More pictures... Christmas, 2009

Emmy woke us up today around 8:30, and we enjoyed cinnamon rolls, opening presents, watching the Disney Christmas parade on tv, ate lunch (leftovers from our Bob Evans dinner), watched Santa Clause 2, went for a walk (Christie and Roger)/played a game (Chelsea, Britti, and Emmy), or napped (Ellie-Kate), made cut-out cookies, and ate our formal supper of ham and all the trimmings. What a day!! Santa generously left a Dora trike for Ellie-Kate, a real guitar for Emmy, a pair of Ugg boots for Chelsea, and a DVD of Oklahoma for Britti. The girls also received a number of personalized gifts from their adoring parents as well as some other treats :) Ellie-Kate was especially touched by her new bike, and she couldn't wait for Daddy to put it together for her. She' s so grateful for everything, and we couldn't even count how many times that she said "thank you." For a little 22 month old, she's pretty amazing, indeed!! We are so incredibly blessed that she is now part of our family. What an awesome gift!!

We wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a most happy New Year!!

Christie, Roger, Britti, Chelsea, Emmy, and Ellie-Kate

Christmas Day, 2009!

Christmas Day, 2009!

Merry Christmas, 2009!!

Near the end of Christmas Eve, 2009

On Christmas Eve, we did some last minute shopping; the older girls played "Christmas In a Box," a version of Monopoly, and we went to church. Emmy played "Silent Night" on her cello, and Christie read "The Littlest Angel." After church, we headed home for a delicious supper (okay, prepared by Bob Evans), and the girls did their annual Christmas show-- including an encore performance by Emmy on her cello, a vocal duet by Chelsea and Britti, and an enactment of the Christmas story by the girls. (Ellie-Kate made a great baby Jesus!!) We then checked Santa's status on Norad, and the girls whipped up some birthday cupcakes for Jesus. We concluded the evening with the reading of some Christmas stories and then wrapping of just a few more presents. As she headed upstairs, Ellie-Kate had to have her panda wrapped up as baby Jesus too :) Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Christmas Eve dinner and our annual Christmas show-- 12/24/09

Celebrating Jesus' Birth at Church on Christmas Eve

12/23/09: Happy Nine Month Annversary, Ellie-Kate!

Hi Everyone--

We're in the flurry of pre-Christmas hustle and bustle... last-minute shopping, wrapping, baking, and renewing beloved holiday traditions. In the midst of the frenzy and late nights, though, we pause to celebrate and remember this special day-- our nine month anniversary with Ellie-Kate. She is having an absolute blast with all of the holiday "stuff," except for getting a bit bored during holiday storytime at night :) It's so hard to believe that she has only been with us for nine months. She's amazingly well connected with us, and we can't imagine our lives without her. On the other hand, it's hard to believe that nine months have passed. What a blur! We've been really busy (perhaps too much so...), but she has been such an incredible blessing. Ellie-Kate is such a sweet child, always asking to help and saying "thank you," even when she's the one who should be thanked. She also wants to fit in so much with us, and she actively seeks out way to be part of whatever action is occurring. At this point, we think that she's going to want to do everything that her sisters have done before her plus some!

I'd best sign off for now... We hope that you're having a tremendous Christmas season, and we send a special congratulations to the other families who held their children in their arm for the first time on March 23, 2009. Happy Nine Month Anniversary!!

Merry Christmas!!

Christie

12/23/09: Fun after Storytime :)

12/22/09: Countdown to Christmas!

Tis the season in the Beck-Aden house ) 12/21/09

SNOW-much fun!! 12/21/09

Pcture at Albany Baptist Church-- 12/20/09

Emmy's Nine Year Old Birthday Pictures-- 12/19/09

Emmy's 9th birthday--12/19/09

Hi everyone--

We had a terrific day today!! We woke up in time to celebrate Emmy's birthday minute (7:59 a.m.), enjoyed hot cinnamon rolls, and praised God that the snow was pretty but not enough to damper plans for our big carnival party :) Twenty-two kids came to the rec center for the carnival party, complete with face-painting (courtesy of Chelsea Meagan), a festive popcorn machine, and lot of fun games and candy.

After the party, we went to Walmart so that Emmy could get her nine year old pictures. (Thanks, Shelly, for another great job!!!) We then popped over to the mall for a sister picture with Santa, and, once again, Ellie-Kate was VERY taken with the jolly old elf :) She even went back for extra high fives and a single picture with him (see below). We then went to Court Street Diner for Emmy's birthday dinner and then home for opening presents. MUCH fun!!!

After a busy week (with Emmy's school and scout parties, Chelsea's symphonic choir tour and friend parties, and Britti's return from Ireland), we're beat, but we're excited about tomorrow. At church tomorrow, I am going to co-narrate the Christmas program in the morning, and Chelsea will take over with the kid's drama group as they perform during Children's Church. (I have been directing them.) The kids will also perform their play again on Sunday evening, and, fortunately, I'll get to see it then :)

After the hustle and bustle of the past few weeks, we're more than ready for some relaxation and family fun in the coming week. We're all ready to put in the videos, heat up the stove for the annual cookie factory, and play Christmas in a Box (a Christmas version of Monopoly). We hope that all of our blog readers enjoy a super pre-Christmas week as well, and we'll post more pictures as we get them (including Emmy's ninth birthday pics from Walmart). In the meantime, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!!!

More soon--

Christie

Present time! 12/19/09