things that make me happy

my husband home from work

2 sisters giggling and telling stories as they wake up in the morning

shrieks and laughter and sledding

Chinese food for dinner (finally! Do not know what this craving for Asian food has been about...)

sweet family time at Christmas

one month from today I fly home for more sweet family time

3 year olds having tea parties with bears and bugs and giraffes

Emmanuel, God with us

waiting

We are busting at the seams, so eager for Christmas to arrive.

Come, Lord Jesus, and be born in our hearts!

in which I apologize to my husband

Dear Elijah,

I realize that I owe you an apology (or at least an explanation) for my fit of laughter tonight, because I realize that you might have thought I was laughing at you. This was not the case.

I was not laughing because you had to drum up your stern Daddy voice and threaten, "Sophia, you better obey me..." I was not laughing because I could hear the bangs and clunks coming from the bathroom and could clearly picture what was happening - you trying to help one child while the other ran around and over and through your legs and arms in a very small space. And I definitely was not laughing because I heard the tell-tale splash and you say "Oh, shoot," and saw both girls run yelling from the bathroom (one with her pants around her ankles) "Daddy dropped something in the potty!"

No, I was laughing with pure joy - because it meant that I'm not the only one who has moments like that.

Thank you for being my partner in this crazy parenting business. I love you. Will you accept some brownies as a peace offering?

Your devoted wife

2010 holiday update

With a difficult start to our 2010 year, we are even more grateful to be approaching its end filled with hope, faith, and gratitude. It's been a year of loss, growth, and learning to appreciate the every-day moments of joy. We are thankful.

Elijah continues his position as Director of the Annual Fund at MBA. He has been working hard and doing a great job. He loves coming home to his girlies and specializes in those "Daddy-games" that usually involve shrieking, running, tickling, and uncontrollable laughing.

I'm still loving being at home with my girls. My moments spent with them are my challenge and my blessing. Our little baby is now the size of an avocado (each week Aida and Sophie check in to see "what food our baby is like now") and is due to make an appearance around the 1st of June. We have enjoyed lots of visits from my family this year - someone different each month from June-November. Just one of the many benefits of having lots of brothers and sisters!

We can't believe how much our girls have grown this year. They are best friends, loving on each other, comforting each other, and getting on each other's nerves every now and then.

Aida loves to look at books and run around outside.

Sophie is our singer and dancer.

They both love to paint, run around the house half-naked screaming like banshees, and make each other laugh. They are going to be good big sisters and are already talking about how they will snuggle the baby and read to it. If you're not new to our blog you already know that one of their baby name suggestions was "Happycats." Well, they are now firmly committed to this idea and often refer to their future brother or sister as "Baby Happycats."

We are thankful for each of you, our family and friends near and far. Blessings to you as we draw near to the celebration of Christ's birth.

Feel free to check back in here every now and then. I try to post little snippets a few times a week.

Love, The Reynolds Family

Thanks to our friend Lindey for the wonderful pictures. lindeyknox.tumblr.com

snow and Christmas carols

The girls have been talking about snow since September. "After summer comes fall," they would say, "and after fall is winteranditwillsnow!" they would shout in one breath. This is only my 3rd winter in Nashville but I have learned that you can never tell what the weather will do. So I was hoping for snow along with my girlies, praying they'd get at least one good snowfall to play in by the time February hit.

It came early - hooray!

Coming in from the snow is always a little easier when you get to wrap your hands around a cup of hot (or warmish, in this case) chocolate.

* * * * *

Every night during Advent (or, most nights) after dinner we light our Advent wreath, read from our Children's Bible, and let the girls choose a Christmas song to sing together. They are getting really good at singing along. Here are some of my favorites:

• O, Little Town of Bethlehem: "Yet in ya dark streets shineth ye everyasting yight, ya hopes and fears of all ya years are met in ye tonight."
• Silent Night: "Seep in heavendy peace, seep in heavendy peace."
• Angels We Have Heard on High: "Gor----ia!" as loud and long as you can possibly sing it

decorating the tree

We had a Christmas elf

and a princess (or, as she would say, "pincess")

helping us decorate our Christmas tree.

How about you?

baby names

Yesterday we had another brilliant baby name suggestion.

Stinker#1 announced that when the baby comes out of Mommy's tummy we should name it Happycats.

Stinker #2 heartily agreed.

Happycats. Any middle name suggestions?

to keep baby Jesus warm

Apparently, Sophie thought our Nativity scene was missing something.

She was innovative, though, finding a scrap from one of my sewing projects and climbing up to the counter all by herself to make sure baby Jesus will be nice and cozy.

today (in an extremely long run-on sentence)

Today my girls woke up happy and chattering to each other and stayed in their room playing long enough for me to get a shower and some precious moments in front of our icons and then perched on the couch, Bible in hand, listening to the rain, and I wish every morning started like that,

and then they asked for oatmeal for breakfast so I didn't even need to convince them that it would be the perfect fare to fill our bellies with its warmth and goodness

and then I let Aida make a huge mess with watercolors on the kitchen table and Sophie make a huge mess in the bathroom washing her toys because they were happy and independent and I made muffins and folded that basket of towels and rags in the laundry room that never gets folded (only to fill it up again with more clean towels and rags...such is this endless cycle)

and after we cleaned up 2 huge messes and changed into different clothes we ventured out in the rain because we could not wait one more day for a trip to Costco for wipes and nighttime diapers (since they're still just 3) and the girls had their thrill of the week because we had a hot dog there for the first time ever (please forgive me, I know it is the Fast, but this pregnant mama needed protein and B vitamins and truckloads of mercy and grace)

and after quiet resting time (during which Sophie bounced 2 slats out of her bed again) the girls dressed up in princess dresses and pink boots and mittens and flew on their horses to several places, namely Nana and Grandpa's house, the beach, Batman's house (?), and the Nashville Zoo and I wish I had pictures but somebody let her camera battery die

and we read and read and read and read and waited for Daddy to come home and played with Playdough and I had 2 little helpers in the kitchen to make dinner with me (like every night)

and we lit our Advent wreath and read about the Israelites passing through the Red Sea and halfway through the (very short) reading Aida asked if she could open her Christmas book now, and when it was finally time they opened up Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia! which we read together

and then I got to have dinner with some lovely people while Elijah gave the girls baths and put them to bed and did the dishes (he is great like that)

and it was a good day.

joy

Here is the series of photos I took before the girls went to their tea party last weekend. I usually take as many as I can while they stand still because it is rare to get the girls simultaneously looking at the camera and looking somewhat normal. I found each one of these hilarious.

A joyful new week to you!