December 2013

 I know I'm behind in my blogging, so here is a month in a post.  We started off the month with snow and a birthday!

 Miss Chacha turned 3! She's still not making coherent speech, but she is improving.  She is going through potty training right now, and is a total rock star!  I'm so close to being diaper free after almost 12 straight years of changing them!

 Her sprinkle covered birthday cake, YUM!

 Then it was off to New York City to see all the lights and awesome decorations.  It was a freezing cold day, and there were so many people out it was like walking through a sea of people!  I've never experienced those kinds of crowds, not even at Mardi Gras!

 The tree at Rockefeller Center.

 Some really big balls.

 The Ferris Wheel INSIDE Toys R Us!

 Riding the Wheel!

 The scared-y cats who wouldn't go on the Ferris Wheel...ha!

 Inside Toys R Us, they had awesome toys and Lego statues throughout the place.

 Time Square

 M&M World, green representing Lady Liberty.

 Grand Central Station

 I totally thought of 'Madagascar' when we were here.

 This was a really beautifully decorated building.

 Empire State Building feeling the holiday love.

 Then it was off to Alabama for Christmas!  I don't know if you can see well enough in this picture: Alabama Snow!  a.k.a. Cotton fields :)

 What seems wrong with this picture?  Yes, it's almost Christmas and Theo and Charlotte are outside playing on the awesome fort my Dad built in shorts and short sleeves.  It was really nice weather while we were there!

 Time for the fun to begin!  We decorated sugar cones as Christmas trees with the cousins, so much fun!

 Time to open presents!  How you liking that sweet background?  LOL!  It's a My Little Pony homey fire to help put us in the winter mood for present opening on Christmas Day.

 My parents haven't had Santa visit their house in years!  I was trying to convince the kids that he just might not know to come here in the attempts to get them to behave while we were there, but it barely put a dent in their behavior, ha!  They were still really good, and loved being there with Mimi and Pawpaw!  They were the King and Queen of Christmas this year!

 It was a great visit, and then we had to leave and get back to real life.  *sigh*  Miss you guys!!

This pretty sums up the whole month...Charlotte passed out holding a Moon Pie.  Partied hard and ate to our hearts content! 

Coast Guard Santa

 Santa came and visited us at Theo's work.  He came in on a helicopter, he's got style!

I think they are a little excited, Ha!

 Coming in for a landing!

 It's Him!  It's really him!!!

 I had to keep calling my kids back so they wouldn't run out onto the tarmac.

 Charlotte was impressed!

They filled a helicopter with gifts for the kids and Santa's helper passed them out while the kids got to sit on Santa's lap and tell him if they have been bad or good.

 Charlotte isn't impressed anymore, she didn't want to have anything to do with him.

 My shy Miriam.

 Emma had to really think of what the right answer would be.

 Hannah waited the longest, so she was like, just give me my present fat man! LOL!

Tobie didn't get left out either, he said he wasn't going to sit on his lap, but we see who won out in the end.

It was a fun afternoon, and the kids were super excited that they got to see Santa and even more happy that they got gifts! 

Our Christmas Tree, A Beautiful Fail

This year we faced a dilemma with our Christmas tree.  We have a fake one that looks nice enough, but it was just too big for our little home.  We went to plan B which is to buy a smaller fake tree.  But I got to thinking and thought it was kind of silly to buy a smaller fake tree just to suit a house we will only be in for a few years.  So maybe we should live it up, buy a real tree and let the kids enjoy it for once! 

So this past Monday night for FHE we went Christmas tree shopping.  We picked out the perfect Frazier Christmas tree.  This tree was gorgeous with super soft thistles, and in the lot it looked a decent size.  It wasn't until we got it home that we realized instead of getting a smaller tree, this one is the same size if not bigger!  Even though I don't have the room for this behemoth beauty, you have to admit it sure is pretty...

Renki the Magical Elf

Do you see him?

This adorable Elf is from the cute kid's book, "The Elf on the Shelf". Some of the girls I teach in my Sunday primary class were talking about it and I remembered hearing about this before. I thought it was such a cute idea that I went out that Monday and got the kit from Books-A-Million for a fun FHE night.

We read the book and named the Elf; Renki. (That's 'Ikner' spelled backwards, Theo's brilliant idea!) We went around the room introducing all the kids. Tobie very cooly replied, "What's up?", Miriam gave an energetic wave accompanied by a giggle, Emma growled at the unwanted attention from the doll and Hannah just sweetly waved.

They believe in this Elf's magic so earnestly that I believe he could have jumped up and done a jig, but that would be against Santa's law, so he sits obediently on his perch and quietly watches the kids while making mental notes to report back to Santa with.

The night went smoothly. The kids were more helpful, more obedient and showed love and courtesy towards one another. If any one of them got out of line, the other would gently remind them, "Renki's watching you.". Which would quickly snap them out of their bout of disobedience.

It was all going well....until it was time to go to bed. When the lights go out, apparently that cute little Santa's helper becomes a minion of the Dark Lord's. It worked out alright as far as the two girls were concerned. They were paralyzed with fear to their beds. But we had to deal with Tobie sprinting across the house to our bedroom as he kept checking behind him to make sure that the possessed doll wasn't following him. Each time we had to chase him back to his room, and each time he came back just to let us know how much "dolls that move FREAK ME OUT!".

After a night of sleeping on our bedroom floor, he has gotten use to the idea of Renki. All the kids have, and they love waking up the next morning having to find where his next sitting spot will be.

Even though I'm glad that they got used to Renki, that also meant they got used to his presence and their true natures have come out already. That slight reminder that Renki is watching, doesn't hold as much power as it did at the beginning of the week. Oh well, I guess that's better than thinking Renki is out to bite their legs off or something gory like that.

Bass Pro Shop Santa

This was our FHE last night. We went to the Bass Pro Shop in Spanish Fort and got to see Santa. All day long the kids were so excited to see him.

When we got there though, we found out that you have to get an appointment card, which was 2 hours away. They just about bust a vein in their heads from screaming when we left to grab dinner so we could kill some time. Emma was especially distraught, she screamed and flailed all over the store floor. We had to physically pick her up and drag her out. She didn't stop screaming until we drove into Chik-Fil-A and she got sidetracked by the man in the cow suit waving to passerby's.

When we finally got back and it was our turn to sit the kiddos on Santa's lap, Miriam planted her feet, Hannah went into frightened convulsions and Emma who was so adamant to see Santa up close was now screaming to get away from the jolly man in red.

Santa was really awesome about it though and suggested a family picture. As long as Mom and Dad's bodies shielded the girls from the terror of St. Nick they were fine. I think we got a really good family picture out of it.

Tobie on the other hand was quick to get to Santa to tell him the first item on his list; a laptop. Santa looked at Tobie and said, "You're a little young for a laptop, don't you think?". As we left I told Tobie that I didn't think Santa does electronics. He looked up at me and said, pretty smug I might add, "We'll see.".

We'll see indeed. Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! We miss you and hope you are having a wonderful Christmas season!