More Christmas Pictures

Enjoying some time with my two Great-Grandmas!



Hanging out with Uncle Adam - don't you love the bow in his hair!


I really do want that Diet Coke - if you would just move me closer!



This airport action wears me out!



A hug or is that a tackle from my cousin Ramsey.



Allison's Cinderella Dress she got for Christmas - we love it!



Funny Faces!


More Funny Faces!


I love my bunny hat!


We had so many great pictures of Allie at Christmas that I thought I would share just a few more. So enjoy :) I am amazed at how quickly they grow and change!

She is a joy!

Allie Grace's First Christmas

We had a wonderful time in Missouri over the holidays! It was a trip of many "firsts" for Allie. She had her first trip on an airplane at 2 1/2 months, she met many of her family for the first time, met many friends for the first time, spent the night at grandma's house for the first time, made the annual trip to Porky's for the first time - and even had her first sip of Mt. Dew (which mommy didn't know about until daddy was caught putting a straw in Allie's mouth!!!! - - - she did smile really big though! - she just got a drop). It was so fun to introduce Allie to everyone! The joke was that every time she woke from a nap there was a new face in front of her and many times in a new house. She was a wonderful traveler - never cried on the plane and slept most of the time. She was a trooper! Grandma and Grandpa had a great time with her. Grandma even got to take her to work one day and show her off. She did go to Grandpa's work too and meet everyone there. She was able to meet her Great-Grandparents too! It was a great 1st Christmas and we will be spending her first Easter there too as Jeremy will be on a mission trip to China. We would appreciate your prayers for Jeremy and the trip and Allison and I as we are away from him.

Enjoy the pics! There were soooooooo many - it was hard to choose. We had taken 150 pictures in the first 3 days we were there. When you have 2 new babies and a cute 1 1/2 year old you are reminded how great digital pictures are!



"When is take-off?"


The three cousins all together!



Laura Allison with Allison Grace


Allie with her Great-Grandma, Dorothy Allison Love



"Come on Jett, this is fun!!!!!!"



"Wow - all of this is mine? I could fit in there!"



"Grandpa gave me the Carl Edwards bib - Dad says I can spit-up on it. Who do I cheer for?"



The Christmas Elves



Allie's first trip to Porky's restaurant



Allie Grace with her Great-Grandpa Love (otherwise known as Papa)



"All this excitement has worn me out - it is time for a nap."

"To Grandmother's House We Go!"

Well, we won't be going "over the river and through the woods," but we are heading to Allie's Grandma and Grandpa's house tomorrow. Yes, Allie's first Christmas will be on an airplane headed to her grandparents house! We are so excited and can hardly wait for the rest of the family to meet Allie Grace! She will be meeting uncles, cousins, aunts, friends and even great-grandparents! What a joy it will be to spend time with family and introduce them to our little Allie! We would appreciate your prayers as we travel and that it won't be too long of a day for Allison (or her parents :) ).

Looking back over the past year, it is evident time and time again how God has provided and cared for us! We are recipients of such marvelous grace! We are more than thankful for Allison and the blessing she has been to us! God is so good and we are blessed! May He be the focus of our lives daily! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!

Time for a New Post

Well, as Drama Queen put it - it is time for a new post! I love the holiday season, but it seems that things often get busy and with having family here, the blog got put aside for a bit. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Jeremy's family here! What a joy and blessing to be able to celebrate together and have Anna and Allie together! I think between three cameras and two new babies we had a total of over 600 pictures in just 4 days! Yea for digital cameras!!!!!!!!!!

Allie is growing so fast and brings us such joy and smiles each day! She is a happy little girl! At her 2 month appointment (wow - that is hard to believe!) she was 10 lb. 8 oz. and was 22 inches. She has captured our hearts - especially her Daddy's! It is such fun to watch her smile! She has started checking out her hands and will sit and stare at it - what fun to watch her discover the world around her.

We are counting the days until Christmas. Jeremy and I both are so looking forward to introducing Allie to the family. We will be flying on Christmas day and then spend some time with family and friends in Missouri. It will be sweet to have Allie meet her aunts, uncles, cousins, great-grandparents, other family and friends! Just think what we can do with so many cameras for over a week! I am also hoping that there might be a little snow when we are there - I know it sounds crazy but I miss it!

Enjoy the new pictures of Allie!

So Much to Be Thankful For!

I wanted to post some recent pictures of Allie Grace! She is changing everyday - - and time goes way toooooo fast! She is so much fun and we are enjoying the smiles, coos, and all the cute sounds she makes! Allie is getting so alert and it is so much fun! She has also started sleeping through the night - most nights - yea!!!!!!!!! That is such a blessing - - - I didn't realize how nice consecutive hours of sleep were :):)

We have so much to be thankful for! We are excited to spend Thanksgiving this year with Jeremy's family. His mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law and niece will be here! What a joy - we are so thankful God is giving us this opportunity! With Jeremy's parents on the mission field, his brother and family headed to the mission field and us in ministry in CA, time together is a precious thing! Can't wait to post pictures of Allison and her cousin Anna together! God is so good!

My Little Sweet Pea

Allison made her debut as a "Pea Pod" on "Reformation Day" so I thought I would post a few pics. We took her out to a few houses and had lots of fun! Isn't she a "sweet pea!" She is such fun and it is amazing how she grows and changes everyday! She is becoming so alert and we are catching some great smiles which makes the heart happy :) Each day with her is a definite reminder of God's grace, blessings and love for us! We are so thankful!



My First Trip to the Pumpkin Patch



Ready for Church with Mom



I am 1 Month Old Today - Mom says time is flying tooooooooooooo fast!

Big Smile for Mom!!!

Monday Allie smiled at me (what I count as a "real" smile) and we have gotten several smiles since then. She is becoming so much more alert - checking out the world and making such cute sounds. Everyday is such a blessing and joy!!!!!!!! She brings many smiles to our faces!

Three Weeks Old and loving time with Grandma and Grandpa!!

Allie is 3 weeks old today! There just aren't words to describe how blessed we feel - God is so good and we are loving having Allie with us! She brings us such joy each day!!!!!!!!! She had her doctors appointment and was doing well! She has gained weight and is 8 lbs. 13 oz. He said she was looking super and growing well! We are enjoying having Grandma and Grandpa Love here this week and they are loving spending time with Allie! My mom has been a huge help in getting Allie's room organized and finished up - it is a cozy place where we love to be and rock - special times! I have posted some pics of our week and will post more later when there is time - - - right now I am off to go enjoy time with my sweet little Allie Grace and her grandma :):) Special times!


My New Room


My room with my picture painted by my cousin Laura


Enjoying outside with Grandma


My first trip to the park with Grandma and Grandpa

Time Flies - I am Two Weeks Old!!

It is so hard to believe, but Allie is now two weeks old. She is doing really well and just bringing smile after smile to our faces! She makes the cutest faces! When we are so tired at 2:00 a.m., the nice part is those cute little faces you get that make it better! Thought I would post a couple of pictures of her yesterday - two weeks old! God is so good :):)


"I love my Dad!"


"I am a happy girl!"


"Love my time with Mom!"

One Week Old

Wow - it is hard to believe, but Allison is one week old! It is such a joy to have her in our lives!!!! Amazing how in an instant they capture your heart and your life is never the same! While life may not be the same, it is better! Yes, we are tired, but as I said before, that is overshadowed by the joy of having her here! (I was tired when I was pregnant - - so in some respects that has not changed - at least now there is a real reason to be up at night!) We are doing well and she is such a sweet baby! She made her first trip out today and met the ladies in the church office, school office and some others along the way - she did GREAT! She even made her first trip through the drive-thru of McDonalds! Thanks for your continued prayers!!!!

My Sweet Little Allie Grace

Well, we are home and getting adjusted to life with Allie - and yes, it is tiring - but the joy it brings overrides those feelings! Speaking of tired though - that I am today - but wanted to post a few pictures of my little Allie Grace to share! I can't wait for our friends and family to meet her!



"Talk to the Hand!"


"Beautiful Feet!" (Finally mom can see them!!!)


"Rest time in my comfy bouncer"


"Rest time - mom better nap quick!"

Allison Grace Writebol is HERE!!!!!!!!!!

It is with GREAT excitement (and a tired self - ha ha!!) that I am posting to announce the arrival of our beautiful little girl, Allison Grace Writebol!!!!!! She surprised mom and came a week early - yea!!!!!!!!!!! She was born on October 3, 2007 at 4:25 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 21 in. long. Labor began around 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 2. Everything went great and we are all doing well! We are home and ready to adjust to life with little Allie! We are so excited! The whole is experience is something that can't be summed up into words - those who are parents understand this the best! It was amazing and we feel so blessed to be recipients of such Grace and love that God has given us! It is a miracle!!!!! She is a joy and blessing!!! We can't wait for you all to meet her!

Thank you for your prayers for the pregnancy and delivery! God was so good! Please continue to pray for us as we learn to be godly parents and grow as a family!

39 Weeks!

Well, we have made it to 39 weeks and officially into October! For those who are wondering, I was really hoping Allison would be here in October (I just love fall) - so she can come anytime now :) While the last week has been uncomfortable, I can say that the past 39 weeks have flown!

We still need to put a few things on the walls - but we did get the bedding for the room and so I have posted some pictures below of her room. There is also a super cute picture I can't wait to frame and put up in her room that my cousin Laura painted for Allie! I love it! Once we have things on the walls, we will be mostly finished. I just want to find a small lamp for the dresser.

I am enjoying maternity leave and being able to rest when I want. It is a joy to take a nap whenever the need hits! I will try to get a picture of me up in the next week or two - I do want one picture for sure before we go to have her.

Again, thanks to each of you for your words of encouragement and prayers! Keep praying! We will keep you all posted!

Officially On Maternity Leave!

I awoke this morning to the realization that I am officially on maternity leave. This was an odd realization but an exciting one too!!!! It was so nice to not have to get up and get going so early and be able to relax! I am ready for that - following everyone's instructions to rest now because life is soon going to change.

Things are going well - we had our 38 week appointment and everything looks great! Measurements are right on track and the doctor says we are making progress. Her words, "Now we are just playing a waiting game for her to arrive." My blood pressure again was good which has been a great answer to prayer throughout the whole pregnancy.

So what to do now???? Wait for Allison to make her appearance into the world. Until then, I can rest and finish up some things I want to do in her room. I will post some more pics of her room soon - we did get our bedding and have a few more things to hang on the walls. Look for some more pictures to come!

We would appreciate your prayers as we continue this journey - - bags are packed and ready. Thanks again to all of you who have been such a source of encouragement! You are a blessing to us!

The Mystery of the Basket

So I know that my blog doesn't have a huge number of readers, but I am calling on the help of anyone who might be able to solve "the mystery of the basket." We have been very blessed with gifts for our new little baby. Recently (2 weeks ago) we received a package in the mail from JCPenney. It was an adorable toy basket for the baby room. It had come off our registry and we were very excited to get it. The mystery is that there was no name attached as to who it was from. I would love to be able to thank the person who sent us this cute addition to the baby room. You can see the basket in the picture below. It has all the toys in it and is by the rocker. So there you have it - "the mystery of the basket" - we love it and thank whoever sent it!

By the way - only 2 weeks to go - time is going so fast!!!!! Thanks to all of you who are praying, calling, giving me encouragement, and even helping me paint my toe nails so they look great (thanks Michelle). Hearing from friends means more than you know!

Getting Ready! Let the Countdown Begin!

As I sit to write this post, I can't even tell you how in awe I am that we are 3 weeks from the due date of our little baby! I can honestly say time has flown - when we found out (and it was early) I thought that it would be an eternity! It has went by so fast though! Of course everyone says the next 3 weeks will be an eternity - we will see!

We are working on getting things organized and ready for the arrival of this little girl. I have posted some pics of her room which is still in progress and will post more as we get more things done. Jeremy did a great job painting the room and has put up with my "nesting" the past few months. We are working on getting some things up on the walls and lamps in the next week. We just got the rocker Saturday and it is very comfortable! For the most part, I have my bag organized and packed thanks to my sister-in-law, Esther, who gave me a great list of what I needed for the hospital. We have the diaper bag ready too, complete with a cute pink dress for coming home and pictures! Now for those who are still wondering, "Could they be wrong, could it be a boy?" Well, last Tuesday we had another ultrasound to make sure the baby was in the correct position (which she was) and it was confirmed again - she is a girl.

It is all a little surreal right now - hard to believe that in approximately 3 weeks we will be a family of three - that she will be here with us! It has been an amazing time and I am reminded daily of God's grace in my life and how awesome He is! I would appreciate your prayers as we anticipate her arrival and prepare for the birth. We can't wait to meet her and can't wait to begin our life with her!

And for those who have asked, I did post one profile picture of me - not the greatest picture - but does satisfy those who wanted a profile picture! That picture was taken at 36 weeks.

Thanks for your prayers! Can't wait to let you all know she when she arrives!