And Goodbye January.

Yep. January is over. Can't say that I'm too sad, although I never want time to pass quickly, because I've been anxious to begin my second trimester.  That happens this week. And now that I'm here I'm sure I will want the days to be years, being able to enjoy the (possibly) last pregnancy, cherish our final days as a family of four, and have plenty of time to prepare for our big life change. The month has been just as busy as it seemed to promise, but lots of good things are going on.  We are in a very exciting time as a church, and it's one of those things where you literally can't wait to see what will happen next. Very thankful. It's a great feeling to know you're right where you need to be, doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing.

Had a doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago.  It started out a little nerve-racking because the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler.  I was trying not to be nervous, knowing this is somewhat normal in the beginning, but it's still a little unsettling when that's all you want to hear. So she ended up doing another ultrasound to make sure everything was okay.  And sure enough, little baby Pate was down there kicking, waving, and flipping around.  I don't know that I've had an ultrasound that early with the other two (except in the very beginning with Addison), so I was really surprised to see how active the baby already was and how defined he/she was at just 12 weeks.  Everything about pregnancy, from beginning to end, is fascinating and just so amazing.  It's really hard for me to imagine someone experiencing it and not believe there's a God. The whole process is so miraculous.  So after it was all said and done I was actually happy I got an extra peek.  And of course I'm going to share it with you.  The baby was waving his/her little arms everywhere and she got a close up of the head with those little arms sticking up.

Hello, little one :)

We enjoyed some gorgeous weather last week, and we spent some time outside at the zoo on Friday.  As much as I've missed winter, it's hard to be too sad when it's 65 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, and you're feeling the sun on your face without the heat that goes with it. Although winter is returning for the week, and even though we have a slight chance for snow later this week I'm sure I'll be jealous of all those who will definitely get snow.  Here's hoping I guess!

Finally I'm leaving you with a real treasure.  I found this little gem in our video archives on my computer, and you've never seen anything so precious.  We figured out that Addison is around four in this video, but a younger four than Cadence is now.  And Cadence is probably just a few months away from two. For a little background, there is a part when he is telling the Bible story that he says King Saul and then pauses for a totally adorable smile for the camera.  Chris had praised him/was impressed that he even remembered the name of the king from the story, so when he was retelling it on camera he had a proud little moment.  It's our favorite part :) I am totally inspired to go through all of our old home movies now, but it's going to take some work because we currently don't have a device that will play the size of the videos.  But we'll figure it out- and I will share with you!  So, enjoy and peace out from the Pate house.