More Holiday Kodak Moments!

We had fun fun Christmas times! It was wonderful being at the Farm for Thanksgiving but it was special to be home for Christmas this year! Having Auntie Janette here added to the fun and festiveness! And we had the first White Christmas here in Arkansas since 1935!

Just in case anyone still checks...

Yes, it's been pathetically long since the last post and maybe no one even checks anymore! But we gave the blog a little 2010 face lift and here are some current pictures! I won't even try to recap the last 2+ months, except to say that in the grand scheme of things, we are wonderful and the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's season was very special! So fun that all of those times were "firsts" for Emma Hope and she seemed to take it all in joyfully! She really is quite an inquisitive little girl and loves to be smack dab in the midst of everything going on! Don't even try to leave her out of the excitement!

So, all the Arkansas Stuckys are doing well, still trying to learn the new normal and thankful for our warm home! Isn't it amazing how that "global warming" makes everything so freezing!!! : ) They say tomorrow may reach the 40s, so that would feel balmy at this point!! We are doing our schoolwork by the fireplace that Alyssa keeps stoking and we take turns on "Emma Hope" duty. In true 11-month-old fashion, she is into everything, and fast, so we have to watch her close! Schoolwork gets crumpled quickly and little pieces of bark from firewood get ingested in a flash when someone isn't watching her! In fact, hopefully you won't take offense at her new nickname..."Little Beaver"! Always said in love and very appropriate! Either we just don't remember or she really does take this "oral stage" to a whole new level!!!

Anyway, we have a ways to go to work out the daily kinks...Emma Hope is still not fond of sleep, or maybe just independent sleep. So that continues to be our main work in progress and matter of prayer. But besides that, we have every reason in the world to be thankful! When I wallow around in the daily overwhelming muck, (like I did a few days this week : (, things can get bleak fast, but thankfully the Lord reminds me to lift my head, turn on praise music and thank Him for how GOOD He is! "The Lord has done Great things for us! Psalm 126:3

Firsts!

Here are some fun pictures of Emma Hope's first Halloween, her first Sunday to dress up for church, her first Fall leaves, etc.! It also turned out to be our first Halloween without Alyssa as she was with the church "youth" doing all-day service projects and then a slumber party. It is a funny thing to have one child just starting new things while our oldest is branching out more and more!

Overall, all is well. Actually, Emma Hope's nighttime sleep could be used to set your watch by! Well, that was true until "fall back" one hour last weekend. But the biggest improvement is that she is laying down for bed without much fussing anymore! Which is HUGE, especially since Alyssa and Hannah share the room with her! And I think my internal clock must be getting used to the interrupted sleep because I am thinking much clearer now!

Emma Hope has her first appointment with our wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Jackson, tomorrow. So we can post some actual "raw data" after that! We think she will check out just fine, but it will be good to have our Dr.'s take on everything now that she is home.

Love, thanks, and bye for now!