::celebratory::

we had a most beautiful week celebrating the Lord's birth.

it was the first time in 6 years that Ryan had more than a few days off.  and we made the most of his week of time away from work!

look at these cutie pies.  torrence and dell are only 1 day apart.  and sweet addie is just a few months behind them.  lots of love!

kath took us out in the bitter cold for a quick horseback ride.  lily was in heaven.

christmas eve!

della may's first christmas morning!

a WHOLE lot of cousin love!

our original 4 howdens!

this year we broke tradition and tried something new...and wonderful.

we let the kids celebrate christmas in the morning, complete with hot chocolate and gifts.  

then we tucked them in early, got carryout, and celebrated adult style with cocktails and lots of relaxation.

it was wonderful...and i have a feeling...a new tradition!

merry christmas and happy new year!  

we hope yours was filled with joy and peace!

::2nd inagural christmas light adventure::

a surprise tonight after warms baths of new jammies, a "christmas lights adventure" ticket, hot chocolate, popcorn and christmas music as we toured our new neighborhood!

::christmas came early::

we had a sweet sweet weekend of celebrating Christmas with our little family.  

we have the joy of celebrating with our smith and biber families over Christmas, so we had our own celebration on saturday.

it was a perfect weekend of making cookies for santa, reading "twas the night before Christmas," hot chocolate on our first ever staircase (just like 100 willow!), loving della may's first Christmas, reveling in the joy and wonder of Christ's birth, and being together.

our kids are at such a wonderful age to really enjoy the wonder of Christmas and also to be so eager to soak up the good news of Christ's birth.  it was absolutely lovely...

::one half year::

this precious thing is 6 months old.  

let me tell you what, these have been the fastest 6 months of my life.

some days seem simple.  some days seem chaotic.  some days exciting and some mundane.  but each and every day is filled with so much joy and thankfulness.

della may is the sweetest of babes.  

she is so very easy going.  she adores her big brothers and sister.  she loves when they play with her and lily has recently started pretending that della is her very own baby.  

della is such a gift to our family.  

these last 6 months have been such a blessing.

happy half birthday, may may!

note the ever present drool...