Thank You for the presents!

Thank you, Grandma Pat and Papa Norman for the AquaDoodle Mats!

Thanks, Aunt Beth for the cool Oragami set. This is great since we just studied Japan. Lily loves the tea set, too!
Thanks Aunt Deb & Uncle Carl for the hats, mittens, scarf and Nolan's shirt. Everybody loves these!

Ruby Elizabeth Rollins

I don't know if I just see it because I'm her mother, but I can see a beautiful image of her face. She looks like Emily to me and like Nolan from the side. Her nose is a little smushed, but she has it pressed against the placenta like a pillow. Somehow the ultrasound computer can tell that she is 4 pounds 6 ounces which is average weight for 32 weeks. Growing at a rate of half a pound a week will put her at about 8 pounds at birth. It will be very strange to not have an extra small baby. All of our kids have been around 6 pounds. Ironically, I have gained the least amount of weight this pregnancy and might have my biggest baby yet. I have figured that it's because of eating all-natural foods and the fact that I NEVER sit down!

We had all been arguing about the name until a couple of weeks ago. All the kids are named after a family member in some way and we were even disagreeing about which person to name her after. I had decided I was going to play the "I grew this baby, I get to name it" card, but I kind of felt like Jezebel doing that. So I prayed about it and asked for God to tell us what He wanted us to name her. Later that same week, I saw a good friend that I haven't seen in almost two years and she just said out of the blue, "What about the name Ruby?" I said, "Hey, that's my Grandma's middle name and the due date is her birthday". Luckily, Paul thought the name was great and then it was settled. Her middle name is Elizabeth after my sister.

Only 53 days until the due date! I am excited now, especially since I finally bought a package of newborn diapers and they are so tiny and smell like baby. It is pretty strange to have named her already because we have always waited until the last minute to decide on a name and we usually still aren't sure until we have to fill out the papers to leave the hospital.

Story Time

We are reading the juvinile version of The Pilgrim's Progress together as a family. It is a story about a man's journey to salvation and the people, obstacles and demons that stand in his way and try to distract him from reaching Christ. All the way he has to carry a huge burden on his back that weighs him down. He learns to go the way that is hard but best. It is a very good protrayal of the battles we must fight and the glorious life that we can receive, but there are also people who do get distracted and complacent and turn back to the easy way. It is perfect for Adam and Emily's age and also a great reminder for us adults. We really desire for our children to understand that they cannot just float through life with salvation based on a one-time prayer and see a life devoted to God as something they can deal with later on. The little ones are a little too young to understand the actual story, but they enjoy the family time together.

Christmas Parade

Nolan is getting his stance ready to run for the candy

Having fun watching the parade with Daddy and Papa

Emily was in the Christmas parade this weekend on the float for the soccer association, but I don't have a picture of her. She was on the float with about 20 other kids and we were on the opposite side of the street than the way she was facing. I barely saw the back of her head and the only reason why I knew it was her head is because I made her hat. She had a blast!
Nolan was squealing so much when the candy started falling on him. He was in sheer bliss!