It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

by: Niki

... ok, I have to confess I'd be lying if I actually said that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year ... I do enjoy hearing the song every year at Christmas but I'm always a little bit like "hmmm... if this is the most wonderful time of the year then why am I so stinking stressed out????"  This year brought about a lot of discussion in our home as to why we do the things we do and whether they support what we believe Christmas is truly about or if they are actually a distraction from it.  Don't worry I'm not going to go into some theological exhortation as to why we should ban presents, Santa, trees, and lights :) ... even though they can certainly become more of an emphasis than they should be.  I'm just being honest and sharing that as a woman I become a stressed out mess during the weeks leading up to Christmas.  BUT it's always worth it in the end when all of the family and friends begin celebrating together ~ I LOVE THAT!  I love the candlelight services, reading about Jesus's birth in the gospel of Luke, the late nights, the games, the music, the food, new jammies, and snuggling.  So on with the pictures that capture our favorite moments from this Christmas season!

 A possible upcoming quartet???

 This was taken on the day that Nya sang in her first children's choir at church ~ we took a video of her performing but forgot to just take a snap shot.

 4 Little Angels... wellll... most of the time!

 Craft night painting ornaments!

 ...and the finished results :)

 Decorating the church night...

 The children were asked "what's one of your favorite things about Christmas?" and Elli's answer was "crafts"

 Nya's answer was "church"

 The children got to decorate the tree downstairs and have a party afterwards!

 Meanwhile the grownups decorated the foyer and sanctuary... not sure why the 3 shortest girls got stuck with this job :)

Then it was time to decorate OUR house!!

My little Ham, hammin' it up :)

 The girls put almost all the ornaments on the tree by themselves!

 After decorating the tree Elli went upstairs and changed into this outfit which matches our tree and decor so perfectly!

 We've walked downtown several times to see the beautiful light show set to music!

 This was an absolutely hilarious event called the "Reindog Parade" ~ hundreds of dogs dressed in Christmas costumes paraded downtown!  And we got to hold this little cavalier-spaniel dog throughout the parade because he just seemed to like us and climbed right into our lap ~ such a treat!

 A couple pics of the house decorated for Christmas

 Daddy put on a semi-formal, fast-food progressive dinner and scavenger hunt for the students at Oakridge and us girls were in charge of going ahead of them and setting up the table with candles and table cloths.

 Nya wanted to take a picture of Mommy all dressed up for the fancy dinner!

 Trying to get a good family photo is nearly impossible for us, so this was the best we could do!

 Dinner and fondue night at the neighbors!

 Elli playing with some of her new gifts!

 Christmas with the Jacksons!!

 "Jenga is making us crazy!!!!"

 4 Super Heros snuggled up for story time

 Exchanging gifts, such fun!

 Nope, no snow for Christmas this year
(kinda weird, but I am really enjoying it...shhh!)

 Cake decorating time!!!

 "Happy birthday Jesus... hope you like frosting..."

 Hmmm... can a 3-yr-old be trusted in the dining room alone with a plate full of cupcakes???

After celebrating with friends it was time to pack and drive 6 hours to Mikado to be with family!!

 Left to Right: 

Cousins Andy, Nicole, Joseph & Samuel Mollison  

Aunt Terri and Uncle George Tait

Ty, Niki, Nya, & Elli

Great Grandma Eunice

 Nya showing uncle George her new present

 

 Two candles ~ 1 for Nya's birthday and 1 for Great Grandma Eunice's birthday

 Mommy and the girls putting a puzzle together

Nya drew this picture for Aunt Terri "just from her mind" she says... a pretty cute nativity scene!

 So excited about my new running shoes!

 Elli painting her new Princess ceramics

 

And Christmas wouldn't be complete without an ugly sweater party!  

(He even feathered his hair and wore moose socks to match)

Five Going On Ten

By: Niki
December 28th, 2006... a day that changed our hearts and lives.  Nya has always been our BIG girl... always learning, always striving for the next phase, always taking the world in and learning to articulate it back to us.  Her first night in the hospital she layed next to me and neither of us slept that night, we just stared at eachother.  I'm convinced that even then, only hours old, she was taking it all in... not wanting to miss a thing.  We have jokingly called her the party girl since she was only months old because she was so social and never wanted to go to sleep if there was a voice to be heard in the house.  She continues to make us laugh daily with her wit, intelligence, and facial expressions (oh and crazy dance moves).  Nya was practically born smiling... and putting on the cheese for the camera ...

 3 months old

 6 months old

    8 months old

As a toddler Nya tested her boundaries as every child does and wasn't shy about vocalizing disappointment when she didn't get her way.  But she also responded well to instruction and discipline, making her a joyful child most of the time.  And this girl has never been short on facial expressions...

 

 

She's always been happiest when she's working alongside mommy or daddy, so we've learned to incorporate her into most of our daily chores and projects.

 

This year has brought many firsts for Nya.  I can't possibly go into all of them, but here are some photos to capture a few ...

 Learning to climb trees

 First Micky Mouse Pancakes

 First "Princess Dance Camp"

 Learning to swim in Lake Michigan

 First time harvesting local crops!

 Learning that "Goodbye's" are really hard sometimes

(Nya gazing at some of the memorabilia left behind after Tera, Sadie, and Ruby left)

 Learning what friendship is all about

 First time inside a cop car

(we hope she's ONLY ever in our neighbor's cop car!)

 First time meeting a real princess

 First roller coaster ride

(as you can probably tell we didn't try this one again...)

 First Preschool Curriculum completed!

 Learning to hula hoop

 Learning to roller blade

 Learning to ride a bike

 First time making apple sauce

 First time eating green eggs and ham

(thanks to daddy!)

 First time jumping into humungous piles of leaves!

 First time getting bangs cut

And my personal favorite first... telling somebody how they can get to Heaven :)

Little boy: "My other dog, Rosie, died and went to Heaven."

Nya: "Do you know how YOU can go to Heaven?"

Little boy: "How?"

Nya: "You have to trust in Jesus with all your heart and believe in Him every day and then you get to go to Heaven."

And finally, a few of our favorite pics just for cuteness sake...

Precious Nya, as hard as it is to watch you grow so fast, we know that God is going to use you for His glory and so we consider each day a gift and privilege as we get to teach and train you in the ways of the Lord.  We love your giggle, your tenderness towards the things of God, your desire to learn, and your affections toward us.  May God captivate your little heart and grow His desires within you. We LOVE you!