Merry Christmas!

What a memorable year. I don't get out often yet, but when I do, this is the most common comment: "God bless you!" The response that came to mind the first time I heard it was "He has!" He really has! We truly do feel blessed. No, it's not always easy. And no, I don't believe we would have survived the first months (or the months to come) without lots of help and lots of prayers. But yes, it's been wonderful. Unforgettable. And full of baby perfection that can only possibly have come straight from Heaven. We're enjoying getting to know Ruth and Sam's little personalities a little more each day.

I feel like we've settled into a bit of a "6 family" rhythm now. Scotty is proving to be a great little helper. He's loving kindergarten and has a wonderful teacher. James is a doting older brother and seems to be weathering his displacement as the snuggled baby. He's in a great preschool that includes his speech and physical therapy and is making steady progress. Jeremy is functioning as a full-time working single father -- the minute he walks in the door, he's cooking, cleaning, giving tubs, reading stories, etc. (What a guy!) And I'm holding babies. A lot.

In the last month we've started hitting the job hunt hard. Jeremy has a few interviews lined up already. Hopefully shortly we'll have more big news to share! Hard to believe yet another chapter of our lives is coming to a close and we'll be leaving Bethlehem. It's been a good chapter. We'll miss it here.

We hope you're all happy and well. Wish we could be closer to everyone we love. Here's a giant cyber-hug from Bethlehem, and some attempts at a family picture. Merry Christmas!

Twice Blessed

What a fun day! We blessed the babies the first Sunday in November and both sets of grandparents were able to come. What lucky little babies.

The only drama of the day was not performed by our drama queen. Sam decided to take that role and hollered through his blessing. But everyone survived.

We let Jeremy help pick Sam's outfit (thanks again Aunt Emily and Uncle Danny!) and of course he picked the one called the "Jeremy jumper."

Our gifted grandmothers gave gorgeous gifts. Grandma Corky made the blankets in the pictures and Grandma Ann made these:

Yes! I will put the babies in these sweaters every chance I get as long as they fit!

Our 3 amigos:

Already getting teased, poor little guy:

Big brother

Our four (!!!!) children! ...such a sudden leap from two I'm still processing...

Lots of chats and yummy food later, family went home and everything is back to normal now. ("normal" - ha!)

About 3 weeks ago we started getting our first true smiles and a few gurgly coos. Some moments are so wholly baby-perfect I can hardly stand it.

Here's Ruthie mid-story. Of course anytime I try to record her she gets stage fright. Hopefully soon we'll have one of her stories to share.

I've tried uploading video so many times. Fail every time. Just says "uploading" forever and ever. Anyone have a cure for my video-uploading ineptitude?

Scotty's bday

Scotty is 6! I love this age. A little while ago I was doing some face painting for Scotty and some friends. When I asked what he wanted on his cheeks, he said, "Sunshine! And a skeleton!" What other age group would make that request?

We started planning his birthday party a long time ago. A chain of questions and answers led him to believe that his late-September-almost-October party *must* be a costume party, with Halloween-themed games. The games he chose: Spider web dance (freeze dance), Spider says, Spider spider dino (duck duck goose), and Hot pumpkin. Yes, we had fun! Both planning and carrying out.

I wrote a hurried entry in his journal about 3 weeks after the babies were born. It says, "Never cuter, never naughtier." Sums it up pretty well. But it's always way more fun than it is hard to have him around.

Babies babies babies

A month old already! We can't even begin to list all the ways Grandma helped us. We truly believe, though, that she's the reason the twins had a healthy start. We were all fed, clothed, and as well-rested as we could have hoped for a full month thanks to you, Grandma! Our sincerest gratitude.

Here are a few pictures from the twins' weeks two and three.

Ruth: Hey Grandma -- you make this look easy! You truly are a woman of many talents.
Sam: I could get used to this one-on-one attention....do you think they know I have Woofie?
Ruth is a woman of many faces, and we're convinced that some of them point to where she's headed in life.

the Illusionist
the Dramatistthe Diva
the Comic
the Model (how's my hair?)
the Ballerina

the Tease (she pinched me!)
the Gossip (how shocking!)
The world is her oyster. Obviously the little princess is favored in this post. Here's some more Ruth (a Sam-devoted post coming up!):








Back to snuggling close...
Aunt Katie came for a fabulous 5 days. Priceless in so many ways. She stayed up a whole -- very rough -- night with me while Jeremy went on a quick trip out of town. (Service only true love can give!) She made all sorts of yummies for us. She brought gifts for the boys. And she held babies. Often. Just last night at dinner James put on his most pathetic pouty face and said "Miss An Kayee." Thanks so much for coming!
(For the record, that's actually Jer's "baby," the richest ever chocolate cheesecake, but Katie did make the ganache and put the finishing touches on it. And yes, you might actually gain weight merely by looking at the picture too long.)