the birds and the bees, take one:

just this morning, at our house...

theo: mama, how did the baby get into aunt casey's tummy?

(aunt casey with said baby, photo courtesy of lora)

me: well, mamas and papas make babies together and put them in the mama's tummy so that they can grow.

theo: oh. (pause.)

i get it!

aunt casey must have a baby Christmas cookie cutter.

and she cut the baby out and then she ate the dough! and now the baby is growing in her stomach... right?!

me: (silence.)

dave: that's right, buddy.

(we failed miserably, didn't we?)

baby, it's cold outside...

but that isn't stopping us!

you can't judge a book...

Remember
This December,
That love weighs more than gold!

~Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon

(...and, that the little people from my hands-on nativity scene

can cause severe blunt force trauma to the head

when thrown at just the right speed from the perfect distance.

wouldn't you say so, m.j.?

~rubin)

something that i love about the ages 5, 3, and 2...

(or, as theo would remind me, 5 1/2, 3 1/2, and 2 1/2...)

all of the simple, handmade christmas decorations.

a couple of my favorites from just last week:

after seeing this, i should have known how rubin

was going to handle our decorated christmas tree...

the ornaments have only been on for about 24 hours, and already i've found him

squirreling his favorites behind the couch.

(they are supposed to stay ON the tree, buddy!)

and then there is this one:

when i asked emmett what this snowman was doing he said,

"yoga."

nice inversion, frosty.

it's beginning to look a lot like...

agh, who am i kidding?

i am the kind of girl

who has the sort of friends who...

upon hearing that i've been feeling sick

and overwhelmed

and uncertain that i'll be able to get it all done

all by myself...

take it upon themselves to

design

and create

and pay for my Christmas cards

and have them sent to my front door.

so that i'd have one less thing to think about.

one less item to cross off of my 'to do' list.

i have the kind of people in my life

who make it feel like Christmas where i am

always...

it looks like

love.

and peace.

and joy.

blessings.

every single day.

(oh, and...

i couldn't have made them more picture perfect myself.

really, i couldn't have.

they are so beautiful,

and the act so kind,

i cried.)

thank you, lora.

i love you.