For Memory's Sake...

I just like this picture. It's so Sister caught off guard.

The girls dancing, Little Bit in footy pajamas and mary janes, and Little Man employing his skillz.

And for posterity...all three on Christmas morning. Poor kids. We make them wait until 7:30! They were beyond ready! 

Not sure what's up with Little Bit's expression. Well, kind of not sure what's up with anyone's expression. Hee hee.

Little Bit sportin' a 'stache.

All three 'stache-in it up.

Workin' on the milk 'stache.

Sister's BIG gift...

A new winter coat! She's only been wearing the same one for the last four years... a North Face my sister scored for a dollar at the thrift store! I just put it away for Little Bit. And sweet Sister, the sleeves are finally long enough to pass her wrists. (To our credit, she had insisted she did NOT want a new coat! However, it became obvious to even our most staunch "don't ever change anything" activist that her coat had become too small and it was indeed time for something new.)

Today marks the one year anniversary of losing our little lamb. There's a sweet peace in my heart. The Lord has done great things. He has carried us in this season of grief. 

I thought I'd never reach the day when the tears wouldn't spill over at the thought of our precious babe.

I wondered if I'd ever honestly be able to rejoice with others as God blessed them with babies. 

Would the pain ever fade? 

Would our family ever feel whole again? 

Would my broken heart ever stop bleeding?!

And yet, here we are. God has brought such healing. His mercies are new every morning. He is good. And He is faithful. I still think of our little one often. I miss our precious babe. I am thankful for His work in our lives, in my heart, in our marriage. It has been hard. And painful. And good. And He is sovereign.

I recently read this post and was so encouraged. 

"Lord, you assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure...The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." Psalm 16:5-6

Happy Thursday night, y'all!

A Little Late, but Merry Merry Nonetheless!

Merry Christmas

We are laughing. (Ok-there's a little bickering as to whose fault it is...)

What else can you do? We left with the tree intact and came home to...well, see?

No sense crying over spilled milk...or a fallen tree. And a bajillion broken ornaments....baby's first Christmas ornaments and ornaments that graced our grandparents' trees. Sigh. Ugh. Ok...I'm going to laugh now.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Merry Christmas!

Backtracking a little more...Christmas Eve found us curled up in front of a toasty fire, built by the husband, and watching lots of movies. Little Man was recovering from a throw up bug. Our crowd was rather slim. Our little fam, T's parents (JJ & Grandpa J), and my mom.

T's brother and the grands were supposed to join us Christmas morning, but Grandma was a bit under the weather, and being that it was Grandma and Grandpa's SIXTIETH Christmas together, Grandpa opted to spend the day with his bride, rather than make the drive, so T's brother came solo.

Our morning began early. We gathered in the den while T read Luke 2. Sister sat on his lap, Little Man curled up on JJ's, and Little Bit slept the morning away...

When we let them in the Living Room, I watched a precious scene unfold.

I would have made a run for my stash, but not Sister.

She was far more concerned with what Little Bit had received.

She even suggested Little Man check it out with her.

Together, they oohed and ahhed over all their baby sister would be sure to LOVE!

Swords were a hit this year.

I believe each child received three. Somehow, they've ALL wound up in Little Man's room. He's rarely without one in hand. In the bathroom. In the bed. Outside. In his closet. You know, there are a LOT of bad guys out there. Yea, he's pretty much ALWAYS got a sword in hand. He's also known to holster them using his pull-up. Classy.

I meant to serve cinnamon rolls for breakfast. However, due to my total attention to details like, say, bread rising times, we ate them for more of an early lunch. That's ok. They were worth the wait.

Sister got a baby doll her first Christmas, so it was only natural that Little Bit get one this year. Several weeks before Christmas, Sister helped pick the baby. Keeping it a secret nearly killed her! She was so excited to finally give Little Bit her gift!

Little Bit loves baby Penelope.

We spent the afternoon making play-doh ice cream, burgers, and fries. Yum.

After serving a scrumptious play-doh meal, Sister sat back in her chair, surveyed her gifts, and commented, "you know mom, we just don't deserve any of this."

That was a precious moment, as we got to talk about the ultimate gift we don't deserve...Jesus Christ.

And now, I leave you with a photo of my Army Man, who's "gonna kill all de bad gu-uys" in his camo, with his Transformers' sword and armor...Sister has grown quite accustom to keeping one arm up - in defense.

Catching Up...

Oh...it’s been a while. Thank you all so much for your encouraging comments and emails. What a blessing to know so many of you have been praying for me and have encouraged me to meditate on the word – to rely on Christ…as I am VERY weak right now. Thank you! Thank you!!! The MS is still here…and we’re hanging in there. I am almost caught up on laundry and I must say, that’s made me relax a bit. Again, thank you for your encouragement!


I’m not even going to try to recap what I haven’t posted about in the last few weeks. Suffice it to say:

•  our tree is up and the house is decked out – minus one more strand of lights needed for the garland on the front door…
  
• T3 is about to start really talking…he can say “shepherd” and is so proud of himself when he says it!
  
  
  
  
  
  
• T began laying bricks on the front porch…which was a special surprise to me because the original plan was to do the sidewalk first…so YEA for the porch! We won’t have 2x4s out there much longer! Hooray! I can’t believe we’ve come so far!
  
•  bo bear (aka –the bear T3 has slept with almost since birth) went missing Saturday afternoon…we’d been outside all day…T and dug around in pine straw and searched the yard by flashlight…we’d eaten at a Mexican restaurant for dinner and we called to see if he was there…and we never found him. MW loaned little man her bo bear…of course, he knew the difference and wasn’t happy about it…long story short, I was driving past the Mexican restaurant and felt strongly that I should stop by…guess who’d been having a little fiesta – hanging out at our favorite eat? Se llama Bo BEAR!!! (ok, is that Spanish correct? I minored in it…but it’s been a while…) I was so excited, but the little man was REALLY EXCITED! He was shrieking with delight! Precious!
  
  
  
• Last year, in an effort to help out kids grasp the "reason for the season" MW and T built a manger...we filled it with hay and on Christmas morning...guess what was in the manger??? A baby! So...this year we put the manger out and I have decided not to purchase hay because my kids have had a blast climbing in and out. I found T3 completely laying down in it the other day..I just wasn't fast enough with the camera! And btw - my kids don't take pacifiers, but a friend dropped off several that were new...and my kids have had such fun playing like babies...yea, kind of silly, but it sure has bought a few moments of silence...
  
• Washable markers have a whole new meaning now…last year MW colored all over her Indian shirt with markers – this was an intentional, supervised project…a few days ago she spilled on it and so I tossed it in the wash (yes, we went an entire year of playing in it without washing it…scary, huh?)…and all the marker came off. Guess she’ll have to start over.
  
  
  
• MW performed her ballet dance along with her ballet class at a nursing home…it was pretty cute!
  
• MW and I used three packs of tinsel on our tree…yea, three packs. Anyone else out there use tinsel? I know it’s pretty tacky…kind of. It’s pretty fun, though. Except that it gets EVERYWHERE! Especially since MW decorated the dog with it! (I’d like to explain a little here…last year we went through my grandmother’s Christmas stuff and I wound up with two packs of tinsel…probably from the 50s…but in a sentimental moment, I scattered it on the tree…and it was so fun…that we did it again this year! I only intended to use one pack, but my little designer felt three was more appropriate.
  
  
  
• We’ve all been having fun kissin’ under the mistletoe ball!
  

Ok, that’s a wrap. Enjoy the pics! And Merry Christmas y’all!