Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends! Our household has so much to be thankful for this Christmas! First of all, we are joyfully celebrating and remembering the birth of Jesus Christ. We are so thankful that he came to this earth to be a sacrifice for our sins and that by believing in Him, we can have eternal life in heaven with Him. It has been so fun this year to hear the kids really begin to understand this story and the significance behind it.

Something big has come into our family in the past few months... and it has a little something to do with the picture below!

We are expecting our 3rd child next summer!!! We are thrilled and excited and SO looking forward to growing our family. We should find out sometime around February whether it is a boy or girl. The kids know there is a baby in my belly... as Gabby says: a baby in my belly button! She is excited for the baby to grow bigger and come out and play with her :) I'm sure she will be a big help as her favorite thing to play with is her baby doll Hannah.

Our children continue to bring us joy and strength of character :) We work hard to be parents that are encouraging and loving as well as deliberate with discipline and instruction. Parenting is like no other challenge I've ever endeavored to undertake, but one that I take great pride and satisfaction in doing. I feel supremely blessed to be able to stay at home with our children and though some days are quite a challenge, there is no place I would rather be than with my babies. The kids are happy and busy kids - they love their friends and neighbors, time with extended family members, puzzles, board games and Family Movie Night. They make us laugh daily and inspire feelings of love in us that we had never experienced before they came into our lives.

Matt continues to thrive at his job and we are so thankful for the stable, supportive workplace that he has! The kids still brighten up when he walks in the door in the evening! We are so blessed that he has a normal 8-5 schedule and gets to spend so much time with us!

Thanks for taking the time to catch up with us. We'd love to hear from you as well! Leave us a comment and tell us how you are doing! We hope that this letter finds you all well! We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a fun beginning to 2010!

Love, The Dillards

Gabriella - 2 years old

Oliver - 4 years old

Click here to view more of our family christmas photos. Special thanks goes out to Ann Marie Shambaugh for being our awesome photographer!

Feel free to scroll through my blog and catch up with what else has been going on with us during 2009.