happy holidays from our family; four, four and under :)

It's hard to believe we've been a family of six for just over two months and that 2016 is so close to it's end.  Life is absolutely more crazy and busy but wonderful too. We are so grateful for the calming influence of baby Althea in our home.

We are grateful for our little family and the purpose and joy parenting gives to ours lives in spite of how difficult it can be much of the time with so many babies under one roof.
We're most grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ that allows us to progress, improve, and experience daily joy as individuals and as a family.  We have felt the power of Christ's Atonement in our lives profoundly this past year and we couldn't be more thankful.


A little update on our family:
Kevin: Working as a Geologist at Anadarko Petroleum recently found out he's part of the team opening up a new office in Midland, Texas so come spring our family will be saying goodbye to the Houston area we've enjoyed for nearly 4 years and starting a new adventure in West Texas. Kevin is as active as ever and will miss the great group of men that he runs with here.
Michelle: Full-time mom doesn't feel like it adequately describes life right now, but working to feel joy in the daily role of motherhood has brought many moments of happiness and peace. So grateful to be able to take up running again since delivering Althea mid-September.
Lee (4.5): Cannot stop learning, he is loving his Pre-K curriculum with learning to write letters and words and learning letter sounds being some of his most favorite. After all as he told me, "counting to 100 takes forever!" Lee has more than a million questions and loves super heroes, he is learning to articulate incredibly well.
Drew (3.5): Loves as deeply as ever, everyone he meets talks about his hugs and kisses, he is incredibly sensitive to and aware of people's feelings. He hates the days that he doesn't have preschool with Lee. Loves his siblings intensely and sweetly.  Drew colors for hours at a time and has a wildly active imagination.  If he had his way, we'd be a tiger family...always.
Annalise (2): Is still talking very little but has made huge progress and loves when we understand each other.  She can be found loading and unloading whatever she can get her hands on, dancing with herself, loving her new baby doll and wants to do whatever Momma is doing during the day.  She loves snacking and misses her brothers at preschool, she completely holds her own with them. She is obsessed with her Papa, sweet to baby Althea and wants to do everything just like her brothers.
Althea (2 months): She is possibly the happiest baby we've ever had. She is nearly always grinning and her peace-bringing spirit is incredible.  Her siblings love her and are very aware of her needs. She is unaffected by the chaos that nearly always surrounds her or how rarely she gets to just be home, since we are always running somewhere.  We are So grateful to have her here in our family healthy and safe, always a miracle.

We hope your holiday is filled with wonderful times and most importantly the peace and liberation that Christ offers each of us. We are so grateful for His sacrifice.

Love, The McGuire Family