Terri Hershey here.  Thought I would update y'all on what has been going on since my last entry of September, two months back.  (Has it really been that long since I last wrote in here??  WOW!  Time sure does fly by!)

I am now seven months pregnant, look more like eleven.  My belly has gotten to be very big; it's getting harder and harder to move around easily.  David is excited:  he is already counting the days to when Danielle Grace (his new sister-to-be) arrives; she is due sometime in January of 2010.  He has been on his very best behavior; I am very proud of how well he has been doing.

People have been so kind, so helpful during my time of incapacity.  They get me a wheelchair whenever I go anywhere, they carry my groceries or my things, and volunteer to watch David when I want to lie down and/or take a nap.  I wish people could be like this all the time; I could get used to this, and so could David!  (People always manage to bring him little gifts; I think he's getting spoiled.  LOL)

I am looking forward to the holiday season.  Hallowe'en has just ended; now we have Thanksgiving and Christmas (as well as the New Year) staring at us in the face.  Already the choir at my church is practicing for their Christmas Cantata, which will be held the week prior to Christmas.  And the decorations are starting to go up in earnest:  just yesterday, while waiting to enter the sanctuary, I saw workers putting up Christmas lights and wreaths in the church lobby.

It won't be long now!

I have not even begun to think of what to get my family for Christmas, let alone, my friends.  I love the holidays; I just could do without the stress that's involved, and especially the commercialism!  I wish people'd get back to the REAL meaning behind the holidays:  family togetherness and the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!!

I guess this is why I am glad I focus on Christ during the holidays; after all, even though people say Jesus was actually born in the fall, they celebrate His birth at Christmas time, and I think this should be the focus of our holiday celebration, not so much on the gift giving or the sales!

Whenever we celebrate Christmas at our house, we bake a birthday cake for Jesus, and we sing songs of praise to Him.  David loves it, and so does my husband!  We think it's a wonderful tradition, and I wish more families would do it!

We went to the Harvest Festival over the weekend; we had a great time.  David enjoyed the Bounce House, as well as the southern gospel music; he also enjoyed hanging out with his best pal, Arjun Sandusky.  I enjoyed some time away from my child and just spending time with my husband; we don't get much in the way of down time most of the time.  We really had a lot of fun!

David was dressed as a lion; he looked adorable in his costume.  He was originally going to be a dinosaur, but then he dropped his head into the toilet; by the time I realized what'd happened, the head was beyond rescue, and I ended up having to throw it out.  So I had to go to the local WalMart and pick out a lion costume that was exactly David's size.

You couldn't have asked for prettier weather:  bright, vivid-blue skies, blinding sunshine, cool afternoon temperatures, chilly nights with stars (and a full moon) studding the nighttime sky.  It did rain some during the MacGruders' concert on Saturday night, but nobody really complained (much):  they were more interested in the music that was playing.

Well, Danielle Grace is using my bladder for a basketball again, so I'd best go before there's a flood in the livingroom.  I will write in here again soon; until then, this is Terri Hershey saying so long!  Take care, and may you have a very happy Thanksgiving holiday!  And may your Christmas be beyond your wildest dreams!  God bless you always!

~Love, your friend, Terri.  :)