Christmas update in January...

Sorry for the very tardy update on our Christmas. Blogging just hasn't made its way to the top of my priority list lately. Nonetheless, here is a glimpse at what our Christmas holidays held this year.

We got a whole LOT of snow this year. Several blizzards that left people stranded, and everything covered in a blanket of white. Things looked beautiful for a while, but now that its all melting and the flooding has begun, I think everyone is regretting their request for a white Christmas :) Or maybe not.

We attended the Christmas Eve service at Broadway MB this year so we could see Konrad and Ava's singing performance. It was just as cute as we had hoped and the rest of the candlelight service was beautiful.

Konrad is the handsome young man in the front row--the far right hand side...Ava wasn't actually supposed to be singing with the others but when she saw her big brother heading for the stage, she insisted that she join in on the action. She stood off to the side, looking very cute in her Christmas dress, and doing a good job of mimicking the words to the song :) I only got a blurry shot as we were pretty far from the front, but I thought I'd add it anyway.
Christmas came early for our Glen family this year. We celebrated on Dec. 20th because both Viv & Rich had to work on Christmas Eve (which is when we traditionally get together). Mom made a most delectable turkey dinner, as she always does, and we had a good evening of gift opening, chatting to Craig & Jen on the phone, and laughing hysterically over a game of Catch Phrase.

Here's our attempt at a family shot. If you look closely, you'll see that Jon is making a silly face-- nothing out of the ordinary :)

Opening presents...

Next was our Esau family Christmas. We all met at Erich & Naomi's on Christmas morning, for our usual brunch and day of relaxing together. This Christmas was EXTRA special! When Jon's oldest sister Susanne & her boyfriend Juergen arrived, they had some fantastic news to share and a large stone to go along with the story. They're ENGAGED!!!! Juergen popped the question the night before (Christmas Eve) when they had shared their Christmas together. And let me tell you... Susie's ring is breathtakingly beautiful! Definitely the biggest "rock" I've seen in a LONG time :)

Mom & Dad Esau showing off their new "eyeglass holders" from the kids...

Stealing some snuggles with Calvin...

Calvin started crawling this Christmas, but before he figured out the forward motion, he quickly mastered reverse. There were a few times over the course of the day that I found him underneath the couch after scooting his bum under it. Too cute!!

Jon & I were able to escape for a few days and enjoyed some "us" time in Vancouver from Dec. 26-28. We stayed at the Downtown Delta, with a view of the Harbour Centre from our window. After a treacherous drive in (we hit a major blizzard on our way into the city), we upgraded to a King suite and relaxed in our room before heading out to do some shopping & eating. The neat thing about having the Harbour Centre just outside our room was that, that was where Jon took me for a romantic dinner, just after proposing on Dec. 29,2004. The Harbour Centre donns the ritzy "Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant" and it holds a lot of special memories for us.

The weekend held everything I had hoped it would. Sleeping in, watching movies, shopping, good food and tons of relaxing. Just what we needed after a busy month of festivities.

As I mentioned in my last post, I didn't get any pictures while we were at The Hills Ranch in 108 Mile house. But the trip was fabulous & I really hope we're able to do it again next year!

So, to finish of this post, here's another preggo picture. It was taken at 16 weeks (4 months), which was last week but seeing as I haven't really changed that much over the course of one week, it will have to do for a "current" picture :)

Its hard to believe that we're less than 3 weeks away from the halfway mark already. The first trimester did feel long, considering how gross I felt, but now that I look back, it seems crazy to think how much time has flown by. We go for our 18 week ultrasound next Wednesday and are really looking forward to seeing our little munchkin again.

Some of you may be curious about that statement because most people only have their first ultrasound at the 18 week point. But we had our first one at 10.5 weeks. When I went in for my first prenatal appt., the doctor couldn't tell from the internal exam, whether the baby was growing in the uterus or in my left fallopian tube. He said he was 90% sure that everything was OK but wanted to be 100% sure, and therefore sent me for an emergency ultrasound. Having an ectopic pregnancy has actually been my biggest fear from the start, and though he tried to convince me not to worry... I worried. It was hard to sleep that night, because when you've been carrying this little one, that negative 10% chance seems far greater than the other 90% good. But thankfully, upon seeing the u/s the next day, it was clear that baby was right where he/she was supposed to be.

I was amazed at how "baby-like" our little one looked at such a young stage and will remember that day forever. It was VERY active during the u/s and had all its fingers, toes and a rapidly beating heart. Jon wasn't able to be there for it, so my mom came with me. Both of us teared up as soon as we saw that little life and that was the day, the reality of this pregnancy hit me. I really, truly have a little person growing inside of me, and the indescribable joy that brings, is unbelievable.

Next Wednesday's u/s can't come quickly enough and I'm really looking forward to watching Jon experience that joy for the first time. We just pray that God continues to keep the baby safe and that when we meet this little life in June, that he/she would be healthy. The anticipation is building daily... :)