Our First Shower

We had a fun baby shower thrown by my extended family over the Thanksgiving holidays! They showered Baby Giffen with lots of wonderful gifts. Thank you. We had so much fun! It will be a sweet memory for years to come.

Consecration

We celebrated Danny's impending graduation from seminary yesterday at Beeson Divinity School's Consecration Service. It was a beautiful service for all of the graduates at which they were challenged and prayed over by each of their professors. Thanks to all of our friends who came to the service! It meant so much to us.

Above is a picture of the domed ceiling at the impressive Beeson Chapel.


Us at the service ... that's one cute bow-tied man!

We're Thankful for ... a Sweet Baby Face!

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you all have a wonderful holiday tomorrow with your loved ones.

In the latest baby news ... we were able to get a sneak peak at our little guy/gal at the doctor's office the other day, and this time we saw him or her in 4D! Even though the baby's face was too close to the placenta to get "incredible" shots, it was really amazing. We were finally able to see the baby's facial features without it looking skeletal. We also got to see the baby yawning, trying to suck his or her thumb, practice breathing, swallowing the amniotic fluid (to mature the lungs), and smacking his/her little lips. The 4D ultrasound was a really cool experience. Here are a few shots:

Disclaimer: When you look at the 4D shots of the face, you will see all kinds of other things in the picture, but don't be alarmed, they're not part of the baby's face (they are placenta, arms & knees, etc.).

The baby's profile in 2D. The curve at the upper left is a knee.


The baby's face in 4D. If you can't make out what you're seeing. Look at the center round blob -- that is the nose. The eyes are closed.


The baby's face in 4D looking slightly to your right. The eyes are closed & you can see the contour of the nose. The darker gray area below the nose is the mouth.

The baby's face in 4D. Again the eyes are closed, and you can make out the nose, lips and cheeks.

Nesting

With the busyness of the holidays approaching, we decided to get an early start on putting the nursery together. We've had fun the last two months picking out the colors, the fabric, and the furniture. But, as Danny will attest, not so much fun painting, hanging curtain rods & putting the crib together. However, we're happy to report that the crib is up, the bedding is in & my mom came in town the other weekend to sew curtains. It is really coming together. Here are some pics of our progress... Once it is all complete, we'll post more.


First-time grandma sewing curtains for Lil' Giffen

On his way to 'Rev'

Danny came one step closer to being ordained this week. After passing several written exams and an oral examination, he was examined before our Presbytery on Tuesday. And, he passed with flying colors! He is now officially a licensed minister. The only things left to do ... graduate (December), take two more exams (January), pass another round of committee oral exams (January), and go before Presbytery once more for final approval (February 12). Then, comes the big ordination service on March 9! This all means there will be a lot going on at the Giffen house b/n now and next March (not to mention welcoming the newest member of our family).

Don't Call Us Two Faced

Okay, so we've had a little fun playing around with the PhotoBooth feature on our new Mac. Hope you get a good laugh like we did!

And my personal fave...

The Nose Knows

Boy has the Giffen house been struck with some serious hayfever this Fall!

Danny Runs a 10k

Danny is the running fiend lately ... he ran a 10k on Saturday! He got up so early to make it down to the race that he forgot his race number. Here is a video of the hand off mid-way through the race:


He ran with seminary buddy John Mark, while his wife (who is also pregnant) and I cheered from the sidelines. Shea & I were enjoying the crisp Fall air, our morning coffee, and talking babies until we saw a full-term pregnant lady run by! And, by the way, she finished under an hour, beating the guys and hundreds of other racers. Danny's never run more than three miles at a time in his life, so finishing 6.2 miles was quite a feat.


Post-race glory.

Here are a few of the characters from the Reformation Day/Halloween party we had on the 31st ...Bjorn Borg, Martin Luther, and last, but certainly not least, Dwight, from The Office.