And Finally The Really Big News!!

Why you may ask is Isaac's nose all red? Because he insisted on looking like Rudolph for about 3 weeks before Christmas (off and on...) and Christmas day for sure! This year, his pride and joy was receiving a "baketball hoop" and tools from santa, and an awesome combine, though I'm sure he'll grow to love the clothes and electric toothbrush he received as well... Ha!

So Christmas is over and we're all feeling the post-holiday-partum blues, but never fear, we have saved the best news for last! We are going to add a new little Pieper to the world June 1st (or hopefully sooner!!) Yes, that makes me 20 weeks along, and no, you are not the last person on earth to find out, though I'm sure some of you are starting to feel that way! We actually decided to wait until Christmas so that we could tell Ben's family in person about the good news. Some of you may be thinking that we are insane to wait until we are 18 weeks to tell our immediate family, and you would be right. Though everyone is now excited, I am not sure excited was the word to describe everyone's initial emotion! Some were a little more than disappointed we had waited so long:) But, we had good reason, and it was actually kind of fun to be able to deliver such great news.

Isaac was able to tell both of our sets of parents and siblings with a t-shirt we had made for him. It says "Big Brother 09 Isaac" It's really cute, I should definitely take a picture of him with it. Then, the most observant person in the room got to find out first.

Other than that, our break was great. We really enjoyed being together and are starting to feel like all these big plans are actually taking place. It will be an interesting 6 months of preparation and extreme craziness, but we can't help but feel so blessed! Certainly everything happens under the Lord's timing and plan.

(new vibrating toothbrush... very exciting!)

We did have the opportunity to travel to Pinedale to spend some time with Joni and Clay in the frozen tundra- brrr! And then on to Rexburg for more coldness:) I never thought I would refer to Laramie as a "warm location," but at times it's seeming more like that! It was really great to spend a week in Idaho and really have a chance to be with the family.

Now, this week has been our wake up call back to reality! We are working on finding a sense of normalcy and I'm sure we will soon, but getting back in the groove is tough. Anyway, we'll keep you posted on what "normal" is going to mean for us this spring, but so far, it just means really busy!

So, may each of you enjoy the new year and find some peace (oh, and when you find it, help us get there too!!)