Christmas in Kindergarten

On Friday, we celebrated with a party in my class. We enjoyed making crafts and ornaments all week. Jon was excited to come to the party to meet my students and join in the festivities! Since Jon's brother and sister-in-law were in town, they came along and brought their daughter, Sienna. The kids loved the visitors and we had fun playing some holiday games and eating some yummy snacks! Sienna seemed to love "big school" and joined in on anything the kids were doing...so cute!

Family Baby Shower

On Monday, we were blessed to receive a baby shower from Jon's family. Jon's mom (Elaine) and sister (Rachel) hosted the shower and all of the women in Jon's family were invited. It was wonderful to see Jon's aunts, grandmother, and cousins! The decorations were beautiful and the food was delicious. We also enjoyed playing a few games. In one game, we each wore a pacifier necklace. If we said "baby" or "cute" at anytime during the shower (believe me this is VERY difficult not to do at a baby shower!) we got our necklace taken away by the person who "caught" us saying it. Aunt Sharon won the game with 5 necklaces! The other game was Baby Bingo. We each filled out bingo cards with the things we thought I might receive as gifts (bibs, pacifiers, dresses, high chair, etc.). Whenever I would open a gift, if a person had it on their card they got to mark it. Jenny got BINGO first and won the game! We were blessed with so many beautiful baby items, clothes, our high chair, baby monitor, diapers, wipes, baby gear, pack 'n play, etc.!!! Thank you to our sweet family...your thoughtfulness means more than you know. Thank you, Rachel and Elaine, for making the shower so memorable. We are amazed by the generosity of our loved ones.

And Her Name Shall Be Called...

After many months of waiting, praying, and browsing through baby name books, we are proud to announce the name of our soon-to-be baby girl!

Ansley Elise Mitchell

We wanted our first born daughter or son to have a family name. Once we found out it was a girl, we knew we would be saving our family boy name (Carson Reed)in hopes that we will one day be blessed with a son. So, we decided to pull pieces of my mom, paternal grandmother and maternal grandmother's names together to create a first name we loved. Then, we wanted the middle name to be a name that had a rich meaning that would represent who she is as a daughter of the King. Elise means "Vow to God" or "Consecrated to God". Also, Elise is a variant form of Elizabeth which is both of our sisters middle names.

Ansley Elise, you are consecrated to God and you are His precious princess. From before you were even conceived, we dedicated you to Jesus. We thank Him for the privilege we have been given in caring for you, His little one. We have already begun praying strong prayers for you, our daughter. Our hearts have been moved to pray specifically that you will be a woman of strong convictions, unblemished character, unwavering purity, who devotes your life to knowing Jesus and giving your life for His glory.

Polar Express, Pajama, and Parade Day!!!

On Friday, my class enjoyed a special day. It's always one of my favorite days of the year! Each year in kindergarten, we study the Polar Express/Transportation all week participating in math, reading, social studies, and science activities that coorelate and then we celebrate with a Polar Express/Pajama Day on Friday. We wear PJ's to school since the kids in the movie wear PJ's on the train ride. We spent the day enjoying the movie together with all the other kindergarten classes, sipping hot cocoa (yum!) and then enjoying the school Christmas parade that afternoon! The parade celebrated reading and all the students who met their reading goal for the semester got to particpate by marching in the parade. The high school marching band, cheerleaders, and dance team came for the festivities and the kids got to see that with hard work they can one day be in high school and maybe even be a cheerleader, band member, or dance team member! The highlight of the event was Santa...who kicked off the parade on his motorcycle! The kids had a wonderful time as we celebrated together! I just love these kids and am so thankful for the opportunity to serve and minister here everyday!

And she grows...

I now officially have a baby bump at 25 weeks! It's hard to believe I am about to hit the 3rd Trimester mark! Only a few more weeks until we welcome this little one!

Four Years of Marriage...And Still Lovin' It!

Jon and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on December 4th! To party, we decided to head to the mountains for some rest, relaxation, reminiscing, and to enjoy the holidays! We LOVE that our anniversary is at the beginning of the Christmas season. Each year we have enjoyed taking trips to places and enjoying whatever Christmas festivities are going on there....we always try to pick somewhere that has something fun going on. This year, we headed to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN for the weekend. We went to Dollywood on Saturday for "A Smokey Mountain Christmas"! They had tons of wonderful Christmas shows, yummy food, and the most gorgeous display of millions of lights! We had a cold but fantastic day together! On Sunday, we traveled about 20 miles into the Great Smokey Mountains to take in some gorgeous winter scenery. The mountain views were breathtaking with their snow laden caps and we enjoyed getting out and snapping a few quick pictures in the snow but jumped back in the car quickly as it was 18 degrees! We enjoyed a romantic lunch together in Gatlinburg at an Italian restaurant, grabbed some homemade fudge and goodies, and headed home.

Jon, I am so thankful for our life together. You are such an incredible husband. Today I love you more than I did four years ago. Our commitment to one another and pursuit of growth is contagious and I thank God for it...I don't take it for granted because I know it is rare. Thank you for loving me, speaking words of life to me, being ecstatic about our baby girl and your role as a soon to be daddy, and the support you give me as I pursue my passions as they relate to family, ministry, and education. Thank you for supporting our family and putting us first. Thank you for working for us everyday. I also love seeing your commitment to the College of Prayer, workplace ministry, and our church. You are one busy man but you have never abandoned your first love...Jesus. I love you, Jon!

Some pictures from our weekend...

Advent

This year Jon and I have been celebrating advent using an advent wreath. Each Sunday leading up to Christmas, we light a candle on the advent wreath, read some scriptures, learn about different holiday traditions and customs, and enjoy praying together. Advent...awaiting the arrival of King Jesus...is such a precious and intimate reality. The phrase that comes to mind during this time of year is "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." Emmanuel is such a powerful name...God WITH US. He is OUR COMING KING....COMING BACK FOR US, HIS CHILDREN, ONE DAY! Hallelujah! Just as those long ago awaited His birth...we await His second coming with great anticipation!

I've never told anyone this but I have always dreamed of being pregnant during the Christmas season. I've yearned for a small taste of what it would be like to be in Mary's shoes and to be awaiting the birth of a child during this season. As I am now in my sixth month of pregnancy and as we make preparations for our baby girl, I find myself pondering Mary and the birth of Jesus. How did she prepare for the King of Glory to be her son? As I desire to create a special place for our baby girl, did Mary long to lay the Savior of the World in a haven fit for a King? As I long to see our child and hold her and know her, did Mary ever wonder what it would be like to cradle the Prince of Peace? Did she ever ponder what it would be like to look into the eyes of the one who would redeem all mankind? What was it like to hold a son who knew you more intimately than anyone in all the world?

God took on flesh and became a man. He did this so we could be made right with him. Have you ever considered that He did this so that we would know He knew what it was like to be one of us? He understands our every joy and grief...our pain and relief...every heartache we go through...that's why He came to us so we would know He knew!

Baby Bedding

We were very excited to discover upon arriving home after work one day last week that some of our sweet baby girl’s bedding had been delivered! We cannot wait to start decorating her room. Jon plans to begin sanding and painting the room this week. The furniture is on backorder and will arrive in January. We are planning on painting the room a light tan, adding crown molding, replacing the fan with a bronze chandelier, and then moving in the furniture and decorating. We have a lot of work to do and just a couple of months to do it! We will post before and after pictures of the room once we get a chance. Thank you mom and dad for the gorgeous bedding!! We love it and we know she will enjoy her lovely gift from Mimi and Papa. Here are some pictures of us unwrapping the bedding. I will also post some pictures of the bedding for those of you who have asked what it looks like. I am just posting some pictures from the Restoration Hardware website since all of the bedding has not been delivered yet.

Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice

On Sunday, November 23 we had our first baby shower. It was hosted by my sister, Kerri, and my good friend, Laurie. It was held at Kerri’s house. Thank you girls both so much for all your hard work and preparation to make our first baby shower so special. Kerri, thank you for opening your gorgeous home and for all the details that made the event so beautiful! Many of my friends from high school and college were able to attend. It was also wonderful to have my mom and both of my grandmothers there. I was surrounded by pink and the cutest girly things you have ever seen! I was so blessed to have my family and some of my dearest friends there to celebrate this special occasion with me. Their prayers, love, friendship, encouragement, and generosity are such a blessing to us as we begin this new journey! I love you girls so much!