Baby Ultrasound and Birthdays

We went in this morning for our first baby ultrasound and it was amazing. The doctor said everything looked healthy and that the baby was developing as it should. He gave us a due date of August 4th. We could see the baby's features, head, arm buds, legs and even saw a little precious heart beating. It brought tears to my eyes, and filled my heart with gratitude for the gift that God has given us.
It was the perfect birthday gift for Matt, who's birthday is tomorrow, the 29th. In honor of Matt's birthday, I will share a few thoughts on the soon to be daddy:) I am so thankful to have a husband who serves the Lord and genuinely serves others before himself. Matt is the most joyful person I know. He is the life of a party, full of jokes, laughter and fun. He is not only going to be the best looking dad, but the most fun. I am so thankful for Matt's patience and gentle spirit. Especially, these last few weeks. He has nurtured me and taken care of me without one complaint. I am so proud of how hard he works and how well he has done this last year. I will continually praise God for Matt and all of our blessings. All gifts come from above, especially little 'piglet' in the belly. So cheers to Matt, the big 28, may we share many more together!

Christmas thoughts

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. This year was a bit off of the "tradition" but it provided me with the opportunity for a few thoughts. Since Mark is finishing his internship at Disney, we chose to go down to Florida as a family this year so that we all could be together. However, Liz and I came back a little early to see her family as well. This was the first Christmas without having my family together on Christmas morning and this was also our first Christmas without my Paw Paw Ed. I missed them and him terribly. All of my dad's Christmas antics and my brother and I's goofing. And, all of mom's Christmas thoughtfullness. However, I am thankful for a few great days with all of them in Florida this week and we did have our antics and goofing and thoughtfullness for sure. We did spend some good time with the Bailey and Wolfe clan in Raleigh and Greensboro and that was certainly enjoyable.

This was also a Christmas of lasts. This was the last Christmas for Liz and I without children. We're so excited for the new addition in 2010 we almost can't stand it.

So what I got to thinking was this - life, including Christmas, is always changing. So many people focus on the change and end up a victim of their circumstances, always wishing themselves to some other place or some other experience. So, we must not focus on the things that change, but the things that don't change and THAT may be the meaning of Christmas.

My favorite traditional Christmas hymn/song is O Holy Night. Take a moment and read the lyrics below:

"O Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night, of our dear savior's birth. Long lay the world, in sin and error pining, til he appeared and the Spirit felt its worth. A thril of hope, the weary world rejoices for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees. O hear the angel voices. O night, divine. O night, when Christ was born...chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother. And in his name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, with all our hearts we praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we, his power and glory ever more proclaim! His power and glory ever more proclaim!"

The birth of Christ and its celebration at Christmas is forever constant. Nothing has changed. In fact, God doesn't change. He is the ONLY constant thing in our lives. No matter what we may be going through or not going through, He is always there. Wether we are with family or without family, expecting or unexpecting, home or away...He is always the same.

This Christmas, Liz and I have found absolute joy and peace in knowing that God is good and that Christ died so that we may live. THAT is what we will do! Our hope for you is that you may take the Spirit and Joy of Christmas into every new day until we celebrate it again.

Our Love,

Matt, Liz, "Piglet" and Stella

Orlando...jump on it, jump on it!

Well we arrived safely in Orlando to spend some time with the rest of the Ham Fam since Mark couldn't come home for Christmas. We had a great dinner last night at Outback celebrating mom's birthday (18th) and Grandma's anniversary (21st). We drove around for about 30min trying to find it, which is always an adventure, especially with a car full of 'sass' (thanks to Larry and Me). Liz was a trooper hanging in there through the ups, downs, u-turns, etc. Her feeling bad seems to come in waves, usually early morning and early evening - otherwise things are great!

We're staying at this new Hilton at Bonnett Creek - its right off of Disney property - excellent location - excellent ammenities - a must stay for your next Disney visit - its not touristy at all - very nice - thanks to MG the Travel Agent for hooking it up.

Off to the Disney Boardwalk today and then a round of golf with Larry, Dad and Mark. I think the girls are going to go the outlets to shop and maybe to the ICE show at the Gaylord Palms.

Universal tomorrow!!!

Airports, delays and nausea

All during the wedding we kept seeing news stories about the snow in the Northeast. So glad we were flying through DC! Of course our Sunday morning flight was cancelled and the call to US Air was 1hr 37min wait, but we were booked on a Monday morning to Philly and then to Orlando. We actually tried to get on standby Sunday at the Kansas City airport, but to no avail, all flight booked. To top it all off, Liz's nausea was in full swing. Yeeeehooo! What a fun time. No, I'm kidding, I actually am glad that she's getting all the symptoms/side effects because, to me, that means things are going along as they should. The extra day gave us a chance to go to downtown KC to the Plaza for lunch and see a few of the sights, including the Argosy Casino (my personal fav!) A good round at the blackjack tables made the lay over worthwhile! We had our second 4am wake-up and we're getting ready to board to Philly and then to Orlando. Looking forward to a few warmer, fun-filled days with family. And the Griswold Christmas continues...

Ruffin and Libby's wedding!!!

YAY! It's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow but said by Saturday it will be sunny and clear! We are so excited to be heading out to Kansas today. We have a busy weekend ahead. Tonight we have Libby's lingerie shower, guys are headed to the casino(Someone please keep Ruffin and Matt from spending too much money). Friday we are pampering ourselves with manicures and pedicures, then off to the fun rehearsal dinner. Saturday is filled with getting everybody ready for the 4:30 wedding and reception to follow. We pray and hope that God will bless these two as they embark on the best journey of their lives. For those who can not make it out to Kansas, we will miss you and will be sure to take lots of pictures!

6 weeks along!

And the nausea begins.. I laid in bed last night not feeling well at all. Matt jokingly reminded me that I had been wanting this for 2 years. I guess it's all part of it.. and I know it will be worth it:) Keeping the crackers and ginger ale near at all times though. We are very excited about our first ultrasound on Dec. 28th. We will be able to hear the baby's heartbeat and see it growing! It will be about the size of a kidney bean when we have the ultrasound.

Thankful for family

This picture was taken at my grandparents mountain house in Meadows of Dan, VA. We took the Ham's up there for a weekend and were also accompanied by our tour guide Kathy. It was really cold that weekend and we saw snow flurries on Saturday morning. We saw a lot of deer and even spotted a black bear. I am so grateful that my grandparents- Lala and Judge- invested in such a beautiful piece of property years ago. All of the grandchildren have been able to use it and take their friends up there for fun and fellowship. Our pastor Mike is doing a sermon series on families. He is talking about how our decisions today will effect generations in the future. I hope that Matt and I will be able to serve the Lord and be good stewards of what is given to us, so that our children and grandchildren will benefit down the road. I was blessed to have 4 wonderful grandparents and I cherish every memory I have with them. Please pray for my grandmother Nanny, who is in Rex Hospital. She is the strongest person I have ever met. She is battling cancer, cpod and now pnemonia. I am excited to go visit her tomorrow and give her a big hug!

Our furry visitor

Here is a cute picture of Emma and Matt. Emma parent's are up in Maryland, where her dad Josh is recovering from an injury while serving in Afghanistan. We met Josh and Heather last year at PC3 our church here in Wilmington. They live right around the corner and while Josh was away on deployment, Heather and I walked together all the time. About a week before Josh was scheduled to return from service, he was injured in an ambush attack while looking for two lost Marines. A blast near Josh injured his legs from schrapnel. His story in itself is a testament to God's protection of his people. While being extracted, his helocopter was hit by an RPG, but it did not explode and they were taken to safety. After numerous surgeries, Josh's legs are still recovering. We pray for him weekly and we encourage each of you to do the same. He has his own blog at www.caringbridge.org/joshglover. Anyway, Josh's manly 7 lb Chiuaua, Emma has joined the Ham's until he and Heather are able to come home. Her and Stella get along really well. It's actually funny, we're starting to believe Emma had something to do with Baby Ham! Some good friend's of ours kept her about 2 months ago and they're pregnant now too! We can't name a Baby girl Emma, because we already have Emma Wolfe and Emma Ham in the family, so mark that one off the list. Emma's a sweet little cuddle-bug and isn't afraid to climb right up on you. Actually, she's sitting on Matt's shoulder now. Anyway, we're thankful for Josh and Heather and we're glad to help them anyway we can.

Welcome to our Blog

Please walk with us as we start our family and welcome Baby Ham into this world. We are so thankful to share our story and praise our Heavenly Father for all of our blessings. I will speak from the heart but apologize in advance for the bad grammar and writing. I never thought I would start a blog, but my hope is that someone will be inspired by how God has worked in our lives over the last few years. Welcome to the Ham Fam blog, starring Matt, Liz, Stella and Baby Ham.