Merry Christmas

Today is December 26 and Mary, Joel and I are 2/3 of the way into our Christmas celebrations. We opened gifts at my parents' house on Sunday afternoon. My Grandma, who recently celebrated her 98th birthday, got to meet Joel for the first time. My grandma was born in Oklahoma a few years after statehood. While attending school in Jones, OK, she played basketball. One of the venues for their games was the Round Barn in Arcadia. She is literally a world traveler having served as a missionary in Kenya, Australia, and the small Caribbean Island of Cayman Brac, among other places.

Monday, Christmas Eve, my brother Joel and I helped my dad clear a bunch of limbs from the recent ice storm. It was a fun excuse to ride a 4wheeler and run a chain saw. Liam and Luke helped as well. They both felt pretty sure that this selfless act secured their spot on Santa's "Nice" list.

After a great Christmas Day lunch at Joel and Stefani's house, Mary and I returned to Edmond where we exchanged gifts. I got Mary a small digital camera for her to keep in her purse/diaper bag. Here is a cute picture she took of Joel and a mom/son self-portrait.

We look forward to the coming weekend with Mary's family in Texas. I trust that God is blessing you during this Christmas season.

N - Ice Storm 2007

When reading the title of this blog you have to use your best news anchor announcer voice . . .  Ice Storm 2007!!!  Seriously, Oklahoma did get hit with a pretty good ice storm this weekend.  Here are some pictures from our house.

Bradford pear tree (AKA worst tree known to mankind) in our front yard

Live oak tree in our backyard (my dad and I planted this on Mary and my wedding day), hopefully this one will make it

Mary's rose bush

N - Joel & cousin Nick

Mary, Joel and I went to Dallas this past weekend for Michaela's birthday party. It was our first trip outside of OKC with Joel and he did really well. We took him to the Dallas Christmas parade on Saturday morning.

We watched the OU game Saturday night. I didn't let Joel wear his OU outfit though as it proved unlucky against Texas Tech. Plus Joel's Sooner loyalty is somewhat in question as he peed all over my OU sweatshirt when I got home from the Bedlam game.

While in Dallas Joel got to meet his cousin Nick for the first time. Nick is 3 days older than Joel. He is Michaela's little brother. Joel outweighs Nick by a pound or so (mostly in his cheeks).

Joel really likes his swing a lot these days. He's starting to resist sleep a little bit (uh oh!) but this often does the trick.

N - Deep Thoughts

Isn't it interesting how you often see something new in the Bible after reading the same passage a thousand times?

I often find myself in Mark 15 when I am pondering Christ's sacrifice.  I have read these verses many, many times but I noticed something new this Sunday.  Right before Jesus gave up his spirit, he cried out in a loud voice "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" (NLT)  These words have always rung loud in my conscious as a powerful example of Christ's humanity.  It is obvious that he truly felt separate from God.  He was completely alone.  I never realized though that at that moment when God had turned his back on him, Christ was actually quoting scripture (Ps 22:1).  Christ was God and he was carrying out God's plan for salvation.  It was a very "Godly" thing to say but at the same time very "human".  I think it is the perfect balance of Christ's divinity and humanity.

N - Sunset Answers

I know you have been waiting with anticipation so here are the correct answers.

A = Great Salt Lake in SLC, Utah (taken on our way to Yellowstone in September 2007)

B = Edmond (taken from on top of our roof last week)

C = Lake Murray in Ardmore (taken at Sooner Youth Camp 2006)

D = Edmond (taken from on top of our roof in the fall of 2006)

E = Maui (taken in February 2005)

N - Sunset Match Game

One of the great things about living in Oklahoma, especially this time of year, is the amazing sunsets. I would encourage you to turn off the radio and put the cell phone away on the ride home from work tomorrow and simply take it in. God's creation is astoundingly beautiful!

To get you in the spirit, I've created a little match game. All you have to do is match the sunset picture with the correct location.

1. Edmond, Oklahoma

2. Maui, Hawaii

3. Ardmore, Oklahoma

4. Salt Lake City, Utah

5. Edmond, Oklahoma

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

(E)

N - Some more pics of the little guy

The end of a long hard day . . .

Chillin' with my boppy . . .

What up world?

Me and the Ferguson men . . .

N - First Car Ride

We brought Joel home on Sunday November 18. It was a beautiful day. Mary sat in the back seat with Joel while I drove more carefully than I have since June 21, 1990, the day I turned 16 and got my driver's license.  This video is pretty cute.  Somehow Joel managed to sleep, even with his cheek and ear doing a little diddy.

N - A Chip Off The Ol' Block

I joked with Mary before Joel was born about how I hoped he got her looks and my hand-eye coordination. Early polling is in and he looks an awful lot like me in my baby pictures. Here is a picture of my dad holding me at 1 day old and a picture of me holding Joel at about the same age.

The hand-eye coordination determination may have to wait awhile but I think I saw his eyes light up yesterday when I showed him a basketball.  I'm pretty sure Joel and I will be able to take Carson and Kyle Mauck in Puck-It when the time comes.

N - Our Beautiful Boy

In case you haven't heard, Joel Emmitt Ferguson made his arrival at 12:03pm on Friday November 16, 2007.  That makes him one of the Oklahoma Centennial Babies!  Joel weighed 9lb 6oz and was 21 inches long.  Here are a few pictures to enjoy until you get to meet him in person.

N - So this is what labor is like

As I type this, the clock reads 2:45am and Mary is sleeping in the hospital bed next to me.  That's right you heard me, SLEEPING!!!  I thought labor was supposed to be horribly painful.  I don't know what women have been talking about all these years, it doesn't seem too bad to me.  Before you boycott the internet and rip the computer out of my (freezing cold) hands in response to this blasphemy, know that I am only joking.  Drugs evidently do amazing things.  I just thought I would see if you were paying attention.

Here's the lowdown: our friend did an ultrasound on Mary this afternoon, saw that Joel might be a little on the large side, encouraged Mary to go to the hospital to try to get on the list for an induction, while there Mary started contracting and has basically been in labor since about 4pm.  Everything is going really well.  We're just waiting to meet the little guy.

What an AMAZING thing!  I still can't believe this is happening.

M - Is it a compliment?

My friends make fun of me because I really enjoy cooking.  My grandparents are really blown away by this fact too.  It's true though, I am one of those weirdos who love trying new and more difficult recipes.  Why? I think in a sick twisted way it's where my competitive edge comes out.  I really like the challenge of making something new that no one else would even attempt to try. 

So, with that in mind, I made shrimp etoufe last night for dinner.  To which my husband repetitively said, "This is some good slop!"  The sad thing is that he was being completely sincere and he really enjoyed the meal.  Still, is it ever a compliment to call something you're eating slop?  

M - Another Sweet Nephew

As of 8:00 this morning, Neil and I have another nephew! Nicholas Brian is 8 pounds and 20 inches. That's a big boy! I have to admit it's a little unfair that my sister had her baby first since her due date was three days after mine, but I'm over it. I couldn't be a more excited aunt.

Neil and I have 4 nephews and 3 nieces, and I can't help but think we'll be better prepared parents for it. (Although next month when I'm about to pull out my hair because I'm so tired, don't rub salt in the wounds by reminding me of that statement.) No seriously, we have been so blessed to be a part of each of their lives. We've seen the three boys be, well, boys. They've caught frogs from the park behind their house, caught many catfish, and picked on their little sister (but don't worry she (Katie and Lily) can take care of herself). Our nieces, of course, are perfect angels and would never be stinkers. Wait! I can't be talking about any of our nieces. Katie tears the arms off frogs, Michaela can get me to do just about anything, and I'm a little afraid to see what Lily has in stow for me (especially if she's anything like her mommy).

Thinking about all 7 of these little imps makes me wonder if we're really prepared to be parents after all. Yikes! I guess we don't have a choice in the matter any longer.

N - Here goes (a lot of) nothing

So Joel Emmitt Ferguson's due date is now less than 1 week away. We've bought the crib, painted the room, installed the car seats, and freaked out multiple times about becoming parents. What else is there to do right? Oh yeah . . . the blog. It's sort of a requirement nowadays isn't it? This is actually the last thing to do on our pre-baby checklist. We are now completely ready!  (yeah right!)

I'm not sure who will have more time to update this but we'll try to post pictures of Joel often for the grandparents and others interested.  I'll also keep you posted on how many diapers I've changed.  Here's the current tally:  ZERO, ZILCH, NADA.

That's all for now.  We hope you enjoy.

PS - We stole the name Ferguson Family Fun from our family campout tradition that started about 3 years ago and well fergylicious, enough said about that.