Thoughts on having a girl

Here she is just thinking of what to tell me next!

I know I've mentioned this before, but I am so happy that we have a little girl in the family!

Sure, I love the clothes... LOVE the clothes. She looks so beautiful in pink. But it's more than that. It has more to do with dreaming about the days when we'll sit and talk about girl things. How she'll come home from dates and tell me all about how it went, what they ate, if she thought he was a nice boy or not...

It has more to do with talking than anything else. I love to talk. Most girls love to talk... and most boys, they just don't get it. For any who know my husband, might know that he isn't one to talk and talk and talk. In fact, he actually likes alone time (crazy, I know). He's a trooper, though, and since marrying me has learned to talk more, and has had much less alone time that he would probably like. When I asked him how he felt about it, he said knew new that was something he would have to give up if he married me. :)

So, while I absolutely love to talk to my husband, I wonder if he is secretly just as happy as I am that I'll have someone to talk to... other than him. Don't get me wrong, my boys can talk too, but there's just something about girl-talk that can't be replaced.

Scott's Marathon

This weekend we took a little trip to Beaumont Texas. One place I can safely say we will never live. It's like the Newark of Texas. However, we will remember it as the place that Scott completed his first marathon! He did a great job. The boys (and girl) and I are so proud of him.

He had a lot stacked up against him... like not being able to train for ten days due to a fever, having a new born baby girl keep him up much of the night most nights, and having that same baby girl wake him up at 4 am on race day and not letting him go back to sleep.

Through it all, Scott didn't complain. He diligently ran in the early mornings or late nights even when it was hard. He worked so hard to make his running schedule easy on our family.

The boys loved cheering for Daddy, but I think they liked jumping in the jump house more. They ran around and were just plain silly most of the morning. We hope that Scott's example of making exercise a part of his life will inspire our children to also be healthy.

Congrats, honey, for doing such a great job! We love you and think it's so cool that we have a marathoner in the house!

Gracie Beth Goddard

Here's grandma and the boys... and girl. :) Still getting used to that. Gracie doesn't look her best in this picture, so there's another one below that shows how adorable she can be.

Here's a picture of my mom with Gracie girl... she came to spend two whole weeks with us and it was so nice to have her here.

Why we named her the way we did...

Gracie... is just a name we really liked.

Beth... is my grandmother's first name. I grew up living close to her, and she taught me a lot of really important lessons in life. She taught me how to plant flowers, make dumplings, and feed baby lambs. She was an example of one who lives the gospel in plain and simple ways. There was nothing flashy about this woman. When she died, they pulled out her jewelry and discovered most of it could have been purchased at a dollar store. She just didn't put much into worldly treasures. She was quick witted, and quick to laugh. She was just a great woman, and that's why we named our baby girl after her.

Goddard... that's our last name and it's just tradition to give your child the same last name her parents have... :)