The Race is On

With the holiday season winding up, it feels like we are entering the final leg of our marathon.  This little man will be here before we know it and like a marathon it seems like the last few months will crawl along in slow motion revealing the finish line before we even have time to realize it's here. 

Christmas was a blur. Mom and Dad Griggs flew in from Hawaii on Monday morning before Christmas and Dusty and Caytlyn stayed at our house Sunday night on thier way down to pick them up.  They gave us our gift early (of course we didn't have thiers ready- shocking, I know).  They were so excited to watch us unwrap it that they would not even consider waiting until we had thiers ready.  I think Kel's reaction satisfied thier excitement.  He tore into the wrapping and gaped in disbelief- so much so that he exclaimed something that I probably shouldn't quote here (this is a family blog. . . sort of).  Let's just say it was similar to "ARE YOU KIDDING ME! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!"  Then of course came the ear to ear grin followed by little tears in the corners of his eyes.  Dusty seemed equally extatic about Kel's reaction as tears came to his eyes and he started laughing.  My sweet brother and his wife had gotten us a Wii!  Maybe not something new to most families, but certainly something new to ours. . . and something Kel or I would have never expected or imagined.  It was an awesome gift!

The whole crew stopped back in on Monday afternoon to pick up Tuff and drop off Christmas gifts.  Mom and Dad brought Kel two Hawaii T-shirts, an adorable necklace for me, and the cutest onesie and hawaiin outfit for our little boy.  They continued to spoil us with money for "a video camera or whatever" (those were the words scrawled across the toilet paper dad had used to wrap the cash in- what a funny man :) ).

Thursday night we headed for Washington and even in 3 weeks this little guys was able to make the journey more miserable than it was at thanksgiving.  Luckily we made it at around 3am.  It was a crazy fast trip filled with lots of family, food, and activity.  Mom treated all the girls to pedicures (my first one ever. . . apparently I'm not very good at picking polish. It looked like a rich, glittery purple but turned into bright, glaring blue).  Dad and Kel spent the day running around finishing up christmas shopping and Dad ended up taking Kel to get new church clothes because Kel had forgotten his at home- it was SO generous, and brought his son (my sweet husband) to tears. Thanks dad! We cooked and baked and spent a lot of time talking (and eating) in the kitchen.  Christmas was a full day. The little kids got thier santa gifts before church and  mom spoke in sacrament meeting and then we came home, finished up cooking dinner, and headed to the new house to eat and let the kids open the rest of thier gifts.  Our little boy made quite a haul, he got an adorable little sleeper, little socks, and a couple swaddling blankets.  Mom and dad gave us a beautiful piture of the farm that brought the entire family to tears.  It was a great day, concluded with the traditional "pickle hunt" during which Mom and Dad hide an ornament that looks like a pickle and whoever finds it get cash- sadly we weren't the fortunate ones this year. . . watch our Taylor- we'll get ya next year!

The trip home was probably even more miserable than the trip out just because of what I knew awaited me- work. At least it's just a 4 day work week!

I'm so grateful for such an amazing family, a family that extends beyond the boundries of blood, and a plan from our Heavenly Father to help us become better.  As I look toward April, the reality of having a son becomes more and more real with each passing day. I already love this little boy so much I can't even quantify it and I would do anything to protect him and keep him safe.  My heart breaks to think of the hard things that he will face and then I think of my Father in Heaven and what he had to watch his sweet little boy (my brother) go through, knowing that there was nothing that he could do to change his journey without changing the fate of all his children.  I'm so grateful for his love, his patients, and his willingness to do hard things for the sake of all of us, even when we turn our backs or make mistakes.  I hope that I will always remember the true reason for this season.

Baby Update: Our little man has now been kicking his mom since about 19 weeks and his dad finally felt him for the first time on Christmas Eve (I doubt I even have to tell you about the smile on Kel's face when he felt his little son).  Our baby is probably nearing 2 pounds and he is a mover.  He gave his mom a couple good scares last week by not making a decernable movement for a full day, not so this week- he's bouncing off the walls!  I finally now look (and feel) pregnant and have expanded in all area.  We love you little man.  As of now, he's being called Brody- it seems to fit, and we like it!