Erin Akin Carroll

We spent a wonderful 10 days in Dallas with my family for Thanksgiving. I went out a few days early to help throw a baby shower for one of my best friends. All but two of my bridesmaids were at that baby shower and it was so much fun to catch up and all get to be together!

TC joined us a few days after we got there and we spent most of our time relaxing and watching football. And eating. My mom isn’t eating meat anymore, but she still fixed us a delicious turkey. But from all of the side dishes (green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, broccoli cheese and rice casserole, dressing, peas, and creamed corn) and the desserts (derby pie, chocolate pie, and pumpkin pie), there wasn’t a whole lot of room left for turkey.

We had a lot of fun cooking and my parents always enjoy getting to play with Hudson. He is so sweet and just loves his KK and Poppie so much. And he loves “Melmo” so much. My mom set up a cute little playroom for Hudson with all of his toys and a little TV and DVD player so he could watch his shows while we watched football. He is just so good at entertaining himself.

On Thanksgiving morning, my dad, TC, and Hudson got up and went to do the Turkey Trot 5K with 40,000 other people. It was a chilly morning, but they got out there and did it. And Hudson looked so stinking cute in his little race t-shirt.

My mom and I stayed home to watch the parade and finish cooking. Thanksgiving is just my favorite holiday. It helps get me into the Christmas spirit and I think there’s a lot less pressure with Thanksgiving than there is with Christmas. We had a great day.

We also took Hudson to North Park to see the model trains. It is really something to see and if you’re in the DFW area, you should definitely check it out. Hudson was fascinated with all the trains and kept saying “choo choo!” His RC and PC started a model train set for him last Christmas, so I’m really excited to get that out this year so Hudson can watch the trains in his own home.

Before we left town, we took some pictures for our Christmas cards and I thought I’d share a little teaser of one of the pictures we got of Hudson. He’s so sweet!

Hudson is going to have a little brother! We’re having another precious baby boy!

We had a great appointment and all of my worries were put to rest. Our baby looked great and just as the baby turned, I saw it for myself and said, “I see it!” It was the same way with Hudson and there was no mistaking that we were having another crazy, sweet little boy.

We’re all so excited and I just know that Hudson will love having a brother that he can play with and teach so much! I snapped this picture of myself on my phone before I went to the appointment.

We have been brainstorming names for a while and have found that it’s really hard to come up with a name for our second boy. But we’ve got some ideas and I’m still not sure if I’ll share the final decision on the blog before the baby is born. But we’re working hard on giving him a good name!

Well, friends, today is the day! We’re supposed to find out the gender of our sweet little baby. My appointment isn’t until later this afternoon and I don’t even have a 16 week bump picture to show you. But I promise I will take one today when TC is with me for the appointment.

I don’t have a single gut feeling about the gender. There are times that I think boy and times that I think girl. I haven’t bought anything yet for this baby because if it’s a boy I probably won’t buy anything at all. But I don’t want to become attached to the idea of one gender or the other before we find out for certain.

Anyway, we’re pretty excited about today and are just praying that our baby is healthy and progressing as he or she should.

I’d appreciate all of your prayers today. I get so nervous in between appointments, so I just want to be calm and I want our little one to be in good shape.

image via here

I wanted to take a minute to let all of the Columbia (and surrounding area) readers know of some great opportunities for you to experience the Spirit of Christmas in a worship atmosphere.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m in our church’s choir and this year our choir has put together a great Singing Christmas Tree! It has been so much fun to rehearse. We got to start singing Christmas music back in August! I’m so excited to see it all come together and I know that those of you that live nearby would love to see it.

The Singing Christmas Tree is bolder, brighter and more inspirational than ever! This year’s event features a 125-person choir, a thirty-piece orchestra complete with a dramatic presentation of the Christmas story accentuated by dance ensembles.

Our Modern Worship Service puts on a spectacular Christmas show, as well. It features new and older songs and some of the most amazing voices you’ve ever heard.

Free tickets are available for Glorious and the Singing Christmas Tree through Shandon Baptist Church and online at www.ChristmasAtShandon.com. Glorious will be held on Sunday, December 5 at 7pm and the Singing Christmas Tree will be held on Friday, December 10 at 7pm, Saturday, December 11 at 4 and 7pm, and Sunday, December 12 at 7pm. Both events are held in the worship center at Shandon Baptist Church: 5250 Forest Drive, Columbia, SC 29206.

The Saturday, December 11 performance at 4:00 p.m. is already full so go ahead and get your tickets!