Reindeer Cookies

Christmas Eve morning the boys made reindeer cookies to leave for Santa. Trey and I have made these for several years and he is quite meticulous about the placement of the eyes, nose, and antlers. This was Jesse's first year of decorating by himself and for a first timer he did great. I'm have no doubt that Santa enjoyed them!

It's so nice, we went twice

The boys had so much fun riding the train at the bank a few nights ago, that we went back on the Tuesday before Christmas. This time we were joined by Aunt Janie, Cora Jane, and Vera Kate. Whit didn't make this outing, so I threw in a cute picture of him and Uncle Phil that I took at the girls Christmas play last Sunday. There's just something about cuddling up a babe that you can snuggle and then hand off when he gets fussy:)

Oh the weather outside is...

I have lots and lots of photos from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to share. But first they must be edited and fixed and I must pare down the number of photos and pick just a few of my faves to share. For now I wanted to share a photo that was taken about 4:30pm on Christmas Day. Yes, those are shorts that my boys are wearing. It was about 80 degrees. Don't you just love south Georgia??? Trey's biggest winter wish is to see and play in snow. He's never seen it, and at this rate I don't think he'll see it this year either.

Merry CHRISTmas!!!

Wishing everyone a safe and joyous CHRISTmas!!!

Some say it's an addiction...

Actually the "some" would be my hubby. And as for the addiction, that would be taking pictures of my boys. What can I say...I LOVE to scrapbook and in order to scrapbook I *MUST HAVE* pictures of my boys. I'm also trying to improve my photography skills which would go much smoother if my subjects would cooperate better. Oh well, at least life is interesting. And I am learning how to do some cool edits on my pics thanks to that wonderful software called Picassa.

Not just any bank...

Each year one of our local banks puts on a dazzling display of lights, complete with a ride on train AND it's free! It is one of the highlights of our season and the boys always have a fantastic time.

Checkin' In with the Big Guy!

After the play, it was time for the kids to check in with Santa and make sure he had their wish lists just right.

Stranger in the Manger

This past Wednesday night the children of our church performed their Christmas play, Stranger in the Manger. This was the first year that Phil and I have undertaken the play and I must admit that prior to the performance I did not know how it was going to come off. Our last practice was the previous Sunday and at that time the kids were still iffy on some of the songs. On Wednesday the play was to start at 6:00pm and at 3:55pm the scenery was not done. And we had several children age 3 and under and they were not attuned to staying on the stage and singing. However, as these things usually do, it turned out wonderfully. The scenery was completed by 5:00 and looked fantastic! The younger kids wandered around and left the stage frequently, but I was told that the wandering animals made for more of a true barnyard feeling. It was very cute and I was very proud of all the kids.

Trey had two dialogues that he performed. This is the first one.

This is part of the grand finale...Joy to the World, which is one of Trey's favorite songs!

Deck the Halls

When did Christmas become so hectic??? It's not even just December anymore, but the rush starts well before Thanksgiving. There was a time when I had my whole house decorated Thanksgiving weekend. Then came kids, and each year life started moving faster and the decorating started getting farther away from Thanksgiving and much closer to Christmas. We started new traditions. Don't get me wrong....I LOVE our traditions and I REALLY LOVE that my kids, especially Trey, love our traditions and look forward to them. But...traditions take time and that's where the whole time crunch comes in. The Christmas that we were expecting Trey we went to Callaway for the first time. That became our first tradition and now each year we juggle our calendar and find a weekend where we can get away. Trey's first Christmas we began the tradition of going out as a family, finding our tree, and actually cutting it down. Wow has it become hard to find a Saturday where we can all go but somehow we always manage. This year was actually a lot less stressful than last year. Our tree was much easier to find and Trey did most of the decorating with the many ornaments he has collected over the years. I was also able to set out all my stuffed animals this year and my Nativity and Jesse has *mostly* stayed away from it. I don't know if we've gotten better at time management, or juggling, or what, but this year we've been able to really enjoy the Christmas season as a family. And for that I am very grateful. For I know, that as much as my boys love our Christmas traditions now the day will come when I will get the eye roll and the "Mooom" when I suggest going to Callaway or going out and cutting down our tree. So for now, I am enjoying making these special memories. Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Parade 2008

This past Saturday our church participated in the annual Christmas parade. It fell on mine (and therefore Phil's) shoulders to organize the whole thing, and to build it. Since it also fell on our shoulders to do the children's Christmas play this year, we decided that the float would simply be an extension of the play. We did a very simple manger scene using the same props and costumes that we will use in the play later this month. Phil worked very hard (and didn't complain much at all) and built the whole thing by himself and did a fabulous job. Luckily, I had one very dedicated Mom who helped me do all the lettering, and another very dedicated Mom who made our Mary, Joseph, and shepherd costumes. Thank you both so very, very much...I couldn't have done it without you!!! Other than Mary, Joseph, and the shepherd (Trey) all of our kids were very cute animals. We had a sheep, a mouse, a donkey, a cow, and a horse (Jesse). All of our hard work *and stress* paid off as not only did the kids have a blast, but we won first place in the float division and was overall winner of the parade.

The cute little girl that I keep during the week.
Jesse's church buddy. We WON!!!
Afterwards, it was time to talk over all the excitement with cousins.And pay a visit to the parade Santa.