So I know that everyone already heard on Facebook that we are having baby #3, but I figured I'd just put it on here for the journal aspect of the blog. We're due July 22 and we are so excited! Although, we'd love a girl or boy, we're kind of hoping for a boy so that Jacey can have a brother close enough in age to actually do things with growing up. Any more spread apart and there will be a big gap that might make them not be as close. My dear sister, Lizzie and I were just under 2 years apart and she definitely has always been one of my best friends. :) And I want that for all of my kids! And I know they can have that with a sibling of the opposite sex, but there's something about playing with barbies that just wouldn't be the same with my brothers. :) haha. In all honesty, I'm actually terrified about having this baby....but only for the actual labour and delivery. I'm sure many of you remember my surprise circumstances with Jaclyn's labour and it still makes me feel panicky when i think of it! I have issues I hope I can deal with before July comes! This past month has been tough, the lovely sick part of pregnancy that you are all aware of! Diclectin is my best friend! It's amazing the difference it makes the next morning, if I take it when I go to bed! I've been more tired than I remember being in past pregnancies and I feel like I can't get enough sleep! Having Jacey in my bed is a problem (obviously that we need to fix before the baby comes) right now though, because he sleeps RIGHT at my side and my back is already killing me and I find myself waking up SEVERAL times throughout the night to readjust. It's awful! And I haven't even gotten big yet! Anyway, all the lovely things we go through to bring our beautiful children to the world! It's obviously worth it, or we wouldn't do it, right?? :)

Since I've been so tired and sick, I decided that any energy I do have, needs to be directed at my kids, since they're obviously suffering from my lack of attention. So to help me focus on that important job, I decided to deactivate my facebook account. Rather than going to the computer when I feel okay, I need to play with my kids! It was really easy the first couple of days, but I find myself wondering what everyone is up to! It's crazy how much I relied on facebook to feel connected to anybody and everybody!! And also it's funny and also kind of pathetic how much I went on there. The first day I deactivated it, I was doing laundry and cleaning...and I was feeling so proud of myself for being productive...so I started walking towards the computer so I could put on my status "I'm having such a productive day!" Then I remembered I didn't have facebook anymore, and I started laughing at how stupid that was!!! Oh man, it's so funny! I didn't realize how much I truly centered my day around facebook. Now, probably most of you aren't THAT addicted to facebook, but I will admit that I was. It truly was an escape for me from my daily grind to get on and feel connected to people! Anyway, because of this realization, I'm glad I decided to take a break from it for a while, because I need to get out of the habit of it! Just as much as I need to spend more time with my kids. But I do miss you all! And knowing what you're doing..and seeing pictures etc. I feel a little lost, but it's okay..there was life before facebook and there can still be life now :D

So this year, we decorated for Christmas early, I think i mentioned that in my last post...and i will NEVER do it again!! It's WAYYYYYYY too long!! A few times I've come really close to putting them away early! Jaclyn cannot keep her hands off the tree....I feel like I redecorate it 3 times a day! And my pile of broken decorations is growing!! Maybe it's just so bad because my kids are so little, but I'm pretty sure Christmas can't go from the beginning of November till the end of December. Or else the magic dies early! But..lesson learned! I'm still excited for Christmas, but I sure can't wait to put my decorations away!!! And I will never decorate before Dec 1 again. EVER.

I've always been jealous of people's husbands that get time off around Christmas. Like my brother Jonathan..he gets 3 weeks. And my brother in law, Keith, he gets 2 weeks. Not like my husband, Jeffrey...who gets 2. Two days that is. Christmas Day and Boxing Day. We're lucky because this year, boxing day is on Saturday, so monday is off for boxing day. Which I'm actually surprised his office is doing! They're not very big on closing their office for ANYTHING. Which is good for business...just sad for the employees and their families! BUTTTT... I just found out that Jeffrey has 4 days saved up that he can take for holidays (which never happens because he usually has used them all up through the year already) so he gets all the days off in between Christmas and New Years AND an extra day a couple of days before Christmas!!! So including stat holidays and weekends, he'll get 10 days off in a row!! Plus that one extra day! I'm ECSTATIC!!!!! We're going to be able to actually DO things with our families instead of just hear about it! Like maybe go to Banff and go skating...or go to the Mountain Home (every year my whole family goes for the week between Christmas and New Years, and I've NEVER been). Kandice will be up with her boyfriend, Brady and I'm excited that we'll actually be free to hang out and get to know him better!! Anyway, most of you probably all get that time off with your families, but I am excited to experience it for the first time!!!! :)

Okay, so just to end. Here are some family pics that Heather took for us. We've never really done a family photo shoot before. Jeffrey and I don't like getting our pictures taken! But, obviously, we need to do it once in a while! The lighting was really bad when we did it though, it was getting late...and it was FREEZING and our kids didn't really want to cooperate. So we just got a few good ones. We're going to have to try to do it again soon though! I do like what turned out however, it's so nice to have us ALL in the pictures and like them!! :D

Christmas Time!!!

They totally had to trade hats this year. Jaclyn is CRAZY! :)

I am sooo beyond excited for Christmas. We've been decorated since Remembrance Day, the earliest I've ever done it! We love turning all the lights off except for the Christmas lights and dancing around to christmas songs. Well actually, mostly Jingle Bells because to Jacey, "that's Christmas!" My kids love running around and laying on and playing in this Christmas blanket we inherited from Cyndi. This is totally something Lizzie and I would have done when we were little. We always marched around the border of the area rug in our living room to many different types of music growing up...and this Christmas blanket would have been such a treat! :) We watch Christmas movies daily and drink hot chocolate! Polar Express and The Grinch (real live version) are our favorites right now. I haven't gotten sick of them yet! The only problem I've encountered so far are the broken decorations. I have quite a collection building up in my room that I have to glue back together. In all reality, I'll probably wait until the Christmas season is over and do it all at once so I don't have to do it multiple times! Jeffrey and I are done our Christmas shopping (with the exception of some online orders) and it feels GOOD! I can't wait to wrap all the gifts, it's one of my favorite things to do!! I have to wait until we get closer though, or we'll be having Christmas early at our house! There's not a chance my kids would leave them alone! I love that they're too young to notice the mounds of things hiding under blankets in my closet though. They have bumped them and walked by them a hundred times and not even questioned it. It's kind of funny! I remember my mom would just load her bathtub up with gifts (they had a separate shower..don't worry, they didn't just forget about showering during Christmas) and then put a big blanket on it and just trust us not to look under it. I will admit that some years I peeked and others I didn't. And the years I didn't look, Christmas morning was ALWAYS better. Anyway, I just love Christmas. I love all the memories of past years and making new memories with my kids! It's so fun!! Here are some pics of my kids enjoying Christmas. I decided with Jeffrey busy getting his insurance company/website up and running, I wouldn't wait for him to take pictures for me. So I forced this photoshoot on my kids today so I could make sure to preserve some memories. I also photoshopped them myself...or attempted to. I have to say this so that no one thinks Jeffrey's amazing skills are going down hill! :) Hope you are all enjoying this wonderful Christmas season!