Welcoming Scarlett.

At 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 22, 4 days overdue and after 28 intense hours of labor, my son Scott and Britt welcomed their daughter, Scarlett McKenna, into the world.

7 pounds, 9 ounces, 21 inches long

After her first bath.

Christmas Skirts.

My mother asked me if, this year, I would make Christmas skirts for the girls instead of buying them Christmas dresses (as was her yearly tradition before being moved to a nursing home).  Um, how do you say 'no' to your mother in a nursing home?

Finding festive fabric was the first hurdle.  We don't have any big fabric stores within an hour or so, and our walmart didn't have a scrap of anything Christmasy.  Go figure.  Another reason to hate that place.  It took me about two weeks of looking before I remembered a place that MIGHT have some, and I was right.  They also had a great selection, and charged half the price I would have paid anywhere else!

If all things go well, I can knock off a skirt in 3-4 hours.  And thankfully, things went well.  I had all the skirts (plus a tree skirt) done in the space of a week, and we found pretty sparkly turtlenecks to go with them at Kmart.

Regina!

"Regina, can I take your picture in your new dress?  
Stand over here!"

"No."

"Please, honey?"

"Did somebody say something?"

"C'mon, Regina?  Please stand up?"

"La-la-la-la-la.  I can't hear you!"

"Oh, alright already. "

"Oh, sure, you'll pose with your sister 
for as many pictures as you want."

"As long as I can run over and see every picture 

as soon as you take it!"

Gaude! Gaude!

It's Gaudete Sunday!  That means the third Sunday of Advent, and it's time to rejoice!  The Catholic Church uses the color violet - not purple - for the first, second and fourth Sundays, the color symbolizing penitential seasons, and rose (not pink) for third Sunday.  Rose is a "brightening" of the color purple - oops, violet - and symbolic of joy as our Savior's birth draws ever nearer.

This year we decided to put our tree up on the first Sunday of Advent, but not to decorate it with anything but white lights until Christmas Eve.  However, this proved too drab.  My son Brian had the idea to decorate it as an Advent Tree, using only purple violet decorations, and adding rose on the third Sunday.

I am happy to say that it has turned out beautifully, in our opinion anyway.  It's simple, to be sure, but we are very happy with it and I think it will be our tradition from now on.

Violet only, the first two weeks of Advent.

Today we added rose ribbons and ornaments.  I also had the idea to display the cards we received on the tree.

We will most likely keep it like this, and add white ornaments on Christmas.  This year we are also doing another tree up in the rec room, and that one will have the family ornaments we've amassed throughout the years.  Or maybe we'll strip this one on Christmas Day and redecorate it.  I don't know yet.

 Orna-Man!

Two-Year-Old in the House.

From this...

to this...

to this...

to this...

to this...

to this.

At 10:15 p.m. on Friday we celebrated the second anniversary of Regina's birth.

Natalie, preparing the candles. 

We have sung "Happy Birthday To You" so many times this week that she knows it by heart.

Opening the Christmas puppy from her sisters.

Whatever it is, it looks AMAZING!!!

Somebody stick a pin in her.

Checking out Mam Mam's Nativity set.

Smart Kitty.

O Advent Tree.

We decided to do something a little differently this year.  We usually wait a little longer to put up a Christmas tree, but this year we did it the first week of Advent.    It was my son Brian's idea to decorate it only in purple until the third week of Advent, then add some pink decorations the third week, and wait until Christmas to add the rest of the family ornaments.