Papaw

My Papaw went to heaven this morning! He was such a jovial, fun man. Just looking at these pictures again makes me smile. Babies always loved him, and we loved being around him and hearing his stories. We'll miss him a lot, but Mamaw's been waiting almost 20 years to see him! Knowing our time with him was limited, I took these pictures before he headed to the doctor on Christmas Eve. I'm so thankful to have had those few minutes and these pictures of the children with their great-grandpa. Please keep our family, my mom and her brother and sister, in your prayers this week and I'll post more when I get back home.

Merry Christmas, dear friends!!!!

Hail, thou ever blessed morn!

Hail, redemption's happy dawn!

Sing through all Jerusalem,

Christ is born in Bethlehem.

Good Reading

We are on our way! Day 2 of our 3 day trek to our Oklahoma Christmas. I don't know who wrote this, but I've read this a few times over the last few days (I probably could have read it more, if you ask my family). Enjoy!

A Christmas Version of 1st Corinthians 13
If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator. If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not share the true meaning of Christmas, I'm just another cook. If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not demonstrate kindness to strangers, it profits me nothing. If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point. Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband. Love is kind, though harried and tired. Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens. Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way. Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure. "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care. . .

Isn't this the perfect picture of giddy anticipation? We are all looking foward to celebrating with friends and family way over yonder in Oklahoma.

Another symbol of giddy anticipation:

The stockings are hung, waiting to be filled. . . no, overflowing with goodies. And one more favorite symbol of anticipation:

How silently, how silently

The wondrous gift is given!

So God imparts to human hearts

The blessings of his heav'n.

No ear may hear his coming,

But in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive him still,

The dear Christ enters in

PS. I stole the picture of the manger, but I did make the stockings :-)

Happy 8 Months, Adeline!

Playing is sooooo much more fun now that I can crawl!

Cards and songs

I can't decide on a Christmas card picture. There were just so many I loved for different reasons. So I've decided to post the ones I don't use every few days, a long with a favorite Christmas hymn or two. I love the hymns at Christmas, especially the 3rd and 4th verses. No kidding. Have you read/sung them? They are usually my favorite, which is a shame, because carolers always stop after verse one and then move into a lively Rudolph.

The "Very Savannah" Christmas Card

All my heart this night rejoices

All my heart this night rejoices.
As I hear Far and near
Sweetest angel voices.
"Christ is born,"
their choirs are singing
Till the air Everywhere
Now with joy is ringing.

Forth today the Conqueror goeth,
Who the foe, Sin and woe,
Death and hell, o'erthroweth.
God is man, man to deliver;
His dear Son Now is one
With our blood forever

Shall we still dread God's displeasure,
Who, to save, Freely gave
His most cherished treasure?
To redeem us, he hath given
His own Son From the throne
Of his might in heaven.

He becomes the Lamb that taketh
Sin away And for aye
Full atonement maketh.
For our life his own he tenders;
And our race, By his grace,
Meet for glory renders.

Hark! a voice from yonder manger,
Soft and sweet, Doth entreat:
"Flee from woe and danger,
Brethren, from all ills that grieve you
You are freed; All you need
I will surely give you.

Come, then, banish all your sadness,
One and all, Great and small;
Come with songs of gladness.
Love him who with love is glowing;
Hail the star, Near and far
Light and joy bestowing.

Dearest Lord, thee will I cherish.
Though my breath Fail in death,
Yet I shall not perish,
But with thee abide for ever
There on high, In that joy
Which can vanish never.

This is based on a German Christmas carol composed by Johann Gerg Ebeling in the 15th century. It was translated into English by Catherine Winkworth. Go here to hear the hymn. And btw, like many old hymns, we only sing a fraction of the verses--this one had 11!

Christmas gifts

I have racked up on Christmas gifts this year already, and it's only December 14th! They're not the pretty packages tied with bows you might have in mind, but they are the unexpected blessings of the season. Beginning with last week. A friend and wonderful photographer met us at Forsyth Park for a "mini-session"--30 quick minutes to get the perfect holiday picture. I was doubtful that our day would go well--30 minutes for 4 kids? But Laura is so good with the kids and full of ideas. Her best shots are interactive action shots so we just played with the kids while she snapped over 100 photos. And they are TERRIFIC! We will cherish them for years as they show how fun it is to have 4 little ones running around. I'll let you see them to, but promise to be surprised when your Christmas card arrives.

http://www.hendersonsquared.net/curry/

After our morning in the park, Jess took all four kids home and put them down for a nap. Did you hear that? He took all four kids home and put them down for a nap! That gave me a couple of free hours downtown to window shop and browse. I resisted the urge to get in my car and "get some things done." I ate lunch at a bakery I had been wanting to try for a while. I got coffee at Starbucks, and I visited all of the boutiques and stores on Broughton Street. It was the complete opposite of trying to go to the mall with four hungry, tired kids, and it was refreshing.

Today was our church's annual Lessons and Carols. It's a very traditional, very beautiful Christmas service and Sam and Ella Rose both sang in the choir. They were as sweet as you can imagine in their little angel robes. We love our church and it was such a blessing to watch our children participate. I made sure they knew what a wonderful gift they gave Jess and me with their songs tonight.

Here are a couple of pictures: The first is after church this morning. Yes, they look like the walked right out of who-ville, but aren't they cute? Unfortunately, Ella Rose was in one of her moods.

Right before the big kids were off to sing! Ella's feeling better now. Could it be the promise of a special kid's buffet after the program with all the candy and cookies she could eat?

A Pretty Give-away

I won something! I can't tell you what, cause I might use it for Christmas gifts. But it proves that reading blogs is not a waste of my time. right? Right?

I had a taste of victory and now I need more. So I'm blogging about this other giveaway. Because blogging about it gets me more entries. And because I LOVE the things over at The Vintage Pearl . So go here and you can win one of these:

catchin up

Sorry I haven't been around. Jess left town for a week and i got sick. And sicker. So I've mostly been managing to make it through the day and waste a lot of time staring into Internet oblivion. I thought since I can't really speak right now I could type--I have so many thoughts going through my head right now I would love to get out! But, I think my fingers have a cold, too. Cause they're too tired to type. Just point, click, point, click through etsy and facebook. As I looked through pictures tonight, I realized I had TONS of blog worthy photos that somehow never got published, so tonight is a review of

"THE BLOGS THAT ALMOST DIED IN MY HEAD"

SEPTEMBER: I don't think you ever got to see Sam playing soccer:

Josiah wants to do EVERYTHING like his big siblings. So he was THRILLED to get this backpack from another sweet Josiah at our church who had waited for years for a Josiah to receive all his monogrammed goodies. We happily oblige!

speaking of Si, here's a HI LARIOUS story for you (pardon me if you've heard me tell it, but now you get visuals):

take this naked booty of a puzzle loving toddler:

and this beloved puzzle of Jesus's life:

and you get the line: "Mom, come here. I peed on God."

I bet some of you are peeing your pants right now aren't you? Not yet, well, check this one out:
Josiah's out of the tub, and tells Jess he's cold. Some people might decide to dress him. Others might get the packaging tape out and run it around him a few times and then look at his wife and say "What? He was cold. I fixed it."

And bloggers take a picture first, then yell.
You'd think I'd learn, but the other night he helped get kids ready for bed by dressing Si in a halloween lion's costume. It really is funny. When you're not so tired. Jess and Si are quite a pair.

What about Addie. Adeline gets a lot of face time on the blog. But here are a few must-sees.

A funny face for Aunt Alyse

Adeline Louise was named after her Grandpa Louis Swinger. Here they meet for the first time.


I just love this picture of me and my girl.

I didn't find a lot of unblogged Ella Rose pictures. Here's one of her pre-K class on a field trip:

(Si's in there too)

This is an oldie of us dancing at Dave and Esther's wedding. Ella and Sam had a BLAST.

There. Loose ends tied up. Now to my bed.

Amos and Addie

Today was the first time I allowed Amos and Addie to play together. Amos is still a puppy, or maybe a stubborn teenager, but either way, he's still rambunctious. But today, as he was occupied with his bone, he let Addie pet him and crawl on him. They might become friends after all.

What a face!

Look at me, dad! I got a puppy!

Craftiness

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness! LOOK what I did! I can't believe how cute they turned out!!!!! I love love LOVE them! I've wanted to make these dresses ever since Sandi Henderson introduced her Portebello Pixie patterns. They remind me of the Matilda Jane brand, which are way cute and WAY expensive. After my trip to fabric heaven I settled on this Heather Bailey fabric and dreamed for months about the dresses. Most of the time when I do that, things never turn out just like I wanted, but these, I think, were even better.

If I had known how much Ella would love this dress, I would have saved it for a Christmas present!

Creativity runs in our family, and Sam got an extra dose. Here's his latest creation:

Family Portrait on the Beach

Last minute gift idea. . .

I am still reeling from the poor decision I made this afternoon: take the 4 kids to the mall after school to run a few errands. Why are so many people shopping at 2pm on a Wednesday?!? So, in case you're like me and have vowed not to hit the mall again til January, I have a great idea for you. I couldn't post this earlier because I didn't want my family to see their gifts, but we delivered them at Thanksgiving.

Aren't these ornaments amazing and adorable?! I met Anne Luckey at the Coastal Kids Market--our tables were next to eachother and her mother was Adeline's happy babysitter. She does these custom ornaments from an emailed picture and ships them in a box ready to go under the tree (or on it!). These are of my nephew Liam, my brother and sister-in-law on their wedding day, my family on the day Jess came home from Iraq, and my parents and crew. She's taking orders til December 12 so go check her out!

And are you wondering why I don't also suggest a little something from Ella Bella Baby? It's because I am C.L.O.S.E.D. Ahhhh. Done. That is, until January. Here is a picture of the orders I sent out today, in production, and then ready to ship:

Quick question

Too much plaid for Christmas pictures in Forsyth Park?

These are my clearance Strausburg clothes I had planned to use for Christmas pics this year (Of course, Si will have a shirt on and Sam won't wear sweat pants, and HOPEFULLY ella won't stick out her tongue). I'm thinking it's too much plaid and I should find something else for pictures.

Opinions?!?

We made it home after 15 hours, and tomorrow I"ll try to post some about our wonderful thanksgiving, but for now, please take a minute to pray for the family of CPT Rob Yllescas, whom I mentioned a few weeks ago. Rob went to be with the Lord today, having suffered serious injuries in Afghanistan a little over a month ago. My heart is heavy for Dena and her daughters today, and thankful for the sacrifices so many have made to preserve our freedom.