Upward Basketball 2010

JD's Upward Basketball team, the Knights, are having a great season. Their coach is leading them on to come-back wins and amazing 3-pointers that draw audience gasps (especially from me). These kids are so good! I look forward to each Saturday morning game. I love listening to the kids on the court; this week, I heard two boys congradulating their team mate on a great pass as they ran down the court. When another player fell on his knee, his buddy came up and put his arm around him, asking if he needed to sit out and rest for a few minutes. They really care about each other and exemplify amazing teamwork out there. I like to give credit to their leader - JD Pond. :)

P.S. I apologize for the poor photography quality. The gym has really bad lighting!

January Livin'

Although it's cold and grey outside, I love cold winters in Illinois for the fact that you have to sit inside and hibernate. It's so relaxing, and we get so much accomplished because there's no traveling to do and no outside activities to lure us away.

For me, school has kicked into high gear. I had four books to read this weekend; I read two. JD is kept busy with work, church, basketball, and small group. Most nights are spent on the couch behind books or computers, and most weekends consist of eating, sleeping, reading, and working around the house. JD has already finished 2/3 of the baby's room where he's installing beadboard, and it looks so good. I can't wait to post some pictures when he's finished.

And I love how excited he is about this baby! When he tells people the sex of the child, he says, "We're having a son!" instead of "boy." And when I went looking for the baby outfit we'd just opened from a neighbor, this is where I found it:

It's a ........... BOY!!!

This is the picture that, although really hard to see, shows little Michael's baby boy parts. He's sitting on the camera, so we're looking up at his butt, which is rounded on the right side. On the bottom, you see his leg coming down, bent at the knee. In the middle, headed toward the left is the umbilical cord and the, well, you know. That's all the help I can give!

This is a clearer picture of Michael's face. He is facing forward, and the whole picture is a close-up of his head, which is resting at an angle. He looks like a skeleton, pretty much, here.

This one is a profile of him laying down, with his head on the left side.

Here we have the bottom of his two feet, one in each picture.

On the left is another profile shot of him laying down, and on the right is another close-up of his face.

It was so cool to see him for the first time, feeling his movements while watching them on the screen at the same time. The doctor says he's perfect in measurements and weight, speed of heart beat and brain development. And we're excited to continue the family line with a second Michael in the family; Uncle Mike has a lot to teach him.

Snowy Normal

Well, we've been back for a week, and we're settling in nicely. JD went back to work (he is feeling much better, finally), and I prepared for classes, read, and cleaned all week. JD's third-grade basketball team, the Scarlett Knights (they disowned the Scarlett part) had their first game Saturday morning and won! Those kids are actually really good players! I was on the edge of my seat for the entire game.

It snowed 5 1/2 inches last week, leaving us with a total of 9-10 inches on the ground. JD has been shoveling so that our driveway is one of the prettiest on the street! The snow makes walking to school much more difficult. On Friday, I was trudging home among the footprints and accidentally ended up in a drift up to my knees! I can't wait to tell our child that I had to walk to school in the snow, uphill both ways--which is true!

Here's our bird-bath.

Gizmo won't move off the floor heating vent. You can just see the edges of it protruding from under her butt.

And quick baby update: I'm now 18 weeks, and we'll get to find out the sex next Wednesday. How exciting!

Christmas, New Year's, and Such

It was so nice to go home for Christmas. I was out of town for a total of 2 1/2 weeks, with JD joining me for the last 2. Christmas activities abounded at home; Michael and I even made some ginger bread houses with only a few flaws (such as my collapsing roof).

I also had some time to visit friends while in town. I realize that I now appear in more pictures with friends' babies than with the friends themselves, but I guess that's how it is now! I got to visit with Amy and her daughter, Caroline, early in the week.

Once JD got to Atlanta, we traveled to Birmingham, AL for Christmas Eve as usual. There, we saw our favorites, Clay and Stacy, and their daughter, Nora. Two cuties!!

Stacy is due in February, so we enjoyed being pregnant together for the first time! I love this picture because I actually look bigger than her, which of course is ridiculous!

Christmas was great. We had lots of good family time and relaxation. But JD was especially excited about our upcoming trip to Breckenridge, CO for some skiing and, for me, some reading. We flew there the Wednesday after Christmas, and JD began skiing New Year's Eve. This was the view from our bedroom window.

We met our friends Brian and Heather there, with their baby, Kyla. The boys went off adventuring while I got a massage in town, and us girls did some shopping and hanging out.

Kyla and I got along splendidly, and she didn't even mind every time I laughed at the funny expressions she was learning!

Unfortunately, the fun of the trip ended with that first day. JD got food poisoning New Year's Eve night, and I had to take him to the hospital where he stayed for a day and a half. Afterward, he had time only to regain some strength before we were scheduled to fly back to Atlanta. I wish I could say that the vacation was a good one, but both of us were ready to leave by Sunday!! At least he had a good view of the mountains from his hospital window.

We drove home to Illinois Monday, and JD is finally feeling himself again. After such a long vacation that ended badly, we're both glad to be home. Gizmo missed us horribly; she told me so herself. And now I have a few days before school starts again next week. It feels good to get back into our old routine and to settle down into the winter months. I know that winter is hitting the country hard this year, and Illinois is no different, but bad weather always gives me plenty of time to hit the books. Here goes my last semester of classes ever!!