Happy Christmas!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Clothes

We got the kids all gussied up for the Christmas service at church this morning. We snapped a few pictures before Nella got crayon on her sweater and Silas puked all over his outfit.

Aren't they just the sweetest little people!?

Somebody please tell this girl to stop growing up, because she is not listening to us!

Dancing in her fancy dress. Silas was amused.

So handsome.

Christmas Cookies

Dad's Mighty Mouse

Just in case you were wondering about Mighty Mouse's compatibility with the Vtech Toddler Laptop . . .

. . . it works.

Caleb Billingsley, Master of Divinity

Caleb has officially graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary! We traveled to Louisville last week for the ceremony, where he received his Master's degree. He has worked so hard, and I couldn't be more proud of him!

While in town, we were able to visit with some dear friends. (Jonathan & family, Carrie & family, Stephanie & Brian & family, Stephen, and more) We love and miss them and enjoyed catching up. Thanks, friends, for making time for us.

We attended a reception at The Mohler's home. We especially enjoyed wandering through Dr. Mohler's personal library.

"Hey, I've read this one!"

Every SBTS graduate has got to get one of these classic pictures.

We stayed in a hotel with Caleb's parents and my parents. Nella had a blast!

The ceremony was incredible. You can read, or listen, to Dr. Mohler's commencement address and charge to graduates here.

Sea of graduates.

Nella was a good girl during the entire ceremony. Ok, we totally bribed her with her pacis. But, still, she was a very good little girl!

Our happy family!

But, uh-oh! There was a little bitty problem with Caleb's diploma. . .

let's zoom on in here . . .

Yep. We're definitely missing an 'e' in there. Yikes! He'll have to wait a month or two to receive the corrected diploma.

Mixed Feelings from Keli Billingsley on Vimeo.

Bouncing! Bouncing!

Bouncing! Bouncing! from Keli Billingsley on Vimeo.

Redeemer Newsletter

Also, you can listen to Caleb's sermon by going to redeemerchurchCU.com, clicking 'Sermons' and launching the sermon player.

Redeemer Newsletter - September-October 2009

Thanksgiving '09

This year we spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Marion. We enjoyed delicious food and quality time with family and friends. Some pictures of the kids:

There was a kids table. It lasted less than 10 minutes. Nella and Simon were ready to play.

One bite, two bites, three bits, done!

Silas' first Thanksgiving. He couldn't even eat turkey!

'What do you mean I'm too big for this seat?'

Silas and Jonas just doing what they do; be cute.

A Thank You Note

Dear Target,
Thank you for updating your store brand diapers. I recently found myself wandering your baby care aisles feeling frustrated by the price of the diapers I normally buy. You see, as of 7 weeks ago, I purchase twice the amount I used to. Let down in the past by your diapers, I reluctantly reached for a box of your new and modestly priced 'up & up' brand. I was pleasantly surprised to find them not only economical and practical, but aesthetically pleasing as well. They are now almost, almost, as good as pricier brands (Ahem, Pampers). Affordable and adorable; now my babes stay cute and dry while running, or lying, around.

Also, the box doubles as a super-fun toy!

Tub Time = Happy Time

We have discovered that Silas likes our bathroom. I'm not sure if it's the bright, yellow lights, or the loud, buzzing noise from the fan, but he always seems to calm down when he's in there. He also LOVES bath time. Here's our boy relaxing in his tub.

If only he could stay in the bath all day.

Cry Babies

Yep, my day has pretty much been like this.
(They're not always like this, though.)



The big one's mad because I won't give her another Hershey's kiss or let her watch her movie for a second time. The little one's upset . . . always, it seems.

How has your day been?

Trip to Southern Illinois

Earlier this week I took the kids to Marion to visit Nana & Pawpaw Sipe. On Monday, Nana took Nella and cousin Marley to Giant City Stables for pony rides.

Nana, Nella, & Magic, the pony.

The cousins on Magic.

Marley is a pro. He rides horses, not ponies!

On Tuesday we got to visit some dear friends. We even got to spend time with some friends we met in Louisville, who now live in Carbondale. Nella, Julian, Claira & Simon (he was busy reading).

The newest buddies: Silas (1 month) & Jonas (2 months).

Nella & Simon. "We're big kids and we know we're cute!"

Classic.
Silas: 'I'm always crying!'
Nella: 'He's crying!'
Simon: 'I'm outta here!'
Jonas: 'I'm hungry!'

My sister (who is a fantastic chef) made her famous homemade sweet potato ravioli with vodka sauce for dinner on Tuesday night. It was fabulous!