New addition on the way!

A few weeks ago we found out the joyful news that a new baby is headed our way in 2008! Sam is very excited to be a big brother, however he insists that it will be a boy because he wants to be a "Big Brother". :) Our due date is July 18. I'm not too sure about having a baby in the middle of the summer, but I guess that will give me lots of excuses to lounge around in people's pools! I had my first doctor's appointment 2 weeks ago and they took ultrasound pictures. I've posted a pic above. Good luck trying to see the baby! The dark kidney shaped object is the amneotic fluid and the tiny little blob in the bottom left corner is our little "lima bean". Acutally this week I found out it's the size of an olive. How can something that small cause so much havoc?! Acutally, I'm feeling pretty good. A little nausea here and there, but really not too bad.

My "K.A. Girls"

Last weekend, I attended the annual Christmas party with my college girlfriends (from left: Liz Boeve, me "Frego", Wendy Harkema "Kooiks", Cory Timmer, Beckham Schmidt "Buck", Tonia Gruppen "Bruins", and Jean Keggereis "Jeano"). The evening started at the hotel restaurant for a buffet of prime rib, walleye, salads and of course wine! Then we ventured to a Mc Fadden's for an evening of dancing. Even for a bunch of over 30's, we were true "Dancing Queens"! As always, we had a great time laughing, reminiscing, and catching up on each other's lives. I love my girls!

Christmas Tree and other views around the house

Putting up the Christmas tree was a bit more of a fiasco than normal at the Beckham house. First the star wouldn't stay straight and kept falling over, so we had to go to the store and buy a new one. Then half of the lights wouldn't work, so again, we had to go to the store for more! After all that, we were able to put up all the ribbons and ornaments and Sam had fun putting ornaments in the most ridiculous places. The tree is never as big as I want it to be and it's alwasy too big for Brian, so I guess we settled on a happy medium.

Pizza Night

Tonight we went to Jon and Jen's for pizza with the rest of the family...yum! The food was great, especially Jen's almond bar dessert. It was a little weird and sad though as our sweet Grandma Frego was missing from the get together. Earlier this week, she fell a badly broke her hip. On Wedn. she had surgery to repair the damage and on Saturday was transferred to Heritage Hill Nursing Home where she will be staying for approx. 1 month to start the rehabilitation process and physical therapy. We all know that it is best for her right now, but I know it was really hard on Grandpa that she wasn't there. It was the first time I can ever remember not seeing them together. They are just the cutest little couple and when I asked Grandpa what he wanted me to write down on his wish list for Christmas gifts he said, "I just want my wife to be home." Everytime he talks about her his eyes get all teared up and it really is just a beautiful testimony to how much they love eachother...still after 58 years.

Picking out the Christmas tree

Picking out the Christmas tree is an annual event for the Beckham family. We get a free ticket from Woodland Realty and have a great time at Teusink's Farm. It begins with everyone standing in the cold freezing while Sarah hees and haws over which would be the "perfect" tree to take home. This year we ended up taking home the first tree we looked at, but of course, I had to inspect several others before realizing it actually was the "right one". Then, head to the lodge for hot choco, hot cidar, and donut holes. Next, it's off to the Teusink barn to crawl through the hay maze (Sam did this with Uncle Alex) and then to pet all the barn animals (cows, pigs, goats, and rabbits). After this, Sam loves to head down to the pond area where he can hand feed the goats. Finally, we end the day with a family picture taken in a Christmas sleigh. The last 2 years, Jon and Jen and Mya have joined us and this year Mom and Dad and Alex came too. The only bad part about the day was that Sam was feeling really awful. He came down with a terrible cold (I think he caught mine). The poor guy was so exhausted that when we got home, he walked straight upstairs and put himself to bed. Somebody call Guiness! This is the same kid who has refused to nap since the day he was born! :) The rest of the day was spent decorating the house for Christmas and watching the first big snow fall of the year. It really put me in the Christmas mood!