Christmas in Sierra Vista, Arizona

We arrived in Sierra Vista on Christmas Eve to be with Ruth Ann's parents. Since dad had open heart surgery two months ago, we decided to stay in a hotel. We ended up staying at a cheap Motel 6. The reviews online were negative, but the price was right, so Tim and I decided to try it out. We brought our own space heater since the reviews said the heaters didn't work very well in the wintertime. :) The motel was cheap, but also clean and we were happy with our room. Normally we are used to staying in nice hotels with a continental breakfast, but we figured Motel 6 would be fine. Funny story--Tim went to go get coffee from the lobby (no coffee pots in the room). He said, "I'm going to get my free coffee." Tirzah said, "Hey daddy, while you're getting your free coffee, can you get my free bacon?" I still don't think she understood why she wasn't getting bacon after Tim explained to her we were staying at a cheap hotel. We realized at that moment that for our kids' sake, we should stay in cheap hotels every now and then so our kids could experience what we had to experience when we were kids.

At Grandma and "Boompa's" house. The kids were all smiles Christmas morning.

 

Dad and Mom by the tree. Dad is recovering well from his surgery.

 

Ruth Ann's brothers Stephen and Jonathan. Stephen lives in Tempe and came to be with the family for the week.

 

Tim and Selah--Selah looks so much like Tim!

 

Tirzah and Hardy enjoying their new scooters in 60 degree, sunny Sierra Vista.

 

 

Extra surprise-- I got to meet up with my friend Natalie, who lives in Lubbock, TX. We have been close friends for 20 years and didn't know until Christmas Eve that our paths were going to cross. It was wonderful meeting her daughter, Aleah, for the first time.

We had a fun Christmas spending time with our family and friends. We hope you all have a very Happy New Year!

'Twas the Sunday Before Christmas...

 Since we were running early Sunday morning for church (a minor miracle), I thought I'd snap some pictures of the kids under the tree. The girls looked adorable in their Christmas dresses.

Hardy on guard duty by the presents! He also has a super cool train that goes around the track (if it's not derailed by one of the kids) and loves to fix it. Tim used to enjoy fixing it, but happily turned the mechanics job over to Hardy.

 Selah with her friend Katelyn, who played an angel in our Christmas play. (By the way, Selah is doing fantastic with her helmet. She is in it for 23 hours a day and doesn't mind it a bit.)

On Sunday night, we had a Christmas program at our church (Faith Baptist Church). We had a play with five children in it and, with the help of friends, it turned out great. Tim was the handsome narrator, I played the piano, Naomi and Suzannah helped direct the kids, Tirzah played Mary, Hardy was Joseph, Katelyn was the angel, Acarith was a shepherdess, and Ruthanne (Acarith's two year old friend) was a lamb. It was simple but sweet.

From our family to yours, we hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
Click on the link below if you would like to see the Christmas program on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF9fS__5MQQ

These pictures were taken with a tree from our backyard on Thanksgiving Day. Tirzah is seven, Hardy is five, Acarith is two-and-a-half, and Selah is eight months. We also got family pictures and other varieties, but I don’t want to post them because they will be on our Christmas card.

An update on Selah: As soon as she started wearing the helmet, she became cranky. We weren’t sure if the helmet was too tight or what, but then on Sunday when she started getting a high temperature, we discovered she was getting her first tooth! (And I’m hoping another one pops up; why waste all that crankiness for just one tooth? J) Today was her first day of no temperature, and she wore the helmet all day long, except for one hour, and was not cranky one bit. I am so thankful she has adjusted just fine to the helmet.

Selah has her helmet!

Selah received her helmet yesterday! We are so thankful that we can start the process. She is not very fond of it--and I must admit Tim and I aren't either--but hopefully she'll (we'll!) get used to it soon. The first day she wears the helmet (which is today), she wears it for an hour and then off an hour; the second day she wears it for two hours and then off an hour...and so on until Day 5. Then she will be wearing it for 23 hours a day, having an hour off to wash her hair, helmet, and letting the helmet air out.
When I first saw the helmet on her my first thought was, "Oh, they made it kind of crooked." But actually it's made like that to show you how far you need to go to get the head straightened out. It amazed me to visually see how much her skull has shifted compared to what it normally should be. I am asking you to please pray the helmet will do its job and that it won't take too long to correct.