On the 4th day of Christmas we played dress-up

We realized on our journey that we would be driving by friends and family. A few phone calls later and we had added some stops to our trip. One to have lunch with a friend of Jocelyn's from law school while driving through Virginia, and another in Pennsylvania to visit Andrew's cousin and her family. They have three girls around the same age as our kids so it was a fun stop! The kids played dress-up, and I realized the one thing our dress-up collection is missing...wigs!

Baby Gracie was getting a little jealous that big sister Michaela was holding Jillian :)

On the 3rd day of Christmas we took a winter road trip

Andrew and his friends from high school have an annual gathering. Being on the west coast from most of the east coasters, we've missed at least half of these gatherings. This year when it was announced that the party would be in Pennsylvania, we decided we needed to make the trip. Andrew had just enough vacation days left so here's what we did: Georgia to NC where we can visit and stay with family (thank you Hotel Burns for your hospitality, hopefully we can visit again soon and this time stay longer!) Next we drove to Pennsylvania. The party was in southeastern PA so it was only 7 hours north of NC (did I just say ONLY? We traveled with a car overflowing with Christmas paraphernalia, winter gear and a newborn! We're insane!) Because it's not a New Year's party or a Christmas party, these annual get togethers are called ____ tree parties or xTPs (I'm not going to try and explain the meaning, just sharing the facts here.) This year was the Wing Tree Party complete with a sampling of you guessed it - wings. There was even some wing trivia, which Andrew and I bombed big time. Nonetheless, it was a successful party, and we were glad we made the trip!

As an added bonus we were blessed with snow! What a perfect way to welcome the first day of winter but with snowfall! Jason could not get outside fast enough. And when I commented how it was unfortunate there wasn't more snow, Jason happily responded, "I really wanted to see snow and this is snow so I'm happy!" Wow, what a lesson for me in being grateful for all good gifts! The kids had a great time in the snow and with each other. They even tasted the snow. Did we stop them from licking the picnic table? No, we took pictures :) The big kids even had some snowball fun!

I was thankful to be safe and warm inside the car during their escapades :)

From the WTP, we headed to Maryland to spend some extra time with fellow WTPers. We realized that the route from PA to MD drove us right through York, home of Andrew's cousins! That's one more stop on our ongoing roadtrip. More on that stop on the 4th day of Christmas...

On the 2nd day of Christmas...Santa Came!

You better not pout. You better not cry. You better watch out. I'm telling you why... Santa Claus is coming to town!
Now, Andrew and I have always been pretty much set on not doing Santa in our house. We didn't want the focus of Christmas to ever be presents or being good for Santa. We want our kids to obey because the Bible tells us so, not because Santa does. And we want to celebrate Christmas as Jesus' Birthday, not the day Santa travels the globe bringing presents. This is all easier said than done...Santa is everywhere and we have to explain that to our questioning children. And while it's tempting to complain about the evils of Santa destroying the true magic of Christmas, we've always felt that we didn't want to force our views of Santa on others. So now we have to tell our children, "there is no Santa and flying reindeer but other people like to pretend it's real so just play along. It's fun!" And we've made a point to tell them there really was a man who gave gifts to needy children so it's good to remember and honor him just as we would St. Valentine or St. Patrick or Martin Luther King, Jr. Well this year we spent Christmas in Virginia with cousins. Their parents have never made a big deal about Santa one way or the other but preschoolers got to their oldest and Mina believes! We agreed to play along and even went so far as to make his favorite cookies, write a note, leave carrots for the reindeer, and check his flying status on the internet (he was somewhere over Europe at that point). Staring at the computer our poor Jason became completely confused as he declares, "Santa IS real?" Ugh, why does this have to be soooo confusing! We said nothing at that moment but were sure to clarify the truth back at home. Sometimes I feel like a bit of a scrooge. It was actually very sweet to think my almost 6 year old is still innocent enough to believe in such fantasy but I remember - "Make sure no one captures you. They will try to capture you by using false reasoning that has no meaning. Their ideas depend on human teachings. They also depend on the basic things the people of this world believe. They don't depend on Christ." Colossians 2:8 I want my family depending on Christ, not Santa.

On the 1st day of Christmas we went back to Bethlehem

About a week before Christmas we attended a somewhat local Church's reenactment of life in Bethlehem the night Jesus was born. It was super cold (34 degrees actual temperature and then there was the wind!) but the event was well worth enduring the cold.

The kids got to pet camels and chicken. There were food samplings of fresh baked bread, fruits, vegetables, nuts and dried fruit. And the kids got to pay taxes to the Roman guards.
Did I mention it was really cold? I was a bit worried about Jill being exposed to that cold so I bundled her up in my coat. I looked a little bizarre and worried about whether she could breathe at times but she was snugly warm the whole time.
The night ended with the Living Nativity. Actually it ended around the corner with a reenactment of the Crucifixion. With declarations of prophesy, they did a nice job of completing the story. Jason asked why Jesus had to die (it was very intense seeing actual people live up on the crosses). And before I could answer he said, was that so he could come back to life for us? Yes, Jesus came to earth a baby in the manger and lived a perfect life. He died on the cross, a sacrificial lamb, for our sins so that we may have eternal life. All of this because the Creator of the Universe loves each and every one of us. I pray you know His Love this Christmas and always!

Merry Christmas, 2008!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Silent Night...We're having a wonderful Christmas and pray the same for you, all our family and friends. Love, the Skellys currently in Virginia!

It's Jillian's first Christmas, our first Christmas in Georgia, and we're traveling to 4 different states to visit many family and friends this holiday season. With so much to talk about and share I'm going to be posting our many days of Christmas over the next 12 Days of Christmas. I'll post daily with a new tale (life adventures hopefully not getting in the way). Hope you enjoy the trip!

What's in your stocking this year?

**Update** No, we're not dangling our two month old baby from a ceramic hook! We've had many comments (mostly in person not on the blog) about how scary this photo looks. Andrew's arm is up her back (you can actually see it in the photo to the right of the stocking if you look close) and his other hand is on the bottom and he only moved that hand away from her front for the photo. So to clarify - no babies were injured in the taking of this photo :)

Have you been naughty or nice? Beth's obviously been very, very good because look what's in her stocking! Jill is definitely my favorite gift this year, what's yours?

2 Months Old

Jillian is two months old today. What does this mean? Well, she's awake more these days, starting to smile when you talk to her, and growing out of all her newborn clothes! Check her out the first month to see a comparison. And a video to see her live and (almost) in person!

just some fun pics...

Some fun things Adam's saying these days..."You, mommy, me Adam...us!" or "I teeny." He wants to still be the baby around here. Don't tell him he's a big boy! I tell him he's my baby boy and Jill is my baby girl. He seems to like that.

Jason, Jill and Daddy playing with K'NexAdam has been writing straight vertical lines for weeks now and saying they're letters. You can imagine his surprise (and ours) when he wrote these lines and realized he actually wrote a real letter - H!!!Our resident butterfly doing the dance of joy.We're so proud of Beth getting dressed all by herself!Setting up the tree...Jason was soooo excited. Being a lover of trees, Jason has always loved the Christmas Tree tradition. This picture would make a better video so you could see him bouncing with joy!

Jason lost another tooth! His other top tooth is loose so maybe he'll be able to sing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!"Jill at 7 weeks all ready for church.Beth is still holding Jill any chance she gets!Laughs, tickles, and hugs occur every evening when daddy gets home!

Bathtime

Maybe it's because it happens so rarely or because she's totally unsure of what's happening but so far bathtime is not Jillian's favorite time of day. She either cries the whole time or clings to us for safety making manuevering very difficult. (and in this picture I was only doing a quick birdbath washing of the lower half!) We did discover the other night that putting her in the big tub laying on her back with Beth holding her works. She was content and let me wash her. (Sorry I don't have pictures as we're trying to protect Beth's modesty :) It seems scary to have her in that big huge tub but she's so much more comfortable than in the little bitty baby tub or in the sink. I guess this will be our method of choice. Aren't we glad we didn't invest in a new fancy baby tub!

Thank you

Someone asked me how I've been doing with four kids. I was explaining that it's challenging getting anything done and how I'm looking forward to getting into my groove in the next few weeks (or months?) Then they asked if my husband was a help at all and I smiled. Yes, he's a help. He's the most amazing help I could ask for. Truly, I'm not sure I would have been willing to have four children if he were a different man. Sure I would step up to the plate and do it all if I had to but I wouldn't choose to live that way. Take last night, for instance. I'd had a hard day, nothing major just one of those days where you're running late and the elevator's broken kind of days. That night Andrew took all four kids, and I went to Target by myself. If you know me, you know unleashing me in Target by myself is huge! I felt myself relaxing in minutes of Christmas shopping, alone! And then I got to come home to Andrew lying on the couch watching tv holding his baby girl. He'd already put the other kids to bed, and all was peaceful.

Thank you, Andrew, for being you, the most perfect you for me. And thank you, God, for bringing us together.

Happy Turkey Day!

Jillian enjoyed her first Thanksgiving and prays you all had a great day, too! (It may look like a goofy face but it's her signature smirk...

and she didn't actually eat any jell-o but is looking forward to next year when she can :)

Clothing

Baby clothes can be challenging. There's the cute outfit that has a zipper all the way up the back. You'll have to trust me on this one if you've never tried, but changing a diaper in this outfit is nearly impossible. Then there's the clothes that just don't work in a carseat, especially all the bulky cold weather outfits that somehow Jillian has tons of but will probabaly never wear. It's just easier to put on a sleeper and cover her in blankets. Do 1 month olds really wear snowsuits? And then there's even the simplest clothing...Jillian has a knack for getting out of her clothes. I've woken up in the morning to find she's wiggled her arm or leg completely out. Here's a picture of her "missing" a leg.She gets really frustrated when her legs get all twisted up. Well I finally remembered a trick someone (I think it was my sister) suggested - put socks on the outside of the sleepers so the feet stay on! This seems to work until the socks fall off...oh well, we could just go the route on no clothing...

6 weeks

Here she is at 6 weeks old (that was a week ago but we've been having computer issues so just pretend...) When I first tried to take pictures, she fell asleep!But later in the day I got her to wake up...

What they know...

Kids always surprise us with what they know, what they've learned, and how much they remember (yes, they can also amaze with how little they remember but that's for another discussion). I wanted to share a little of the surprises I've heard around here lately. Jason and Beth helped Andrew paint the upstairs bathroom last week. But before painting, Andrew washed down the walls with vinegar. Did you know that smell is the strongest memory sense we have? It's true, and Beth exhibited this strength as she commented, "the bathroom smells like Easter egg coloring!" I thought that kind of memory was pretty impressive for four years old! She's only colored eggs, what, three times before?


And then today, Adam had me saying wow, you're amazing. We have been doing some preschool work with him as I homeschool the older two. I've given him pictures of letters to color and tried somewhat to emphasize a "letter of the week," knowing that he doesn't need to know his abc's anytime soon.
As I present each letter, I've added that letter to the refrigerator magnets (it's easier than having all 26 letters there for kids to toss around the kitchen floor:) Today Adam told me he was going to spell mommy on the fridge. It's so fun to see him learning by copying Jason and Beth (who are spelling all the time). Now, this is the most unique way to spell mommy but here's what he said, "popcorn, hat, this one, elephant, another one, and fish." Let me interpret - he put the letter P (popcorn) H (hat) L (he didn't remember L) E (elephant) I (another one he forgot) and F (fish). He looked at me with a huge grin and declared, "Mommy!" I didn't have the heart to tell him that not one of those letters is in the word mommy. I was too busy being proud that he actually knows some letters and wants to do something with them! And his unique style has me laughing that someday he'll spell his name, "alligator, dog, alligator, mommy."

Trunk or Treat

I realized as we just got some photos of cousins at Halloween that I never posted pics of our crew all dressed up. So here they are...I'll start with the repeat offender. Yes, Adam wanted to be Nemo again this year. Although his favorite fish is now Deepo from the Georgia Aquarium, he still loves Nemo. Really, he loves all fish. He'll even point out the letter "F" in words on signs and say, "fff, fff, fish!" Staying with the aquatic theme, we have Beth dressed as her new favorite princess. She was Cinderella last year, loved Sleeping Beauty all summer, and has now switched her allegiance to Ariel (or Oriole as Beth pronounces is). I was a little concerned about her maneuvering in that getup but she managed beautifully, even on the bounce house! Just don't ask her to climb stairs :)With a nod to his cousin Caleb, Jason is dressed as the Green Power Ranger. He has no idea who or what the Power Rangers are but his cousin Caleb was dressed as one last year, and from what he can tell, it's a green super hero - perfect!And finally, three week old Jillian was a butterfly. She was adorable but only wore the costume for these pictures because how do you get her into a car seat in this? And then she slept through the activities and/or hid in the warmth at home. We had a great Halloween night, which is saying a lot considering we had no plans only days before, we had a 3 week old baby, and it was super cold but Grandma was here, the kids had high hopes, and we were determined to have a great night! We found out from locals about a nearby church hosting a "trunk or treat." Basically, a bunch of cars park in a circle in a big lot and open their trunks and you go car to car and get candy. Many of the cars where very festive and decorated their trunks haunted or hawaiian or patriotic, very creative! We ended up with tons of candy and even got to enjoy some bounce houses. Then on the way home I noticed a child on our block so I stopped and let everyone out and they trick or treated all the way home (we live at the end of a long cul-de-sac.) This was the first time our kids had ever gone trick or treating. We've always gone to a local Church Harvest Festival back in California where they played games and bounced in bounce houses. We always got some candy but NOTHING like this year. Check out our stash! Even though we threw some out and mommy and daddy have eaten more than their fair share, we're still working through it. Maybe our cousins will help us over Thanksgiving :)

More Sister Pics...

I just can't resist posting more pics of Beth and Jillian. Beth is just so sweet with her. She's always asking to "see Jill's face." She just can't go too long without at least seeing Jill and preferably holding her. The reality is Beth really does hold her ALL the time. As soon as I finish nursing she's there waiting. She's been known to pull Jillian out of people's arms! It does come in handy when I need to make dinner and Jillian's hitting that time of day where she needs to be held so Beth holds her, I turn the TV on, Beth relaxes with Jillian on the couch, and I'm able to make dinner.

This was before heading to church. How do you like Beth's "Pippi Longstocking tights" as Andrew calls them. The girl has style :)