Tidings of Great Joy

John and I are now the proud new owners of a niece.  Well, we don't 'own' her really, but we now own the right to say, "WE HAVE A NIECE!"  Congratulations to my brother, Matt, and my sister in law, Melissa, on the birth of their daughter:  Ava Louise.  Check her out...

In Ava's four short days of life, I have felt the urge to give her a nickname.  Not because her name isn't awesome, but it sounds like something an awesome aunt should do for her beloved niece.  I've thought about calling her by her first and middle names.  Or maybe "Cheeks" (which you can see why that would be fitting), and then there's "algae"  for her initials AL-G.  But it doesn't really matter what we call her.  John and I are so excited about our new roles as aunt and uncle to Austin and now Ava.  We love looking at their pictures, talking to the boys about their cousins, and anticipating the times we get to see and meet them.  Oh, to live closer!!!

Here's Melissa, looking great, after giving birth to 8lb 2oz of love.

And the craziest sight of all....my bro with his baby girl.  WHOA!  Very much in love I do believe.

Congratulations to you both!  You're already super parents!  Can't wait to see you soon.


Whenever you see newborns or hold a new baby, it's so crazy to then look at your own children and think back to when they were so small.  And sure, for us, it's only been 4 years.  But look how far we've come!!!  Look at that chucklehead sitting next to me.  He can do so much!

Tonight he answered the phone without my knowing and had a full on conversation with a client of John's!  Jack came to find me afterwards (in my closet where I can't hear the phone ring) and announced, "I just talked to Dad's friend on the phone."  "You WHAT?"  "I talked to Dad's friend.  But it's alright.  I told him to call back."  So I search the caller ID and see an unfamiliar name.  Call John and ask him who this unidentifiable person is and the main question "Are they important?"  He answers with a resounding "Yes.  Oh no....what happened?"  So John calls the man and learns that our 4 year old son had the following conversation:

Jack:  Hewwo?
Man:  Hi.  May I speak with John?
Jack:  My Dad's not here, but you can call him later when he is here. 
Man:  I'll try to do that. 
Jack:  "Okay.  Good night and good luck."

There were other words shared, but the man approved of Jack's ability to 'handle himself.' 

Time flies.

And here's Chucklehead, Jr. with his Papa.  While Jack seems to have come back from the dark side of whining and disobedience, Finley seems to have buried his 2 year old head into the deepest pit of the dark side!  This kiddo is giving us a run for our money!  He may be lacking in size, but definitely not mouth.  We love him so much.  Even though he outwits one of us daily.

We may not get a chance to blog before the New Year, so we'll send our Merry Christmas wishes to you now.  We pray you won't get bombarded by the ribbons and gifts and parties and busy schedules, but that you'll recognize this holiday for what it is:  Christ's birthday!  The celebration of what God has done for all of us!  Sure beats a Wii.

Merry Christmas to all!