Christmas Pictures Part 1

To start off this post, I must begin by saying how much I love Jesus Christ!  I am incredibly grateful to know Him as my Savior and my greatest hope is to teach my children how to come unto Him and love him as I do.  Moving to Ohio has taught me a great deal about the role He plays in my life.  I have come to know that at times when I chalk an occurrence up as a random coincidence, it's really the Lord showing me His hand for a moment... reminding me that He is still ever present in my life.  He knows me.  He knows my family.  He loves me.  We haven't had a lot of money the past few months.  There was a time when I worried about having enough food to eat.  Luckily, we have had parents and grandparents who have given us and loaned us the money we needed in order to support ourselves.  And, I must also add, we have sufficient funds for our needs now (so, there is no need to worry).  But, during the hardest time we have yet faced financially, there were certain "luxuries" that I wanted but knew I didn't necessarily need.  During these times, the Lord somehow provided them.  A while back, I posted about a little wooden table that I found on the curb.  I had been wanting one for such a long time and then there it was on trash day.  Restoring it gave me something to do when I was feeling homesick, and it has served as a useful little table in my kitchen.  I also wanted a scarf.  I couldn't really justify spending money on one, but I still thought that if I had one then I would feel warmer in the Ohio winters we have here.  I never did buy one, I just felt that the Lord would provide me with one.  Over Christmas break, I received two of them.  These are just two little examples, but I felt touched by both situations.  I feel like these tender mercies are His way of letting me know that He is in the smaller things.  He knows what we need.  He knows our desires.  He knows our struggles and He invites us always to come unto Him. 

This past Christmas was a good one.  We spent almost an entire month in Arizona visiting family and friends.  I LOVED it all.  For Christmas, I got a camera from Jon Mark, his parents (my parents paid for our family to fly down), and his grandparents.  I love my new camera and it's been fun to learn how to use it.  I took a ton of pictures, I didn't bring it out often at the McAvoy's house (and I didn't realize it until just now as I am uploading all of my pictures onto the computer, which makes me super sad that I don't have hardly any pictures of them), but I did get a few that I will include in the next post.  Because of the amount of pictures that I want to add to my blog, I will have to spread it out over a few entries (otherwise it would be too overwhelming and I would never get it done).

Joshua really wanted a Geo Trax train set from Santa.  We didn't think that he necessarily knew what he wanted because he already had a Thomas train set.  But, turns out that Santa was right on when he delivered the Geo Trax that Christmas Eve, because Joshua hasn't stopped playing with it since.

Joshua also got this Superman outfit in the picture below and love to wear it everywhere.  He loves to pretend like he is Superman.

 Here is a picture of my dad.  He is such a wonderful example to me of what it means to be faithful.  He is such a dedicated servant of the Lord and I hope I can be like him.

 Here is my mom.  She's always reminding me to have faith, and I love her for it.  She is a shoulder to cry on, and is always there when I need someone to listen to me laugh, cry, complain, or whatever.

My baby girl is so much fun.  She thinks she's older than she is, she explores without hesitation, and she fears nothing.  She loves me unconditionally and sometimes wonders what is in this huge belly of mine that prevents me from picking her up.

 It was awesome seeing my nieces and nephews on the Haws side.  They have grown so much, and from what I can gather, the distance hasn't caused them to love me any less!  I was a little worried about how they would respond to me since it's been a while since we've seen each other.  But, Tyler was just as talkative, Bekah was still as spunky, Casey was still as mild-mannered, and Elena and Lily were just as cute.  They were super noisy when they were all together, but I loved it.

 Here is a picture of my new hair style.  My brother in law's girlfriend did it for me at such a discounted rate that I felt bad (she only charged me for the product).  But, she did an amazing job and who would pass up such an offer anyway?!  I love getting my hair done.

 Here is Mercedes just before her tooth went through her lip.  Like I said, she has no fear of anything... let alone heights or slides.

 I love this one of Joshua.  He is my boy who loves to laugh.  I laugh whenever I hear him laugh.

 This is Superman flying through the air with his cape flying behind him.  Nick and Kevin love to throw him, and I'm sure he loves it even more.  Don't worry, it's safer than it looks (I think).  They've thrown him a gazillion times and have never missed a catch.

 This is the Haws family picture of 2010.  It was hard to tell on the thumb nails which picture I was uploading, but I think this may be the picture my parents enlarged. 

 Brian took this shot.  I love it.  Who knows, maybe I'll try painting it.  It is a backwards picture after all!

 Mercedes love being on daddy's shoulders (so does her brother).  Jon Mark lifts her up and swings her over his head with one arm in one fluid motion. 

Here are a couple of shots of my pregnant belly at about 21 or 22 weeks (I can't remember).  Yes, I am positive that I only have one fetus in there... I carry very forward and I show very quickly with all of my pregnancies.  I know I look gargantuous, but that's just how my pregnant body works... plus the doctor wanted to change my due date because the baby was on the bigger side in his/her ultrasound debut... but she didn't when I told her I was positive about how far along I was.

 This one is probably a better shot of it.  I'm not back lit and my clothes aren't see-thru.  Sorry if you were offended by the above picture... ha ha.

2011 goals:

1. Make complete dinners (I'm good at the main dish, but I am not good at coming up with side-dishes)

2. Engage Joshua in preschool activities more consistently.

3.  Attend the temple more often.

4. Be more trusting of others.

5. Learn how to use my camera.

6. See the good in others and be less judgemental.

7. Develop my talents and spend less time watching TV during nap time.

8. I don't want to gain more than 30 pounds with this pregnancy if possible (I can't really state this one as a goal, because I'm not sure I can control it to the exact number on the scale... I'll just say my goal is to be careful not to gain too much). 

9. Be better at writing letters to those who live far from me.  Especially nieces and nephews and grandparents.

10.  Be involved.

I love my husband, he's wonderful to me.  I love our beautiful children.  2010 was good to us, I look forward to what 2011 will bring.