December 20
th, a day that changed the course of history. That was the day that Sara Elizabeth Hartley was born. A beautiful,
wonderous creation of God that never was, nor ever will be, duplicated. This little girl has grown up into a amazingly special woman that surprises me and blesses me on a daily basis. I watch her as a mother and a wife with equal parts amazement and admiration. She takes on so much in taking care of Aaron and I, and absolutely loves every minute of it. Aaron is so happy and healthy because of how great of a mother Sara is. She is so aware of what is best for him and what conditions and routine he thrives in. Much of this comes by instinct, but also through a lot
of hard work in terms of researching and studying different thoughts and ideas about raising children. She has made this her "profession", and devotes herself to it like any other true professional.
All the while, she takes care of me with the same dedication and energy that she always has. I've not had to fend for myself just because Aaron has come into the picture. I would have certainly understood if this was necessary. After all, there is only so much time, love and attention that one person has to devote. Or so I thought. We've not reached the limit of these things for Sara, and the limit is nowhere in site as we eagerly anticipate adding our daughter to the mix.
She is, to put it simply, amazing. I am so blessed to have her as my wife and the mother of my children. December 20
th- a day that changed
my history forever.
Happy birthday, honey! I love you.
Dump Truck with back pushed up =
Aaron, you sure did love this 4-Wheeler from Grandad and Mimi! You couldn't get enough of it, so you and Daddy were bundled up in the evening after Christmas outside riding it. Mama went inside because it was cold, but Daddy was a trooper. Now when you see your 4-Wheeler, you say 'Car...DaDa'
And this is Awesome! Papa John bought this for Abby when he was at Academy a while back looking for Rangers T-Shirts for the World Series. It is a 2T Aggie Sundress with matching bloomers! I just about died!
You got this McQueen 4-Wheeler there and you loved it! You also got a garage track with cars and you loved that so much you hardly noticed anything else.
You took Grandad the big truck book that Grandma Beth sent you and asked him to read it to you. He knew what all the different trucks and equipment were!
You rode your new 4-Wheeler all through the house!
He did! He ate your cookies and drank your milk and left you a note and...
a dump truck! You loved your Santa gift!
Kimmie and Papa showed up just as you were waking up and brought presents, including this enormous bear...
which you loved!
Afterwards, you put out cookies and milk for Santa and Daddy helped you write a letter to Santa.
It is very interesting to me to have a baby actually in my stomach. Aaron crawled up under my ribs and stayed there the entire third trimester. As a result, I never saw him move. I saw him kick only a couple of times. Due to his tight quarters I felt a whole lot less movement with him than with Abby. Abby is not in my ribs and I see her moving across my stomach constantly. My stomach is always really uneven depending on which side she is on. I never had any of that with Aaron. I never, never have had to do 'kick counts' with Abby. I am always very aware that she is active. It is all very strange compared to how pregnancy with Aaron felt, but I love 
We have had a wonderful Christmas Eve. We just returned from church and the cookies, milk and letter are out. We anticipate a lovely and blessed Christmas and wish the same for you.
The outfit on the changing table is her coming home outfit
I could not get a good picture of this, but it is Papa John's Great, great-grandmother's rocker. That makes it Abby's Great, great, great, great-grandmother's! We are afraid to sit on it, but it looks really nice by the window!
The pink blanket in the back was made by my great-grandmother
Round table waiting on a table cloth - and the sound soother I haven't pulled from Aaron's room yet.
Close-up of the bedding
Aaron, I took you to lunch today and just had a wonderful time. You were so sweet and good. You patiently waited for your food and then you ate your sandwich before you got your fruit and you didn't fuss at all about that. Then you had your milk. You were such a pleasure to take out. I love that I can take you to restaurants. I so enjoy you!
