Grace: We can't wait to meet you!

The Lord has been working in such a neat way in my sister and her husband's life.   They have two of the sweetest little boys in the world (okay, I am biased!)  and they are excited for their newest addition, Grace, who they will be adopting from China.  My whole family is anxious to meet Grace and we have begun to pray for her during this time she is away from her "forever family". I wanted to make a little something for my sister this Christmas to let her know how much support and love we feel for their family as they move forward in faith on this journey to bring home their daughter.

So I made these stocking hangers...

One for Robby

One for Daniel

and one awaiting a picture of Grace.

I hope you will pray with us as the Lord directs each step of the adoption process.  You can follow everything more closely on my sister's blog. 

A Baker Family Christmas!

Tyler and I got to go to Florida for Christmas this year!  The temperature was a cool 80 degrees- which we were definitely not expecting! This vacation was long anticipated because it was the first real vacation for us this year, since most of our travel time this year was spent on trips to Birmingham.  But we also looked forward to this trip because it was so wonderful to have all of my family together.  We only wished my sister, Meg, and her family could have been there!

Tyler and I were lucky enough to stay at my Grandma's.  This is one of Tyler's favorite things about going to Florida because staying at Grandma means lots of homemade yummies and all the special treatment. Its always a treat to stay at Grandma's!  While we were at Grandma's, my sister, Amy, and her family were at my parents.  We managed to spend as much time as possible as a whole group with lots of eating and just hanging out.  My mom always has everything planned and so it seems like everything happens so smoothly, but I know it takes a lot of effort on her part! Santa actually came a little early for us, since we all wanted to be at church Sunday, we thought it would make the most sense to open gifts on Saturday morning.  It was so fun to watch my nephews tear into their gifts.  They were so excited!

You know me, I think pictures tell the story so much better than I do, so here are just a few from the busy trip!

Christmas Morning!

Robby and Daddy Bob

Tyler and Grandma

Tyler's Stocking :)

He was so excited about this little ball that lit up! What a cutie!

The boys opened up a present for Grace.  It was the sweetest little sweater! We can't wait till she comes home from China!

Daddy Bob and Mimi with Robby

Sadly, it has probably come to the point where I have been out of Florida long enough to be considered a tourist.... so Tyler and I had to check out the sites :)

We had such a great time and so enjoyed being with family! We hope your family had a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior!  

The Annual Pizza Party

This season has been especially hectic, so we didn't get to plan like we normally do for our friend Christmas party. This is another one of those special traditions created and passed down by my Aunt Jackie and whether it was well planned or not, we were still determined to keep the tradition alive.  We kept it simple, just our friends Allen and Jessica, and it was perfect.  We all got together at our house and made homemade pizzas.  The boys always try and get creative while the girls keep it pretty original.  This year the boys though sauce on top was the way to go. After pizza, we ate sugar cookies and watched Christmas with the Kranks. It was a perfect Christmas evening!

We were excited about the new Dr. Pepper 10- which Tyler let us try even though the commercial has convinced him it is "for men only."

Until next year!

Captain's of Industry

I hope my husband always knows that I am and always will be his biggest fan. I am just so proud of him! This year he was asked to speak at the annual Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Captain's of Industry dinner. It was the perfect opportunity for Tyler to express our deep gratitude for all of those who give so generously to help find a cure. It was wonderful to be able to put a face with many of those donors who we will forever feel grateful for.

Tyler was, of course, such a natural on stage and we had a great time at the event. I tried to refrain from taking too many pictures.... but I had to take a few!

Tyler's mom came with us :)

Thanks to everyone who continues to fight for a cure! We are closer everyday and we couldn't say that without you!

Claire's Baby Shower

My sweet friend Claire and her husband Cal are expecting their first baby.  Tyler and I are SO excited for them!  And although it took some careful planning, since Claire and Cal moved to Texas (so sad!), when they came to visit their family for Thanksgiving it seemed like the perfect chance to get some girls together and celebrate this new baby!

The shower would have never happened without my friends, JoAnn and Jessica, who helped put together all the food. My favorite thing about this shower was how relaxed it was.  We all just enjoyed each other's company and caught up on time lost.  I am so thankful for these sweet friends and am so glad that the Lord blessed me with each of them.

Check out a few pictures from the shower! 

My first baby shower cake :)

We can't wait to meet Rebekah!

"Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from Him."
Psalms 127:3

Santa Saturday

Tyler and I love Christmas! I guess, who doesn't?  The decorations are fun, the presents are nice, and the food is great, but what I think we love most about the holidays is the time we spend with our families. One Saturday before Christmas, however, Tyler and I set aside a whole day to spend together- just the two of us!  It is always great to just hang out with zero interruptions before things get really busy.  We wake up and eat sweet rolls, decorate our tree, watch our favorite Christmas movie, Elf, while eating sugar cookies, and this year Tyler added a new tradition- we built a lego Christmas scene. I mean people do Christmas puzzles, right? Why not legos?  This day is always so much fun. It's a tradition we look forward to each year.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Candy Corn and Costumes!

Okay, so this is way over due... I mean, its almost Christmas!  But oh well! The costumes were cute, so I had to share! While I am not particularly big on Halloween, probably a result of never celebrating it growing up, I do normally celebrate by buying those pumpkin candy corns in mass quantities (Why do they taste so good?).

But our friends had a Halloween party this year and so we were in need of costumes. Not wanting to buy costumes, we opted for the much more creative make your own option!  I saw this picture online and it cracked me up!  Tyler has a particular love for The Price is Right and so I knew he would automatically be in!  Check out our Price is Right contestant costumes.  I just had to be the $701 :)

Check out the other cute costumes!