It's the MOST wonderful time of the year....

December is a VERY busy month for us! We celebrate our anniversary (5 years and we still haven't killed each other!), Houston's birthday, Hannah's birthday, and of course Christmas. (So not only are we busy, but come January we are totally broke! Ha!) Ohhhh... but what fun December is! We had our joint birthday bash for Houston (1 yr) and Hannah (3 yr) this past weekend. You have never seen so many presents and chaos. And it's a birthday, not even Christmas! I can't even imagine what Chrismas morning is going to be like. (And thinking about where we are going to put all of these toys just about sets me over the edge.) Our joke is that Macy will probably have been born in December, just for God to show us His sense of humor! We are enjoying lots of fun Christmas activities. Our favorites are driving around searching for the best Christmas lights, drinking hot chocolate out of sippy cups, and watching The Polar Express about 14 times a day. And of course Houston's favorite Christmas activity is removing my ornaments from the tree.

Update on the kiddos: Aidan is very into the Christmas spirit. He is quick to remind you that the season is all about Jesus' birthday, but also has a list of about 450 presents he expects Santa to bring. He's too smart for his own good, and has learned how to "pursuade" Hannah to do stuff for him. That kid is a total "Botts", and I refer to him as my "mini me". He is going to be a senator or some kind of politician when he grows up, you just wait and see! Now when Hannah is asked what she wants for Christmas, all she says is "a baby doll". Seriously, how many baby dolls does one kid need? She is drowning in them up there! She is a total "Humphrey". As in she is dramatic and freakishly athletic. And she has started calling Aidan by his full name when she is angry with him, which is quite funny. And then there is my sweet, precious, perfect Houston. (I think I refer to him as perfect because he can't talk yet. Once he does, it will all be over.) We are still shocked that he is already a year old. He is trying to walk, so I try to push him down when he does. (Not a hard push, just a little shove.) He is my third kid - I have totally figured out that once they start walking, it's a whole different ballgame! (Okay, I am totally kidding about pushing him down. Stop freaking out.) His favorite thing in the world is me. (Which I don't mind one bit.) Followed by food, then his brother and sister. Jason is somewhere down that line. And now for the Macy update....drumroll please.....nothing. NOPE! We still don't have our I-171 immigration form, so we just wait. I make a mad dash to the mailbox everyday, usually barefoot and once in my bathrobe, but it still hasn't come. I am expecting it this week or next week. Just a reminder, once we get that form we are immediately on "the list". God's timing is always perfect, so I know we will get it when the time is right.

We appreciate all of your continued prayers and support. We have felt Satan attack this week in some very unexpected and cruel ways. We knew that when we chose to follow God's Will for our family by adopting a child, that Satan would try to beat us down. But he has failed. And Jason and I are stronger than ever. Praise be to God for His neverending faithfulness!

Check out the pictures....they are from the kiddos bday party, and from our visit to Santa. My intention was to use the Santa picture as our Christmas card and put the caption as "Even Santa needs some PEACE this holiday season!" but ended up going with a different picture that didn't picture us as such a crazy family. Heck, who are we foolin'?!

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season. I'll let you know as soon as something changes with the adoption!