Christmas Morning!

Never a disappointment in our house! The kids had a great morning. Jordan went to work at 4:00 am just so he could make it home to see the kids reactions to what was under the tree. What a good dad! We were all spoiled and had a wonderful morning. The highlight was being able to head to a beautiful Sacrament meeting to really celebrate the true meaning of Christmas!

A Year in Review

This year has been a busy one, but aren't they all. Here is a low down of what happened:

January: We decided to forgo finding out what gender our baby would be. I decided it was a boy to be named Andrew Paul.

February: Izzy started her first season of soccer and loved it.

March: We headed to Kiawah Island, SC for a conference where we went on a bike ride. And I went in to preterm labor. Not a surprise for those t

hat know me.

April: Jordan and I celebrated our 11th anniversary with him off doing interviews for a fellowship in Facial Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery. Caleb also celebrated his 5th birthday in Peter Pan style.

May: On the 11th at 7:oo am, we welcomed our third daughter, Emma Caroline. I was shocked and we were left to scrabble for a name since I was sure we were having a boy. Emma was a peanut weighing in at 6 lbs. But she was born a little more t

han three weeks early.

June: We were busy with visitors and finding out that we were moving the Gulf Shores, AL for fellowship. We are really looking forward to a year on the ENT department here in Winston-Salem. It has been an adjustment to have him gone ALL THE TIME. Seriously. It is all the time.

August: Izzy turned 12 and joined the Young Women program at our church. Are we seriously old enough for that? The kids also started school. Izzy started 7th grade, Abbi 4th, and Caleb got to get on the bus with his big sister and start kindergarten. Yep, just Emma and I home during the day.

September: Abbi started competing for the gymnastics season. She competed level 5. It took up several Saturdays through December. Emma and I were also able to make a trip to MN to see my sister and her family. It was awesome. Izzy and Caleb started a new season of soccer. Logistics were interesting since Dad was never home (see July).

October: Came and went in a blur. Halloween was a blast. We had a giant baby, a green crayon, a transformer, a ladybug, a guy from "Deadliest Catch" and his catch (aka crab). The candy came and went in a blur, too.

November: Abbi turned 10 and was still busy compe

ting. Of course, I love November for Thanksgiving and we had a truly awesome feast. I love being in the kitchen. We were also lucky enough to see a few of our friends become parents for the first time.

December: I celebrated the 3rd anniversary of my

29th birthday. My mom made it out. My birthday was also the weekend of NC state level 5 meet, which was in Wilmington. It was a lot of fun. I got to be on the beach on my birthday. Awesome. Can you tell we are really excited about moving to the beach?

We are so grateful for all that we have been bless

ed with this year. We have a lot of changes coming up in the next few months; some which make us quite nervous (like selling a house) but we have complete faith that our Heavenly Father has a wonderful plan for our busy family.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Healing a Broken Heart

It seems that life is full of ups and downs. This time the down is really, really down.

We have been so lucky to live next door to dear friends. Our kids play together often. We have impromptu Sacrament meetings at home when the roads become to icy for church. We watch our kids play in the rain. We watched our bellies grow together. We experienced the joy of adding new babies to our homes just a few weeks apart. And now, our sweet friends have had to say a temporary, but albeit, difficult good-bye to their sweet baby boy, Beckett. During this difficult time, I was so blessed to be the safe haven for their three older children. Because they were here, our home was filled with the Spirit of comfort and peace. When all of the children woke up this morning, I could literally feel the love that our Heavenly Father and our Savior have for each of us. I feel so blessed to be a witness to this.

I am so grateful at this time to know that my Savior lives. He love us and wants nothing more for us than for us to return home to him. I am grateful to know that all children who leave this mortal life before the age of eight, get to be by the Savior's side, basking in His love. I am grateful for the restored gospel and the opportunity that families have to be sealed together for all eternity. This brings me peace. To know that my sweet friends will one day be reunited with their sweet boy. The boy with a smile for everyone he met.

Emma Caroline Wallin

I guess this is a pretty important event so I should probably blog about it.

On May 11, we welcomed another sweet little girl to our family. I was shocked that she was a girl because I was certain that we were having another boy t

o keep Caleb company. I hadn't even really foc

used on girl names! She was born just before 7:00 in the morning. All 6 lbs 1 oz of her. She is by far the smallest baby I have had. She is also one of the best. She has the sweetest disposition and has got all of us wrapped aroun

d her finger.

She is now eight weeks old. My how time flies.

She has finally passed the 8 lb mark and no longer fits into newborn clothes. She has beautiful blue eyes (yes, that is two blue eyed kids from two brown eyed parents) and dark hair. Everyone that sees her says she looks like Abbi, but I see a lot of Izzy in her. What do you think?

Jordan, Emma, and I with my OB, Dr. Mims

A Proud Daddy!

Meeting Emma!