Christmas!

Wordless, Wonderful Day!!!

Glasses

A quick second for an anecdote from Ellie's life...

Last week I had all the kids at church for a Holy Day and leaving mass I had my hands quite full. Diaper bag, purse and a bag of toys and keeping everyone safe in the parking lot while holding an ever-growing Ellie.  I asked each of the kids to take a bag without thinking that I had barely tucked my glasses into one of the outside pockets of my bag.  All of the sudden Ellie starts motioning and making her noise (kind of like "Neeeeeehhhhh" on repeat) and pointing and trying to get my attention.  I was feet away from the car and turned to say "what do you see, a bird?" but I kept walking as I was ready to go home and get lunch on the table.

The time I spent looking for my glasses when I got home made me pause - I know I had them at mass!  So I texted my inside man who works at the church and was in charge of another mass in a matter of minutes and asked him if he could retrace my steps. I told him where I parked and what did he find?!  A pair of (luckily unscathed!) glasses!!!  Ellie saw them fall and watched them lying there on the ground as we slowly walked and drove away from them.

"Sorry Mommy, I notice things but I'm just not quite able to communicate all of what's in my mind right now.  But I'm working on it - it'll be worth the wait"!  Love, Ellie

Preparation

Happy December everyone!  By far this month is a favorite around our house.  The month is started off with a celebration of marriage - December 1st is the beginning of our journey as a little family.

This month was spent tying off loose ends from the fall - putting away paperwork and doubling up on some missed school.  But it was also a month of preparing and waiting for the wonderful celebration of Christmas!

Picking up the quilt the first week of December that I had started in the summer was very cathartic. I thought I was going to work on it all fall but the sewing machine did not get turned on those months.   Here is Ellie helping me lay it all out on the floor.

And here she is doing a sweet little craft we learned in therapy - threading beads onto a pipe cleaner.  She really concentrated and with a little help she can get one on!   She's really starting to sit for longer and will try anything!

Here are the kids in front of a closet remodeling we did - we had some shelves put in and now we just close the doors at the end of the day rather than look at dresser drawers that won't close due to overflowing!

The boys' Christmas recital at a retirement community.

Xavier and Ellie playing together in the yard. Xavier was helping her put golf balls in her shirt :).

The third Sunday in Advent - the pink candle for JOY!!!

Julia was under the weather for a day or two so Ellie got to share "the spot" for all sick children...Mommy's side of the bed fully involved with all pillows.  When Ellie started being a little pig with the pillows you could hear Julia say "Ellie, Share!!!"  Hopefully pillows is all they shared.  So far no one else is sick!

And now with a week until the birthday of Our Lord...our four gifts wrapped up under the finished quilt.  I had to "wait" to make it while I did something very important.  Now that wait is over and we now wait for the birth of Jesus.

Ellie was insistent on including her gift bag in the photo.  The other night she saw me wrapping some things for family and just had to have a present!  So, in it currently is plastic bananas, the angel from the nativity scene and a matchbox car all wrapped up in tissue paper.  

 Just for fun I flipped the quilt over to get both sides.

And I love this picture so much...it's overflowing with so much love! I love Ellie and Xavier's hands...can you see the shape they are making?!   

 ALL OUR LOVE THIS CHRISTMAS!