Oh What a Christmas!

Wow!  We had an amazing Christmas around here! 

We celebrated with my family. . . 

Ellie got a nursery from Aunt B and Uncle T.  She loved it. 

And she also decided she could fit in it!?!?!

My sister and I agree that stockings were our favorite part of Christmas growing up.  Santa always rocked the stockings!  So, it's no surprise we go crazy with stockings today.

We also went to visit Tim's parents for a few days and got to celebrate Christmas with lots of family!  It's safe to say Santa found Molly. . . 

We celebrated with good food, lots of laughs and fun for everyone!

Molly was the center of everyone's world. . . . 

CiCi rocked Molly to sleep most nights.

Big Daddy was always a hit with Molly!

Ma, one of Molly's Great-Grandmothers got plenty of sugar!

Grandma, another one of Molly's Great-Grandmothers also loved on Molly!

And, we got SnOw!!!!  It was absolutetly beautiful! 

Molly, however, was not a fan. . . 

Yes, it was indeed a Christmas to remember! 

3 Years

Three years ago today, I said, "I do" to God's best for me.  I knew then without a doubt Tim would be a fantastic husband and an even better father.

This past year has been such a blessing as I've been blessed to watch him be Molly's Daddy.  There's absolutely nothing like a father - daughter bond.

Happy Anniversary, Bug!  I love you!  So much!  With all my heart!

The Halls are Decked!

I just wanted to share some pictures of our home this Christmas season!  After looking at a few posts from yesterday's blog hop hosted by the Nester, I realize my home looks pretty plain jane.  But we love it.  Everything has a story and means so much to us!

Here's our home:

Our tree sits in the corner of our living room.  It's small and slender, which is perfect for our living room.  and it's just perfect for us!

Our tree is full of sentimental oranments.  FULL of them!  I am a firm believer that a Christmas tree should be full of ornaments.  As you can tell!

This is one of my favorite ornaments.  It's from an ornament swap about 5 years ago now.  It's a big ornament, so it sits towards the middle of the tree.

Our Expecting a Miracle ornament is from last year.  My precious friend Amy made it for us!

I just got this ornament at our Sunday School class' Christmas party Sunday evening.  The girls do an ornament swap and the guys do a gag gift swap.  It's always a fun time!

We also have a number of nativity scenes.  Tim and I married in December, so we were given lots of Christmas items as Christmas gifts!  This star nativity scene was one of those gifts from a sweet lady I worked with at the bank:

  

This nativity scene was also a wedding gift from some sweet friends of my mother.  I hope to one day get additional pieces of this collection.

And this nativity scene was one my grandmother gave to us.  I just love St. Nick in it!

We gave Molly a manger scene to commemorate her first Christmas and her dedication.  It's a Little People set and is in her room.  It's so precious!

Also in Molly's room is her own tree.  I just love it!  We got the tree, ornaments, and tree skirt all for a great deal!

And then there are a couple of precious picture frames that are filled with pictures of Molly (imagine that!).  This one my best friend Jodi gave me for my birthday.  I just love it!

And this frame was painted by my sweet friend Robyn:

There are also the Byer's Carolers.  This is a collection my mom had, most of which were given to her by my Daddy.  Christmas just isn't Christmas without the carolers around here!

And that's our home at Christmas!  I didn't even go into the kitchen, where there are more fun Christmas dishes, serving pieces, towels and such than you can imagine.  We have LOADS of fun Christmas stuff for the kitchen!  Love it all!

Molly ~ 6 Months Old

SIX months old?  Are you serious?  I just can't believe it!  Molly is six months old!

This was a big month!  We introduced cereal and some food.  Molly does NOT like veggies.  At. All.  Peas are a fail.  Carrots are a fail.  Green beans are a fail.  But bananas?  Loves 'em.  Apples?  Loves 'em.  Sweet potatoes?  Loves 'em.  So, we're eating lots of fruit and sweet potatoes.  She really is a good eater!. . .  if it's something she likes!?!? 

Molly is also into her feet these days.  She's not yet tried to put them in her mouth, but she is definitely checking them out and grabbing at them a lot!  And her bottle.  We give her a bottle for her last feeding, and she gets so excited when she sees that bottle come out of the warmer!  She kicks and squeals!  And as we bring it to her mouth, her little lips are pursed and ready to EAT!  So precious!

I think I've said this every day for the last six months, but it's always true:  Each day is better than the day before.  And we are having a total blast with Molly Miller!

Molly's Dedication

Yesterday was Molly's dedication at church.  It was a beautiful service where we committed to raising Molly in a Godly home, teaching her about her Heavenly Father, and praying for her as she grows up.

Before we left for church, Tim and I selected Ephesians 3:17 - 19 to pray over Molly before her dedication.

"so that Christ may dwell in Molly's heart through faith.  And we pray that Molly, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that Molly may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

I was really worried that Molly would have a melt-down on stage.  And I was worried I would just sob up there.  I was super emotional Sunday morning before we left the house, so I just didn't know how I'd keep it together on stage.

Insert reality.

The reality that Molly was seriously on the verge of a melt-down.  As we were about to walk out, I was planning my escape from the stage, in case Molly just began screaming her blood curdling scream.

We went out on stage, shook hands with our pastor and sat with the other families. 

Then, while a solo was sung, the pastor went to each family and prayed with them.  I was so worried I'd just cry, cry, cry all during the solo.  I usually do, and they always sing such sweet songs.  Thankfully I couldn't really understand the words.  And, remember, I was so worried Molly was going to start bawling.

By the time our pastor got to us, Molly was a little fussy, so she cried while we prayed. 

I may have added a P.S. to our prayer:  "Thank you, Lord, for the paci. . . . "

After the service, our family came to our house for lunch.  We had about 20 adults and 5 kids in our home.  And our home isn't big.  At all.  So, we were all cozy!  But it was wonderful to have everyone with us celebrating such a precious time.

Molly was exhausted, but here are a couple of pictures of her in her gown while she was in her Lovie's lap!

It was an incredibly special day full of memories we will cherish for the rest of our lives!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Slocum family to you and yours!

Molly Miller ~ 5 Months Old

So sorry this is belated. . . 

Molly was 5 months old on November 12.  She continues to be the light of our lives and we just cannot get enough of her!