Happy 1st Birthday Ryann Elizabeth

Ryann was due on December 25th, but she apparently did not want to have a Christmas birthday because on this day, December 4th, she arrived three weeks early. Other than her hurry to get here, she has been the most laid back baby we have known. She is such a pure blessing of love and happiness and we couldn't have asked for a better baby.

We knew how quickly the first year would fly by based on Taylor and Cade's first year, so we deliberately tried to soak in each and every little detail. We tried so many times to just slow down time...with no avail. It is not that we do not want her to move to the next milestone, but we just know that once she meets a milestone, she is moving towards the next. It just goes by too fast.

These days our little princess is walking (two steps) and then dropping to crawl. She is into EVERYTHING. Of course her brother and sister hate this and they are constantly trying to keep her from their things. Ryann is very independent and will take off to explore as long as we will let her. She greatly dislikes her brother or sister trying to control her (we have no idea where she gets that from 'ahem'). She gives waves for bye bye and hello, she shakes her head yes and no, she can motion for more food and she can say... Mama, Dada, Siss, Bubba, this and is.

Happy Birthday Sweet Ryann! We love you so dearly and we cannot imagine life without your precious smile. You are such a blessing to so many and we look forward to watching you grow and learn. We cannot wait to see the path that God lays before you to follow. We love you sweet girl.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

The Baby That Changed Everything...

It was this time last year that I was very pregnant with my daughter Ryann. Ryann’s due date was December 25th; a beautiful date for a baby to be born. As I waddled through the Thanksgiving season into Christmas season, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ mother, Mary. I thought of her emotions. What it must have felt like to know that she was going to be giving birth to the Savior of the world, the Son of God. I also thought about her discomfort.

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Three out of five is bad....

Three out of five of our family members have strep throat. Paul, Taylor and I have all be diagnosed with the throat fun. Thankfully, this is our second day of being on meds so we are no longer contagious. Hopefully, our other two will stay healthy.

Since I have not felt like doing much else...I wrote down some of Cade's quotes. Here are some of the most recent ones:

While helping me give Ryann a bath, Cade said, "Mommy, make her hair look like a molerat!" "Cade, I believe you mean a mowhawk." "Yeah, that's what I meant."

As he pointed to a rail and referring to a comment I had made a few days earlier. "Mommy! I am not as skinny as a rail. Look at that! Do you think I am that skinny?"

When getting out of the car in garage...."Mommy, I am not going to bump the door into the other car because I am being very careful. OOPS!! Okay, so I bumped into the other car, but it didn't leave a scratch."

Cade has asked many times how old he has to be to be able to marry his preschool "lovey dovey"? We have told him that he should finish college before he starts thinking about marriage. He then states that he is only going to college where she goes...(yes, he has it bad). So, he got into the car from preschool today and said, "Well, it looks like the only way I can marry 'S' is if I go to soccer college. She says that is where she is going to college. I have never heard of soccer college, but if she says there is one, that is where I am going."

It was a Thanksgiving Miracle...

Recently, my friend Sallee from It's Poppy Dip introduced many to the Hollis Family. Sallee said that this family, who have already adopted two sweet girls with Down Syndrome, were approached by their 11 year old daughter hoping to adopt another sweet little girl named Daria. Here is their story and please check out their blog to see the news report of the Thanksgiving miracle. This is exactly what God does through those like Lydia who believe and trust completely...it is so awesome!!! Here is one of their family's recent posts:

"Most of you know by now, our family decided three years ago to forgo giving presents to one another during the holidays. Instead, we reach out and raise money for orphan ministries.

We just finished going through the book, "Crazy Love" by Frances Chan with our kids and decided this year, we wanted to be CRAZY for Jesus! He is so crazy about us, we wanted to share His love with everyone throughout the year, but especially during November and December.

Lydia took "CRAZY" to a whole new level, however, when she approached me (while her dad was on a mission trip in Africa) and asked if she raised $20,000.00 before Thanksgiving, could we adopt a little orphan girl, Darya, who has Down Syndrome in Eastern Europe. (A friend of ours adopted a little boy from the same orphanage and reported that Darya gets no attention at all....no one speaks to her or holds her.)

THAT WAS 8 DAYS AGO! Being a sensible 41 year old, I told Lydia she would never be able to raise $20,000.00 in 8 days.....she is only eleven. She didn't hear me. Instead, she asked again, "But if I do raise the money, will you adopt her?" I responded yes, if she raised that much money in 8 days, we would know God is in it and would travel to adopt Darya!

Tonight, I would like to report that Miss Lydia has raised $26,550.00 and the donations are still coming in. It just so happens, we have good friends who have been planning to adopt a little one with Down Syndrome through Reece's Rainbow, but lack of funds has delayed them. Not anymore, everything above $20,000.00 goes to them.

So, friends, you have been a part of a double Thanksgiving Miracle. Not only will Darya have a home ....but through your gifts, another little angel will be given hope for a family tomorrow too! God is so great, isn't He?"

The Hollis Family Blog

Jingle Bells...Cade Style

To start the Christmas cheer around our house each year, we all gather around the computer to watch this video. It is of Cade singing Jingle Bells when he was just two years old. It never fails to make us all smile. I hope it brings smiles to you and puts you in the Christmas mood...enjoy!

I am thankful for...

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;

make known among the nations what he has done.

1 Chronicles 16:8

Word Filled Wednesday...1 Chronicles 29:13

Now, our God, we give you thanks,

and praise your glorious name.

1 Chronicles 29:13

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