Sunday, December 7, 2008

Whew! Our week in pictures

Wow! Christmas time has hit like a lead brick! Anybody else see this coming?
We are in the full Christmas-time swing- including each of us fighting off some kind of funk each day. Jason is upstairs right now looking much like Rudolph, but the kids and I are somewhat healthy- for today.

Here's a recap of our week:
Monday I took my final in my history class and I'm DONE!! WOOHOO!
And for more fun, it snowed here on Monday! I mean pouring, fluffy white flakes for most of the day. It didn't stick, but it was fun to watch and the kids liked looking at it. So, hot chocolate was in order for my little businessman (mug from Donna- he loves it):And Harris finally has hair that needs to be groomed! This is the first week I've had to somewhat comb it before pre-school. Look at this little blonde bombshell:And we finally went to get a tree this week. I had a faux (I don't want to say fake- I guess artificial is the correct word- whatever) tree growing up and have always loved real trees- even then. I always tried to convince my parents that we needed a real tree. There's nothing like the smell or ambiance of a live tree for Christmas. So, we were off to Lowe's to pick out our tree like we do every year. And then we loaded it on top of the car:What? Something missing?
Oh, yes. I forgot to mention that we bought a pre-lit faux Christmas tree this year. Jason and I pulled up to Lowe's and turned to each other at the same time after glancing at the shimmering trees in the indoor, heated section of the store. I said, "Do you want a fake tree?" and he said, "Totally" without missing a beat. I heard the loud thump in my mind; it was the sound of my expectations dropping rapidly to the ground. And I heard the the haunting echo of my parents saying, "This is just so much easier". And it's true. While not aromatic, the tree is perfectly straight, doesn't have to be watered and doesn't drop any needles. And did I mention Lowe's had all their Christmas things half off? Already?
Here we are on the way home- with the tree inside the car for the first time (we got the last one of the style we wanted, so it didn't have a box, but we bought a case to store it):And the kids got a kick out of the ornaments this year and we had a great time putting it up. Harris has only broken 2, so far. Here's the finished product:
We made it to the weekend and Jason's work party was Friday night and turned out to be fun this year! Saturday night we chaperoned (WHAT?!? How in the world am I old enough to be a chaperone? You'd think if one had 2 children of one's own that one might have come to the realization that she/ he was an adult, but I'm, um, I mean, ONE is still uncertain on the matter) our church youth group to see Winter Wonder Slam. TobyMac is one of my very favorite artists and, while all the bands were great, his group brought the funk. It was an Awesome show. Jason and I were on our feet dancing and singing ('cause we know all the words) for his entire set- much to the chagrin of the 7th graders next to me who were firmly planted in their seats. They really missed out. It was SO much fun!
Now to Sunday. With the Advent season comes a big event every year. My women's group at church holds Breakfast with Santa. We have a breakfast, crafts, take your own pictures with Santa (for as long as it takes to get a good one- major perk!) and we have a big bake sale. So, we all bake and this year I made 3 of these and 2 batches of this. Both were a hit, but my kitchen ended up looking like this:So, off to Breakfast with Santa this morning. Jason got the boys ready to go (yeah, Superdad! There is some picture pressure here) and here is the best Santa picture we got:You might be able to tell that Harris wasn't too thrilled with the jolly old elf. Owen was screaming bloody reindeer at that age, too. But Owen popped right up there this year and told Santa exactly what he wanted- the only thing he's asked for this Christmas- a big red train.
We did get a pretty good family shot, thanks to Melissa -who takes all our professional pictures, but also is a good friend who is in our Sunday School class. Thanks, Melissa!
So, we made it through the week. I have to admit that I'm tired just typing it all out!
I've started doing an Advent calendar "time" with the boys every day and of course they like it since there are Hershey's kisses involved. Owen keeps asking during the day when we can open the "Christmas doors". I'm looking for a daily prayer guide for children for Advent. Anybody know where a good one of those would be? And I'm also trying to drill in that Christmas is Jesus's birthday and that we GIVE gifts to show we love people, etc. I asked Owen what Christmas was yesterday and he said, "Santa's birthday". At least part of it is sinking in- not the part I want, but we're getting there. I've got a few more weeks to hopefully make that happen! Send along your tips and have a lovely week.
I have a massage planned this week!!! I am super excited and thrilled to have planned this treat for myself during a busy time of the year. I'll let you know how it goes, but I may be typing very slowwwwwwwwwwwwlllllllllllyyyyyyy because of my superior relaxation. I'll be sure to rub that in...
Have a great night!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hillary,

Check out this blog http://lotsofscotts.blogspot.com/2008/12/best-christmas-ever.html. She has 4 year-old triplets and has a wealth of Bible lessons, etc for little ones. Hope y'all are all better! Have a Merry Christmas!

~Meredith

Anonymous said...

Great family picture!!!

Anonymous said...

We have a birthday cake on christmas eve for Jesus and sing Happy Birthday. Nicholas loves it

Anonymous said...

yall got a great family pic!! seems like lisa whelchel has a book about advent...the ADVENTure of christmas maybe. look at her website.

Anonymous said...

I am sure you did great on your final! My last final of this semester is Wednesday! Your Christmas pics are just adorable!!!Enjoy your massage!

Anonymous said...

i love your pictures. you have such beautiful kids. they are like your mini-me children.

congrats on getting through that week!

Anonymous said...

great family pic, and great santa!

Anonymous said...

hey!! also, totally unrelated to this blog..though I loved it...my address is

1162 Mountain Oaks Drive
Birmingham, AL 35226

Love you!!

Anonymous said...

hey, email me back. would i screw up that praline cake? it looks yummy and i'm in charge of dessert for supper club this weekend. i think that icing is scary, and i could easily make it a disaster.

Anonymous said...

hey, email me back. would i screw up that praline cake? it looks yummy and i'm in charge of dessert for supper club this weekend. i think that icing is scary, and i could easily make it a disaster.

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