In the midst of the recent tragedy in CT, our hearts are extremely heavy, thinking about the innocent lives lost and the heroes that are among us. Every day for an entire week, I would become teary-eyed each time I thought about those young children and their families. Since becoming parents, we've realized the importance of embracing each day and living in every moment. This is it! These are the moments! Our children are literally growing and changing every single day, and we are beyond blessed to live it, to share it, and witness it. We initially started this blog mainly to keep in touch with our family and friends that are scattered throughout this world...Indiana, California, Texas, New York, Palestine, Spain, etc. But over time, I've come to appreciate the blog for much more than just a means of staying in touch. Weekly, I'm able to take an hour of alone time to look through the pictures from the week and count my blessing for all that God has provided for our family. And one day, when our children are grown and hopefully have families of their own, they too, can read this blog together, as it will forever be a reminder of all the people that have loved them so deeply.
This Christmas has been very special. The kids are filled with joy. They are so precious. They love Jesus, they love Santa, and they love everything that we do together during the holiday season. In just a few short weeks, Helaina memorized 2 complete verses of "Joy to the World" and sings it throughout the day. She sings to her brother when he's crying, she sings to herself while she's playing, and she sings herself to sleep. It's beautiful!
This week, Santa visited all the houses in our subdivision, and he came bearing gifts for all the kids. Helaina kept hugging his leg and saying, "I love you Santa. Thanks for coming to see us!"
Zach loves him too, but still needed to sit on mom's lap to feel comfortable.
Helaina serenaded Zach and me at her preschool class on Thursday morning.
Our first snow of the season came on Friday morning. It wasn't very much, but enough to cover the ground and let the kids out for a little sledding.
Helaina and her neighborhood friend, Grace, took turns pulling each other across the yard.
Helaina slept over at Seedy and Teta's house on Friday night. Saturday morning she went to work with them at the airport.
She made her own lunch at Taco Bell.
In the middle of the airport for a few days during the holiday, they had singers perform Christmas carols. For a small donation, Helaina was able to get on stage and perform for all the people. She had such a great time!
Lucky, lucky girl Club Room with Seedy.
After a long few days, this is what tired looks like!!!
Saturday evening, we traveled about 45 minutes to get to The Polar Express. Helaina and her friend, Aiden, rode the train last year during Christmas. They LOVED it and thought Zach would be old enough to attend this year. Unfortunately, after we drove all the way out there, we were informed that they could not get the train to run and there would only be treats and some visiting with Santa and his friends. Hot chocolate makes everything better!
Quite a nice ending to our weekend. Aunt Abla came to visit. We had dinner together and did a little gift exchange. Now we'll get some rest and get ready for the rest of our Christmas festivities.
