Our Family Christmas

Hello--miss us? Our entire house has been sick with the flu so we've been more than behind on a few things the past week or so. Fortunately, things are slowly beginning to get back to normal and our health is on the up-swing! We had a wonderful snow-filled Christmas and hope to relax for what is left of 2010. I wanted to share a few holiday pictures with you of our Christmas festivities--hope you enjoy and we'll see y'all in 2011!!

Watching the Polar Express and having popcorn

Decorating the gingerbread house

Sprinkling reindeer food for Santa's reindeer!

Cookies & milk for Santa

Unwrapping presents Many, many train rides Enjoying the Christmas Day snow!

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A Nice Bob

OK, what do you think of Jessica Alba's new bob? I really like it and I'm SO READY for a hair style change--I think this could be my new style! Now, if I can just muster up the courage to (1) find a new salon, (2) make an appointment, and (3) actually go to the appointment I'll be proud of myself. Ray thinks this style is really cute but suggested a straighter too so my curls won't cause me fits for a few months (I shouldn't share with him the cost of such services, should I?) Resolution #1 for 2011: Just do it (original, I know)!!

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Let the Party Begin

Last week was Christmas party week at the daycare. I love getting to see all the kids have fun, eat sugary treats and celebrate Christmas. Our daycare is a church daycare and I am so thankful we chose it! The boys learn so much I could never teach them (Spanish, sign-language, swim lessons, etc.) and it is a very nurturing, Christian environment. I'm embarrassed to admit that we've mostly done "church on the couch" the past few years and I feel really terrible about it. One of our life changes for 2011 is to find a new church family--we are very excited! Here are a few pictures of the boys enjoying their classroom Christmas parties:

 

Check out all the yummy goodies--can we say sugar high!!!

Jackson & Macklin

Jackson enjoying his Christmas treat and Macklin sporting his reindeer antlers!

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A Bit Crowded

Guess who's getting a train of his very own for Christmas?

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It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

Sunday afternoon my mom and I finished decorating for Christmas. Typically, I put a little something Christmas in every room and last year we even had two Christmas trees. This year we opted to tone it down a notch and keep our decorating confined a bit--here's what we did....

On the front door we put a simple live wreath with a snowman plaque. Next to the front door I hung a wrought iron cross and I flanked the door with large red poinsettias (somehow, I didn't get a picture of those).

The Foyer/Entry Hallway got lots of Christmas touches and mini-trees.

The Christmas Tree is decorated with lots of silver, red and light green.

In the Dining Room, we added pre-lite garland and architectural trees to the top of the china cabinet. We used some beautiful white/gold poinsettias on top of a mirror as the centerpiece and added ornaments, garland and candles. As a final touch, we hung a red berry wreath from gold ribbon in front of the large wall mirror.

The Keeping Room got some mantle love with lots of lights and greenery. Ray told me this was my best mantle yet (WOW, thanks honey)! The trees are from our wedding reception and we spruced them up by adding garland, extra lights and wrapped the bases in foil wrapping paper. A berry wreath over the top of a star burst mirror added some cheer to another corner and a few more small Christmas touches were added to the TV cabinet.

The Master Bedroom and Bathroom got a little hint of Christmas too--I just couldn't resist!

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All Aboard!!!

"All Aboard!" Can you tell that's what Jackson is saying in the picture? "All Aboard!" Those are his favorite words right now and he loved shouting them before, during, and after our Polar Express adventure. We've been waiting on the Polar Express to arrive since July. A friend called to see if we would be interested in going on the Polar Express. At the time, none of us had read or seen the Polar Express but I knew anything involving a train ride would be sure to please! When I asked Jackson if he wanted to go to the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum and ride the Polar Express to the North Pole to meet Santa his response was a very loud "YES!" so I signed us up. My mom bought the boys the movie on black Friday so we were well on top of everything before our trip and Jackson was beside himself with excitement!

Before boarding our rail-car, the boys gathered on the front of the engine for a photo! It was quiet cold outside and all the boys could do was beg to get to get on the train. We managed one family photo next to the engine but trying to hold them back from boarding was nearly impossible! They were ready to ride the train. Several of our close friends were on the train but Jackson was all about Anna Kate. Anna Kate is one of his classmates and they play together a lot at school. At the site of her, Jackson yelled "Anna Kate" in that shrieky childlike scream to which Anna Kate was glad to reciprocate with a seemingly similar sounding "Jackson!" They ran around the Museum until boarding time. Jackson was very happy to have the conductor punch his ticket. Macklin was excited to ride the train but still a bit apprehensive. He was eager to see what was going on but not so eager to sit still for an extended period of time. He sat next to Grammy and took in his surroundings. He did muster several "train, train, train" to us and laughed as he tried to pull the Christmas ornaments off the windows! The ride to the North Pole was really fun. Jackson and Anna Kate entertained themselves watching out the window for the North Pole. They were eager to see if there was snow and couldn't wait to see Santa and Mrs. Claus. Once arriving in the North Pole, Santa & Mrs. Claus boarded the train. I thought it would be hard getting Jackson to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas but he was happy to say a Christmas train. He wasn't big on the photo-op but we managed to get one, albeit without Macklin because he was having none of it! Macklin was happy to have some chocolate milk and cookies (as was Jackson)! Grammy showed Macklin Santa's Workshop as we got ready for our return trip to the station. Macklin waved goodbye to the North Pole, Santa & Mrs. Claus and we were on our way.

Jackson and Anna Kate had a great time riding the Polar Express and we've promised them a return trip next year! Jackson hasn't let his sleigh bell out of his sight and this morning I heard him saying "I believe, I believe" in the bathroom (how precious)!

After disembarking our rail-car, Jackson was eager to jump on all the other cars in the Museum yard. He wanted to drive all of them and continued yelling "All Aboard!" We had a wonderful time and are looking forward to the Polar Express again next year!

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