A Beautiful Day

Look at these sisters.  It's just the beginning for them...

And a little bit of Si right in the middle of things, as usual. 

A Few Christmas Highlights

We wanted to scale it all back a bit this year.  Take it down a notch, keep it local, intimate, quiet.

Well...we tried.

Christmas at our house was low-key and really wonderful.  Pajamas most of the day.  Santa seemed to hit it out of the park for the kids.  Church was on our couch via a DVD message from our pastor and some worship 'led' by Mils and Si.  We were invited to spend Christmas eve with our new & dear friends across the street.  This was the coolest...watching kids disappear into playtime while we had a great, relaxing evening.  I'd put this family on my list of things to be very, very thankful for this past year.

Milk, cookies & carrots for Santa & the reindeer

The kids chose special gifts for each other and Hannah and Mom & Dad at an ingenious fundraiser called "The Santa Shop".  This was definitely a highlight of the morning for me...watching the pride and excitement on their faces as they gave their gifts to their family.  Millie got Simon a mug filled with hersey kisses and hot chocolate ("because he loves dessert") and Si got Mils a pack of fancy band aids ("because she loves stickers").  

Happy Birthday Jesus!  There is a slight chance that the message intended by this symbolic celebration was lost in the "HOLY COW LOOK AT ALL THAT CANDY!" exclamation by Simon.

Another tear-jerker from Millie.  She was excited to give me this picture that she made...check out baby Hannah: in my arms!  I think she nailed the hair on all of us, too!

We packed up and headed to our families after Christmas.  All was going well until Hannah caught the kids' colds and ended up spending the night in the hospital with a nasty case of RSV.  Scary for sure, but God's hand was in all this as well.  We were with my mom, a nurse, who was able to assess the seriousness of things and lead us to good decisions for Hannah.  And the whole rest of my family was around to help entertain and distract Mils and Si.  Hannah bounced back after a few days of lots of rest.

Sick baby in the hospital.

Snuggles and books with Uncle Monkey (who is off in India right now visiting lions and tigers and monkeys in the wild).

It snowed at Yammy & Poppa's!

My parents sold their house and are moving out of it this week.  They are building their dream house and are off to begin their next big adventure in Colorado.  The snow was a perfect way to say goodbye to a very special place.

Unfortunately, Hannah's illness meant that Christopher and the kids made the trip to Delaware without me and Hannah.  From the reports, photos, texts, and videos I received, they all had a blast.  There was some great cousin-time and lots of memories made.

Gingerbread men with Gamma & the cousins!

The whole gang took in the Christmas beauty of Longwood Gardens.  Lights, trains, gingerbread houses...sounds awesome!

A three-year old's dream come-true: Remote Controlled Lightening McQueen!

So, as usual, there is never a dull moment with our gang.  Memories made, crises conquered.  Pretty much sums up this whole parenting thing, I think.  Happy New Year!

Five Months