HE IS HERE !!!

At 1:23am, Tucker Robert Smith was born. Katie and Tucker are doing great! I'm hanging in there too :) Katie began to feel something around 8:15, just as church was letting out. It is a good thing I had just called in sick about 5 minutes earlier...I guess thats what I get.

We are now starting what is sure to be a long night but I can't think of a better reason to loose sleep. Tucker is finishing up his first bath and is just loving it as you can imagine. I'm sure Katie will write much more in the next day or so...my job was just to get the word out. I do want to leave you with a few laughs that we had right before we set out for the hospital.

Just before we set out to take Griffin to the Walkers (thanks Tasha and Joseph), griffin noticed that mommy wasn't feeling very well...He is very observant like that. A couple times, as katie was leaning forward and gripping our footboard, grimacing in pain, Griffin crawled up underneith her and asked, "mommy, what are you doing with your eyes." Then, I was sharing some chocolate covered sunflower seeds with him to distract him and our sweet boy went up to his mommy with a handful and said, "here mommy, this will make your tummy feel better." We couldn't help but laugh.

What a great kid! We are so blessed to add another one to our home. We can't wait for you to meet him! We will see you all soon.

Love,
Nathan, Katie, Griffin and Tucker

Main Street Bethlehem

This past Saturday we took another Christmas trip up to Burnet, Texas to walk through an enclosed Bethlehem Village and witness what it might have been like on the night Jesus was born. If you have never been there and you live in the Austin area, I would highly recommend it. It is really amazing- I have never been to or heard of anything quite this elaborate. It is a full village complete with live animals, hundreds of people playing roles as different people who worked and lived back then, rooms with jewlery, beds, tables, pottery, breadmaking, a jail, an inn, and, of course, the stable with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. It is so detailed there is no way to do it justice- you just have to see it. This was our 2nd time to go- last year it was cold and rainy and we walked right in. This year...we got there and the line weaved in and out around the entire town square. We waited about 2 hours to get in and it was very crowded, but well worth it (even at 9 months pregnant, although I did have to sit a few times and rest my feet). Our pictures really do not do it justice- it is hard to get a picture of how big and realistic this event really is- and it is all free to anyone. Megan took many more pictures than we did and I am sure has some good ones of the village- I may have to get a few from her and add another post later. The picture of Griffin in a fire truck is not part of the village- it was there for the kids while we waited.

Breakfast with Santa

Brentwood does a Breakfast with Santa every year at Applebees. You buy a ticket for an All-You-Can_eat pancake breakfast and enjoy eating and visiting with friends, while Santa is there the whole time to meet and take pictures with your kids as many times as you like. It is a great family outing and Griffin really liked Santa this year, so it made it more fun.

Griffin the Shepherd

This was what Griffin made in Bible class last Wednesday. Of course, he is a shepherd (isn't it obvious:)). Thanks to Julie and Kaylee for such a cute and economic dress prop. Griffin learns SO much in his Bible class, it amazes me.

Trip to Gruene

Last weekend we went to Gruene, Texas with our friends, the Drennons. It was their Christmas town lighting and Market Days and we had heard Cowboy Kringle was stopping by. We had a great time shopping and tasting samples, eating the best sandwich in the world, watching Cowboy Kringle ride up on his horse and light the town, and just playing and visiting. It was a great trip and I am glad we were able to make it with such good friends.

Partnership Dinner

The Partnership Dinner is an annual fundraiser for Brentwood Christian School that we were fortunate enough ti be invited to again this year (thanks Vandygriffs!) It is a lot of fun to get dressed up, have a nice meal and evening out, although this year it was a little harder to find something to wear. Thanks to Megan for taking the picture and for making it a head shot :)

Getting ready for Christmas

This past weekend since we were here for Thanksgiving, we decided to go ahead and get our tree and decorate for Christmas. I figure I need to use every free moment I have now since my time to decorate, shop, etc..between Thanksgiving and Christmas could be cut short at any moment if this boy decides he's ready to join the outside world. We decorated the tree and watched the Polar Express, while drinking "hot coffee" (it is actually hot chocolate but that is what he liked to call it). We had a great time and can't wait for many more Christmas memories this year.