This, that, and a big picture dump

Can you count how many children are helping Daddy? SIX! All SIX are here! Under one roof! It is still amazing to me what God has brought about, and we are so thankful! We trimmed our tree with everyone's help on the 15th. Adah enjoyed any ornament that had to do with Mama and Papa, and Nathaniel preferred to eat them, so he got to watch. Daniel's strange get-up was to remind him that this time last year he was in Afghanistan - not this year!

















Playing outside and finally enjoying cold weather (well, cold for us!)













Adah wanted to try on the backpack, so she put Cora's baby doll in it. Obviously, she thought it was hilarious.

Adah was introduced to dunking her cookies, and after looking skeptical, she gave it a try.
She decided she liked it very much!


Daddy reading to ALL the kids!
Introducing our daughter, Macy Gray. :) I took her hair down in anticipation of taking her to the salon later that day. On the way to the salon, we got a flat tire and then it needed to be replaced (oh, yeah - THAT was a fun day!) so her hair had to wait another day. She REALLY looked cute when she put her pink-framed sunglasses at the top of her forehead. At first, she didn't like the look, but when Papa kept telling her that she was beautiful, she decided she looked pretty good. :)

Adah loves to lounge!
Shiloh prepares for her piano recital on December 22nd. She did a FABULOUS job even though she nearly gets stomach ulcers before the event. After the recital, she sighed a deep sigh and said, "Well, THAT'S over for another year." :) She played "Little Drummer Boy" with hand-drum accompaniment from Cora and "Ding Dong Merrily on High."

And here's Shiloh's polar opposite, Cora Milene, who couldn't WAIT for the piano recital. :) She was very disappointed because their piano teacher left her second piece, "O Come All Ye Faithful" OFF the playlist for the evening! She only got to play "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." So she's decided she wants to play "O Come All Ye Faithful" for the church talent show and cookie exchange. Shiloh looked pleadingly at us NOT to ask her to play at the talent show.

And for another big event of the week - Adah's and Nathaniel's baptisms!!! We had them baptized on Sunday, the 23rd. Adah wasn't sure what was going on, although we tried to prepare her by telling her in Kreyol what was going to happen. She also saw a baptism the week before, so maybe that helped. She went up to the front trustingly, though, holding Papa's hand pretty tightly. She gasped a little when the water went over her head because she HATES cold water. Nathaniel was a total ham, kissing me loudly, saying "Boo" to the congregation, smiling at everyone. He tried to put his hand in the baptismal bowl, and then laughed when the water came down over his face. He also tried to lick the water up by slurping. It was a BLESSED day, and we were overwhelmed with thankfulness that the day had finally arrived to add our new children to the covenant community. I was glad I had tissues!

Pastor Webb with Elder Espinoza getting ready to baptize Adah.
Adah is done, and I am handing Nathaniel to Pastor Webb; he wasn't too sure about it!


Pastor Webb prepares to baptize Nathaniel

We pray after their baptisms - Lord, THANK YOU for the work You have done in our family! May they ALL never know a day without Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior!

Nathaniel and Mommy chill out after the service...notice the water and drool on my shoulder!! :)

Nathaniel LOVES kisses!!



The two "A"s in their beautiful dresses. Adah originally tried on the pink dress and really loved it, but it was too small. We were REALLY hoping she would realize it was too small so that we wouldn't have to go through the battle of taking it away and explaining to her what was going on. Thankfully, her sweetness shone through, and she decided that Abigail should have it. When Abigail put it on, she complimented her over and over: "Bel! Bel!" Pretty, pretty.

Well, we are off to enjoy the beautiful weather here and to meet our neighbors' new little girl from China! We wish you a VERY merry Christmas, and I will post pictures at the end of the week!
Love,
Casey