FIRST DAY OF WINTER

The First Day of Winter brought the coldest weather we've had all year. It was FREEZING (I'm talking below zero!) as we welcomed David's family into our home to celebrate Christmas. They came from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and up near Chicago - I guess they brought the cold weather with them to feel more at home! LOL!

It was so great to have everyone finally together! They had not met Jessa Li yet, so it was especially exciting to share her with all of David's side of the family. Grandpa wanted a photo or two with the whole family and all of his grandkids!

Mark worked soo hard to get Jessa to open up to him. I was so proud of her for letting him hold her. He put in some major time trying to get her to warm up to him. She was clinging to me all weekend and wanted me or David to hold her. All the new faces and new voices were scarey to her and she was literally shaking in my arms. It took her awhile to relax and play. But, Mark was a trooper and was down on the floor playing with her and really getting her to laugh and giggle. So before they left, she actually wanted him to hold her. So cute!

Uncle James also got down on the floor and played "babies" with the girls. They were so cute and of course we all looked like the paparazzi trying to get photos of them. If Hollyn would just have a "slow" mode! LOL! she is a big blur in all the photos! go! go! go!

The cousins and aunts & uncles, and Grandpa brought a special gift for her. It was a book with their photos and a little story about the things they like to do. It will be a terrific thing to read to her so she can learn who they are and that they love her too.

Aunt Carol and Uncle Bruce had fun watching the girls play and open their gifts. We were so thankful they could come and enjoy Christmas with everyone!

Cousin Kelly also brought Jessa's 100 Wishes Quilt that she made herself! It is absolutely beautiful! I can't wait to share it with all of you! She did an amazing job coordinating all of the fabrics. It is so special to look at all the fabrics and know that they came from all of you! Brings tears to my eyes watching Jessa snuggle in it and knowing all the prayers that were sent up for her!

We also managed to eat and eat and eat! As well as opening up lots of Christmas presents! Although we don't see each other but just a couple times a year, it is always so fun to get together and catch up with everyone. It makes us wish we lived closer to enjoy more family time and so our kids could share in everyday life. It was so special that everyone agreed to travel all the way to our home. Jessa was not ready to sleep in a strange place, so I'm so thankful our family agreed to sacrifice and come to our house this year!

Andrew loves his Uncle James and playing with Mark, Luke, & Seth. He loved all the new DS Lite games and learning how to play them!

Hollyn LOVED the singing Pizza Making Elmo! She also LOVED her new princess dress and Cousin Seth's sled! She was so funny sitting on his sled with her princess dress while cousin Mark took her for a ride!

That's Hollyn's personality - fearless and girly girl!

Jessa opened up her first Christmas presents! She was happy to receive a matching purple princess dress and all the girly fashion accessories too. She is so into shoes! She wanted to wear the princess ones right away! She also loved her new Abby Cadabby!

The girls both received baby dolls, a diaper bag, and a baby bath tub too. They are fun to watch give their babies baths and talking to them like I do - "hold still" and "close you eye". LOL!

The next day we played a fun game of "White Elephant" thanks to Aunt Carol and Aunt Sue - who Jessa Li is lovingly calling "Aunt Soup" hee hee! They bought some really cool gifts so there were no losers! Still - this family is COMPETITIVE! I mean watch out! They will even "steal" from an 8 year-old little boy! :) I love Andrew's face in this photo - he is totally in SHOCK! We ended our visit with a family photo or two before our family left to venture home. We are so thankful that they were able to finally meet Jessa and to spend some time with us. She is still talking about "Mark" and "Grandpa" and of course, "Soup!" :)