A glimpse of our amazing girl

While we were in Michigan, Matt's incredibly talented brother and sister-in-law asked if they could take some pictures of Rachel. Of course we said yes! So we spent about an hour with them and they managed to capture almost every side of Rachel's personality. I'll find a way to post more of them, but I wanted to share a few tonight. We are so in love with these pictures - I'm brainstorming ways to display all of them!

Santa and baby Jesus

There is so much to share about Christmas with Rachel this year, but one of the most special moments happened Christmas Eve. We were at my parents' house in IL and we had just sat out the plate of cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Rachel got in bed and picked up the baby Jesus from the nativity scene that my mom had placed beside her bed. She put it on the headboard and snuggled down to sleep. I asked her why she wanted baby Jesus to be on her bed while she slept and she said, "Because I want Santa to see Jesus and know Him!". My sweet, sweet girl. I have a picture of her sleeping with the baby Jesus above her, but I don't have it to post yet. I'll try soon.

Decorating the tree

We decorated the tree (finally!) on Sunday afternoon. Rachel LOVED it and did her best to fit all of our ornaments in a 2x2 foot area. I managed to put a few on, so I spread them out as much as I could. I had planned to rearrange the ones she put on to spread them out, but the more I look at the tree, I think it is just perfect as it is. Of course the highlight for Rachel was putting the star on the tree. She always goes on Daddy's shoulders for this! Oh, I'll include a picture of her doing the star last year, too. It is Rachel's favorite picture of herself!

Rachel decided it was her job to arrange the nativity set and she took her job very seriously. I love the Little Peoples set - it is just so cute.

After we decorated, we turned on the TV and found a Christmas episode of Little House on the Prairie. Rachel and I cuddled together and watched the end of the show. It made the afternoon complete for me!

The stomach bug that won't die!

Well, this has not been a good week for Rachel. She threw up Monday night and just felt yucky on Tuesday. We thought we were done with it until tonight. We all went to a Christmas party hosted by the woman who coordinates the 1st and 2nd grade Sunday School classes that Matt and I teach. I had to leave early to get to another party, so I left Matt and Rachel there to continue visiting and eating for a while. Well, right before they left, Rachel threw up ALL over the kitchen floor - the same kitchen where all of the food was set out. Appetizing, huh? We know how to say a very colorful "Thank You" to our hostesses! Thankfully, Matt and Rachel were the only guests there at that time. Rachel felt pretty good after the throwing up was done and asked Matt if they could still go to the gym like they had planned. Matt told her, "No, because you might throw up in childcare". Rachel replied, "It's okay, Daddy, they have bathrooms there!". Of course, they came straight home. Please pray that Rachel can be done with this quick AND that Matt and I don't get it!!!!!

Thanksgiving

We had a very different Thanksgiving this year - we were missing our favorite guy! Matt was able to spend Thanksgiving with his family due to the passing of his Grandpa Lenger. Rachel and I had a really great (and busy) day in SC! We had invitations from wonderful friends (thanks Lynn and Holly!) to join their dinners, but we decided to have lunch on our own at Fatz Cafe. It was a really great Thanksgiving dinner and it was fun seeing the different family groups out enjoying their meals. Rachel and I played games at the table while we waited for our food. All Rachel wanted to eat was "smashed" potatoes, so she got her own serving of those. She also ate a good amount of turkey and some pumpkin pie.


Mommy and Rachel!

Rachel enjoying her "smashed" potatoes!

After our lunch, we went and had dessert with our "SC family" - the Dowlings. They were gracious enough to invite us over even though they had out of town family visiting. The dessert was wonderful and Rachel enjoyed playing with the kids. Later that afternoon, Rachel and I went to a movie. It had been our plan to go to a movie even before Matt had to make his plans to fly to MI. So, we missed him but the movie was a fun addition to the day. We ended the day with an annual trip to Garden Ridge to see the Christmas decorations for sale. Rachel loved the reindeer that moved their heads the best! It was a busy day, but I was so blessed to be able to spend it with my sweet girl.

Remembering Great-Grandpa Lenger

Today Matt's grandpa died after suffering a stroke last Saturday. He was a wonderful man who loved God. It was so amazing to be able to share with Rachel about how he is now in heaven with Jesus. All afternoon she would ask, "How many minutes has Grandpa been in heaven now?" and I'd give her the number of hours he'd been gone. It has been wonderful to share with her about heaven and how Grandpa Lenger is now healthy and strong and with family that has already reached heaven. I'm thankful that God chose to give Matt a grandfather that loved Him and taught his family to love Him and to be ready to join Him someday. It is a legacy that will live on forever. We're also thankful that Matt could travel up to be with his family this Thanksgiving. We will miss him here, but we know his time in MI will be a blessing.

Dora video

Rachel got a surprise in the mail this week - a Dora video from her Grammy and Papa in Illinois. The unique thing about this video is that it stars Rachel! Yes, it is as goofy as you would imagine (sorry, Mom, but I know you agree!). It is basically Rachel's face added to a cartoon body. So the body moves, but Rachel's facial expression never changes. So we watched it today and Rachel laughed from the moment it started until it ended. Everytime Dora said Rachel's name or the goofy picture came up, she would laugh so hard she couldn't breathe! Very, very fun to watch Rachel watching the video!