It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We began our weekend before Christmas by going to see the lights at Saluda Shoals park on Friday night. The big boys got out of their car seats and sat in the front seat with us; they loved all the lights and cried when it was time to leave.



Today our Christmas festivities continued. Grandaddy Terry and GG (my dad and step-mom) came for a pre-Christmas visit. We had a wonderful day opening some gifts, hanging out, eating lunch and enjoying each other's company.

Thanks to Dad and Gail for bringing lunch and gifts; we all love you very much.

Recent Pictures...

Granny Meg gave the boys some a gingerbread making kit. We had a blast making them. Here is John working on his "cookie bread man".

Andrew with icing on his fingers.

Andrew decided to decorate himself after he finished decorating his "cookie bread man"

Look at those thighs! So sweet!

Sweet P

When Ashley and I found out that we were having a third baby, we were shocked. We had no idea what to expect and how we would handle adding another baby in the mix. The twins were 15 months old when I found out I was pregnant. The give-away was morning sickness, which for me kicks in around 8 weeks.

Umm, yeah, that is how far along I was before I found out (don't ask). The point is that we were sort of scared. Three under two sounds daunting.

Of course, ANY baby was an amazing blessing for us. Wyatt was the answer to my prayers.

But Wyatt is not just any baby! He simply could not be any sweeter. P gets less attention that he deserves, but he never complains. As you can tell from the picture, he even takes breathing treatments in stride.


Ashley and I can not wait to see what his little personality will be like as he ages. It's so much fun to watch this little joy as he blossoms from infant to hip hugger. He'll be walking before we know it. Where does the time go??

Lyrically Challenged

The boys are really into singing, but they often get the words wrong.
A couple of recent hits have gone like this:

John singing:
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man
Bake me a cake as fast as you can
Roll it in the meadow
for Andy and me ...and WYATT! YEAH!!

Andrew singing:
The farmie in the dello
The farmie in the dello
hy-o (hum, hum)
The farmie in the dello

Tonight we were singing some Christmas songs and Andrew had a request for a song that I did not even know that he knew..."Awake in a manger"

I love the singing around here, even if the words are wrong sometimes.

God's love

Tonight while Ash was at SALT I took the boys to the Living Christmas Story at Union Methodist. If you have not ever been, it's basically a drive through Christmas story and it is pretty cool.
This was our conversation as we left:

Andrew: "I wanna see Baby Jesus."
Susan: "Honey, he's right there in the manger, but I have to keep driving because other people behind us want to see him too."
A and J: "Bye Jesus! Bye Baby Jesus."

some time passes...

Andrew: "Mama, Jesus loves me. God loves me."
Me: "You are right, honey."
Andrew: "God loves me. He wants to kiss me all day."

(I do too)!!!!!!!!!

Elf of the Shelf

If you are not familiar with this book, I highly recommend it.

Last night Santa visited our house and left an elf! This elf is watching the boys and every night he is going to go back to the North Pole and tell Santa if they have been good boys or bad. Andrew and John are so fired up about this elf (whom they very creatively named Mr. Elf). They are not allowed to hold him or touch him because his magic might disappear, and he can not talk to them. They can tell him their wish lists though!!

Tonight at bedtime they really couldn't care less about me reading the usual books. They were intent on discussing "Kanta Klaus" and Mr. Elf and acting good. It reminded me of a time when I believed in magic. It is going to be so fun to relive all the excitement through the boys' eyes. I think it is going to be better the second time around than it was the first.

Thanksgiving

For as long as I can remember, my heart has been a little heavy on holidays. I am not sure if it started soon after my parents got divorced, but I remember being young and wishing I could be in two places at one time. I remember feeling an uneasiness and wondering what my dad was doing, what my mom was doing, what my brother was doing. I was usually missing someone or driving to see someone, neither of which I think are a great way to spend a holiday.

This year was something entirely different.

Ashley's parents had my family for Thanksgiving. My family. Not just my mom and not just my brother, but both. And their spouses. And my brother's three children who are all under 5. The only things missing were my dad and step-mom, but I knew that they were having a great time in Florida and for what seemed like the first time in a while, I had inner peace on a holiday.
After eating a delicious lunch everyone went outside and threw football. The kids threw rocks in the lake and the adults sat around and watched the kids and the view and enjoyed each other's company.
Were we filming a Hallmark commercial? Nope, this was our Thanksgiving.
Maybe this is a new tradition?
Even if we never do it again, it will always stand out in my mind as a wonderful day.