Christmas Day ... a few quick shots

It's Christmas Day (in my blogging world) and I have taken just a few pictures. Just a few. I review my albums and think I'm falling behind in capturing my kiddos and their childhood. But, I forgive myself. My hands are a little full these days. :) And truly, I'd rather hold my sweet babe than my camera.

It's Christmas! It's Christmas! It's Christmas!

someone's having trouble sitting still...

and, he's off!

here, xander flashes one of his many "fake for the camera" smiles. this one is unbelievably cheesey. and the unbelievably cheesey deserves to be documented. clearly, he could care less about pictures. he's into opening the gift with the big green X.

someone found the wrapping paper roll. someone likes the way their voice sounds.

this picture turned out horribly. but, it's libby showing off the picture she found in her stocking. Mrs. Holloway drew it for her and stuck it in there one day while watching my kiddos. What a fun treat it was for Libby to open it Christmas morning!

.... and sadly, that's all I have that's worth posting. oh well, trust that we had a really fabulous day. snowed in as a family, eating cinnamon rolls and mints (the kids got mints in their stockings and they are constantly begging me to eat one) and watching movies, shoveling snow, playing games, and enjoying one another's company. Happy Birthday Jesus!

Christmas Eve

I'm not 4, and I get excited to celebrate Christmas. Well, Libby is 4, and she could barely contain herself. There's so much anticipation, all the shopping and wrapping and baking and decorating! Meanwhile, we are preparing our hearts by reading scripture and calling to mind who we are celebrating at Christmas, and singing about him and for him, and planning his birthday party. (Libby LOVEs a good party.) Well, on Christmas Eve Libby snatched my camera and later, this is what I found. In this way, she expressed to me some of what she was excited about that thrilling morning.

this is the kids' little tree. we put it up right outside their bedrooms, and they got to decorate it with whatever they wanted. they wanted snowflakes, a paper chain, bells, and ribbons. :)

I like to have traditions. I think they're fun. Even if they don't hold any special meaning, I like the consistency, the comfort that comes with them. Maybe in the same way I like to have a plan or schedule and know what's coming next. :) Anyway, we have some Christmas Eve traditions. We go to church, eat soup, and drive around to look at Christmas lights. We also read the Christmas story and give the kids a new book about Christmas. Well, this year the snow fell on Christmas Eve and our plans were slightly altered. So, we had to drop some traditions, but we also started some new ones.

Church was canceled. The roads were that bad. :( But we still ate soup. We did not go looking at Christmas lights. We skipped right to... presents. One present each, and one to share. Jammies! Grandma Shelley would be proud. Everyone opened a new pair of jammies to be worn that night, and we opened our new Christmas book on Christmas Eve rather than Day, as we had done in the past. (Thanks, Jeni for the ideas!) Then, dawning our new jams, we settled in to read.

A Christmas Manger

by H.A. Rey

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Agustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, to be taxed, with Mary his wife.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him."

They departed, and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will."

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." And they came with haste and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

From Matthew 2 and Luke 2.

And then we got to enjoy the nativity that came in the book. We punched out the pieces and recreated history. Here, Libby poses with her work.

Xander got in on the photo action, but let's be real; he's not real gentle, and standing all these little characters up took a steady hand. He mainly claimed a camel, played extensively with it, and made suggestions for Libby. Oh, and knocked down what she had carefully stood up. :)

Still, he looks super cute standing by his super cute sister's side. And it's fun that they have his/hers jammies.

making a few finishing touches

back in the saddle

after a little hiatus, i'm back on the blog. :) here are a few updates from the past month. okay, here's one update and hopefully i'll be able to get a few more in the next several hours. aunt nancy and darlene, you ladies are to thank - your encouragement convicted me to be more diligent about posting at least semi-regularly again. i can't keep these little blessings all to myself!

It's so sweet to watch libby form little friendships. Here she poses with her friend Charlotte. They met at preschool. I personally love that these two are friends. I went with Libby on a preschool field trip and met Charlotte and her mom. When I came home, I told brian, "I want Charlotte to be Libby's friend." My prayer was answered this time, but I won't hold my breath for the rest of her childhood. :) The funny thing is, I really had no idea the two girls were so close, because despite my regular inquiring, Libby is hesitant to reveal the details of her time at school. Thankfully, this day the girls showed their affection for one another, and since then Libby has divulged all sorts of details about the fun she and Charlotte have had together. :)

at school, libby's class put on a little play, acting out the Christmas Story - the story of the birth of Jesus, the savior. Libby was Mary. For those of you who may not already know, Libby is incredibly shy when it comes to "performing." (you may recall that we had to pull her out of ballet classes because she cried day after day, week after week, because she was too embarrassed to dance in front of her classmates.) Well, we worked and worked to prepare her, and she worked and worked to know her lines, we prayed for her, her teacher prayed for her, we all did our best to help her be comfortable in front of the crowd. And the Lord was gracious. Libby did a great job. She did not cry (yay!) and she delivered her lines loudly (sometimes she'll provide a mere whisper when she's embarrassed). We had such a fun time watching her and the rest of the class relay to us this incredible story.

this is the donkey that Mary rode on the way to Bethelehem, Mary herself, and the star that shone over the baby Jesus.

meanwhile, Phoebe sleeps. she sleeps well, she sleeps regularly.
she loves her swaddler, thank you Chris! :)

joy in the new year

these three blessings contribute to my joy as i reflect on 2009 and anticipate 2010.

Phoebe Mirabelle

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Psalm 127:3

Phoebe Mirabelle Meade

born Tuesday, October 20

at 9:05 p.m.

weighed 8 pounds and 5 ounces

stretched to 21 inches in length

It has been two weeks since the arrival of our sweet Phoebe Pie (the nicknamed coined by Xander) and I'm thrilled to get back to the blog to make the announcement. :) It is difficult for me, because I really like the posts to be chronological and there were a couple of things that I wanted to post just before her birth and I didn't get to them. But it seemed silly to blog them now rather than satisfy the masses with pictures of the littlest lady in the house. So, enjoy those that I've posted below, they're a little hint of what we've been up to over the past 15 days. Primarily, we're trying to take breaks from holding and cuddling and loving on the new beauty just long enough to function as a family of five. It's been great!

October 20, Brian and I are at the hospital and it's time to have a baby! The nurse was kind enough to take a quick a picture of the two of us in between contractions. :) I love how excited Brian looks. I don't love how not flattering hospital gowns are.

Phoebe examines daddy. Daddy adores Phoebe.

Next day, first visitors, Great-Aunt LaVonne, Grandpa Larry, and Grandma Anna

Phoebe is quite comfortable in grandpa's arms.

she's getting cuter by the day. :)

taken during naptime

most adoring visitors: big sister and big brother. oh how they love Phoebe! I love this picture and the obvious genuine joy that Libby expresses as she gets to hold her baby sister for the first time. What a blessing to have siblings! I so love to watch them grow up together!

biggest surprise of the day: xander's adoration for phoebe. he just cannot get enough of her! as previously mentioned, he refers to her as Phoebe Pie, and he cannot stop talking to or cuddling with or kissing on her. it's easy to imagine him playing the role of the (over)protective big brother.

B-I-G smiles as he holds her for the first time

gazing on her beauty

smooches

special visitors!: Phoebe cuddles for the first time with mama's dear friend and phoebe's birthday buddy, brittany. sweet maren loves phoebe already and got to practice big sisterhood on our sweet babe. mares becomes the middle child in just a couple of short weeks! yay for phoebe's new friend!

i love maren patting her little head

three kiddos. ten years to the month after a couple of kids met and not much later became lovebirds. wow.

phoebe pie

poor daddy looks sleepy. this was just before heading home from the hospital.

at home from the hospital. phoebe is in the best place libby can think to put her.

xander joins in, libby's not as thrilled. but he is! (phoebe yawns, not screams.)

still, libby kinda wants her to herself, but xander is loving this moment with his sisters.

totally typical libby, mama's big big helper. just home from the hospital and she sets to work helping me unpack and clean up. what a blessing!

i begin to learn to juggle three.

i do not have it figured out, but i'm getting better already. :)

lesson: the more people you have in your family, the less likely you are to have "the perfect" family photo. not to shabby, but for phoebe's funny open mouth dozing. :)

sisters

she hearts daddy

hanging off my lap. don't worry, she's safe, it's just a weird angle. :)

cuddling. oh how sweet is cuddling with your new baby?!

uncle daniel meets his littlest niece. his other niece approves.

xander time

sweet dreams, my lady!

One bummer is that we have had several other visitors and don't have photos of them with Phoebe. This is a good reminder for me to take pics of grandma Shelley with Phoebe now, since she's here for her second visit and still, we have no photos! yikes! :)

Thanks so much to all of you who are rejoicing with us over our gift from the Lord and her arrival which was safe an delightful for both miss P and me. We so appreciate your prayers, checking in, cards, encouragement, gifts, meals, help, and on and on... thank you! We love you! and we will try to update the blog at least somewhat regularly so you can continue to watch the family grow, even from afar.