It’s December 24, DPP friends! This has been a wonderful year for the December Photo Project with more participants than ever and, dare I say, more cheer and goodwill toward men than usual. I love the camaraderie we’ve built and the wonderful images all of you are snapping and posting on a daily basis! Thank you, thank you, thank you for joining me in the fun in 2012.

Livia and Shiloh, after contemplating the gifts under the tree, take a moment to share a little lovin’ on Christmas Eve.

Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Jeremy, my husband and love of 14 years, laughing by the Christmas tree.

I have a fabulous young friend who has come over two years in a row to help me wrap all Tredway and Lawton Christmas presents. We watch Elf, we wrap gifts, we chat a bit. I am so grateful for her help. Thanks again, Rebecca! I look forward to wrapping with you in 2013. Hurray for a new Christmas tradition!

Sometimes I look at my daughter and I’m amazed by what a beautiful little person she is. Her hair breaks free from it’s ponytail and curls around her face. Her eyes and hair are unique color combination and her cheeks are still flushed from playing outside in the snow.

This is my girl, this tall eight-year-old who laughs with reckless abandon and cries with an equal amount of passion. She awoke this morning, asked, “Do I have school today?” and went straight from bed to the frigid outdoors, not even stopping for a bowl of cereal.

This is my daughter. And I thank God for her.

My folks have been a huge help this last week. They’ve come over several times to feed and snuggle and bathe this little one in our charge. You know what that means I did, right? I slept. And when I awoke, I hardly knew my own name or what day it was. Ah, the sleep of a parent of a newborn!

It’s been a long day after a string of long days. Cuddling on the couch with my sweetie? Just what the doctor ordered.

Bowl in afternoon sunshine.

I have the cutest pics, but alas, I cannot share them. Such is the reality of fostering.

Other than that, I’m really tired. I just might slog through the last days of the DPP with a newborn baby in one arm and a camera in the other.