Merry Christmas!

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Oh Christmas Tree

The boys usually put something together out of gingerbread each year. We've done several houses. Last year we did a train. This year - a tree. They ate almost as many decorations as they used, but that's pretty normal.

A birthday dialogue

I overheard this conversation between the boys a little while ago. Listening to their conversations can be so enlightening and entertaining.

Caleb: How come you get to turn 8 but I still have to be 4?
Alex : Because you haven't had your birthday yet.
Caleb: But how will I catch up to you?
Alex: You can't catch up. You never will. I'll always be 3 years older than you. (Caleb turns 5 in a few weeks.)
Caleb(in a whiny, pleading voice): Can't you start over?
Alex: No, you can't start over. You start at 1 and just keep going up and up. When you get to 100, you die.

That was the end of that conversation.

Happy birthday dear Alex.

Happy birthday to you! My sweet boy turned 8 yesterday! I can hardly believe it! I kept thinking about the day we brought him home from the hospital. My, how time flies. We had all the cousins and the rest of the fam over to celebrate. He requested this cake, since his school mascot is a gator. Happy birthday Alex. You have brought so much into our lives these past eight years, and we are so thankful for you. We love you bunches!

Let's Party!

Friday was the last day of school before Christmas, and you know what that means...Party time! I went back and forth between working in my office, and going between the boys' parties. What a full morning!

Alex's class read the Christmas story for the parents.



They also had a pinata full of candy. That was pretty funny to watch. His teacher almost got whacked a time or two.




Caleb's class decorated Christmas cookies.



Caleb was the song leader for Away in a Manger. They were so cute!



Time to exchange presents!


Once all the kids were gone it was time for the staff to party! We had great food, games, prizes, and best of all...Christmas bonuses! Yeah!! It was such a wonderful day and now I am definitely ready for two weeks of relaxation and no alarm clocks.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas.

I finally got some our gifts wrapped and under the tree this week. There's still more to do, but at least I made a dent. Anyway, the next morning when Caleb woke up and saw gifts under the tree he got so excited. "Christmas is today?!" He couldn't believe it! Poor little guy - I had to burst his bubble and tell him it wasn't Christmas yet, just another school day. You could see his expression change as he realized. Then he said, "That's right. Christmas isn't until December 45th." I told him it wasn't quite that far away. They have so much fun waking up every morning seeing what new things I might have wrapped, and of course looking for their names and counting how many presents each one has. I keep hearing "How come he has more than me?" My standard answer is, "I'm still wrapping." The Christmas countdown is on!

Back to the Christmas House

While we were in the Outer Banks, we went back to the amazing Christmas house this family decorates each year. They take 6 months to set up and take down. Unbelievable! Pictures could never do it justice. Friday night we went with some friends, then we went back again Saturday night with the rest of the family. 'Tis the season!

A Child's Prayer

Friday after Thanksgiving we took off to my parents' house in the Outer Banks. Saturday morning during devotions, this was Caleb's prayer:

"Dear Jesus, thank you for this beach house. And please keep me out of jail. In Jesus' name, Amen"

Um, do I need to be worried about something here? Jail??

Thank you God for our wonderful family.

It wouldn't be a holiday without spending time with family. We spent the afternoon with my family and the evening with Andy's. As usual, the highlight for the boys was "cousin time"! Also as usual, we ended the evening completely stuffed. There will be some major dieting going on this week.




The boys got their uncle in on some of the action too.



Here's a little preview to Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope all of our friends had a wonderful holiday! We sure did. The boys both had class parties last Wednesday. I got to make the rounds.



Caleb was one of many little pilgrims "sailing" over on the Mayflower.

Can you see it?

I swear it's there! You may have to look really, really close and enlarge the picture. It's the first snow of the year! (or maybe 5 years, I'm not sure) Look in front of the bush - see that tiny white speck? By southeastern Virginia standards, these were blizzard conditions! It was so beautiful to watch, even though it didn't last long, and after a few minutes there wasn't a flake to be seen. Who knows? Maybe it's a sign of things to come. Keep your fingers crossed! I'm praying for a snow day this year!

Shark Face

We were at the North Carolina Aquarium a few weeks ago. This is Caleb's impression of an angry shark. Scary, huh?





These were taken at the Lost Colony stage. It's so beautiful there with the water in the background.

Trick or Treat

Well, it was another successful candy gathering year. I'm sure we have enough candy to last us until next Halloween. We had a superhero and a villain this year. It was so funny to see them run (I mean run - not walk) from house to house. We went with some of our friends, which made it even more fun. My favorite comment from the night came from Caleb. We told them each before bedtime they could have just one more piece. He laid there in front of his candy for a good twenty minutes and finally yelled out, "I can't choose! It's just too hard!" Seems that all that candy was enough to blow his mind.



Teenage Mutant Ninja Vader and Darth Spidey??