More Christmas!

Usually on Christmas Day, we drive over to Grandmother and Grandaddy's house after we have opened and played with all of our presents so that we can celebrate Christmas with them and feast one more time on turkey and dressing. We always end up staying until late afternoon. Since we had snow on the ground this year, and we weren't sure how long it would stay just snow and not ice, we travelled over there mid-morning (plus you gotta remember we had been up since 4!)
Grandmother completely understood, but was not dressed the way she wanted to be since she had been cooking all morning long. So we really only took pictures of Caitlin and Harrison. That doesn't mean we didn't enjoy each other's company or the delicious food!

Can you tell he wasn't thrilled about getting clothes for Christmas?!?

But that was exactly what this fashion diva wanted!!!

Yay! I can go buy my own toys!
We had fun visiting with Grandmother and Grandaddy, and Randy and I got some nice presents as well. (They try to spoil us!)
All in all, we had a wonderful Christmas Day!

Christmas Morning

We started our Christmas morning early, early, early!! Our plan has always been for Caitlin to call us on the walkie-talkies when she wakes up on Christmas morning. That way we don't miss the priceless looks on their faces when they see what Santa brought them. Well...we got the call at 4:04 a.m.!!!! We were just hoping for a nap later on!

Annual staircase picture

Look what all Santa brought us!

Time for stockings!

Santa even remembered to bring Brady some treats.

Then we got to open our presents under the Christmas tree. These are special because we only get 3 presents apiece: just like Jesus!

A cupcake maker!!! I can't wait to use it!

A Dippin' Dots maker!! Just what I asked for!

We had a food theme going on this year, in case you can't tell!

Yay!! An ipod Nano that I wanted for when I run.

Rock Band 3!! (He's been dropping hints for this game for awhile!)

Caitlin and Harrison's third and final present was a little box addressed to both of them. When they opened it, all they found was a note. Yay! Scavenger Hunt time! The first clue led them to...

...the pirate ship in Harrison's room. There they found the next clue which led them to...

...the mini-fridge in the Alabama movie room. There they were led to...

..Mommy and Daddy's bed. That clue then told them to start at the beginning. So as fast as their feet could carry them, they ran back to the Christmas tree to find...

DSis for both of them!!!

And mind you, all this excitement happened before 5:30 in the morning!!!

We had not even looked outside at this point because it was still dark. A little while later, as we were playing with all of our new toys, we looked out to find...

SNOW!!! I couldn't believe it!

In all my 30+ years, I have not seen this much snow on Christmas Day! In 1989, we had a dusting but nothing like this! When it was all said and done, 3 inches had fallen. Wow!!

So we had to play in it!

Harrison didn't get to stay out long because he is still fighting a cold and an ear infection. But he had fun while he was out there making snow angels and throwing snowballs at his sister.

Even Brady had a good time in the Christmas snow! He's peeping through the fence here seeing if his friend, Maggie, is out in the snow.

And then Ma-Ma and Pa-Pa came over to visit and see all our loot.

They couldn't believe all the presents! I'm so glad we live in the same town as my parents so that we can be with them on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!
So we had a JoYoUS Christmas morning before we took off for Grandmother and Grandaddy's house to celebrate with them.

Celebrating Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve 2010 started out busy, busy, busy! We had to pick up Caitlin and Harrison from their grandparents' house in the morning. While there, we got to eat a delicious breakfast cooked by Grandaddy of biscuits, eggs, bacon, and sausage gravy. YUM!
We came home and started our baking.

First up...mixing the cake batter (or licking it!) for our...

Happy Birthday Jesus cake! We've made one every year since Caitlin was born, so it is one of our annual traditions. We change up the design each year to surprise our family.

Then it was on to baking cookies for Santa.

Look at that detail!
After making a few more dishes for our Christmas Eve dinner at my parents' house, we got ready for our Christmas Eve Candlelight service at our church.

I wish they were always this sweet and kind to each other!
We saw lots of friends at the Christmas Eve service which made celebrating the birth of Jesus that much more special. This service is my most favorite!!
Then it was off to Ma-Ma and Pa-Pa's house for Christmas Eve dinner. After eating our wonderful meal of turkey, dressing, ham, sweet potato casserole, green beans, corn casserole, "regular" corn as Harrison calls it, potatoes, rolls, macaroni and cheese, and yummy desserts, it was time for presents!

We always start with the stockings, and we AlWaYs let the kids go first.

This year Caitlin got a surprise in her stocking...an empty Snickers wrapper! She blamed it on Pa-Pa, of course, because that's his favorite candy!
On to the Christmas tree!!!!

Caitlin can't wait to go shopping now! Who am I kidding?!? She always loves to go shoppping.

Daddy got the cassette tape converter he's been wanting. That will keep him busy for awhile.

Harrison got the game he's been asking everyone for--Rock 'em, Sock 'em Robots!

Ma-Ma got a new ornament for her tree which is an annual tradition.

And surprise, surprise...Pa-Pa got a matching one! Their dog, Wally, was right there in the action the entire time.

My sweet family
Finally we made our way home to get ready for Santa!

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in the hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there." (along with our gingerbread cookies, carrots for the reindeer, and milk for Santa)

Merry Christmas From Us to You!!

"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on Earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2:14

Elves, Pajamas, and a Party

So far we have had a busy, busy week!
On Tuesday, my sweet First Graders participated in Elf University and graduated with honors!!

Don't they look cute in their elf hats?
It was a busy day for all of us because Harrison had Polar Express Pajama Day also.

They look so little in their cute PJ's!

Then on Wednesday, Caitlin had her class Christmas Party.

They wrapped their desks before the party began. Here she is with her good friends, Rebecca, Hannah, and Marcha.

They ate some yummy goodies before playing a game of Bunco and opening presents.

Here she is with her 2nd favorite teacher of all time! Her Kindergarten teacher is still her favorite.

Now we are busy in a different way--cleaning, cooking, and baking all while waiting for Santa and Jesus' birthday party!

Our New Addition

In case you can't tell...it's a convertible Ford Mustang!! Randy needed a new car, but I asked him, "Why not an Accord or Maxima? Did it have to be a sports car?!?"
But I really love it!!

Party Like a Rock Star

Harrison had his Kindergarten Class Christmas Party on Monday, and since I was with MY Daddy at the hospital,his Daddy stepped up to the plate and went. I have trained him well because he took pictures of all the action!

First they entertained the parents with Christmas songs. Here they are singing "Jingle Bells".
Then a special visitor arrived...

SANTA!!!!

They each got a present from the Big Red Man.

Mrs. Terrell's Kindergarten Class

Harrison with the sweetest Kindergarten Teacher, Mrs. Terrell

He was so proud of his white board that Mrs. Terrell gave all of them!
Apparently it was a great party, and I'm sorry I missed it! But my Daddy needed me at the hospital and afterwards at home after his surgery. Too bad I couldn't be in two places at once!!

Christmas With Friends

Our last event planned for Saturday was Christmas with our best friends at the Mayer house. We enjoyed a delicious meal of chicken and waffles, cheese grits, and pecan pie for dessert. Yum!

These two girls would do anything for me, just like I would drop anything and help them out too! I love them dearly and am so blessed to have them in my life.

Of course, we had presents to open after we ate!

Laura's son and my Godson, Alex, is in my First Grade class this year, so I got a really nice present from the two of them.

Of course Alex had to let us know how he felt about that platter! I love this kid! He is not afraid to let his feelings be known.
After supper and presents, the kids went to play and the adults sat down and played a game of Mexican Dominoes. Randy and I had never played before, but it was a lot of fun. Of course there are always lots of laughs when we all get together.
After the game, our fun night went downhill FAST!
All the kids were curled up in the den watching "Toy Story 3" when we got ready to head home. I picked Harrison up and noticed how hot he felt. As I got him into the light, I noticed lots of red welps on his face and arms. After inspecting him, we realized he had those welps ALL over his body! The thermometer also said his temp was 101!! Since we weren't sure what was going on, Randy and I left Caitlin there with the Mayers and rushed Harrison to the Huntsville Hospital ER. It gets worse...on the way there, he complained about his chest hurting, and I noticed him wheezing and gasping for air!!

We FiNaLlY got to the ER, and they rushed him back since he was having trouble breathing. The doctor quickly looked at him and ordered an Epi Pen shot immediately. Harrison also got a steroid shot, a breathing treatment, an antibiotic shot and a syringle of Motrin. We sat there while they monitored his heart rate, breathing, and pulse. It was amazing how all those welps just disappeared! After a few hours, we got to go home about 2:30 am with a prescription for a steroid and an Epi Pen, Jr. The ER doc determined that he had an allergic reaction plus an ear infection. Since we don't know what he ate or came in contact with that was different, I am almost positive he will have to undergo allergy testing--Yuck! But I am so very thankful that we live near such a great hospital with an excellent staff.

So that was not the ending to our busy Saturday that I had anticipated, but we have had a lazy Sunday where I have gotten a lot of present wrapping done and a lot of cuddling with my baby boy!