Christmas 2010

We hope y'all had a very Merry Christmas! We sure did! Here are some pics from the last week:

My loves before Church last week.

Dressed for summer in December- something is not right!


Sweetpea's Christmas outfit:

I cried in the store when I saw this onsie. When you get our Christmas card, (yes, I still have them in my living room), you will see how fitting this really is). :)

We don't do santa, so to improvise, we did a photoshoot at Memorial City Mall:

And she is not happy...

Mom in the shot makes it all better. ;)

We Keierleber's started a new family tradition this year. Every Christmas Eve we will go to the zoo where we can share the Creation story which leads very nicely into the first sin- the Fall of man. So when we celebrate Jesus's birth the next day, the kids will understand why we needed a Savior in the first place. Christmas morning we have a birthday party for Jesus, complete with cake, (come on, cake for breakfast- what kid wouldn't want that), and we save gift giving for later that day. We do not want Christmas to be all about gifts because that is NOT what this day is about!

There were baby elephants. Umm- to quote one of my fav movies, "Wrap him up, I'll take two!" {from Disney's Meet the Robinsons}

Sweetpea insited on making a PSA. What a thoughtful girl. ;)

Christmas day, Bolt also got into the gift giving fun:

Look at the size of that thing!!


Like I said, we do not go overboard with the gift giving aspect of Christmas. Bolt got a bone, Sweetpea got things to decorate her room, (pics to come), Mr. Incredible got a new tool, and I got these:

At first I wanted a locket or something mommy related. Definitely a necklace, but I just couldn't decide what I wanted. You see I wanted something to symbolize my children, the only problem is that I only have one baby home with me, while my other babies are out waiting for me, (whether in orphanages, foster care, or in a womb somewhere). Then I decided I really wanted something with Starfish on them. Why starfish? They are our symbol for orphans. Where did I get this from?

The Legend of the Starfish

A vacationing businessman was walking along a beach when he saw a young boy.
Along the shore were many starfish that had been washed up by the tide and were sure to die before the tide returned. The boy walked slowly along the shore and occasionally reached down and tossed the beached starfish back into the ocean.

The businessman, hoping to teach the boy a little lesson in common sense, walked up to the boy and said, "I have been watching what you are doing, son. You have a good heart, and I know you mean well, but do you realize how many beaches there are around here and how many starfish are dying on every beach every day. Surely such an industrious and kind hearted boy such as yourself could find something better to do with your time. Do you really think that what you are doing is going to make a difference?"

The boy looked up at the man, and then he looked down at a starfish by his feet. He picked up the starfish, and as he gently tossed it back into the ocean, he said, "It makes a difference to that one”.

Now everytime I wear my gift, it reminds me of my waiting babies, and of course my sweet pea who is home forever. :) She is such a gift and we are so thankful for her!! Adoption Rocks!!