'Tis the season to be jolly!!!

Merry Christmas! I am a little sad to say that there will not be any Christmas pictures with this post. You see, I am a list person. I wrote everything that I needed to pack on a list. And then I packed those things. I did not add camera to my list. So, just like last year, we have no pictures of Christmas. I can't believe that I missed taking pictures of Emma's first Christmas and her second!! Well, even though I have no evidence, we had an awesome little vacation in Alberta! Yeah!!! First time I've been home for Christmas in three years!!! Timothy did not get any time off from work because he works for FedEx and, as you know, the holidays are a little bit busy for those in the shipping business. So, we took off Friday afternoon. Saturday we were able to sneak in a temple session - I highly recommend that for Christmas next year, it really helped put everything in perspective and erase the commercial-ness that Christmas has become - then we went to Jen and Jeff's in Lethbridge. We opened some presents there, mostly the kids, and then moved the party to my Grandparents (my Mom's parents), also in Lethbridge. It was really nice to be with them and see my cousins. Sunday we went to church in Hillspring with my parents. The ward did a really nice sacrament meeting and it was a good note to start the Christmas Eve celebrations on. We spent the afternoon/evening/night eating and playing games at my aunt and uncle's house. My cousin Tracy and her five kids were there, Emma loved it! We did Christmas morning at Mom and Dads, it was very nice, Emma even opened her own presents, although she liked to play with the packaging from grandma's more! Then we went back to my aunt and uncle's for more food. Aunt Connie put on an amazing spread. We had a 31.9 lb turkey. It was delicious!! Unfortunately, we had to eat and run because Timothy worked today (boxing day...I think this country needs to convert to the 'right' way of observing holidays). All in all, it was tons of fun and so nice to be home! Thanks Mom and Dad for taking us in and showing us a good time! We hope that all of you enjoyed your holiday too!
Anyway, I know that Grandma Allred will not be happy without at least some pictures, so here's a few recent ones of Emma being a goof and just living life. I think her Daddy is her most favorite person in the whole wide world! If he's here, she doesn't leave him alone. They love to play!!!

A Too Late Update

Well, it has been so long since I posted anything, I figured we could use an update. Plus, I promised pictures of my newly recovered sofa, and finally took some tonight. However, I forgot to take 'before' pics, so, here's the pillow, at least you can see what the fabric looked like.














And, my sofa after! I absolutely love it!! The chocolate fabric has a really nice texture and we took the skirt off. I haven't finished the other pillow, because I'm lazy, but I have really good intentions. So, anyway, thanks Mom for coming down and letting me watch you work! You did a beautiful job! And thanks Linda for giving us the sofa! It's so much more comfortable than our old one!
Now, onto other things, last weekend, we went to Lolo to visit Linda for her birthday and Christmas, since we won't be seeing her then. It was a good trip and Emma loved seeing her Grandma. There was a little bit of snow that Emma loved playing in. Thanks for the great weekend Mom Allred!


















And another update, for those of you who are wondering, I am now 15 weeks along and *eeep!* not fitting into my clothes. This is coming on a little bit earlier than last time! I nearly cried when even my 'fat' pants couldn't do up...and now my hair elastic is even making the pants too small when I sit down. Heaven forbid I move into maternity clothes so early! Anyway, we're feeling good most days. Emma doesn't quite get it just yet, she just walks away when I tell her about the baby in my tummy. I think this spoiled little girl is in for a pretty rude awakening!!!