Christmas Day

At my aunt and uncle's house

Kathryn and Andrew hanging out

My cousin Lane's wife, Kristin, is due at the end of May, I am due May 11, and Kathryn is due March 25. My grandparents are excited about the arrival of three new great grand babies in a matter of two months!

I don't have any pictures of Christmas morning yet. . . all those pics are on my film camera! The only way I am able to post these pics are because I downloaded a few from my dad and sister. We had a very busy day! We woke up to Santa and played for a while. Then we usually go to my mom and dad's house for lunch and presents, where all my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents get together for the one time a year. This year we went to my Uncle Joe's house though because a few weeks ago, my parents started demo on their kitchen/den/living room/dining room, so their house was not an option for Christmas this year! (I am really excited that they are finally redoing their own kitchen finally after owning a kitchen and bath store for almost ten years! It should be really nice!)

Several years ago, Chad and I decided to liven things up a little bit and "graciously" give some gifts (think bad Dirty Santa presents) to my Uncle Lee. I will say on the front end that he has been a great sport over the years! It all started when one of Chad's ELL students proudly gave him a half-drunk bottle of Cognac for Christmas. These gifts from "long lost family members" have "appeared" at our Christmas day gatherings for several years now. My Uncle Lee started to finally reciprocate after realizing that we would never quit giving him gifts! This year Chad received some worn Christmas boxers from "Pedro Garcia" (the Metro Superintendent of Schools). Lee received some candies that Chad had received from one of the Kurdish janitors at his school. The only words written on the entire box in English were "Natural Aphrodisiac". Classic Lee gift. Needless to say it brought many laughs from all the adults. :)

We headed to Chad's parent's house for Christmas night and had a great time there, too. Hopefully I will somehow post pictures from Christmas morning and night sometime!

Christmas Eve at our house

Lawton got a new tractor to go with his John Deere tractor from last year!

Reading up on what it means to be a big brother . . . can he handle it? We hope so!

What fun . . . playing in a laundry basket with Grandma looking on!

Telling everyone good night so Santa can come and visit!

For the past several years, my parents, sister and brother-in-law and grandparents have come to our house on Christmas Eve to open presents and eat. I went pretty simple this year and just had sausage potato soup, pimento cheese sandwiches/ham and cheese sandwiches and salad - finished off with a chocolate pound cake of course! We opened presents and Lawton was so excited with his presents from Noni and Dandy that we had to convince him to keep opening more! He especially loved a camping stove and some books from Noni and Dandy and a doctor kit from Kathryn and Andrew. He calls himself Dr. High and loves to look in people's ears. Poor guy - he's had to have his ears checked so many times! It cracked us up because when he listens to our hearts, he will say "mmm hmmm. mmm hmmm. mmm hmmm." like he is really hearing something good! I guess his pediatrician does this and I have never noticed! It was fun night - I was sad though because we forgot to put out milk and cookies for Santa! :( I think Santa might have found some leftover pound cake on his own after setting out all the toys, though! ha!

Pickler/Thomas Christmas

The original Pickler/Thomas girls and our spouses (left to right - Chad and Laura Beth, Jeremy and Marie, Andrew and Kathryn, and Nick and Amy. Brian was not able to make it that night! )

Amy is due in February 25, I am due May 11, and Kathryn is due March 25! I am not really that thrilled that we are all basically the same size . . . :(

Prego sisters!

Lawton was a very happy boy that night and made himself completely at home!

The Picklers are our family's best friends . . . literally for years. My mom and Sissy became friends when they were pregnant with me and Brian. They have been best friends ever since. Buddy and my Dad are best friends, and Kathryn and Amy have literally been best friends since birth. We are all so busy now, this is about the only time we can all get together . . . and it took four different tries to schedule this date! We had a fun night together!

Santa brought Lawton the best present ever! It's a . . .

LITTLE SISTER!!!!



Baby girl's sweet profile



They tell us this is the proof that the baby is actually a girl! :)

We had a great doctor's visit this morning. (I am just now getting a chance to go to my in-laws house to use their scanner!) The doctor told us that everything looks healthy and the tech that did the ultrasound said she looked like a big girl. I'm not sure how she can tell because when I asked her if she had a guess of how long she was and what she weighed, she replied, "Oh, we can't really tell that." What?

We are very excited, and needless to say shocked that it is actually a girl. There hasn't been a High girl born in almost thirty years, so the High fam is excited and wondering "What are we going to do with a girl?" :) Here's the funny/strange/awesome part - two nights ago, (Tuesday night), I had a dream that we were in the ultrasound room and the tech told us - "It's a girl". That night Chad got home from school and was sitting on the couch. He said, "Guess what? I dreamed last night that we were in the ultrasound room and they told us it was a girl." I looked at him wide eyed and said "ME TOO!" Neither one of us had had had any dreams about the sex of the baby at all and then we had almost identical dreams on the same night!! We call these our "fantastic" moments because we do things like this quite often.

We almost have a name, but are not ready to make it "public" quite yet. We didn't even have a clue for a boy, so now we don't have to worry about that! I'm sure the name will be coming soon . . .

Most importantly, we are so thankful to God that everything looks healthy for me and our baby girl. We thank you all for your interest, thoughts, and most importantly, prayers. Have a wonderful holiday season with your families. May God keep you safe and bless you all!

Boy or Girl??

The big ultrasound is Thursday, December 20th. Chad and I are ready to hear that everything is healthy and on schedule. We honestly don't care what the sex of this child is, but all three of us (Lawton included) have a strong feeling that this child is a boy. Chad is one of three boys and there are three grandsons. My sister, her best friend, my best friend from high school, Karie, Christine, and just about everyone else I know that is pregnant are all having boys. We would be thrilled either way, though! Join in the fun by putting in your vote. Please pray for a healthy child!