Holiday Traditions

I love that Christmas, for our family, is just like the Energizer bunny! It keeps going and going and going...

For me, this is wonderful. Sometimes hectic, but really great to be able to spend time with our extended family!

This year, Christmas began last Saturday with a get-together at our house. We had a great time and the kids were more than happy to get a jump start on the gift getting!

It is hard to get a good picture of the kids opening gifts because once the tissue paper starts flying, it's hard to see anything else!

Then, on Monday, we helped to move my parents into their new house! The house is so great and it already feels like home! You may remember from a previous post, I was a little worried!



Then, my Mom hosted Christmas Eve lunch at her house 2 days later! What a woman! When we arrived, I laughed because all of the presents were sitting under a floor lamp! So, we turned on the lamp and tied on a Christmas towel and it became our Christmas lamp! Who needs a tree to celebrate?!


We had a wonderful lunch of beef stew and cornbread - how Southern are we?! And then the boys had a great time opening gifts!



My cousin, Heather, couldn't make it this year, but she hit the nail on the head again with her gifts for the boys! They always love what she gives and this year was no exception - they had a ball with their new firetrucks!

Walt and Kevin helping themselves.


Drew and Papa Tony




Hayden and Davis trying out their new Doctor Kits!

Then, came the big day and Santa did not disappoint! Davis loves his new kitchen - he's been making us lots and lots of coffee! And Drew has a new Flip video camera. He's been recording everything, so I really have to be careful now! An 8 year old with a video camera is a dangerous thing!





We always have Christmas Day lunch at my grandparent's house with all of my aunts and uncles and cousins. It is always one of the highlights of the holiday season for me.

Hayden and Davis had a great time running and playing outside.


Davis snuggling with his Nana.


Drew snuggling with his Nana.


My sweet husband watching over the boys in the front yard.


My Papa and Drew in deep discussion. Papa Luke has been teaching Drew all about coin collecting!

And now, my cousin, Adam, would like to demonstrate what happens to the men in my family after a really delicious Christmas lunch...

Out like a light!

And, believe it or not, Christmas is not over yet! We are looking forward to a day of celebrating with Kevin's family on Sunday! I told you, Christmas keeps going and going and going...

Merry Christmas!

Sweet Boys

Today was Davis' Christmas program at preschool and he certainly redeemed himself after the Santa fiasco. He was precious (and he proved me wrong - I predicted a total meltdown and no singing) and sang with all of his friends. We were so proud!

Davis' class sang the sweetest little Christmas song and it was so simple! I love that because I have tried to teach Christmas carols to preschoolers and it's not easy (right, Ms. Brooke?)! I thought I would share it with you although I'm not sure about the title -

Sung to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb":

Mary had a baby boy, baby boy, baby boy
Mary had a baby boy
And his name was Jesus.

Joseph loved that baby boy, baby boy, baby boy
Joseph loved that baby boy
And his name was Jesus.

It melted my heart to see Davis "rocking" the baby Jesus.

Clapping for everyone!

One of my favorite moments.
They were singing "My God is so BIG, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do!"

Now, my other sweet boy came home from school yesterday (public school, no less) with a birthday card for Jesus. He showed it to me and then told me that he wanted to give it to Jesus. I thought that he would put it in his Bible to take to church. But, he didn't.

This is where I found it...



...by the nativity in the foyer. Gotta love that kid and his heart!

Visit With Santa

On Sunday, we went to the Biltmore Estate to visit with Santa. Drew had prepared his letter for Santa very carefully and, like the good big brother he is, helped make a list for Davis.

We had been looking forward to this day for weeks - we had set aside this day for the boys. We had really talked up Santa to Davis and we expected him to love seeing the "Big Man". But, little did we know, that Davis would decide that Sunday would be the day that he would become, well, evil. Really. He was evil - as hard as I try, I just can't think of another word to describe it. And he screamed about seeing Santa. Not because he was scared, but just because he wanted to scream.

So, while Drew did this...






Davis did this...


Good times. And the icing on the cake was, that as we were leaving, he kept saying how he wanted to see Santa. Aaaaaaahhhhhh!

After Drew met Santa, Davis was a little happier and I was determined to get a picture of the boys together. They are so hard to photograph together! Our Christmas card picture was nearly impossible to get this year! They are never both looking at the camera. Drew makes weird, "I'm trying to be cool" faces and Davis {sigh} just never cooperates. If anyone has any tricks for taking photos of 2 (or more) children, please let me know. Here is our attempt on Sunday...

Take One

Take Two

Take Three

Take Four

Take Five

Take Six

Take Seven

Take Eight

Take Nine

And Mom gives up...

Christms is Coming!

Christmas is in full swing around our home now! I love the holidays and we are so excited for the coming month. Here are a few pictures...

We have two trees this year - one in the den and this one in the keeping room. It's all gold and silver and it really sparkles!

A few decorations in the kitchen.

Let's play a game - can you spot the Stephanie? Did you find her?

I have had the hardest time taking a good picture of our trees. But I wanted to show some of our favorite ornaments. We love this Santa - he's just so jolly!

Drew picked out these guys on our trip to Richmond. He loves sharing all he knows about North Carolina and he loves that the state bird is the cardinal.

Here is the den and our red and white tree. I love my new "Believe" letters!

Our basket of Christmas books sits by the tree and our goal is to read one a day. So far, we are a little behind, but we still have plenty of December left to go (at least that's what I'm telling myself!).

Our beautiful nativity was a wedding gift from my Aunt Lynn and Uncle Rocky and it's still our favorite Christmas decoration to put out. This year it's in the foyer.