April

Confession: Eric and I officially have too many shows we enjoy watching. :)

Presently, we are only "committed" to two: 24 and Lost (which someone recently pointed out were two intense shows).

One we watch occasionally - Parenthood (quite hysterical and true to real life)

And starting soon...Glee and Lie to Me

(This doesn't include House which we have dropped.)

Conclusion: We cannot do it all. (And thank goodness we don't have cable.)

*Thankfully, we desire to spend quality time together, and that overrules TV. If we can't watch even our two "committed" shows, we don't despair. I appreciate how we don't sacrifice our family or friend relationships for a show. And this gives us something to watch when they're showing re-runs over the summer. :)

:)

On a more serious note, I have started a devotional which focuses on living a life of simplicity. I have been challenged to repent over the desire for "stuff" or desire for what other have (coveting) and to ask the Lord for help to remember the abundant blessings and provisions that he has made for us. As I look even just around our home, I think, "How can I not see the Lord's hand over our family?" Each day is a reminder of the Lord's goodness to us.

And at Small Group, I'm reminded of the hope we have through Christ's resurrection. Wow, do I have so much to be thankful for!
-Salvation
-Loving Family
-Warm Home
-Sweet Baby
-Genuine Friends

My prayer: "Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." Pro 30:8-9

*Check on facebook for recent pictures (it's easier to upload there). :)

March

Timothy and I have been soaking up the Spring like weather in Chicago this week! We've taken many walks, and yesterday was our first trek to the library. He is super chill as we walk and many times falls asleep.

Highlights:

*Peekaboo - Just today I played peekaboo with Timothy. He just kept staring at me. :) Maybe in the future he'll give me smile or coo in response. For now, I love that he interacts with me through his beautiful eyes.

*Laughing - Yesterday I overheard Timothy give what sounded like a laugh while he was sleeping. I wonder what he was thinking about. :) (Maybe it was just passing gas, but I like to think otherwise.)

*Squeak Sound - As Eric and I drove home from Costco (we're kinda obsessed with that place), Timothy let out a squeak sound. Imagine a squeaky toy being squeezed and that's what we heard. We couldn't help but laugh. Eric asked me to check and make sure he was breathing. :) He was. :)

*Tummy Time - While he dislikes it a majority of the time, today he laid on my chest and did such a great job lifting up his head. He's a strong boy!

*Weight - Get ready for this! At his four week appt, he weighed...10lbs. 14oz! That's more than 3 pounds from his birth weight! Our little big boy! :)

As for me, I mentioned before that I hoped for a happy ending to "Shanghai Girls." Well...the main character (Pearl) continued to experience heartbreak. And there wasn't a "happy ending" rather an opening for a sequel to the book. As I wait for the second book to come out, I picked up another Lisa See book, "Peony in Love." Hopefully, this one won't be as tragic. :)

Eric is busy with Share on Moody Radio Chicago today. He's had the opportunity to engineer and produce - a nice change to the day-to-day events.

We're looking forward to our Easter trip down to Tennessee. And we'll see how we do on our first road trip with our little one. :) My guess is that we'll having the car packed to the max!

Almost four weeks...

I find myself longing to be more poetic or elegant in my posts. I read other blogs and find that their speech is sophisticated while mine is simplistic.

However, I remember that I am not here to show my artistic writing skills. My intent was to allow friends and family a glimpse into our everyday life. So, welcome to our life. :)

Part of me says, "I can't believe four weeks has gone by." Another part says, "It's only been four weeks?" The former because I can't believe that our little boy is growing so quickly. The latter because I feel like he's been with us for such a long time. He fits right in with our family. :)

Recently a friend asked, "What do you do all day? Do you get bored?" The honest truth is yes, but it's not bad to be bored. It has allowed me to rest and recover.
Throughout our days together, Timothy does the typical baby things like eating and sleeping.
When he's awake, he likes to look at the fans and picture frames. He enjoys his car mobile and reading an animal pop-up book. His favorite pop-up animal is the lion. :) I know this cause it's the only animal he keeps his eyes on. He's just started warming up to the swing.

What am I doing? During the morning feeding, I get my fix of the Today Show. I really enjoyed when the Olympics were on, and I was able to catch up on the previous day's happenings and winnings. Even this morning, I was able to catch up on the Oscars (which I wasn't able to finish due to the need for sleep!). I may have time during the day to get cleaning done and even take a shower. :) Who ever knew that making time to take a shower would have to be such a conscious effort? One of my favorite past times is reading. Since being out of school and apart of a book club, I'm finally reading "adult" books verses children's literature. Currently, I am reading "Shanghai Girls."
*"[Lisa See's] emotional themes are powerful...the bonds of sisterhood [and] the psychological journey of becoming an American." - The Washington Post
It's quite a tragic story, but I'm hoping for happier ending.

Eric does a great job supporting us at work and here on the home-front. In addition to his work at Moody Radio, he's just finished a project with Josh Dugue. He's, also, working with another friend on multiple compositions. It's been a joy to see him work on music! It's where his heart beats.
I cannot say enjoy how much I appreciate his encouragement and care in this new phase of life. He's a continually loving husband and now a loving father. It's a beautiful thing to watch the man you love love your child!

We look forward to today and the days to come. :)

This is our life...

Only a few short weeks ago, I was wondering when our little boy would come into the world. I was anxious about the delivery and if I would be able to be a good mom to this little person. Eric continued to be a listening ear and encouraging voice, reminding me that the Lord was in control.

Boy, I couldn't have imagined the depth of how the Lord would show that he was sovereign over our lives. After a visit to see our new niece on Feb. 8th, we joked about how it would be funny if we ended up back at the hospital to deliver while Carrie and George were there. At 6a.m. Feb. 9th, we headed into triage at Northwestern's Prentice Women's Hospital. And the doctor assured us that we would be meeting our little boy that day!

At 2:28p.m. (only 22 hours after our niece, Esther, was born), Timothy David Hufford made his way into the world. I won't share all the labor details (you can call me if you really want to know), but let's just say that 30 minutes of pushing is not bad! Dr. Kelsey said that I had a second delivery labor. :)

We've been home now for two weeks today. Eric has been back at work for about a week and a half. Some days seem longer than others, and I find so much joy when Eric comes home! We've been blessed by meals from church friends and family, and Eric has been on a baking kick - homemade bread and pizza and burritos. And we enjoyed an at home date last night with Sweet Mandy B's cupcakes. :)

We are amazed at how beautiful God has made this whole process and how he formed Timothy to be especially who he is.

Here are a couple highlights:

*2/9: Lips quivered when I held Timothy for the first time

*2/12: Smiles after he has a full belly

*2/16: 1st time to read "Go, Dog! Go!"

*2/18: 1st walk with Timothy to Stella (coffee shop)

*2/20: Timothy almost "fired" poo at Eric while was changing him

*2/24: At his two week appt, he weighed 8lbs 15oz!!

*He only likes to be swaddled when he is too tired to notice. :)

*He likes to pee out of his diaper. We are constantly changing his clothes. I'm not sure how the washing is going to go once we start using cloth diapers. Yikes!

*More pictures to come!

Timothy David Hufford

Timothy David Hufford

Birthday: Feb. 9th, 2010

Born at 2:28p.m.

Weight: 7lbs. 12oz.

Length: 20.5 inches

We are loving this new phase in life as Timothy's parents. Until I can post more, here are some links to pictures of us:

*http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033336&id=163801297

*http://buckfamily.smugmug.com/Births/Birth-of-Baby-Timothy-David/11229067_UywhV#787474773_daNLw

Our Second Christmas!

How wonderful to have another Christmas with Eric. This year brought many joys, some traditions, and some first time extravaganzas.

*Eric's Deep Dish Pizza. He makes this treat for us occasionally, and he continues to get better and better at making these. Maybe he should open his own Chicago Pizza Restaurant. :)

*Christmas morning: Eric opening his stocking. Santa brought him vanilla syrup for his coffee. He must have been a good boy this year!

*Christmas morning: Kristine's new kitchen towels!

This was a special year for Eric and I. We spent the morning at our home, sleeping in, eating cinnamon strudel bread, and drinking coffee. What unique time, just the two of us. We were realizing that next year will be quite different with a 10 month old. We will remember this year!

*Our table at Christmas

*Our Christmas Tree: We discovered last year that our tree was pre-lit. :) We were able to use the color lights we originally bought for the tree around our windows.

*This is my second year to join Carrie (my sister-in-law) and Aunt Susan for decorating gingerbread cookies.

1. Make the dough at home.

2. Roll out and cut out cookies of choice. (I chose a moose and two different reindeer.)

3. Bake the cut outs.

4. Decorate the cookies!

(I made a few other random cookies: presents, ornaments, and small people.)

*Santa's reindeer!

*Carrie and I at the annual Hufford/Lori and Dale dinner/Christmas Tree decorating. Our little babies are continuing to grow. Only a few more weeks to go!

It's been a while...

I was looking at the last blog posting, thinking, "Wow, my belly looks small." :) And I thought it was big back at 28 weeks. Little did I know what was in store. :) Here's the latest belly pictures:

A picture with my face, as requested. :)

*beginning of wk. 36

*Middle of wk. 30 (below)