We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! Please forgive us for our tech-savvy card, but I originally thought we'd be mailing out a Christmas Card / Birth Announcement this year. Apparently, Noah has other plans and is holding out until the end! Until then, we hope you enjoy a little message from Big Brother James! :)

Twas' the night before Christmas...

[The sofas were my Christmas present from Aaron and arrived just in time!

Of course, I picked them out but he let me get them...yes, there are two identical ones facing each other for maximum seating capacity! ]

Since we were homebound this year anxiously awaiting the arrival of Noah, we celebrated Christmas alone as a little family unit of three. First, we visited at Faith Presbyterian for their Christmas Eve service. Aaron was a member there before we got married, and it was nice seeing old friends and celebrating the birth of God's Son together. We then returned home, put James to bed, pulled out the "big" Christmas gifts for him, and enjoyed a quiet evening watching Christmas movies and going to bed early. It was nice to have some time to ourselves before Noah arrived and think back on all God had done for us in just a few short years. Meeting each other, marriage, two houses, an apartment in between, a kitchen renovation, a bathroom renovation, a new car, good health, great friends, and two precious baby boys! We don't deserve so much!

Merry, Merry

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

I love decorating every room!

I love holiday parties & baking!
I love the smells of cinnamon and baking and fresh pine!

I love how a nearly empty house can come alive with a few decorations!

I love that this time of year makes people want to share

their good fortune with others!
I love twinkle lights!

I love nativity scenes!
I love Christmas carols & Christmas movies!

And most importantly, I love...

that it is the time of year when we stop to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus!

Zoolight Safari

Derek & the boys

The Dettlings & The Cavins

James & Carter

James

Carter

Harrison

A goat

A lamb

A llama

Sheep eating a Christmas tree

On what seemed to be the coldest night of the year, we met our friends (the Cavins) for dinner at Davenport's Pizza and then headed to the zoo. I have wanted to see the Zoolight Safari for years, and this seemed like another wonderful opportunity to encourage Noah to make an early appearance. It was fun and freezing! I think we all decided we'll wait a few years until we take the boys back again, maybe when they can ask us to go!

[Side note: We ended up leaving pretty quickly at the end, thinking we'd be heading to the hospital that night to have Noah. But unfortunately, it didn't happen. All that walking just sent me into some serious Braxton Hicks contractions! We wouldn't find out until much later, that he was never even close to coming!]

The Water Table

"Let's eat!"

"No more photos, mom!"

James is thinking, "Here, I'll help you."

"Look mom, I got it!"

We ventured out one last time before the holidays and baby brother arrived to play at the McWane Science Center with our good friends Henry & Stephanie. The boys had a great time at the water table, while Stephanie and I enjoyed adult conversation at lunch in the cafeteria.

What's in a name?

"Baby Brother" has a name! Although we were trying to surprise everyone at his arrival, the secret slipped a few weeks ago while the grandparents were in town. And to be honest, I'm kind of glad it did. I was able to see my mom's reaction to the name first-hand, which was priceless! It brought tears to her eyes, and it's because the name has meaning...both to her and to me and now to my little family of soon-to-be four!

And his name will be.......

Noah Talmadge Dettling

My mom cried because it made her remember my father. She has collected Noah's Arks for years saying Noah always reminded her of my daddy (who was a veterinarian,) and I guess it never left me. I've loved the name Noah since I was in high school and always hoped to have a little boy with that name. He also was the primary reason my name is what it is today. My full name and where Tally comes from is Sara Talmadge Reynolds Dettling. My dad named me Talmadge after my aunt and her mother (my great grandmother.) Sara was his mother's (my grandmother's) name. It wasn't until yesterday that I learned the full story of how my name (and now Noah's) came to be. The following is part of an email I received from my namesake, my aunt Tally:

To answer the first of your questions, you were named after me and your grandmother Sara Hudson Reynolds. Here's how it happened from my perspective:

One day back in the '70s your parents paid me a visit when they found that they were expecting, and they asked if they might name their first child after me.

Needless to say, I was in tears as I told them that I couldn't possibly be more honored. They were going to name you Susan Talmadge but decided later to name you after both me and my Aunt Sara, your grandmother, who was an absolutely

lovely lady whom I admired so much. She would have been so pleased; she had always wanted a little girl after all those boys - not that she didn't love them all to pieces!

(NOTE: My grandmother Sara passed away just 6 months
before I was born, so she knew my mom was pregnant. According to my
dad, her last wish for my parents was that I be named after
her.)

The name Talmadge has an interesting and unusual history in our family. We are not related to the Georgia Talmadges. As a matter of fact, when we moved to Georgia in 1981, so many people asked me: "Are you related to Yew-gene?" Nope. Here's the real scoop: my Grandma Reynolds (Susie Talmadge Hughes Reynolds), who is your Reynolds great-grandmother, told me one day that she was named Talmadge for the following reason: Her mother (your great-great grandmother, Susan Sauls Hughes) very much admired a certain circuit rider (travelling evangelist of some sort) whose name was DeWitt Talmadge. As it happens, he must have been somewhat of a celebrity in those days (mid-1800s, give or take a year or so).

As for the meaning of both names, they are as follows and how appropriate for this soon-to-be Advent baby!

Noah means "rest, peace."

Talmadge means "ringing of the bells."

May we all enjoy rest and peace in your coming, and may the bells ring as we announce your arrival in just a few short days or weeks! What a blessing you are to your father and me, our sweet baby boy!

A Deeper Longing

I have been very emotional this week. And tonight, while my sweet husband is away on a business trip, my emotions finally got the best of me. It was a wake-up call from God and fueled by overwhelming pregnancy hormones. It began with tears over a very petty turn of events, and fortunately ended with me heartbroken at my lack of faith in recent years and longing to be more like my "blogging" friends. I'm not going to go into detail about how the tears began, for they were foolish and disheartening after reading some of the REAL trials and needs of my friends and family. I will say though, that I have been reminded at how truly blessed I am and how grateful I am that our God and his loving Son do not give us or allow us what we truly deserve. He cares for us despite ourselves-as filthy in sin and sad in spirit as we can be and usually are-on a daily basis. He chose us and desparately desires our love and longing and full attention. Do we give him that? I know I don't...not as I should, and I certainly don't deserve the tremendous blessings He has allowed me and my family. My prayer tonight is that my heart has truly been broken and that my sins of busy-ness, frustration over mundane things & events, and trivial wants & desires be removed.

I pray that in their place will come:

1. A deeper, more significant longing for God's Word and that I will take the time to actually sit still and read and pray and listen more regularly.
2. A stronger desire for and the physical act(s) of helping others despite my own circumstances.
3. And finally, that my most precious God will help me to become a better mother and teacher to my two precious boys and a more loving and compassionate wife to my dear husband (as well as a better daughter, daughter-in-law, sister and friend to all of those I love so dearly.)

Amen! (or in the sweet meaning for this word I learned so many years ago, "Let it be true!")

Little Man PJ's

Last year when James was born, my "yankee" cousins Ralph, Gail, Natalie, Jackson, Kathleen & Braxton sent a box of goodies. His "big boy" pajamas were part of the gift and it's so fun to see him wear them now. He looks like a little man! Thank you for the precious pj's! We love them!

My Baby Shower

Diaper Cake from Suzanne

Petit Fours from Savage's

After failed attempts for both a wedding shower and baby shower for James, I was finally able to enjoy a "church" shower hosted by my sweet friends at Red Mountain. Both my wedding shower and James' shower were already planned and in the bulletin, but due to my dad's passing and James' unanticipated early arrival we missed each by a week. I honestly felt it wasn't necessary to try again this time with Noah, but am so glad we did. I enjoyed a wonderful lunch with several friends on an otherwise gloomy day (it was 40 degrees and raining) at the historic Cobb Lane Restaurant in Southside, which I'm sad to say is now closed or closing very soon! My only regret is that we didn't have someone take a group photo of all of us. Thank you Suzanne & Stephanie for hosting! It was a wonderful celebration!

Giving Thanks

Due to the pending arrival of our sweet baby boy #2, we spent Thanksgiving in Birmingham this year as our little family unit of 3 1/2. At 11:30am, we strapped sweet baby James in the stroller and took a family stroll down the street to the resort for our 12noon reservation. Despite not being the Southern traditional meal we now realize we are so very fond of (i.e. green bean casserole, Nana's mashed potatoes, Granmama's cream corn & stuffing), we still enjoyed a lovely feast at the resort's restaurant. (No photos from this day...we were lucky to get James a quick nap in before our fancy meal!) However the following day, before the pumpkins came down and the tree went up, we took some fall photos of James and his day-after Thanksgiving feast!

Although we missed our family and friends in L.A. (lower Alabama), we were fortunate to spend some time with our parents the weekend before Thanksgiving when they came up for the wedding weekend of my dear friends Christy & Chris. Mimi (Aaron's mom) came up to help with James, while my mom (Nana) and I attended and participated in a celebration of events throughout the weekend. As a bridesmaid, I was needed and gladly so for my dear friend Christy whom I've known and loved for 24 years now! We met on the first day of first grade (thank you Mrs. Ferrill for assigning seats in alphabetical order--Reynolds/Risher!) and she has been one of my dearest friends ever since! Following are some photos that Aaron took during the rehearsal.

What a week (and year) of numerous blessings for which we can give thanks, may we never forget His goodness and grace and mercy!