An awesome Christmas story!

Just a reminder of what this season is all about...the birth of a Savior!!

Luke 2:4-14
Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Baking, baking, and more baking!!!

Wow! You guys offered some really awesome recipes! This was so much fun and I can't wait to try them all out. My only problem is finding the time to bake them all! I plan on spending this Sunday baking with Jacob, but I can't try all the recipes, so I have some narrowing down to do. I appreciate all your responses. We have such a wide variety of suggestions from the quick pick up when there's absolutely no time left, to the family recipes that have been enjoyed for years! This has been one of my favorite posts so far and it's all because of you guys! Thanks and I hope to see you all this holiday season! Love to you!

Baked Goods

Tis the season...of baked goods! I love to bake and what a perfect time to do so. I plan to spend a few of the upcoming days baking for the holidays (gifts for neighbors, holiday gatherings, etc). So, I thought it might be fun to share a favorite baked good recipe and then ask you guys to share one. I'm not very sophisticated like many of the blogs I read and don't know how to use Mr. Linky. I'm also not so very popular, but I know my family reads this and hope you all participate. It can be the dessert you always go to, or a special treat you only make for the holidays. I look forward to reading and trying out all the recipes you leave in the comments section of this blog. I really can't wait! Here's mine!

Pumpkin Roll

Batter:
3 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 c. pumpkin
3/4 c. flour

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
4 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix eggs and sugar together. Add remaining batter ingredients. Bake on a greased cookie sheet (put wax paper on top and then grease and flour wax paper). Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Be sure to keep on eye on it as it bakes quickly. Remove warm cake from pan and turn onto a dish towel sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar. Roll cake and towel up together and let cool. Mix filling ingredients. Unwrap cooled roll and spread with filling. Remove towel and roll again. Let set in refrigerator overnight. Before serving sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Don't forget to leave a comment with your favorite baked good recipe. Just think...it's like a "cookie swap" even though we aren't getting together! FUN!!!!

Prayer Request

I was catching up on my blog reading last night and came upon this blog via Jordan and Patience Leino's blog. Please join with us in praying for this family who is dealing with an extremely risky pregnancy and trusting God through the journey! What an inspiration! Reading these blogs has really opened my eyes and makes me so aware that it's truly a blessing and a gift from God to have a healthy pregnancy. I am so thankful!

Baby Bulletin

Today was our last trip to see Dr. Kuller at Duke Perinatology. We are so happy! That means everything is perfectly fine with our little one! Thanks so much for the prayers throughout this issue with the placenta. The placenta has "moved" and is no longer a problem. We are so thankful for this blessing!

Baby Sloan looked great. His heart was beating at 158 bpm. The technician measured his head, femur, humerus, and abdomen. From those measurements, they let us know that Baby weighs about 3 pounds and 6 ounces and is in the 63%ile, which is great! In this photo you can see his little face. It's to the right of the triangle and he's sideways. His chin is pointing left and I'm really not sure exactly what that is on the left that it's pointing to. Oh, well! I can't wait to meet this little guy.

On another note, Jacob went with us this morning. He was so excited to get to see his little brother and was really enthralled by the whole procedure. So much so in fact, he's asked for an ultrasound machine for Christmas!! Yea...umm...maybe not!!