Christmas in Douglasville

 
 
 
 

After a fun morning playing with everything Santa brought, we loaded up & headed to Nanna & Big Daddy's. Daniel & Laura Ann were thrilled to see Caroline & the three of them dove into gifts not long after we got there. After gifts, we had a Jasmine, an Ariel & Buzz Lightyear! They spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the new toys, including scooters! We enforced a quiet time due to the early hour we got up (I probably needed it more than they did!) to get them rested up for the arrival of the extended Meeks clan & another Christmas meal. Granny & Patsy prepared an absolutely fabulous meal that we all thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks to Leigh Anne & Kathryn, I have a new favorite sweet treat- oreo balls!!! The kiddos enjoyed some treats from Aunt Beth & we all enjoyed visiting with 'the girls' (Carrie, Kathryn & Leigh Anne who will always be 'the girls' no matter how old they get!). Daniel quoted his Bible verses for the group & did a special performance just for Granny. Laura Ann decided at the last minute to sing her Baby Jesus song for everyone too. There were many laughs, but Caroline provided the best one when she informed Carrie (who is expecting her first baby) that "It hurts when a baby comes out!" Ha! She apparently accidently saw the scene from The Nativity when Mary gives birth to Jesus & thought she should impart some wisdom to Carrie. Too funny! We spent the day after Christmas lounging by Big Daddy's fire & playing before coming back home. It was a great visit & a great Christmas!

Santa Came!!!!! He Came!!!!!

 
 
 
 

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Laura Ann fell asleep on the way home from Moulton, so she went straight to bed when we got home. Daniel didn't waste much time either, though, he was anxious to get into bed because he didn't want Santa to come while he was still up. He was all worried about Santa being in the storm & prayed for Santa's safety! He helped me fix a plate of cookies for Santa & carrots for the reindeer & he went straight to bed. He was asleep within ten minutes. The excitement was too much to keep him asleep though, because he pounced (literally) on me about 2:00 am saying, "Santa came!!! He came!!!". So much for getting him on video because Dan & I were both dead to the world at that hour. I explained to him that it was still the middle of the night & that Santa could still be in our neighborhood, so he had to go back to bed. He was upset about it, but cooperated. He asked if he could just look at what Santa had brought & I agreed (see 2:00 am pic in slideshow). How pitiful is that?? He had to just look at what Santa brought & then go back to bed! There was no way, though, that we could start our day at 2:00 am!! I heard him again at 4:57, so we got up & he was SOOOOOOOO excited about all of his Speed Racer garb! He played nonstop for the next hour while we waited for Laura Ann to get up. She cracked her door about 6:00, peeked out & closed it back! Ha! Unlike her dad & her brother, she is like her mom & needs a few minutes to wake up. On her 2nd peek, she spotted her Belle dress & couldn't resist coming out. She was so sweet looking at it all, pointing out everything & smiling. She loved the dress & the 'microwave'. We did make Daniel hold off on his stocking so they could go through those at the same time. Of course, Daniel tore through his in about 10 seconds and Laura Ann took about 10 minutes, looking at every little thing & commenting on it. She didn't waste any time either before she started cooking up a storm in her new kitchen. The race track was a hit with both of them. They took turns all morning racing all of the hotwheels. Getting up early worked out well, because it gave them plenty of time to play before heading for Georgia to Nanna & Big Daddy's. While we were eating breakfast, Daniel informed us that he heard Santa's sleigh land on our roof right above his room & that is what woke him up so early the first time! He talked about that the rest of the day. It truly was a magical morning. Seeing the looks on their faces & hearing their squeals when they saw their toys was priceless.

Christmas in Moulton

 
 
 
 

We kicked off our Christmas celebration in Moulton with Gran, Papa, Sam, Heather & Kate. We all had a great time visiting & eating all of Gran's cooking (shrimp boil, breakfast complete with chocolate gravy & endless sweets). Daniel & Laura Ann had so much fun playing with Kate & bless her heart, she did her very best to keep up with them. Gran let them open one gift Wednesday night to keep them busy until Thursday morning. They were all three up Thursday morning before the sun, so we dove into gifts Christmas Eve morning right about sunrise. It was an event- Kate was thrilled with her baby doll & stroller, Laura Ann with her princess castle & Daniel with his cleets & jersey. We enjoyed a visit from Grandmama Compton & then spent the rest of the day in our pjs playing with all of the new toys. Late Thursday evening, we headed next door to Mamaw & Papaw's to celebrate with the extended McWhorter clan. Daniel & Laura Ann always have fun playing with all of the cousins. It was a quick visit because we wanted to get on the road before the storm got too bad, although that didn't happen. It was a stormy, windy drive home. We did make it home safely though & got ready for Santa to come to our house!

Candlelight Service

 
 
 
 

We went to the Christmas Candlelight Service at church tonight since we won't be here on Christmas Eve. It was beautiful!!! That is by far, my favorite service of the year. Daniel & Laura Ann enjoyed hearing the Christmas Story from Pastor Buddy & loved lighting the candles. As always, they were most excited about blowing them out & barely made it through 'Silent Night' so they could blow them out. I was just happy that we managed not to set anything on fire, other than a few of Laura Ann's hairs (she got a little too close to my candle once)!!! :)

Christmas Card Outtakes.......

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My sweet friends, Jason, Michelle & Parker met me at the park a few weeks ago for a Christmas card photo shoot. It went LOTS more smoothly than photo shoots w/ my kiddos. Jason (ha!) & Parker totally cooperated with very little complaints!

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Nanna & Big Daddy's Christmas card photo shoot was just what I'm accustomed to......chaos & little cooperation. The first one however, turned out to be a keeper!

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The photo shoot for my card was chaos as well. Gran being silly in the background was a huge help & even tricked Daniel out of his 'cheeser' smile.

You never know.........

 

......what you might find hiding under Daniel's bed. In this case, the green icing all over his comforter & carpet were good clues. He made a Christmas tree yesterday at his party out of a sugar cookie & sugar cone, then covered it with green icing & decorated it with m&ms & sprinkles. He seemed clueless as to how it got into his room (yea, right), but eventually came clean that he took it in there at quiet time today. He put his leftovers under his bed for safe keeping, I guess? I'll save the rotten pumpkin for another post.........:)

Live Nativity

 
 
 
 

We went to see the live Nativity at the Methodist church tonight. Laura Ann was really excited to see Mary & Baby Jesus. They both loved petting the animals.

The Princess and the Frog

 

We went to see The Princess and the Frog after the surprise naptime & had so much fun. The movie was really funny- they both loved it. And we pigged out on popcorn & coke. What a fun Friday night!

Exhausted!

 
 
 
 

We had our usual quiet time on Friday. They both went in their rooms about 1:30. When I went to tell them to clean their rooms about 2:45 & to get dressed to go to the movies, they were both asleep!!! Daniel was in the floor. It looks like he fell asleep reading a book. Laura Ann was kind of slumped over in her bed. That is the first nap she has taken in her bed DURING naptime in months. Yay! Daniel woke up about an hour later, walked into the living room, snuggled up in Dan's chair & went right back to sleep! He finally woke up about 4:45 & I ended up waking Laura Ann up at 5:00 so we could make the next showing of our movie!
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Happy Birthday Jesus!

 
Cone Christmas Trees
 
Jingle Bell Necklace
 
Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus
 
Daniel & Anna Whitley

The Rocket Class celebrated the last day of school before Christmas break with a birthday party for Jesus. They did lots of fun crafts, had pizza & a cookie cake. Daniel was so exhausted that he fell asleep in the floor of his room when we got home! See next post.......

TACKY

 

My Bunco group decided to have a 'tacky' Christmas party for our December session, or maybe we were just supposed to wear a tacky Christmas sweater. SOME people however, I won't name names, are just SCARED & either wore regular clothes (how boring!) or a not so tacky Christmas sweater. I guess I got a little carried away with my 'tackiness'- light up necklace, jingle bell earrings, teased hair & all! Let's just say everyone was jealous of my outfit. I even won the biggest loser award tonight, so it looks like my light up necklace brought me good luck. I guess I'll be wearing it every month now. :)

Ho, Ho, Ho!

 
 
 

You knew it was coming.........Yes, as soon as we got home from our visit with Santa, Daniel emerges in his pjs, dressed as Santa. He moved his rocking chair to the corner of the room & called Laura Ann over to sit on his knee. As soon as she sat down, he said, "smile for your picture, first". He has the process down pat! Of course, I grabbed the camera at that moment. Then she told him what she wanted. I even got to see Santa, but he asked me to sit beside him instead of on his knee! Ha! Laura Ann eventually got tired of playing 'the child' & convinced Santa to let her be Mrs. Claus instead. And so the evening went......

SANTA......

 
 
 
 

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.....finally! After missing Santa yesterday at the Bass Pro Shop, we were able to see him this afternoon at the mall. We chose the mall in an effort to avoid the notorious long lines at the Bass Pro Shop this year. Daniel didn't want to see him at the mall because he wanted Santa wear his red coat & to give candy canes (he has a picture w/ the 'mall' Santa from a couple of years ago w/ a plaid vest on that he apparently doesn't like & he remembered getting a candy cane last year at the Bass Pro Shop). After I assured him that Santa would be wearing his red coat (I hoped) & would be giving out candy canes (I hoped) at the mall too, he agreed to go the mall. Luckily, Santa had on his red coat & gave candy canes, and, as an added bonus was the exact same Santa we saw on the Polar Express last weekend! They were both THRILLED to see him, practically running up to his chair, all smiles & waving. The both jumped up in his lap & immediately posed for pictures. I managed NOT to get a good shot, guess I was enjoying the moment too much, but the mall photographer did. Laura Ann was all 'bubbly' while in his lap & you can tell from the pictures. She told him that she wants a microwave & a pink stroller. Daniel, as always, was kind of 'awestruck' & quiet (maybe we should visit Santa more often- when is he ever quiet?). He told him that he wants a Speed Racer race track & race cars. Perfect- Santa has got it covered! After our visit with Santa, we got cookies from the cookie store & sat at a table close to Santa while we ate so we could just watch him. Daniel & Laura Ann moved around trying to get the best 'view' of him while we ate! They really can't get enough of him. Of course, no trip to the mall is complete without some rides on the escalator, which gave even Santa some competition!