Christmas was fabulous...

Christmas came and went so fast! And we had much to be thankful for this holiday season. God blessed us with lots of family and friends, safe travels for everyone and tons of good food! Mother, dad and Chelsea flew in on the 23rd and stayed until the 29th. Of course, I just loved having my family here....and they shopped me to death! Since everyone made the big move out to West Texas, they were eager to hit all the good shopping available to us here. I even had to resort to the electronic wheelchair as my aching feet and back began giving out....and those are quite difficult to maneuver through aisles and mad crowds of people! We were able to buy lots of things for the nursery...which I will post pictures of later.

We spent Christmas Eve shopping, then went to a party at Rodney's mom's house, and then stopped in at one more party at Adrien's house on the way home. The next morning we did Christmas at my house which was lots of fun and then went over to Rodney's dad's for gift exchanging. That night I hosted Christmas dinner with our family and Rodney's mom. We had roasted chicken, sweet potato pone, jalapeno corn pudding, salad, rolls and buttermilk pie. I was exhausted by the time dinner was actually ready and I'll think real hard before I insist on hosting Christmas again. The rest of the week was spent on more shopping, decorating the nursery and resting.

Thursday night we had a visit from the Voigts family. We happened to be on their holiday route and they stopped by for a visit and hamburgers. It was so great to see them! We hadn't seen Julianne and Sheryl since the wedding and Mike and Daniel even before that! Julianne and Daniel are so grown up and seem to be very active in a number of fun activities.

I've posted several pictures below. Hope you all enjoy...and hope you had a blessed Christmas, as well. Much love--Courtney

Chelsea, dad, mother and me before our Christmas Eve shopping trip.

Rodney's niece Emma helping him open his gifts. She received a box of hair bows from us for Christmas (which Mother made) and she wanted to wear them all!

Me, Chelsea and Rodney's half-sister, Alexis, at Rodney's dad's house for Christmas.

Dad and mother got Gracie Mae the cutest coat to wear this winter. It appears to be the perfect shade of burnt orange.

The Creech and Voigts families together again! Hopefully we won't wait so long for the next reunion!

I love Christmas time!

The cold air has blown in, even a few snow flurries this morning. All our Christmas shopping is done with gifts under the tree and all wrapped. The decorations are in place and I sip on some apple cider every evening...just to keep me in the spirit. Last weekend we had my company Christmas party. Beforehand, we met a group of people at The Palm for drinks (and, yes, they had water) then went over to party. It was a fun dinner and dancing at the downtown Hilton in Nashville...seeing as I was unable to partake in the open bar this year, I was also unable to participate in the dancing. Rodney and I finally had to bow out around 10 p.m. because the belly was sinking and getting tired. I've attached a picture of us all dressed up.

For those of you who have been concerned about my health...here's the update. They discovered that the baby has made me very anemic which was partly why I was feeling so bad. They have put me on iron supplements which has increased my energy levels tremendously. However, I start feeling too good, then I do too much, then I start having contractions again....so I have to keep reminding myself to take it easy which is hard for someone who truly values their independence and hates to ask others for help. Rodney has been a big help....he's doing laundry, making runs to the grocery, cooking dinner, rubbing my aching back and walking me through the breathing exercises when the contractions hit. (The pain can be pretty intense, but goes away in about 30 minutes when the pills kick in which stops the contractions.) The doctors are still saying we have a Valentine's due date...but I already have our bags packed and by the door, just in case....you can't ever be too prepared. So far mommy and baby are both feeling good and looking forward to Christmas!!!

I've attached a few holiday pictures...

This is us all dressed up for my company Christmas party. Ever try to find a flattering dress when you're toting a soccer ball on your tummy and a "few" extra pounds on your hips?

I swear I don't torture her everyday...but she's so cute in her little outfit. This is her "I hate you, mommy" look....usually she smiles and wags her tail.

Rodney and his mom in front of her tree, and her dog, Scarlett.

If you look really close, you can see little specks of snow....Gracie was the only thing the flurries showed up on.