The 12 Days of Christmas {in pictures}

Alternately Titled: A good excuse to post some gratuitous baby shots.

nativity — The Nativity, artfully arranged by Madeline and Rachel

vino — It wouldn't be Christmas without some vino.

wine charm — Notice the beautiful 12 Days of Christmas wine charm handmade by a special friend.

Pop shows Mary Elizabeth how to make the famous Wicker hors d'oeuvres.

Magician Madeline

hot kisses lottery ticket — We have a tradition of giving a lot of lottery tickets as Christmas gifts on my side of the family. Well, Madeline took it upon herself to make "Hot Kisses" lottery tickets that you could actually scratch off. I was a lucky winner and was awarded 10 kisses in a row. You can't beat that!

Jesse Tree — Our Jesse Tree

Rachel and Madeline found the pickle at Gaba and Papa's.

Goofy girls!

Laura Ingalls — Playing Little House on the Prairie with all that free playtime during our homeschooling break.

I love how all the couples in this candid shot are in their own little world.

Emmanuel. God with us. Now and always. Happy Christmas! Happy Epiphany!

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Comments

Melanie B says

January 6, 2012 at 8:27 am

Such delight! I love those pictures of Thomas especially, such a cheerful, chubby, happy baby! I can’t believe how big he is. I love the Little House picture and the one with the couples all gazing at each other– if you tried to pose that deliberately it could be so cheesy, instead it is sweet.

Thank you for sharing the joy of your Christmas. God bless you all.
Melanie B recently posted…Blogging The Waste Land
Michelle Reitemeyer says

January 12, 2012 at 8:14 am

The kids broke our pickle this year after finding it. :(
Michelle Reitemeyer recently posted…Motherhood as a Vocation

I’m a wife, mom of five kids, writer, speaker, storyteller, bibliophile, runner, eating disorder survivor, and perfectionist in recovery. I'm the author of Getting Past Perfect: Finding Joy & Grace in the Messiness of Motherhood and Weightless: Making Peace With Your Body.

I’ve tried a lot of things in my life – anorexia, bulimia, law school, teaching aerobics, extended breastfeeding, vegetarianism, trying to be perfect and failing miserably at it – and through it all I’ve been writing. And learning to embrace the messiness of life instead of covering it up, making excuses for it, or being ashamed of my brokenness or my home’s sticky counters.

Nowadays I’m striving every single, imperfect day to strike a balance between keeping it real and keeping it joyful.