A sweet friend has put me back online after a long two weeks of computer sharing with Corey and my limited phone ability. A non-working monitor has put me into perspective of how thankful I am to have a computer of my own and to stop complaining about the one I have. Why does it take losing something to make us appreciate it? Like for instance my camera has been at the Cannon repair shop in Newport News, VA (a lovely place of which I used to live) for a month, the ransom letter came yesterday informing me of the expense to get my dearly beloved camera out of captivity and back in my hands in seven business days. Hence the reason for the lack of pictures in this post and why years from now we will be searching for the missing pictures of Fall 2011.

Exciting things have happened this month...Jett playing in leaves, an early Thanksgiving with my family and Corey 's dad, Jacob's first and second mountain bike race (where he won 2nd and 3rd place) and the exhilarating news that come April baby Joel will be joining our family.

If you can imagine an ultrasound room, imagine it fully occupied with 7 bodies plus the technician, eyes glued to the screen on the wall, watching for an arm, a leg, a glimpse of the baby's head and eagerly awaiting to find out if we are going to have a new brother or sister come spring.

I know that I have said this more times then anyone cares to hear but not only has God blessed us with beautiful, healthy children, he has blessed my children with a prayer I said so long ago I can barely remember it. A prayer and a desire of my heart that my children would have a sibling close to them that was the same gender. So when a boy part flashed on that screen, I was again thrown back to the day when John was barely walking and we were planning our next baby, praying and asking God for this child yet formed, with this deep desire that the baby to be would be a boy.....and 12 months later Jacob filled our world.

As I sit here at 5:30 in the morning after I was woken by those same two boys, pulling on long-johns, coveralls, toboggans, and boots, I look at the baby sleeping in my bed and fill the kicks of the baby inside of me...and I imagine as all expectant mothers do of how close these two will be, of all they will do and the love and bond they will share between the two of them.

Christmas is coming and I know Thanksgiving has yet to come but we celebrated Saturday and were filled with love, fun and great food. So the to-do list this week is to pack up the pumpkins and bring out the trees.