Samantha's First Thanksgiving: 28 Weeks Old

This past week of school was very short due to Thanksgiving break, which I was very thankful for.  We left for Upland on Tuesday night and Samantha took a great nap in the car, sleeping all the way there.  It took us much longer to get there than usual because there was so much traffic with it being rush hour and also the start of a holiday.  On Wednesday, Jeni, Andrew, and Alaina got to Upland early in the morning since they had to go back home early Thursday morning to have Thanksgiving with Andrew's family.  We hung out, let the babies "play" with each other, had a great meal, and played a fun family game of Cranium once the babies were put to bed.  We love to get Alaina and Samantha together as often as we can, so the cousins can grow up together.  It will be fun to observe how their interactions with each other change each time we are together, and eventually they will be able to play with each other and become friends.  They have already begun to take toys from each other, although at this point they don't seem phased by it.

After our Thanksgiving meal we went over to the gym at Taylor and took a walk with the babies.  Burning off calories makes it okay to eat dessert later on, right?  Maybe Samantha will be a future Taylor University alum too!

Here are some other fun pictures of Samantha playing at Grandma and Grandpa Toll's house for Thanksgiving.

Samantha never seems to sleep as well when we are in different places, especially in Upland.  I don't know if it's because it's darker than her room at home, or maybe because she has to sleep in the same room with us and Roscoe.  We may disturb her with our sleeping noises and moving around at night.  However, we had a couple interesting nights with Samantha where we were up in the middle of the night trying to get Samantha to fall back asleep.  I guess she is just a creature of habit and is used to her own room and crib to sleep in peacefully and undisturbed at night.

We headed back to Bloomington on Friday and had couple of Christmas activities planned.  We went to a Christmas tree farm to get a live tree to put up in our apartment.  Ben doesn't care much about having a real tree, or as a matter of fact, any tree at all.  But my family started the tradition of cutting down real trees when we were kids, and I always have fond memories of those times, so I would like to continue on that tradition with my own family.  We looked at the tree farm to cut down a tree, but they didn't have very many mature looking Christmas trees, so we ended up just getting one that was already pre-cut in their barn.  We got a Frasier Fur which is one of our favorite kinds of trees, due to it's soft, dark green branches, it's strong aroma, and the fact that it's needles are not as itchy and don't cause our arms to break out when we touch them.  Samantha didn't really know what was going on, but she enjoyed being carried around in the Baby Bjorn with Daddy.  It was a wonderful day outside!  Mid 60s is great weather for going out and finding a Christmas tree.

Putting up the tree was kind of an event this year.  What should have been a half hour job, turned into several hours over the next two days.  Our tree had branches that were too low on the trunk, so the tree would not fit into the stand that we had for it.  We bought a couple other stands in an attempt to find one that would work before we would be forced to just cut off the lower branches which would then make the tree not as beautiful.  Ben eventually found a metal tree stand that was shallower and would work for our tree trunk to touch the bottom of the stand to hold it more securely.  I still am paranoid though sometimes about coming down in the morning and finding that the tree has fallen over.

That evening we participated in a Bloomington tradition, the lighting of the Canopy of Lights.  I have to say that this is one of my favorite things about Bloomington at Christmastime.  If you are ever able to, you should come visit downtown Bloomington at Christmastime.  The lights downtown come out from the courthouse and string across the street to the neighboring stores and restaurants.  They even wrap thousands of lights around the trees surrounding the square.  It is quite the sight to see.  Here are some pictures from the lighting of the Canopy of Lights ceremony.  Samantha had a great time!  She loves to be around people.

Our busy weekend continued on Saturday with the last IU football game of the season against Purdue.  Samantha once again did a great job.  She must have been tired from all the commotion of traveling for Thanksgiving and doing so many things during the day because she took an almost three hour nap in the afternoon before the game, and she also fell asleep during the first quarter and last quarter of the game, even in the midst of all the cheering and clapping.

What could be more adorable than the precious face of a sleeping baby?  I don't know if it's just the season of Christmas, but I tend to do a lot more reflecting on my life and the way that God has blessed be during this time of year.  I feel so blessed and thank God daily, especially when I look at my beautiful, sweet Samantha.  Sometimes it takes my breath away.  Sometimes it makes me shed tears of happiness.  I never imagined loving a person as much as I love Samantha.  Being a mom brings such a different perspective on life.  I would do anything for that little girl.  I hate to see her unhappy or hurt.  I love her so much, that these meager words I write can't do it justice.  My love for her grows stronger each day she is a part of our lives, and I simply cannot imagine life without her.  Thank you, Father, for giving us the greatest gift this season, your Son.  I can't imagine giving up my child on behalf of people that don't deserve it.  I can't imagine sending my one and only son to earth to be born a baby, knowing full well that this baby will grow up to die a terrible death on a cross.  Thank you God for that sacrifice and for the miracle of the birth of Jesus that we celebrate this season.  Thank you for reminding me of your sacrifice this Christmas as I look at the soft, peaceful slumber of my baby and am reminded of the Christ-child.