Merry Christmas

The annual photo shoot. Oh, we should charge admission to this hilarious tradition of ours. Although, this year we gave Grandma Marti a break behind the lens and, instead, put her in front of it. (Aren't they a great looking couple?)

We met a precious couple through one of our parenting classes who offered to take our pictures. He has an amazing eye - check it out on his website: Matt Daniel Photography. He and his beautiful and very pregnant wife (they now have an adorable son) met us late afternoon on Sullivan's Island for the annual hilarity.

I always dread taking pictures the year that we have a one year old living under our roof. (Which has worked out to every other year strangely enough.) I have vivid memories that I am still trying to recover from the year that Logan was one. It was the pineapple fountain picture taken downtown Charleston. I think we took close to 100 pictures that year. Mom's finger was sore from clicking the camera so often and Dad had to rest for a week from trying to entertain the troops for that long. It was in the 70's and we were dressed as though it were in the 40's. And, unfortunately, in Charleston, 70 degrees = no-see-ums, aka gnats, biting gnats! As I said, I'm still recovering from that event.

So, I pray for a good picture. (Or I could be begging someone to smile. I'm not telling which.)

I pray because this year we are at the beach with our precious 17 month old Anna. And what does she see? Sand!!! And water!!! And lots of it!!! Playtime!!!

This is serious and getting us nowhere, so it's time to call in the troops. The troops being Grandpa Jim and his trusty sidekick, Ernie.

Grandpa and Ernie have been to every photo shoot. Another tradition. Christmas might have to be cancelled if Grandpa and Ernie couldn't make it to our Christmas photo shoot. Of course, let's pray Grandpa doesn't pull a muscle.

It worked! She stopped digging in the sand long enough for us to get the shot below and even better yet, the shot at the top of this blog and nestled in little white envelopes all over the world.

Some year we'll need to get a true family picture - Mom, Dad, 5 kids and Ernie. You just never know where he'll pop up.

PRINCESS REBEKAH

Rebekah thinks she's a princess. A delusion that is quite cute at 3 years of age. Don't worry. If her future husband is reading this, I will make sure she is fully grounded by the time she gets married. But for now, it's quite fun. For example, she just loves to put on leotards and twirl around the house. I'll have a turtleneck and sweater on with my big fuzzy slippers trying to keep warm (I know, it's not THAT cold, but I belong at the equator, remember?) while she prances around in her old hand-me-down leotard that is 2 sizes too big for her petite little body. I asked her this morning why she loved to wear leotards. She smiled this adorable and precious smile that I could have eaten up had it been edible and replied rather matter of factly, "Because I'm a princess."

All this to give you a little back ground to the following pictures. Matt (our photographer, you'll remember) suggested a very artistic shot. He waded up to his knees while we stood at the water's edge. Fantastic idea, he just didn't realize our princess was a bit concerned with the rush of water and her precious feet and oh, my! Her pants may get salty water on them! Despite our reassurances that slightly damp pants were perfectly OK, she was mesmerized by the incoming waves and the distance they were to her pants. And since Grandpa Jim was in this shot, there was no Ernie to distract her. Maybe we'll try again next year. The shot had potential.

So, Matt continued to click away as his patient wife carefully and artistically arranged us. (As we prayed she wouldn't go into labor.) He really got some great shots as you'll see below.

So that's this year's Christmas shoot saga. Not nearly as much drama as in year's past, but that's because a professional was involved.

And now we're enjoying this season. We've suspended 'normal' schoolwork for the month as we focus on really digging into the true meaning of Christmas. We have been studying the prophecies of Christ's birth in the Old Testament, the land of Israel - it's geography during the time of Christ's birth and really examining some of the people who we read about in Luke 2 and Matthew 2. One of our favorite websites is The Twelve Voices of Christmas. We also sing lots of Christmas hymns and love reading stories about them or their composers in Joni Earekson Tada's book Christmas Hymns for a Kid's Heart.

Our coffee table is piled high with other great Christmas books - either from the library, ones we've purchased over the years or many of them generous gifts from sweet friends and family. We light Advent candles as we read and snuggle up on the couch together. Or sometimes we sit at the kitchen table sipping hot chocolate as I read. And then, much to their dismay, I send them off to do their math. Math never leaves. No matter what the season. Oh, and I was getting so warm and fuzzy. This is real life, not a Hallmark card. Don't get deluded, the little ones get wiggly, someone has to go potty and someone can't see the picture. And they have to do math. That's life.

And then there's sugar cookie baking with Daddy every year. Now that's an adventure... Daddy is one brave and FUN soul. (And handsome, too!)

I just love 3 year olds! The whole world is still so new to them and their little minds are really starting to be able to process and think on their own. After frosting the sugar cookies, they were laid out on the counter. I found Rebekah in a chair looking at them and waving her hand over the newly decorated confections with an object tighly clutched in her hand.

Now take a closer look at what was in her hand.

It's baby Jesus from the manger scene. I asked her what she was doing. Grab a tissue. Her reply, "I wanted to show Baby Jesus the cookies I decorated for his birthday."

Enjoy this Christmas season. And wonder at the true miracle that it is. Jesus Christ, the Son of God came to earth as a helpless, tiny baby to eventually die for us, then be resurrected to save me, to save you, to save all who call on His name. Where would we be without CHRISTmas?