It's the Holiday Season...

It is only a few days before Christmas!! I recently discovered pinterest, and I got to say.....I'm obsessed. This could seriously be dangerous for numerous reasons. The first it is easy to spend 2 hours looking at it without even realizing it. Second there are ALL kinds of yummy recipes on there-some specifically "low cal" but my eye seems to pick up on all the gooey mouth watering desserts.

I made my first yesterday....a cinnamon roll cake. And I have to say it tastes as wonderful as it looks!
After the holidays we are turning our guest bedroom into Gabby's new room. And thanks to pinterest I have ALL kinds of ideas to make it absolutely perfect for her. I can't wait to get started!

So my baby will be a year and a half on Thursday! Where has the time gone?! I found a video of her this time last year that almost broke my heart. She was SO little and just starting to sit up for as long as she wanted with no support.

And now she is totally miss independent. She is starting to repeat almost anything you ask her to say. She recognizes familiar people and now it's a game to get on facebook and name people in the pictures. I'm afraid we are starting the terrible twos early. Discipline has become a regular daily routine in our house.  But I think my favorite thing that she does is sing to songs and dance to music. Thanks to Gnomeo and Juliet we have learned a new little jig. With Tangled it was spinning around in circles and tip toeing in circles. Now we like to shake our hips and our booty, twist all the way down and shimmy our shoulders. NO I did not teach her this, but wow. It is hilarious to watch!

Lastly, we finally had our first family picture of the 4 of us!! And I am EXCITED to say Gabby is going to have a baby sister! I got to say going into the sonogram I was a little anxious about everything. Dave and I have already decided 2 is our number...I totally used to be that teenager that said, "Oh, I want at least 4 kids--maybe 5" Um. Not so much. I am so thankful that it has been effortless for David and I to conceive, but 2 is plenty for me. I don't think I want to go through 1st trimester ever again. So with that I was excited if it were a boy because we are the last to be able to carry on the Holland name. And I LOVED our boy name. It would have been Cohen in honor of my family since our family name unfortunately stopped with my sisters and I.  On the other hand, I grew up with sisters and so wanted Gabby to have that. Sure you can have girlfriends, but there is nothing like having a sister. They always have your back and they are your constant best friend. Sure you fight, are sometimes a little too honest with each other, argue about stupid things, say hateful things that you don't actually mean, but I would not trade either one of my sisters for anything in this world.
I desperately wanted Gabby to have a sister deep down, and not to mention we have everything girl! And Gabby's clothes will be the same season! CAN'T WAIT to reuse all of her clothes and some that didn't even get worn.

With having two girls, there is one thing I simply cannot afford. Hair bows! AH! They are my weakness. So hear me now blogspot, I am vowing to "try" and make my own. Maybe I won't sell them, but I want to start making them because I really don't think they are as difficult as some look. So that is one little craft I am looking forward to learning.

With that Merry Christmas everyone!! Enjoy your family, but most of all let's celebrate Jesus' birthday!! We are baking a birthday cake for Jesus- this was a tradition my mom always did with us girls and I can't wait to start this with my girls.

3 years in and a lifetime to go

So today David and I are celebrating 3 years of marriage. It has been such a journey, and we've only just begun! Today I am reminded of just how good God is to me. I am so glad we chose to be married in December because I can't help but get excited about Christmas and I received the best Christmas present five years ago...David, my promise :) he had come to Kansas over his Christmas break to visit "Josh". I'm still convinced he came to secretly spend time with me ;)
In that few days we talked a lot about Jesus, and a lot about how we want to serve the Lord in whatever capacity he would have us. It was the first time I felt like someone understood me and saw me not as someone who plays music or a piano player or singer, but he saw me as a worshipper. And the Lord spoke very clearly to me that David was going to be my husband. You may say yeah, yeah. How could you possibly know that. Believe me I thought I was making up thoughts in my head and then got super insecure and thought how could he possibly see me in that way. I was only 18 and he was 4 years older than me, I hardly even knew him. I told my mom and sisters and they kind of laughed at me. But what we didn't know was that God had been speaking the exact thing to David and he was sharing it with Josh. Well he left gave me a hug and I felt more love in that hug than anything I had ever felt. That night was our Christmas eve service, and on the way he called me and told me that he didn't know what the Lord ha spoken to me, but he wanted a chance to love me and that he was going to wait for me. And I knew that he was my promise from the Lord. I had just gotten out of a serious relationship that the Lord asked me to give up and I really struggled with it, but knew in my heart I couldn't just marry anyone, I needed a ministry partner who not only understood my calling but completed me. I could not have picked a better person for myself than David. He is everything I've ever wanted in a husband and even more. And from there our story began, and this day is a constant reminder that God is a man of his word. If He says it, he WILL do it.

To my love, and best friend...thank you for being my encourager. You saw me at my worst and loved me. I really can't imagine sharing this life with any other person on this planet. You challenge me, love me so well, provide for our family even when I know you're not passionate about selling VZW cell phones ;), but most of all you make me want to be like Jesus. God has grown you so much these past 3 years and it is only the beginning. He gave us each other for a purpose and even though we can't see it right this second I know he is only preparing us for something great! Thank you for giving me our daughter. She is the greatest blessing, and I know this little miracle growing in me will be as well. Thank you for praying over our children and me. Thank you for being the priest in our home and leading us so well. I love you today and forever.