This past weekend the Fernandez family came to visit us! We enjoyed their stay. On Friday night we only had cookies and talked because it was around 8:30 when they arrived. On Saturday we relaxed...well the girls did...the guys got up at 5:30 to run 11 miles :(

We met the Flores parents for breakfast and then did a little shopping at the mall (girls only). That night, they attended our program at church- We Believe. It was a blast! We were glad to host our families at our beloved church home.At the Cracker Barrel. It got really cold up here this weekend.Aaron is on the far right, singing in a quartet on the song Glorious Impossible. It was one of my favorite songs of the night! Aaron also did a great job on a solo, Sing Noel. I was so proud. We are so thankful to be in this choir together.If this looks like chaos, it's because it is. The children performed on the song, Come and See What's Happenin' in the Barn. They were adorable...the highlight of the program! Joey and Sierra came to watch on Sunday night. There was a reception after that performance.

Today I went for the 12 week appointment and was able to hear our baby's heartbeat again...it's around 150bpm. Everything looks great! It has been a wonderful pregnancy so far. I've rarely been nauseated- only when I hadn't eaten anything, so it is a quick fix. Before becoming pregnant, I had frequent headaches. They are gone now! I've had only one in the whole 12 weeks. What an encouraging 1st trimester!
I know this is a terrible picture. Aaron and I are still working on how to take these belly shots. We will keep practicing and post another one in a couple of weeks.

This is your official invitation to come join the Christmas celebration at our church this weekend! If you can't read the print, it's Saturday and Sunday night at 7pm. Aaron and I are both singing and it will be worshipful and Christ-exalting!

We were glad that Tyler and Jenny joined us!

Aaron and I are having a baby! I am 11 weeks along today. This picture of Baby Fernandez is from 3 weeks ago, taken at our 8 weeks appointment. Look for this new soul around June 21st, 2008.
Praise God for this undeserved grace and favor!

When we got back from NC last weekend, I insisted on getting all of the Christmas decorations out of the boxes. After I brought everything out, life happened and time was too short to actually decorate! So our house looked like this for a few days:
By Thursday things started to come together. Yesterday Erin met me at Michaels to help me with the tree because I'm decor-challenged. It was pretty sad before she added her talents to it! Thanks, Erin.
We have one more day today to finish up because we are hosting a party tomorrow night. Look for pictures!

Sorry for such a delay in posting about the holiday. The house has been a priority this week...it's finally clean(er), so here are some recaps from last weekend in NC!

The teenagers watched a movie.

The guys watched their football.

Some of them played football.

And PeePaw got his groove on. We were all in a good mood!

Time to eat! The food was delicious, as it was at every meal we attended over the weekend. We were definitely spoiled.
Then, on Thursday evening we drove to Lucama for Granny's celebration. Unfortunately, I was too involved in the conversation and food that I forgot to get out my camera to take pictures. I will make up for it at the Christmas party.

On Friday evening, we went to Pinehurst to be graciously served by Grandma Carolyn, Grand Aunty Nancy, and Granddaddy. Again, I came up short on the photography and didn't get a group picture. But here are some individual shots of us relaxing after dinner!

Looks like Stephen is really into that conversation. Sorry, those are coffee table decorations blocking the subjects of the photo.
Lovebirds :) Joey and Sierra
We love each other, too!

And the spread they prepared: (I counted 14 dishes, just in this picture)And the guys concentrating so hard on their Nintendo 64 game.

We had a great tour of NC. Thanks to all the family that invited us! We came home on Saturday night to be at church on Sunday, and Nathan and Erin served us yet another fabulous lunch afterwards. How can I live up to all that cooking?

We hope you had a great holiday also. Now we look forward to Christmas! We have our first party tomorrow night, in fact!

We have been living in Salem for one year! November 18 was the day we closed on our house and moved last year. Time has passed fast, but we are thankful for every minute of it. We enjoy living here, and we are so comfortable in our home! Thank God for his abundant grace.

I realized we don't have many pictures of the house on our blog. This is our humble abode!Living room

Dining room

Our bedroom

Downstairs guest bedroom

Our bathroom Upstairs guest bedroom
2nd upstairs bedroom

Upstairs bathroom

As you can see, we have several guest beds...so come visit!

I am missing two rooms...the kitchen and movie room. I'll take pictures tomorrow and post them.

Hhmmm...doesn't he look guilty? He can't even look at me!