Christmas Update

Things have been insane around here! With trying to figure out surgery plans, finishing the Christmas shopping and cards, entertaining a toddler with bronchitis, and trying to keep myself from eating another entire bag of Cheetos I've been going non-stop! I thought I had all of the shopping done last week, but then Dave reminded me that he needed to get gifts for his employees. Thankfully I wrapped up every last bit of shopping this past Sunday and finished wrapping the last gift for Savannah (not including Santa) today as it was delivered yesterday! So with 45 presents under our tree, we're D.O.N.E.!!!

This isn't the greatest picture, but I continue my philosophy of not needing a tree skirt with so many presents! That's a lot of shopping and wrapping!

Dave has been a huge help these past few weeks. Although being quite overwhelmed at work, he has continued to come home each night and just take over with Savannah after dinner. He has also been in charge of our elf's travels. Here is the latest location. Savannah enjoys finding him each morning, although sometimes he does forget to move.

On the baby front, I've actually started to feel better. :) Yesterday was so beautiful here in Charlotte so Savannah and I took advantage of the weather and went for a long walk. I guess I've been on the treadmill too long and forgot how hilly our neighborhood is . . . plus that I'm pregnant so last night my calves were quite sore. At least I got a good workout! Then this morning my arms were throbbing from doing over an hour of raking yesterday too. Savannah wanted to play outside so I had to make use of that time by doing some much needed yard work. It was an awesome day and today is almost just as warm!! I went walking at 6:30 in shorts and short sleeves this morning. Craziness.

Well, I'm off to make use of the rest of my WEE school time.

It Broke My Heart

Today at My Gym Savannah wanted to swing in her favorite caterpillar swing along with another girl. The swing is so cute and safely holds two children facing each other. So in she goes and the other child's mom and I start talking. Of course one of the first things she asks me is how old Savannah is. I told her almost 2 1/2 and her eyes grew an entire size. Before I could even say how Savannah has always been big for her age and how it was okay because she was all proportional, Savannah chimed in "I a big girl". My heart breaks just thinking about the fact that Savannah knows she's bigger than most girls her age. I guess she's heard that one too many times from yours truly . . . so no more! I vow never again to talk about Savannah's size in front of her. I do not want her to grow up thinking that she is different or fat and it makes me sad to think I may have already ingrained this image in her mind. :(

Want an extra $.99?

Okay, so most of you reading this are going to think I'm crazy, and yes, pregnancy has made me a little more loony, but this is too good not not share. It all started a few months ago when Dave and I were trying to get rid of a credit card. It's one of those rebate cards where they automatically credit your account every month with a percentage of your purchases. So, being the thrifty person I am, I was trying to get our rebates to the point where I would lose the smallest amount of money in rewards. I had it figured out so that after our rebates credited we would only owe $.97 cents and then we could pay off the card and close the account.

Well, guess what happened? When the statement came it showed a balance of $0 and had a credit adjustment on the account for $.97. So, basically they gave me almost a $1 not to have to deal with collecting the $.97! Long story short, this has worked with two different credit cards for 5 months now! Can you believe it? Each month the day before the statement closes, I pay off the credit cards leaving a balance of only $.99 and when the statement comes they've adjusted the balance to $0!

I've calculated that the minimal interest we earn on our checking account (on the average credit card balance) is less than the $.99 we make by paying off the cards early, before the statements end. So there you go, an easy way to make some extra money!

We Are SOOO EXCITED . . .

I've been waiting to finally make the big blog post, but we are so excited to finally announce . . . that Baby Bachmann #2 is due to arrive this coming June 24!! Dave and I couldn't be more excited and are anxious to soon find out if we'll have another girl or a sweet baby boy. We've known for awhile that I was pregnant, actually Savannah knew even before Dave! She announced that her "mommy had a baby in her tummy" to the childcare workers at church the very morning I took the first (of many) tests . . . and I hadn't said a word to her!

Anyway, please be praying for us, specifically the health of the baby and myself. At the first ultrasound, my doctor found a very large cyst (about the size of an orange) on my ovary. She feels that the risks are less to operate second trimester than to try to wait until after delivery to remove the cyst. So, my surgery is scheduled for January 6. It's a very scary time for all of us, but I have to trust that God is in complete control. As my friend Elaine said, He is not surprised by any of the details of this pregnancy or surgery.

I'll be sure to keep the blog posted with details, but for now, I feel like it's a boy!

Thanksgiving Gatherings

This year we decided to make two trips to celebrate Thanksgiving. We travelled South on I-85 for Thanksgiving Day with Dave's family and then we travelled North on I-85 to do Thanksgiving with my family on Saturday. It was quite a bit of travelling but we truly enjoyed our time with both of our families. Here are some pictures from our adventures!

First, Greenville, SC. Savannah and Alyssa. Are they cute or what?!

They also enjoyed putting on a concert for everyone there!

The Bachmanns and Weningers

Savannah was still exhausted from Thanksgiving and fell asleep on the way to Burlington. Nice glasses!

Here are the missing monkeys! Savannah loved playing with her other cousins at grandma's house.

What an awesome time to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for. Friends, family, children, and blessings too many to count. We are truly thankful!!

Conversations with Laurie

I hope each of you has a friend like Laurie. She is one of my nearest and dearest friends and I'm sad to say that she lives far, far away. I found out a few weeks ago that she was going to be in town for Thanksgiving, but wouldn't you know that Savannah woke up with a green snotty nose this morning. So, not wanting to get Laurie's 3 boys sick, we opted to just catch up over the phone instead of getting together today. :(

Anyway, after talking to my sweet Laurie for awhile this morning I hung up feeling refreshed, encouraged, and loved on. Okay, so I also cried for awhile too just because I miss her so much!This girl has an amazing way of loving through words . . . probably a skill she's developed over the years of living miles away from both her and her husband's family. Her gentle calming spirit and words always gently remind me that God is sovereign and in complete control of everything. She listens like no other, loves like a sister, and is one of the funniest people I know. Laurie, I am so sad that I missed seeing you and giving you a big hug today, but know that I LOVE YOU!!

A New Food!

For the past two weeks we have refused to serve Savannah chicken nuggets for dinner. We tried this once before, but this time we're sticking to it! For one, they are awful for her, and for two, I can't stand the smell of those nasty nuggets. Anyway, most nights she goes to bed without any dinner as she refuses to eat perfectly good food. Not only does she refuse to eat anything new, but she won't touch her favorites if they are even on a divided plate with something new! I'm not asking her to eat spinach or broccoli for crying out loud, we're talking pizza, pasta, hamburgers, and other things that normal children eat. Well, she finally decided to try meatballs Sunday night and I almost threw a party. WOO HOO! Now my child will eat fruit, chicken nuggets, fries, meatballs, and Kraft macaroni (last week's addition). Wonder what might be next?? It's a slow process, but this time we're determined to make it work.