merry christmas, everyone!

My favorite picture from christmas. All she wanted was a bow and arrow.

Dash is just like his dad. Already likes to work in his shop.
All Katie wanted was a tea set.

dash loves this star.

house for sale. and i will throw in the wreaths!

gingerbread fun!

Also, as a totally random side note, i think beds should be named after how many kids you have. for example, instead of a queen, you would have a 3 kid king. That way you could all fit. Because 5 people in a queen bed all night is a little tight and makes for a very early christmas morning!

Lake Tahoe Here We Come

The Gillespie family has big news. Kyle has accepted a job in northern Nevada and we are making the big cross-country move in January. It is a bitter-sweet decision. We will miss many things about the South and the amazing friends we've made in Demopolis. (We are thinking of packing them in the moving truck.) However, we are almost giddy to be closer to our families, mountains, and the hobbies we grew up loving.

This week has been a whirlwind. It is awesome to see two years of prayers come together in one week. We have learned so much and are so grateful for last 5 1/2 years in Alabama. We hope that we won't lose friends but instead our friends will gain a vacation destination!

Favorite quote of the week:

Kate:'But I don't want to sell our house!'

Mom:'We have to so we can live closer to the grandmas.'

Deep reflection . . .

Kate: "I HATE this BORING house!"

Seriously, she is the funnest 2 year old around!

Dash's B-day and School Christmas Party

This first picture made me cry when I saw it. Kyle is the best husband but he is an even better dad. I am so blessed that my kids have him in their lives. He is quiet to most people but he really knows how to love.

Our Christmas party on lilypad lane. I love these kids and their moms.

Ella and Kate, in December, in the rain. At some point you have to not fight it and say, sure, wear your swimsuit in the rain and see how long you last in the cold.

Regardless, there is something freeing and wonderful about playing in the rain and mud in a month when you should be wearing scarves and gloves.

That is one gift I hope to give my kids as a mom. I want them to know what it's like to be without boundaries . . . to be creative, to love, to be free, to innovate, to experience rain and sunshine . . . to know what happy feels like deep down.

My demopolis family.

Where do they come up with this stuff?

I have to write it down or I will forget:

Ella
Ella and I were talking about going to first grade next year. She asked what she should do if the kids were mean to her. I told her to just be kind and things would work out. Then she said . . .

"Oh, I have a great idea! I will gather my friends around and then I will tell them about Jesus!"

Kate
Has been filling up her sippy cups with water, inserting pollypockets, and putting lids on them. They are all over the bathroom and are kinda freaky, i'll admit. Did she see the movie Prestige?

On another note the other day I was poking my belly out at Kate and just for fun asked her what she would think about having another baby. "You mean like Dash?" No, a new one, I told her. "You mean like you're going to swallow a person?" I thought that was pretty funny.

Happy B-day, Dash!

Here is to a perfect year with a perfect baby! We love you, Dash!

Christmas on the river

Demopolis is famous for Christmas on the River. They also host a 5K that's part of Tuscaloosa's grand prix.

Ella ran the kid race. Kyle, Kate and Dash were her support team.

Before we left for the race I asked Ella what she should do if she felt like stopping. Her reply: "I guess I'll stop." I suggested she try to push through. "Yeah, okay. Good idea."

My running buddies, Lauren and Lil.

They are the best!

Lauren--Had the best effort at the end and made her goal with 2 seconds to spare!

Lil--Took second in her category.

Me--First in my category, third woman overall, seventeenth if you count the men. Pardon my crazy hair.

And P.S. here is an update on Ella's dress. It now has sleeves!

Modest is hottest

Ella came to me today and said,

"Mom, I have an idea. It started in my tummy and it is coming up my throat . . . I want to sew a dress."

So she picked out her material in my scrap pile and asked what to do first. I told her we needed a pattern. "I'll lie down and you can trace me." So that's what we did. I got out a magic marker and traced a pattern. Then she cut it out, picked another color, and tried to cut it out the same.

Then I threaded a needle and had her sew down each side. I thought at first it was going to be way too small because she sewed a ways in from her edges, but VOILA. The thing fit and I about died laughing and smiling with pride.

I SWEAR she did this all by herself. We are adding sleeves tomorrow because as Ella and Kate say, "Modest is hottest!" But here is a preview. Kate took the pictures.