I have finally gotten the Christmas pictures loaded! I tried to get a good picture of the kids in their festive outfits on Christmas Eve, but this is the best I got. Tansy kept insisting on putting her arm around Zack, and he would usually throw himself on the floor before I could get a shot.

Santa came to our house!

Tansy loved her new tricycle.

Zack got a baseball game that talks which he loved at first sight.

And Sydney is practicing her putt with her new Gator Golf.

But according to Sydney, the best present of all was the snow. We went to bed that night with freezing rain and not a flake in sight, but woke up to this. So nicely piled on top of the ice coating from the night before. Good thing we were staying in.

It was fun to have all of the kids old enough to open their own presents and be excited about what was inside.

Once all of the gifts had been opened, the girls just had to go outside.

Ben took them out for a snowball fight while I stayed inside with Zack. I figured the combination of the ice-coated stairs that I had already slipped on the night before, my precarious balance while eight months pregnant, and the fact that I can't zip up my coat right now pretty much ruled out playing outside.

Zack was less than thrilled with this arrangement. And, no, he isn't crying about the fuzzy, blinking tiara he is wearing. He wore it for quite a while that morning. He had been watching Dad and his sisters play in the backyard.

The fun didn't last long since the temperatures were in the single digits and the girls got really cold.

Here is my favorite Christmas gift! Ben surprised me with a KitchenAid! However, all of my pregnancy complications started the day after Christmas, so this is still sitting on my counter in pristine condition. Sigh.

I am going in tomorrow morning for an induction. We are hoping and praying that whatever has been causing my dizziness will be resolved by having this baby. My mom is flying out today so she will be here to take care of the kids. We have to be at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. so it will be nice not to have to disturb anybody so early in the morning. Check back later this week for pictures and news of our newest arrival!

Yes, we are still here. We seem to have settled into our new way of life. Ben is absolutely amazing. He works all day then comes home and makes dinner, takes care of the kids, and does the housework. He has not ONCE complained about the ridiculous workload, which makes me feel bad about all of the housewife whining I have done over the years.

I also have wonderful friends helping out. I have had people drive Sydney to and from school, take me to doctor appointments (I figure that since I'm suffering from dizziness, having me operate a vehicle wouldn't be good for anybody), bring dinner, and drop off a supply of chocolate. I've been so blessed to be in such a wonderful place with caring people who allow me to take care of myself for these few weeks without completely stressing out.

But the end is in sight! I am scheduled for induction on January 25. My mom flies in the afternoon before and will stay with the kids. She'll be here for a week to help us welcome this new little guy to the family. It will be so great to have her here again, especially since we planned this visit in advance.