A Very Merry Minnesotan Christmas....

We got to spend over a week in MN with the family over Christmas.

It was a lovely time! We already miss you guys!

Celebrating four family birthdays:
Dan (Jan 7), Isaac (Jan 1), Barb (Jan 7), Heidi (Dec 31). Carissa made them all cupcakes with their favorite candy on top.

Tim and Carissa's family + Marie. Isaac turns 4 on Jan 1, Naomi is almost 2 and Ada is 4 months in this photo. Oh, and Tim and Carissa both just turned 30!

Uncle Chad and Aunt Heidi posing for a photo. This was their first Christmas as a Mr. and Mrs.!

Uncle Dan and Marizzle. She warmed up to him after about a day. Can't blame her - he's a scary dude.

Day 1 of Sledding around Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Uncle Chad pulling Naomi and Marie around the yard.

The Little Girls.

This was the beginning of Marie's 2nd sledding adventure at Chad and Heidi's. We used a pair of Chad's socks as leg-warmers.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland on the trails behind their house.

The Hollinbeck's

Daddy carried Marie and the sled up this big hill while Mommy shouted threats at him in the event of a fall. (My concern was more aimed at Marie's well-being).

Coming down without a topple!

"That was pretty fun, Dad! Chill out, Mom!"

Probably one of our last Family-of-Three Photo Ops.

And here's one of Marie and Lucy from today! Marie got Lulu a matching hat in Minnesota. She loves hers (Thanks Carissa!)

And...a big congratulations to Lucy's Mommy and Daddy, Mr. and Mrs. Sargeant, on the birth of Trigg William on December 30th! That's TODAY! We had the pleasure of watching Lucy for a good chunk of the day, and will get to play with her again tomorrow morning. We were supposed to take her when they went into labor, but they called and were on their way to the hospital about 2 hours before our flight home from Minnesota departed! Trigg wasn't due until January 16th! Thankfully, they had a back-up plan in place. You can click on their link on our homepage to see photos. We were his very first visitors at the hospital today!

LET'S PLAY - guess our baby's stats!
(just humor me)
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The winner gets a prize and instant fame when I post their name on the blog post-baby's-birth. We can't exactly do a cash pool since people are scattered everywhere, but I'll think of a little prize for the best guesser. Anyway, if you're the betting type, please leave a comment on this blog entry with your predictions:

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GENDER
DATE OF BIRTH (due on 1/28/08)
WEIGHT

INCHES (length)

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*There will be one winner and we'll break any ties by going through these predictions in descending order - first by gender, then by DOB, then weight and inches. (Not that I think there will be 5,238 voters or anything!)

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*To make your prediction click on the "comments" link at the bottom of this post. If you are not a blogger, you can click on "Nickname" under "Choose an Identity"

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*Betting closes at the exact moment of birth. I'll have a laptop with me and close the post for comments just as soon as I give that final push. I'm obviously joking.

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Doesn't this look really official? Hehe.

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Here are Maggie's predictions (not that I can win). Joel does not agree with me in the most important category - gender:

-Girl
-February 2nd, 2008

-8 pounds, 1 ounce

-20 inches

A few more that my Mom sent me from
her visit. The first couple are from the Cheesecake Factory.

Hiking, Maggie's Mom's Visit,

and Trinity's Christmas Party

Marie loves riding in her
back carrier with Daddy.

Driving home after our hike.

She had a runny nose.


Not feeling well and getting snuggles from Grammy.




The nursery is just about ready for Baby Dos.

Trinity Christmas Party on Saturday.


I still kinda like him...


Me and some lovely ladies from our church.

Joel's brother, Tim, sent these photos a couple of weeks ago. We haven't met Ada yet, and when we see them over Christmas she'll already be 4 months old! A lot of people who would look at this blog know their family as well, so I thought I'd share some pictures of my adorable neices and nephew (and brother and sister-in-law)...

Tim and Carissa with the three kiddos

Another cute baby. Good work, Mom and Dad!
Isn't she adorable?!

I'm going to kiss those chubby cheeks in 3 weeks!
Mommy's feeding her well!


The big brother, Isaac, with
the littlest of his two little sisters.
Ike will turn 4 on Jan 1st.


Naomi and Ada. Naomi is one week younger than Marie.


2/3 of the MN Meehan kiddos

Marie and Lucy: Best Little Buds

Playing in Marie's room on her
big girl bed.


Washing each other's hair.


Bubble heads.





Taken at 29 weeks.

Don't mind the poorly-hidden lollipop.

I have a few pregnant friends who I thought would be encouraged by this blog entry that our good friend Dan Leman wrote almost two years ago! It was written to four women who were pregnant at the time:

Jen (his wife)
Erin (our mutual friend in Illinois)
Carissa (my sister-in-law)
and myself.

Our pregnancies all ended with the healthy and joyous births of Talitha, Andrew, Naomi and Marie. Carissa has since been pregnant and given birth to another healthy baby, Ada Mae Meehan, and Erin and I are both expecting again. Jen? Hehe.

Here's a little excerpt:
"To my pregnant friends, let me end by saying that I wrote this for you. Meditate on the fact that God didn’t randomly decide to stick you with pain and toil in childbearing as a payback for Eve eating the fruit in the garden. You suffer in order to learn how to hope. So I encourage you to rejoice in your suffering as you look toward the prize! Meditate on Romans 8:18-25."

To read it in its entirety, click on the following link. Thanks, Dan!
http://llamatrauma.blogspot.com/2006/01/to-jen-erin-maggie-and-carissa.html

One more of the marathoner finishing strong...

Joel's Half Marathon
and

The Marathon Birthday Weekend

Last weekend Joel ran in a 1/2 marathon.
This weekend we had birthday parties on Friday night,
Saturday night and Sunday morning.

That's him on the right in the black
long-sleeved shirt.

Great job! Finishing at around 1hr 44 min,
averaging a 7:59 minute mile!

Birthday Party #1 (Friday)
Marta Striplin turned 2!
Their family attends our small group.

The little girls: Katie, Annalisa, Marta,
Allison and Marie

Annalisa teaching Marie how to
use the fun party blower.

She never did quite get the hang of it.



Birthday Party #2 (Saturday)
Judith Canner turns 25!

Judith is was overnight-babysitting this week
and part of the weekend. We invited her over
under the guise of a dinner/playdate at our
house and - SURPRISE -
it was really her birthday party!

Yummy homemade cake, courtesy of Colleen.

Katie and Korinna walking around with
their legs tied together.



Judith's "kids" tackling her friend, David.



Learning to eat a lollipop.



Birthday Party #3 (Sunday)
Andrew Dunning turns 5!
Lots and lots of kids eating cake at Jumpin' Beans!
The Dunnings' friends are multiplying at
an alarming rate!


On the way home Marie unwrapped her

chocolate-filled gold coin

(it was from Andrew's treasure box birthday cake),

and managed to do this to herself.

And one final picture, just because...

Marie likes to make things out of play-dough.
We always make a model of her big girl
bed, complete with pillow and blanket,
cars and trucks, and shapes with cookie cutters. On this particular occasion, she made a blue boogie!