Birthdays, Holidays and a baby

Joel has turned 30 this year and on his birthday we got the great news of 2 pink stripes on a pregnancy test. Which means some time next summer around early to mid July we will be welcoming baby Zehring #2 to our home. We are so excited for this new phase in our life but before that time life has gotten crazy.

It all started in Sept. with the weekend visit of my sister and two of her kids for my nephews baseball games. Then we took a trip to Sedona with Joel's family. Then the following weekend we celebrated Nathan turning 2. From there we celebrated Joel turning 30 with his family. Next came Thanksgiving and now we are headed into Christmas.

Don't get me wrong, I love this time of year but what has changed has been the onset of morning sickness. I have never had an ounce of this with Nathan and I didn't know what to expect. With this has meant that I don't get to eat some of my favorite things and all the scents that I love to have at this time of year make me sick so I can't make a bunch of stuff. And shopping wears me out. I am one of those crazy people that waits until everything is crowded. I love that time to shop. The hustle of people trying to get gifts for people and the salespeople trying hard just to be pleasant. And I love being the one customer that makes life a little easier. (I worked retail and Joel is in retail) This is super important to me.

So as much as I love this time of year, I am tired and sick all the time. But I am choosing to let the birth of our Savior reflect in our home as much as possible. I am working hard to be there for Nathan and let him know my love for him as not changed at all. But one of the things that I love about Nathan is his understandable compassion. Whenever I am sucking on a lollipop or lying of the couch, he always says that Mama has to do that because of the baby. And then he pets my belly and gives it a kiss. I am so proud of him.