Weekend Wrap-Up

Well, the rest of our weekend was pretty low-key. I got caught up on laundry.

Look! I spy empty laundry baskets. That doesn't happen too often in our house!
Some of us read about a certain victory that happened on Friday.

He's pretty excited even though it doesn't show here.

And then...

We decorated the Christmas tree!!!! We even have our outside lights up as well. I love this time of year! Then I tried to take our Christmas card picture in front of the tree tonight, but this is mainly what I ended up with...

I think the caption should read, "How not to take a Christmas card picture."

ROLL TIDE!!!

We are dressed and ready to watch the Tide roll over the Tigers today!!

Where Were You at 4:00 This Morning????

Randy and I headed out to Wal-Mart for some "Black Friday" deals. I stood in line waiting for one present in particular while Randy scouted the rest of the store. It was crowded, and some people were absolutely CrAzY!!!! But the thrill of scoring was worth it all!

This is in our driveway at 3:45 AM. Can you believe how dark it was?!? Randy has his power breakfast in his hand of Diet Dr. Pepper and powdered doughnuts. Guess it worked because he found most of the deals!

Night Alone

On Thursday night, Randy and I had an unexpected night alone at home! Caitlin rode home and then spent the night with my sister while Harrison, not to be outdone, spent the night with my parents, Ma-Ma and Pa-Pa. That left us parents with NO KIDS!!!! We really didn't know what to do with ourselves because we sure didn't want to go out to eat after feasting on all that turkey and dressing earlier in the day! So we decided to enjoy a nice, quiet night alone at home (well, the dog was still there!).

Our attempt at a self-portrait. This is why we always ask someone else to take our picture!

Brady enjoying the fire that Randy fixed for us. It was SOOOO nice to sit in front of the fire enjoying the peace and quiet!

Thanksgiving 2009

It is the day after Thanksgiving, and we are still FULL!!!! We ate and ate and ate some more. But it is so hard not to eat that delicious food that we only get once a year!
We got up early Thursday morning and travelled to Helena to my cousin, Olivia's, house. We moved our Thanksgiving meal to her house a few years ago from Lake Martin so that we could do all our travelling in one day. It was so nice to spend time with my Dad's family--that is who I have been celebrating Thanksgiving with since I was born. While waiting for the turkey feast, we had time to play.
Some of us had fun in the old treehouse that once belonged to Olivia's daughter, Laci. She is now in Grad School at Auburn. Guess that means it is old!

Then the Grandkids opened their Christmas presents from Olivia.

$$$$ Money, money, money $$$$

Then we still had time to pose for some pictures. Here is Stephanie, Laci, Daniel, Harrison, and Caitlin.

My Dad and his sister, Bobbie

Finally it was time to sit down to eat! Too bad we were enjoying the feast so much because I didn't take a single picture of us eating!!! Just know that it was delicious.

After eating, we headed outside to play in the beautiful fall weather. Daniel and Harrison had fun playing football and tackling each other!

Stephanie and Caitlin were the cheerleaders. They just had fun being together! In fact, Caitlin ended up riding home with my sister, Dana, and brother-in-law, Scott, to spend the night with them.

My sweet parents posing for a picture

Nothing like the love between a Daddy and his daughter

And here is the group picture of all of us....

Back row: Dana, Daniel, Randy, Me, Olivia, Aunt Bobbie, my Daddy

Front row: Scott, Harrison, Stephanie, my Mom, Caitlin, and Laci

We were sad that Aunt Bobbie's husband, Uncle Joe, was not here with us this year. But it made it easier when we thought about him being at the Ultimate Feast with Jesus! I am so thankful for all of my family, and I love that we take time to be together!

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our precious family to yours....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

Thankful

I am so very thankful this holiday for:
1. My God-He gives me exactly what I need!
2. Family-near and far, but especially my dear hubby and beautiful children!
3. Friends-who support me and make me laugh
4. Welcoming new babies into the world
5. My church family-what would I do without them?
6. My precious 1st graders-they make my life so very interesting!!
7. And I know there are TONS more I could list, but how boring would that long list be?!?

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Advent Workshop

Our church hosted its annual Advent Workshop tonight. For the first time, Caitlin performed with her Puppet Group. We also got to eat a yummy supper from Lawler's Barbeque, make a Blessing Jar, put together a Christmas ornament, and decorate a gingerbread house. It was a fun, but busy, night!

The puppets perform "I'm Getting Something Good"

Same song, but Caitlin's puppet (the Christmas present with the cross) is shown in this shot.

This is the Puppet Group performing "Do You Hear What I Hear?" Caitlin's puppet was an angel with brown hair in the middle of the stage.

They also performed "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." The elf second to the right of the stage is Caitlin.

This is the 4th Grade Puppet Team with their leader, Ms. Cheryl. Their other leader, Ms. Allison, was at the hospital with her newly adopted daughter, Gracie Lauren, who was born just yesterday!

Hugs for the star performer!

Busily working on the gingerbread house

"I wish I could eat some of that candy...."

Daddy hard at work on the gingerbread house.

Caught ya!!!!!!

Our family with the finished product

A close-up view of the Hollingsworth House

Caitlin and her friend and fellow puppeteer, Sarah. They have known each other since they were 3 months old!

Christmas Tree Lighting

Friday night, Randy, Harrison, and I went to the annual Lighting of the Christmas Tree at Bridge Street Town Centre. Bridge Street is a fabulous outdoor mall here in Huntsville. We love to go there and walk around. Our favorite restaurant, PF Chang, is even there along with our favorite movie theater, the Monaco. So, naturally, we went there for the first Christmas Tree lighting we have seen this year. And it was a huge one! Even though there were TONS of people there, we got a great spot to watch.

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

Me and my little man after the tree is lit

Sweet family!

It even snowed while we there!! Just kidding--it was fake snow. Harrison got a big kick out of it, though! He couldn't wait to tell Caitlin about it after she got home from her friend, Shelby's house. She picked going to the mall with a friend instead of her family--boo-hoo :(

And we got our first Santa sighting of the year also!!

I'm A Little Indian

On Thursday, Harrison had his Thanksgiving Feast at school. Invitations were handwritten and decorated by the children and brought home inviting the parents to the program. We then got to stay and eat lunch with the class. Harrison was so excited because he had both his Mommy and Daddy there! Here is my little Indian:

Isn't he the cutest Indian?!?
His Indian name is Soaring Eagle. What a surprise to find that out!

Here they are singing "I'm a Little Indian on the go; Here is my arrow, here is my bow"

That's Casey on the left and Lily on the right of Harrison.

All the kids singing "I Am Thankful"

Me and my little Indian after the program

A proud Mommy and Daddy

Two Buddies: Harrison and Casey

Harrison was sooooo excited that his Daddy was getting to eat lunch with him!! Even though they served "Thanksgiving food" (turkey and dressing) in the lunchroom, Harrison insisted I fix his regular peanut butter sandwich and chips.

Mommy, Daddy, and Harrison

911 Emergency...How can I help you?

Did any of you know that even if your Blackberry phone is locked you can still call 911?!? I did not know this important little tidbit of info. But thanks to my dear, precious four-year-old son this morning, I now know that if you are travelling along Old Railroad Bed Road your phone will dial Limestone County Emergency Services. Just thought I'd pass it along...

Cousins Christmas Pictures

We met my sister, Dana, and her 2 children, Daniel and Stephanie, this afternoon for our annual Christmas pictures. It's always an adventure when we get together and take these photos. The kids run around trying to make each other laugh while Dana and I try to keep them looking presentable for the memories on paper. We had so many to choose from afterwards, but here are a few that I absolutely loved...

The cousins

My beautiful baby girl

Look at that sweet face!!!

Afterwards we followed tradition and went to eat at Wendy's. It was a tiring afternoon, but one filled with fun!