisa's help). This is the second year we have done this together and plan on making it an annual thing. Another tradition we started this year was doing a nativity advent calendar. The kids have really been enjoying it and we feel like it is helping us keep our focus on the real meaning of this season as we prepare our hearts and count down the days to Christmas.

Beware of Stairs!

Yesterday we had quite a day. We went to a birthday party at the Cherry's house (friend's of ours from church). There were lots of people there and lots of kids. It was a chore just trying to keep an eye on where our kids were. Shelley decided to take a trip down into the basement to check on Abbey. Well, she somehow slipped as she was walking down the stairs and fell backwards and hit her head and back... and dropped the plate of food she was carrying all over the stairs. I didn't see her fall, but I sure heard it! The stairs were wood with no carpet, so the fall hurt quite a bit. For those of you who don't know, Shelley is 8 months pregnant. We were a little concerned, so we called the doctor and he sent us to the ER to have her checked out.
We went to the local ER... minus Jake, he wanted to stay at the party and continue playing... and Shelley was treated for her golf-ball-sized bump on her head and Micah was checked on as well. Everything appeared normal, but we were still sent to Hillcrest Hospital so that Shelley could be monitored for the next 4 hours or so... their standard protocol. I guess it was a good thing we went, because Shelley began having contractions every 3 to 10 minutes and was slightly dilated! The contractions subsided after a quick shot of medicine and at about 1am the doctor discharged us, with medication to stop the contractions if they start again.
While this was all going on, Grandma and Grandpa Richings took care of Jake and Abbey and got them to bed. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!! Anyway, it's take-it-easy time for Shelley and watch out for those stairs!!!

Glenside, PA

We were at my parents house in Glenside, PA for the last week. We had lots of fun. Grandmom and Grandpop really enjoyed their time with Jake and Abbey (and me and Shelley too!). My dad and I went to the Flyers game on Monday. They lost to the Bruins, but it was still a great time. We also went to a place called Roadside America. It is a miniature railroad display that covers an enormous room. The kids really loved it. It was really amazing. We also stopped by Cabela's. It's a really cool store even if you're not into hunting, fishing, camping, etc. There was a huge display of stuffed animals that the kids loved. Jacob really got a kick out of the shooting gallery. On our last day we went to one of our favorite stores, IKEA. We bought a new bed and dresser for Abbey. Anyway, we had a great time and it was nice to see my parents again!