Today was picture day for Baby Aalderink! We all went to the doctor's office together to see the new baby on the computer. The ultrasound went well, Baby looks healthy and already looks like the others--even Debbie, the ultrasound lady said Baby has the same nose as the other three. Baby is already active too, every time she took a picture it was of movement, so the above picture has a clear view of the profile, but the arms were moving in front of the face and chest, so the hands are kind of blurry. Below is another picture, where you can see a hand under a chin, and a foot wrapping around the umbilical cord. It is truly amazing what we can see with a computer before we can meet a baby face-to-face. They can measure size of internal organs, see blood flowing throughout the body, even measure bones! It is truly amazing to see just how fearfully and wonderfully made we are!Psalm 139: 13-16
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
By the way, when Debbie asked if we wanted to know the gender and we said sure, she whispered to Nathanael. Then she told him to tell his mom and dad what she told him. He said "the baby will be born!" Her whispering was lost in translation. She tried a second time, and Nathanael told us the baby is a BOY! So Nathanael was right, God is making a new baby brother in there. Now to come up with a name...
What a day! Our family had fun celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It can be difficult for our children to focus on the reason for the Christmas season and even Christmas day at their ages. We had been preparing them by doing our advent wreath readings each night leading up to Christmas day. Each reading had an ornament that went with it to remind us of the promises of God, and each reading pointed to Christ as redeemer of God's people. When we got to the readings from the prophets and the anticipation of waiting for the Savior, this was explained with regards to the anticipation and waiting for Christmas day and presents. We explained to our children that we give each other presents at Christmas because it is a celebration of when God gave us His Son to save us from our sins and that is the greatest gift anyone can give, so we want to give special gifts to each other to help us remember the best gift of all - Jesus. Also, with how much they are asked what they want for Christmas, especially our oldest, we are able to relate that anticipation of exciting gifts to the anticipation we now have in the return of Christ for His redeemed people. It is still difficult for our little ones to understand, but we hope that by starting early they will grow into a better understanding of these truths.
Talitha's stocking this year was about Noah and the Ark. It seems to be a popular theme for a first Christmas. She's starting to recognize animals and being able to mimic sounds. She has the cutest lion growl around! 
Hannah's stocking taught her the story of Esther. She learned how Esther was dressed in fine clothes and jewelry and was chosen by the king as a new wife. Then as queen she was able to save the Hebrew people from destruction. So her stocking was filled with dress-up princess things.
This year, Nathanael learned about the Armor of God. He read the book, Will, God's Mighty Warrior with Forest. It's about a boy who enjoys being strong and fighting off bad guys and protecting his baby sister. Then the boy's dad tells him about the armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-17 and how that armor protects us from Satan. He got a helmet of Salvation, breastplate of Righteousness, shield of Faith, belt of Truth, shin guards (shoes) as the Gospel of Peace, and the sword of the Spirit of the Word. He enjoys pretending to fight bad guys or pretending to be Christian from the Dangerous Journey (children's illustrated version of Pilgrim's Progress) fighting Apollyon and sometimes ventures into becoming a Jedi Master.
