Family Christmas

It never ceases to amaze me how busy the holiday season is! And the past few weeks have been no exception in our home. The biggest news at the moment is that Chris is finally healthy again. Two weeks after his previous diagnosis (see last blog entry), he woke up screaming in the middle of the night with a 103.4 temperature - never have I felt someone so hot! He fell back asleep, though, and the next morning I took him back to the doctor. This time, he had one very bad ear infection and strep throat. I decided to go ahead with the antibiotics, and he is now back to his normal energetic self, praise God!
The weekend before that drama, we headed up to Jacksonville to celebrate Christmas with my family. We stayed at my sister Kristin's house, which is really fun for Chris because of all of the activity and cool toys! My mom stayed there as well, and Melanie, Adam, and Isaiah also came over to celebrate. It was so much fun to watch all 10 kids opening their gifts! Chris's favorite gift was the blue truck from Nanny (my mom). The next day we stopped by Sherrie's house to exchange gifts. Here are several pictures from the weekend:

Three generations attempting to figure out an ATM machine :)

Gabe loved his new pool table
One of the twins, Joy
Jane, the other twin
Isaiah loves balls!

Chris and his new truck
Sweet Dawn and her kitties
Little Rosie
Adam and Isaiah
Last weekend I had another opportunity to shoot a wedding in Clearwater with a professional photographer. I had such a good time- I loved every second of it. Mark watched Chris; even though his mom came up to help he did pretty much everything on his own. I am so grateful for such a supportive husband! I will post pictures from the wedding as soon as the photographer sends them to me on my other blog... click here to see them.

Last, (I know, this is another long one!) last Wednesday marked the 6 year anniversary of the plane crash that took the life of my dad and three other passengers. In some ways, I can't believe it has been that long - I still remember every detail of that day. But in other ways, it seems like forever since I last heard him call me "sweetie doodle". I miss him terribly, and more than anything I wish he could have met Mark and Chris in this lifetime! I know he would be crazy about them both! But I am so grateful for all the things he taught me, especially this time of year. He LOVED Christmas - think Griswald - but not just because of the lights and presents (though he loved those). He was truly excited about the meaning of the holiday - the birth of our loving Savior, Jesus. And I feel as though each year my own excitement grows as well - I am really excited about Christmas because of what it means. It means that God loves me, and has a plan for me, and will never leave me alone... and it means the same for you. I pray that if you are reading this and you don't know that love, that God will reach out to you through the tiny hands of the baby in the manger. I can't wait to see my Daddy in heaven and thank him for the childlike wonder that I saw in him and that I am beginning to experience myself. What a gift!