11 weeks -- It's A......

It's a baby!

Hilarious, I know. Well, most of you know that we are not ones to wait to find out the gender. I've got painting and shopping to do! So, we read online about this urine test you could take as early as 10 weeks to get conclusive results about the gender of your child. -- The ad said for Moms who just can't wait -- that's me!


So, it was cheap and there was free shipping so we ordered it, just for fun. We were fully aware that it was not going to tell us anything for sure but we thought it would be fun to play along. The website said it was 90% accurate for a girl reading and 85% accurate for a boy reading. Paul said the website had a typo and that it should have all said 50% accurate, just like every other gender predictor!

So, this morning we decided to test it out. We followed the directions and we got absolutely nothing! The cup is labeled so that when we looked at it from the girl side it looked like it was girl colored and when we looked at it from the boy side it looked boy colored. I'm actually sort of happy with the results and even a bit amused. I have no more expectations than I did yesterday. Tell me what you think!?

Passing on Traditions

I've always had a Christmas Tree. Even when I was in an apartment I had one. We have set up a tree each year in our house, but this year it seems so much more special. Last year we thought Noah would knock stuff off the tree but he pretty much ignored it. But this year, he helped put the ornaments on and now puts them on and takes them off each day! If the tree isn't on he begs for me to turn the lights on. And every morning he comes down the steps and says "Christmas Tree Mommy!!!!!!!"

Well, when Paul was little his dad always set up a huge Lionel Train display complete with towns and mountains. This year we dug out the old Lionel Steam Engine and set it up around the tree. Noah was allowed to push the button that made it say "Woo Woo" and allowed puffs of steam to come out. It was a magical moment....

Advent Conspiracy

This is the super cool movement that our church is focusing on this Christmas. I love it and we have all really gotten into it... being creative and giving of ourselves in radical ways. Take a minute to watch it and change your Christmas! Find out more at www.adventconspiracy.org

Pictures!!!

So, it's no surprise that I'm in love with photography and even joke about opening a studio some day. I just love capturing the moment in photos. When I think back I was always obsessed with pictures!

So, last month, I had the privilege of 2 of my photos being selected for different publications. This was completely random and just happened from people looking at my pictures on Flickr.

This picture will go in the Philly Fun Guide for Tourists. Each place on the map for people to go has a picture that goes with it and this picture will be the icon for the Philadelphia Zoo:


And this one will be in the Strasburg Railroad Visitor Brochure. It will also go into a photo album in the Railroad History Museum in Strasburg, PA.


So, neither of these are what I would consider my best or most exciting photos, but hey! And I don't get any money for them, but I do get name recognition and a copy of the publications once they are finished. I was pretty proud.... Now, if I could only find time to use my new lens, filters and flash!