Elijah is 6 today!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful first born, Elijah!  We have been blessed to have Eli in our family for 6 years now - it's absolutely amazing, it seems like just yesterday he was a little bitty babe.  I love watching Eli grow and develop, and take his role as the oldest child in the family.  I'm very excited to see what this next year will bring!

Hello, Winter!

My kids were terribly disappointed last year when it didn't snow enough to make a snowman.  Eli talked about making a snowman all summer.  We waited...and today, they finally got their chance!  Chris took them out this evening and here's what they came up with:

Merry Christmas!

We have so many things to be thankful for this Christmas!  So many blessings have come to us this year, the most amazing one being our 6th family member, Daniel!  I have found that having my children has given me a much deeper perspective on the truths of the most amazing blessing humanity has ever been given, the gift of Jesus. 

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

The Cooking Show

Here's what I see when I cook:

The cooking show is ME!  Apparently I am amazingly interesting when I cook.  The kids pull chairs up to the island and watch me.  Every move.  I explain every ingredient, I explain how I measure it and they watch as I put it in.  Sometimes they discuss among themselves what I'm doing like I'm not there.

At this point, by the time these kids are teens, I should have taught myself out of a job.  If they each take a few nights of cooking, I may have many years of not having to cook ahead of me.

Milestones

I was hoping Daniel would reach his sitting milestone before Christmas, so I could get a picture of him sitting in front of the tree.  He's doing a great job!  He's still not super stable, but if he can lift his hands up and place them back down without tumbling head first (most of the time).