Rollin' Over...

Just a quick post before I go to bed to tell you that Miss Emma rolled over from her tummy to her back on Monday. Shane got to see it...I was sad I didn't get to see that first, but I know I'll have many other 'firsts"!

Nebraska or Bust...

Just thought I would post real quick before our trip home, since I probably won't be doing any posting the next 2 weeks while in Nebraska.

We are leaving here in a few hours actually...I am up late, trying to finish packing! We plan to head out of here by 6am. Which means I need to head to bed so I can get a few hours of sleep before I have to be up at 5 am to pump, then load the car!

Please be praying for us, that we have safe travels and do not run into any bad weather!

Here is a picture of my best Christmas present ever to hold you over until we get back!

Merry Christmas to everyone!
I pray all of you are able to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ with your family and friends!

Dedication, Birthday and Maya...

December 14, 2008
3 special things to celebrate today.
First, today Emma was dedicated at church. She looked so beautiful in her cream dress, pink tights and sweater...and of course a pretty pink bow for her head!
We feel very blessed to have a wonderful church family to raise Emma in. And we ask all of you, our family and friends, to help us in raising our child according to God's will!

Shane introducing our family during the dedication

The woman behind the camera is our dear friend and small group leader, Teresa. She was nice enough to take our picture for us. Farther down in this post are some family pictures she took for us after church.

Emma on her way to church

Because I have learned my lesson, I take pictures of Emma BEFORE we go to church, not wait til after. Here are some pictures of her happy, smiley self in the morning!
Good thing I got these taken before, because during small group, after church, Emma blew out her diaper (needless to say we will be throwing out a pair of tights and a receiving blanket, but I managed to save the dress!!!)

I seriously cannot express how truly blessed I feel every time I see Emma's smile and laugh and big beautiful eyes!

Below are some of the pictures Teresa took for us by the fireplace and Christmas tree at our church. Thank you so much Teresa...you did a great job, and having these family pictures of this day are so precious to us and a blessing!
I saved my favorite for our Christmas card, so be expecting that in the mail...oh sometime in January maybe!

Emma literally blew her diaper out after this picture...she was looking so sweet and innocent!

Today was also my 25th Birthday! I haven't felt the best, getting another sinus infection, but my day was still wonderful! Any day is wonderful if I get to spend it with my family and I have my baby Emma healthy, happy and in my arms. Which brings me to the third reason this day is special...
Today marks the 3 year Heavenly birthday of my niece Maya (pictured below). She entered God's kingdom exactly 2 months old, on my 22 birthday. She is truly missed. I cried and held Emma today, knowing how incredibly fortunate I am to be able to hold and kiss my baby!
I love you Jared and Missy, and pray for you often. Please know, there still isn't a day that I don't think about Maya...she will forever live on in our hearts!

10/14/05-12/14/05
Maya, we take comfort in knowing you are dancing with Jesus now, but miss you terribly!

Quick Update...

Things are going really good here at the Struckman household! Emma is as sweet as ever! She is constantly surprising us with smiles, giggles, and her adorable personality. She can now move herself in circles and scoot around on her back! She has gotten close to rolling over and we don't think it will be too long before she accomplishes it. I am torn about whether to be happy with that or not...because my days of laying her on the floor while I change laundry out or do dishes are going to vanish all to quickly!
Below are a few pictures from the last couple of days!

Our Sunday outfit!
(this pic is for Auntie Heather & Uncle Jon)

Sitting w/ Daddy at his computer
(Shane is convinced she likes watching football too)

This picture is from today. Emma sneezed and out popped a booger!
It was pretty funny, even she was giggling about it!

We still have Christmas shopping we need to try and get done this weekend. This is our last weekend to do it, since Friday the 19th, we will be heading home to Nebraska for 2 weeks!
We also have baby dedication at our church on Sunday the 14th (and its also my b-day that day...I'll let you guess how old I will be!)

More Video

While I was video taping Emma, Bella thought she needed to fight for the spot light. You can hear her growling in the background playing with her toy and then takes off and runs circles around the house!

Daddy, Emma & 'Come Sail Away'...

Emma likes to listen to music! Her and her mommy 'dance' alot! We thought tonight it was time we introduced Emma to the Styx...she is a Struckman, so it was about time! So here is Emma and her daddy with 'come sail away'. She didn't seem to get into it much...hopefully that will improve over time! Nonetheless, it did manage to get a burp out of her towards the end of the video!

Emma turning 3 months old, our 'snow-family' and the flu...

Today, Emma is 3 months old! Time is sure flying by...I think it sped up since having a kid!
Emma just amazes me everyday, and all the different things she does and learns so quickly!
Last night, while we were eating, I put Emma on her play mat, and we saw her turn a 180 on the mat and scoot herself half off!

Shane came home last night from work with a terrible headache and did not feel well. And felt worse this morning...still has a headache, and now has the chills and body aches. I told him he needed to stay home (you don't need to pass the flu around at work!), so he decided he better...he hates just laying around and sleeping! I haven't felt the best either, and felt like I had a mild flu (we both got flu shots a few weeks ago). When it reached 8am, Emma was still asleep (which is a first, I never get out of bed before she wakes up!), so I decided I would make a quick trip to the grocery store so I could make homemade chicken noodle soup. On my way to the store, it started snowing and hasn't stopped yet! By the time I was back, Emma was up and just getting fussy.
After I fed Emma, I was able to get 2 big batches of chicken noodle soup made and a caramel roll (I still can't get the dumb thing to come out of my bundt pan whole, and this is my 3rd try...ugh!)
I also got a couple loads of laundry done. Shane came downstairs at noon for soup and now he is sleeping again. Emma has been fed again and is napping! I took advantage and took a shower! So now I am gonna sit down and do my Bible study! I feel so blessed today, to be able to take care of my family...it feels good to be needed!

Our 'snow-family' Shane made on Sunday.
Isn't the baby snowman so cute! Shane is the tall one, and that leaves me as the fat one on the right! ha!

These last 2 pictures are of some funny faces Emma makes!
Hopefully, they will put a smile on your face!Plus, we were having a little bit of a crazy hair day!