Here's a little message from Mommy:
As the past year has been exceedingly difficult for our family (headache surgery, near-death pregnancy, seizure for Elyse, tree through our kitchen, etc, etc), I have been especially nostalgic and thankful this Christmas. Our little family has been through the ringer (or so it seems), and yet we have so many wonderful things to be thankful for, not the least of which is Charity's healthy arrival into the world.
While decorating the tree, I found myself sweetly reminiscing about all of the wonderful memories we've made over the years and realized that our tree tells a pretty great story of a blessed family. This was particularly surprising to me as I privilege ornaments that go with our gingerbread/candy cane theme over ornaments that have sentimental value. I know, I know; how awful is that? But really, I like a tree that has a theme and there isn't going to be any changing that. Thankfully, I have relatives that respect my Christmas-tree-theme-angst and gift me both meaningful, theme-oriented (or at least coordinating) ornaments.W ithout further adieu, I give you
The Story of Our Tree
Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved to play with dolls and stuffed animals. She had names for every single one of them and took their care very seriously. One day, she'd grow up to have little girls of her own who would treasure their dolls and bears in the same, sweetly imaginative way. She will try to never forget how to have fun playing like when she was little.
The little girl also loved to read and as she grew up, she went to school for many years to read, and read, and read. She loved books so much, she taught others how to discover them, love them, and learn what the Library of Congress also knew to be true: that books are "the delight of the soul."
While she was at school, reading more and more, she met a nice young man who convinced her that she should definitely trust him, because after all, he was going to be a lawyer.
Not only did the girl trust him, but she fell in love with him...those sneaky lawyer-types. They were married and spent their first Christmas together at a BIG football game. Oh the romance!
Mr. lawyer and the girl moved to Denver where he worked very hard in his first official lawyer job. Little did they know that after 9 long, bed-ridden months later, they would be blessed with not one,
but TWO bundles of joy. This caused their lives to be filled to the brim with equal parts of love and insanity.
And if their lives were not already taking a particularly speedy turn with chasing after little ones, Mr. Lawyer got a job in Washington DC. The girl thought it wasn't such a terrible idea because if the city was good enough for George and Martha, it is good enough for them.
The happy little family enjoyed frolicking in the big city. Mr. Lawyer had to work hard and the girl was busy with twins, but their Christmases together were very special.
Then, as if the twins' arrival was not surprise enough, along came another little bundle of joy. Although the girl had a long, arduous pregnancy, she knew that all of her sickness had to lead to a special baby. Certainly, a star was born that year.
And because the littles running under foot would not be little for long, the girl cherished the memories and joys of her babies' first Christmases.
With joy in her heart and a twinkle in her eye, the girl knew that with baby #3, their family was complete.
Who knows what the next adventure will be
for the girl, Mr. Lawyer, and their littles (yes, there are three).
So for now, with the Christmas of 2010 already here,
they will celebrate the blessings of family throughout the coming year.
We got to open one of our presents from Grandpa and Grandma which was great fun (in our brand new Minnie Mouse pjs of course).
We got to open one of our presents from Grandpa and Grandma which was great fun (in our brand new Minnie Mouse pjs of course).
Grandpa and Charity had lots of fun watching us run around like crazy birthday maniacs.
Good thing it was only a short car ride because Grandpa and Grandma had to sit in the WAAAY back of the car:
Elyse: The best part of our night at the hotel was the swimming! We swam, swam, and swam. I loved the jumping into the pool the best. Felicity was more risk averse to the whole thing, taking particular note that Daddy is a bit crazy. I'm a crazy daredevil, so Daddy's antics were just my thing!
Sitting on the steps of the pool before we were quite ready to get silly:
It's important to note that this was Charity's first time swimming and she loved the water! Unlike us at her age. We pretty much hated it, but she's got to keep up with us, so it seems obvious why she would show off and love the water so much.
The swimming, pizza, movie night, and fun with the whole family made for an amazing start to our birthday celebration. We already want to go back to the pool!
We wanted to make sure you saw this pic of Charity in one of our old swimsuits because our baby sister is one major cutie!
Elyse: I was also a major cutie when I wore this suit, I just didn't like the water in the same way Charity does. Good thing I've seen the error of my ways and LOVE to go swimming now!
