5 months old...

Well, a few days ago, Asher turned 5 months old! Hard to believe how fast the time has gone! We have settled into a bit of a routine and he is doing great! He coos, laughs, and loves to play peek-a-boo and be tickled. He also enjoys bouncing in his horsey as he smiles and laughs! He sleeps through the night (and has for a few months now) and has started eating rice cereal and bananas! What a joy he is! His smile (as you can see from most of the pictures), truly lights up a room! We did indeed name him well, as Asher means "happy or blessed"! We can't imagine life without him and I tell him all the time that I wouldn't trade him for the pick of a 1,000 girls! We love you Asher and are so grateful to the Lord for blessing us again with a precious son to love! How underserving we are but oh how thankful! May you grow up to be a man of God who spreads the gospel of Jesus Christ with love and passion!

Intently checking out a toy...love the double chin!

Sitting in his bumbo-type seat...big boy!

Tummy time!

More tummy time, looking big and strong!

Too cute!

tee ball...

Well, I can't believe it, but I just finished registering Samuel for tee ball!!!! My baby is not a baby anymore! Rob and I aren't sure what to expect, in regards to his behavior and participation, but we figured we had to start somewhere. And well, $55 didn't seem like too much to possibly waste on the attempt! We are hopeful for the experience and excited to get more involved in our community and meet other parents! Pray for our little guy as he embarks on his first big boy adventure! Practices start at the end of February and games start April 4th! Can't wait!

End of 2008...

Okay, finally....the end of 2008 was a whirlwind of activity for the Tombrella family! We celebrated Sam's 4th birthay, Rob and I had our 9th anniversary, our first Christmas at home as a family, and then our annual Christmas trip down to Houston and Santa Fe to celebrate with our extended families! The boys had a blast and totally got into the every aspect of Christmas! They loved doing the advent calendar each day with us and adding the next character to the nativity scene, they loved watching "The Very First Noel" and "Polar Express" time and time again, reading all our Christmas books, and making our annual gingerbread house! This year we went ahead and added in a touch of Santa and even left him a special double stuffed cookie with a glass of milk! The boys thought it was great and were so impressed and amazed when the cookie was gone the next day and note had been left telling them thanks! Most of all, it was just extremely special for Rob and I to enjoy Christmas Eve worshipping with our beloved church family and then beginning a new tradition of Rob reading each one of us a letter that highlighted what the Lord had done during the year and anticipated all that He will do in each of our lives in the coming one! What a special memory that night was for us! And after the boys were put to bed and the toys were assembled and ready for the morning, Rob and I sat on the couch together and I pondered afresh the kindness and goodness of the Lord in our children...just four and half years ago we were dreaming of such Christmases and wondering if we would ever celebrate with even one child in our family...now we have three amazing boys and a plethera (is that how you spell it?) of memories of how they have blessed our lives! All glory to God for the miracle and blessing of children!

And now, please enjoy a few pics from our Christmas! I am not very good at remembering to have the camera handy, so my pickin's were slim, but enjoy just the same. (And to my sister Alicia, I am so embarrassed and sad that I hardly have any pictures of you with Asher...please forgive me! I hope you got more than I did in our time together...I love you!)

Reading before bed...so fun!

Sam's b-day cake...not as good as if my mom had
been there to help me!

Me and my big boys!

Opening up another "for both" gifts...they got a lot of those!

Our finished gingerbread house...an edible masterpiece!

My parents and all their grandkids!

Rob's parents and almost all their grandkids...

Cate and the new nephew (due in June) were missing!

Future kicker for the Cowboys!

And the future Cowboys QT!

My Meme and I with sweet Asher!

thanksgiving...a bit late

Well, I'm finally finding the time to update my blog about Thanksgiving! Sorry for the delay! We had a great time at the Tombrella's and the boys really loved playing with their cousins! Debbie, my mother-in-law, made an amazing spread of all the traditional foods...enough to feed an army, to-be-sure! I told her with all these boys I've got, she's going to have to teach me how to cook like that!...for an army, that is! ;) The highlight of the week was all the girls, compliments of my in-laws, had a night out on the town with dinner and the Houston Nutcracker Ballet!! What a great time we had! And all the daddies stayed behind to watch the boys and little Cate! Thank you, Debbie, for a funfilled memorable night! What a memory!
Now enjoy the pics!

Asher and his Grandma!

Chillin' at Grandma's after our big meal (which they hardly ate)!

Sweet Cousin Cate and Asher! Oh how she was taken with him! So cute!

Grandpa (after turkey?) (Sorry Robert!...I couldn't resist!)

I can't imagine where Rob gets his obsession w/ coffee...

All the girls before we headed out on the town!

At Birra Poretti's Italian restraunt...delicious!

Debbie up front with our carriage driver...Rachel treated us to a ride!

"The Michelle's" with beautiful grown up Faith!

The biggest gingerbread house I've ever seen!

Yummy!

Waiting for the show to begin...

Faith with Minnie Mouse (or so her autograph said...)

Oh, and remember my post on Dollar Store toys...

well here is one of the pictures of sad Sam with the pieces stuck on his finger.