Christmas 2008

Gabriella Grace was born on December 23 - her Great Grandma Loretta Larsen's birthday. We all delighted in Gabby's pretty face, pink skin, soft hair and tiny size! She looks great in pink, too, which is a good thing since that is Owen's favorite color. Owen's first visit to the "hotsipal" to meet her was not without incident. He cried in the elevator and refused to go near it again. (We later found out that he thought we were calling it an 'alligator'... but aren't sure if his anxiety was because of that or because of the weird feeling you get when you ride on an elevator.)
Owen met his "baby sister" for the first time... but was most interested in hugging his Mommy

There was much excitement and anticipation as we waited for their arrival home from the "hotsipal". Soon enough they came through the door and we welcomed them home; Rachel, Roger and their baby, Gabriella Grace. It was Christmas morning and we all felt as though we had received the sweetest kind of gift... reminding us of the gift that God gave us on that first Christmas so long ago... We sang Happy Birthday to Gabby, and we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus - at Owen's prompting.
Here is Owen welcoming his baby sister home.

Here is Owen in front of the Christmas tree.

We enjoyed a traditional Christmas dinner of turkey and all the trimmings...

and before we could get the dishes done, Roger and Owen were tearing into the presents! (Our family tradition lets the youngest go first and they sure did!)

Here are Roger and Owen showing off their matching Father-Son Vikings pants.

Rachel and MaryBeth were next,

with the rest of us opening ours last - but certainly not least!

Thank you one and all for the nice gifts. We are thankful for the thoughtfulness and generosity of our children (and of Mimi too). They have continued to shower us with love and gifts - time after time - year after year! We love the Memory book that captures highlights from our lives together. It will be a cherished album. Thank you!

Owen enjoyed playing with his many new toys...

Thank you for the Tonka digger, Aunt Lori. It is like Grampa's!

Here is a photo that is another "tradition":

the 4-generation picture!

GG-ma Mimi, Grandma Mama, Mommy and Baby Gabriella.
Since she may not remember her first Christmas we wanted to have lots of pictures to show her some day!