a little bit of JOY!

Sorry I've been writing so little! Not sure that anyone is still reading... it's certainly more exciting to read when we are traveling the globe! Hehe... but for any still reading, here's an update!

Kate is just a little treasure! She is so happy and playful and JOYful. There are definitely a few tears now at then... but really, she is a very easy baby! She sleeps through the night, takes a great nap, plays well independently and with her sisters, eats well, etc. It's not like having a newborn ... it's been MUCH easier. When you pick her up, she gets SO excited! She beams and laughs and kicks her little legs and gets so excited! It just melts our hearts - just for someone to be THAT excited to be with you! We are reading too much into this (it's probably that she just likes to be held!) but she just seems excited to have a family and be loved. It is SO SWEET!

Molly ... oh, my sweet little Molly! Stuck right in the middle ; ) My mom thinks that a cute title for a children's book would be "Molly in the Middle" ... and my mom is an amazing writer and artist, so maybe one day she'll write it! Anyway, she has moments when she really loves little Kate and moments when she isn't sure about the whole thing! Which is totally normal of course. She always thinks Kate is after her toys - Kate just looks in her direction and Molly screams "HE IS TAKING MY TOY!" (Note the "he"... we're working on this, but it is a hoot! Molly never says she about anyone - and lately she is mostly talking about Kate, so it's "he took his bow out!" and "he pushed me!"). And Kate has gotten really good at hiding her toys behind her head when she sees Molly approaching. It's a hoot!!!!  Now is the time that my mom (back to my mom) would tell you about how I reacted to my little sister (19 months younger)... at one point... well, I rolled her under a dresser and told Mom she was "all gone." Well, she was asleep, so she really was "all gone" for HOURS. It turned into a bit of a panic... Dad came home from work, grandparents came over the search the house, etc. It must have been quite a scene! And my 19-ish-month old self had forgotten where she was so I was no help ; ) I just kept saying "she had to go!" Anyway, we're super tight now - and I'm so thankful for my sister! So we know that Molly and Kate will be the best of buds. Molly does think Kate is very cute. She keeps saying, "Kate is just a tiny wittle fing!" (tiny little thing). But if you think of sweet Molly, you can pray for her as she adjusts. Hers is certainly the hardest adjustment! She went from being Mama's little baby to a big girl... and that's tough!!! ;)

Anne is doing great - she loves Kate and Kate loves her. Anne has been playing like she is Kate's mom, then her sister, then the baby-sitter, etc. Kate was getting upset by the toy bottles that Anne kept giving her today. Kate kept turning them over and shaking them and looking puzzled at why there was no real liquid in them ; ) Anne and Molly both love to pretend they are going to China to pick up a baby (which is where they think babies come from these days ; ) and they also like to pretend to be babies too - so cute. We get them sippy cups of milk and rock them and give them extra love ; )

James and I are doing well too - we are really enjoying this season. It's so nice to finally have Kate home! It feels like we can relax and just breath a sigh of relief and thankfulness. Things will pick up soon I'm sure - Kate's surgery got moved to January 7! So that will be a little crazy ; ) Also, if you like "Extreme Home Makeover," James' company donated a fire truck and the show will air Monday, Dec 3 at 7 pm central time... we are hoping they get some good air time! Should be a neat show!

Ok, that's about it on our end. I'd post pictures but I'm doing some sort of new thing with dropbox so they are all on dropbox and not my computer... I haven't got it quite figured out yet but when my sister comes for Christmas, she has promised to help me and my long-time photo storage issues ; ) Have a joyful holiday season!!!!