Cutie Cute Cuties

In case we don't actually get our Christmas email composed, I want to share this picture of our beautiful girls. What we may lack in worldly goods, is stratospherically surpassed by what we have that matters in the long run. Our family.

Music matters

So I've been missing my family quite a bit lately. Especially now that we're half way through with the Christmas season, and I haven't been able to share much of it with them. :( Aside from talking to them on the phone, music seems to be the one thing that always lifts my spirits. I love Christmas music. I had the pleasure of performing with our ward's choir today. And while we weren't perfect in execution, we did it in the right spirit, and it was great to be a part of. I just wanted to share one of my absolute favorite songs that I've been listening to a lot lately. It's not really a "Christmas" song per se, but I still think of it in those terms. Unfortunately you'll never ever hear it on one of those so-called all Christmas stations that play the same 100 songs over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and......but it needs to be heard, shared and appreciated.

As for the video, take it or leave it, but the song is exactly what it should be. Thank you Sufjan Stevens


Without further ado, I give you 'Come Thou Fount', as performed by Sufjan Stevens:

It's funny cause it's true.

The first time I went to warm up my lunch at my new office, I had one of these kinds of experiences:

I promise Axl Rose does not run this blog

Yes, it has been three and a half months since my last post, which in cyber years is almost as bad as Axl Rose's hiatus between albums but not quite. When you spend all your time looking for work, the motivation for blogging somehow dwindles. But now we're once again among the gainfully employed, and I have a new computer. What better way to break it in than updating the blog. So here is the first of what I expect will be many a new blog posts. Especially considering we're picking up the stakes and moving to the city of Brotherly Love. If anyone ever wants to come brush up on their American history, or Church history for that matter, you're welcome to come hang out with us for a while.

Check back now and then to see what the big move is all about, and to get some fun details of our cross-country drive, in the middle of Winter, with 3 little girls. I'm sure we'll have stories to tell.


In the meantime, here's some proof that we had a legitimate reason to leave our homeland:

Rich at his new job.

Summer came. Summer went.

Where did the last 3 months go? We're not entirely sure but the following pictures are evidence that we've been pretty busy. We've had birthdays, birthday parties, mini-vacations, parades, picnics, family gatherings, trips to cabins, swimming lessons, drama camp, ward parties, week-long scout camp, just to name a few things. In the interest of getting caught up, we'll spare you the details and let the pictures do the talking.

Our good friends the Murrays welcomed some much needed testosterone to the world a few weeks after Tabetha was born. Yup, with all these silly girls around, Easton certainly has his work cut out for him.

Tabetha, getting bigger and cuter.

Bathing beauties ready to get their swim on at the Marriott in Park City.
We had a great week hanging out with the Millwards, Standifords, and the Monsons.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Who needs Disneyland anyway?

(don't tell anyone in the video we said that, or there will be tears)

Guess who's 4?

That's right! Our little Eliza Lou is no longer a toddler.
But she's still a cutie.

Striking a pose at dance class.

It doesn't take much to please a 4 year old.

Happy Easter!

Easter came a bit early this year. Like a month or more. We had a fun Easter party
with our friends the Cottams and Births. The egg hunt was a hit.
And so was the food. Let's do it again next year!

Eve and Eliza showing off their bounty.

Don't we look nice in our Easter dresses that mommy made?

The Black girls on Easter Sunday

Accidents happen.

There are a lot of things that could keep one from updating a blog.
A new baby.
A family wedding.
Or something else entirely.

+

=

Eve being brave after getting 3 pins put in her arm.

Tramp rule #5: No Dads or Moms allowed on tramp w/kids!!!

Eve & Eliza bustin' a move at cousin Kailee's Wedding

My pretty ballerinas on performance day!

Where was mom while this was going on?

They used EVERY hair accessory in the drawer!

Eve pretends with Aunt Bonni's veil and engagement ring.

Dad quickly informed Eve to live it up - the real thing shouldn't happen for

at least another 20 years!!

Tabetha turns one month old.

Great Grandpa Roland is so proud.

Tabetha really enjoyed the company and the fresh air in Grantsville!

Don't I have the cutest babies??

Tabetha is a wonderful addition to our family.

She has given us a few smiles and we can't wait for more.

Best of Baby Beth

Here's a few moments from Tabetha's first days that we thought we should share.

It's amazing how well some babies can communicate right out of the womb.

Eve and Eliza's first encounter with little sis

Yeah Baby!

Last Friday, January 25th, Jenny delivered our newest family member.
Tabetha Black was born about 4 PM.
She weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz. and measured 19.5 inches long.
While Genevieve is all her mom, and Eliza is mostly dad, Tabetha is a near perfect 50/50 split.
Unlike the last two, we had family here to help us document the special occasion.
We've got more photos than we know what to do with.
We might as well put a bunch here.

Whew, that was a long strange trip. I need some R&R.

My daddy was hoping the ultrasound tech missed something.
I might not be a boy, but a lot of 'em will be following me home soon enough.

Das right. I'm sportin my beanie on a slant. All the hip babies are doin' it.

Relax Mom. We got it covered.

The beautiful baby making machine. A.K.A.
Jenny the tired but happy mommy.

Y'arrrrrrrrrrrrgh

I'm down one tooth for a few weeks until I get a new one.
I guess I'm lucky my baby tooth lasted this long.
Hooray for modern dentistry. While waiting for the magic
numbing agent to take effect, I was thinking about the scene
in Cast Away where Tom Hanks uses an ice skate to extract
his sore tooth. I probably would have opted for a liquid
diet the rest of my life.

Ghosts of Christmas (just) Past

We've heard from a few friends and family members who are anticipating some news of the newest member of our family here on our blog. That hasn't happened yet, so I guess it's not too late to do a post about our Christmas holiday. This was our first Christmas being back in Utah with our kids. It was lots of fun, but we're glad it only happens once a year. Our sleeping schedule is just now starting to get back to normal. There was a party/gathering/or bowl game to watch every night for about 3 weeks straight. Here's a few on the fun things that happened during December ought-seven:

A great 3-man/child bobsled team!

1 Star, 2 girls = topping the tree twice

The Sugar Plum Fairies decorated our tree.

Santa says,What's your favorite kind of coal?

Eliza deadlifts one of her favorite presents

Eve shows off some of her bounty. A barbie with PJs that match hers!

Christmas morning in special Christmas PJ's made by mommy!

For ....ahem.....a good cause,

And a not-so-mature audience, one of my recent projects at work, was helping to create an informative little site for a young male audience to help them be aware of the risks of testicular cancer. It seems to be working.
*Warning- site is filled with male anatomy related humor. Click at your own risk:

carpetestes.org

I'm thankful for.......

Time to blog. At last.
The Holladay Basement Blacks packed up the minivan and hit I-15N to Meridian, ID for a Thanksgiving reunion with Stu, Lanea, Madison, Natalie, and Kimberly. We had enjoyed a few previous turkey days together when we were living in Minneapolis, and they were in North Bend, IN so we knew our girls liked to have plenty of time to play together. As you'll see, Thanksgiving '07 was no different. Except for the fact that Lanea was 8.99 months pregnant and wanted to get it over with. We were happy to help her stay distracted for a few days. Now that Jenny's in the same state, we should have them come down here and do the same. Without further ado......

A practically permanent pajama party!!!

Our very own Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Girls Day Out @ The Boise Festival of Trees

*Bonus Halloween Image*

Eliza looks good even with goooooooogley eyes.