Thanksgiving!

Birc and I had THE BEST Thanksgiving weekend we could have asked for.  It was relaxing and accomplishing at the same time.  We slept in, got a few things done each day, hung out with each other, saw family on both sides, hung out some more, finished a few projects needing to be taken care of, and just really ENJOYED each other's company the whole time.  I am SO very thankful to have had this long weekend with Birc before Savannah's arrival to tie up loose ends and enjoy my husband's company before our lives go nuts! 

Thursday we ate our way through the day at the Morledge's house and had a great time.  Bon Jovi and Dixie were ready to eat turkey too!

 getting ready for the meal!

Ann's pretty table

Birc and I in our coordinating fall-colored outfits :)

 the yummy food!

The whole Morledge/Haven gang!

Then, Saturday, everyone came over from the Patterson side to my house and we had a big ole time :) Everyone arrived for lunch and we had ham sandwiches and chips and fruit, then we got to cooking/heating things up and enjoying each others' company!  It was so nice because mama, anna, and I all brought like 4 prepared dishes so no one had a huge load, and all the prep work took place in separate kitchens.  I hope we do our family Thanksgiving like that every year! I felt so relaxed and no one was rushing around at the last minute.  Definitely the way to go.

relaxing while everything is in the oven

football watching/iphoning

Luckily our pediatrician was able to come for the Thanksgiving feast! ;)

My table!

yummy food! Twice baked potatoes, sweet potato casserole, scalloped pineapple, green beans, rolls...

Strawberry Pretzel salad, olives, tomatoes, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, turkey, dressing, gravy, broccoli salad. Can we say YUM! (and yes, we had a lot of leftovers-for 7 people this was a TON!) I loved having special dishes from my mom's family and my dad's.  All my favorites!

Some of the decorations around the dining room

This is after we ate, and yes we all gained at least a pound at the meal [including Caddo, who was still actively begging for turkey in this picture]

We both wore our house slippers all day long.  A big plus to being the host house!

My pies! Pumpkin and Cherry! both homeade of course and they were pretty yummy I thought!  I also made some pumpkin iced cookies that were almost gone by the end of the day.

Our families have so much to be thankful for and it is so nice to take a day [or weekend] to reflect and think on the things we're blessed with.  We're about to have another blessing around to be thankful for too! Can't wait to meet her but glad she stayed put for the weekend so I could celebrate Thanksgiving :)

Co-Worker shower!

My co-workers threw such a wonderful shower for baby Savannah and me [and Birc, too!] and we had such a fun time with a yummy lunch!

It was after staff meeting and we were so excited to have a shortened meeting to get on with the partying!

The adorable cake, that we had along with fruit, veggies, cheese dip, black bean salad, chicken salad, turkey, roast beef, and ham sandwich varieties, and yummy goodness all around.

Birc got to come on his lunch hour! So we took some pictures :)

Here we are again. :) This was in the youth area, where we have our meetings all the time.  I only wish I'd taken more pics with everyone there! I meant to take a group pic, but obviously forgot.  Special thanks to Molly and Kim for getting all the food taken care of! Everyone I work with is such a blessing to me.  I absolutely LOVE working at St. James and cannot imagine myself anywhere but there.  I may say that all the time, but I just continually feel thankful because I can only imagine how bad it would be to work at a place I didn't love.  I hope all of you have a job you love as much as I love mine.  I will miss everyone on my maternity leave but will be so glad to return. :)

Nothing new...

Not much to report from the Morledge home right now...just waiting and trying to relax and not have a baby until after Sunday!  We've got a fun few days ahead that I'd really like to participate in if she can stay put :) Two Thanksgivings (one at my house on Saturday) a little non-important football game to watch, and about a million other things I'd like to do.  [I hesitate to specifically mention the thank-you note list I am behind on, because that forces me to acknowledge the list, but I guess that is a good thing.]
I have, however gotten a lot taken care of this week.  We've hung the artwork and things on the walls in Savannah's room, cleaned the house, I've gone to Wal-Mart to stock up, we got our HVAC unit repaired and sealed off correctly, and we set up the pack 'n play in the bedroom.  I know there's a lot more, but it is hard to think with all that running around in there!  I've also been crazy busy at work trying to get everything set with my new assistant director making sure she is ready when I make the call that Savannah's coming.  All that is making two boys in particular feel like this:

All in all, we're getting excited but trying to stay calm! At 3 cm dialated and 80% effaced, I'm trying to take it easy [which is very difficult for this "previously was but is now even more OCD" mama-to-be. 

Maternity Pics

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Melissa, let me twist her arm into taking some pictures of me and of both Birc and me while I'm preggo.  We took them a while back, when I was about 30 or 31 weeks, at my parents house in their yard.  Melissa and I grew up together and played together, went to church together, cheered together, chased boys together, and pretty much everything from the time we were 5.  We carpooled to Kindergarten together and shared our PB&J and cheetos in the car and that's where it all began! Melissa has an awesome photography blog, where she took a picture every day for a year and posted it.  She is awesome at taking pictures, and I couldn't think of anyone better to take some pics of me pregnant!  Here's a sampling of her talent!

I know this last one doesn't really show that I'm pregnant, but I think it is a cute one of us anyway. :)

I'm 2 days away from being 37 weeks-can't wait to get back to the doctor on Monday and hear what Savannah has planned for the week of Thanksgiving!

Looking more like baby...

Even in our cars! We installed the carseat bases this weekend, and of course I wanted to document it.

Looking good! We even put the carseat in tonight so we don't have to remember to grab it on the way to the hospital.  Since we've had all our showers and transported everything big, we don't anticipate needing to fold down the seats in my SUV for anything else.  We thought, why not? Can't wait to see little Savannah sitting in there! crazy!

I put a little mirror up in there so I'll be able to see her when I'm driving.  I thought that could be handy. :)

Exciting times ahead for my little family-can't wait!

Church Choir Shower...and other news

On Sunday, my church choir which I'm a member of threw a lunch shower for Birc and me.  It was just the sweetest and kindest thing and we had the best time.  We had a yummy catered lunch of chicken spaghetti, green beans, salad, and rolls, along with an adorable cake.  The tables were decorated with little sweet girly touches that I loved, all in pink and white. 

I am always amazed and humbled to receive such wonderful gifts at showers- and this one takes the cake.  So many friends and fellow choir members made handmade things, chose personalized items, and brought useful items like towels and baby lotion for baby Savannah to have.  Every single thing we received is such a blessing to Birc and me and I am so very thankful to be part of a choir family at St. James.  I don't know where in the world I would be without St. James, I tell ya.  I can only hope I give back enough for how much the church gives to Birc and me.

Tracy, our choir director and the one who put this whole shower together, made this adorable diaper cake for us! Birc said, "we do get to keep those diapers, right?" [we recently bought two boxes of diapers, and Birc thought that would last us a month.  Hah-try a few days! Needless to say he is now in shock at the diaper expense coming our way.]

The lady to my left handmade this quilt for Savannah Cate. LOVE that.

Most of the crew! We had such a great time and felt SO VERY blessed.  I can't say it enough.

In other news, guess who went to the doc today and was told she was already 2 cm dialated and 80% effaced [and who definitely WON'T make it to 40 weeks]? This girl.  Yep, looks like a baby is on the way sooner than we thought!

Our week in pictures

We're staying busy around here, and this is some of what we've been up to:

 I'm 35 weeks pregnant this week.  It is absolutely crazy to me that a baby will be in our lives in 5 weeks or less! I know I say that all the time, but it is daily blowing my mind.

I got this cute cute bench for our bathroom for my birthday from Mama and Daddy, and it had a nice pink velvet cover on it.  Well, you guys have seen my bathroom and the new colors so Birc and I went and picked out a cute fabric and I recovered it this week. (I wish I had remembered to take a 'before' picture)

 Caddo approved.

The boys (that's what I call them all the time) have been really snuggly this week with each other.  It has gotten colder and they are using each other for body warmth :) So cute!

And just for kicks and giggles, here's what pet owners do with all the baby gear they get before babies enter their lives.  (or at least we do)  We got a stroller and it is great! Everyone loves it! haha!