Christmas

The children got home Christmas Eve and were super excited to put the cookies and milk out for Santa - of course, I have no idea why there is no picture of that ... Mother of the Year, right here!  Ha!  But needless to say, when they woke up Christmas morning, they were excited to see what surprises they had been left.

Ian's stack didn't look like much, but those dinosaurs laying on the floor in front of his chair actually all talk to each other which was really cool.  And his stocking was filled to the brim. He got some Toy Story stuff, of course; since Santa knows how much he loves Woody & Buzz.

 They got an easel to share - chalkboard on one side and dry erase on the other.  They got holders for paint and easel paper.

Bonner only really asked for the Dora & Me Doll House so she was already playing with it by the time I was ready to take a picture.  Her stocking was also filled with surprises; but, she was really only interested in the doll house.

The both got Legos - Ian's were Toy Story and Bonner's were Cinderella ... my, my, my - Legos have come a long way!

Bonner also got a Cinderella doll that is as tall as she is!  She got a new Cinderella dress so they could be twins :-)

And she got a big giant Princess book that came with crayons and paints - she went right for the paints, of course ...

These 2 love each other so much.  Each year, I take them individually to pick out a gift for the other one - well, here they were telling each other "Thank you!" after opening the gifts up!

At the end of a crazy day, it was time to sing "Happy Birthday" and enjoy yummy cake.  Happy Birthday, Jesus!

One of the best parts of the day was our favorite "baby cousin" coming over for a visit.  We were thrilled to celebrate Baby's 1st Christmas!

My Christmas Experience

Well, as many of you know, this year has been one filled with great emotion.  And, while I have tried to walk this journey with a smile on my face, there have been many dark days.  However, since the divorce was final in July, I have tried to minimize the dark days and look to the future - praying that God will reveal that to me in His time.  And while I have great hope for the future, it doesn't change the fact that holidays are hard.  It's a time when the splitting of a family is at the forefront of my thought - it's simply not right for a mother and a father to not be with their children - all together during such a precious time.

But, it's our reality and I have had to put my big girl pants on to tackle the blues head-on.  So this year, since I knew the children would be gone the week before Christmas, I decided to give back to the community - in various ways - so that I could reflect on the true meaning of Christmas!

On Monday, I cleaned my house ... it was desperately needed as I hosted several girlfriends over that night for dinner and games! Okay, so maybe that doesn't count as "giving back to THE community", but rather "hanging out with MY community which has held me up the past 18 months"!
On Tuesday, I cleaned out our closets and went through our toys and made a big donation to the Nearly New Shop.
On Wednesday, I gave blood which I had not done in many years.
On Thursday, I babysat for dear friends so they could do some much-needed Christmas shopping.
On Friday, I worked several hours at the Nearly New Shop.

And, while I did as I needed to stay busy in an effort to avoid a very quiet house, it was clear to me that so many people are lonely this time of year.  I prayed alot this week for the single parents missing their children, the widowed spouses missing their "other half", the children - young and old - missing their deceased parents ... With each prayer, I was reminded that no matter where my children are at any time during the day, no matter where my parents are at any time during the day, no matter where my brother and his family are at any time during the day, I am so blessed to be a part of God's great family!

Christmas Fun

This Christmas season, we have been busy ....

Making Gingerbread Castles...

Painting with new paints...

Making silly crafts...

Making paper snowmen because we haven't seen the first snow flake... 

But even in the midst of all the fun, we enjoyed the candlelight service at church and were reminded of the "Reason for the Season!"

Merry CHRISTmas!

Christmas Picture Time

Well, for the past several years, we have all gone to Brixx Pizza here in town because they have a beautiful giant Christmas tree right outside their doors!  Well, this year was no different ... how many shots does it take to capture 5 adults, 2 4-year olds, and a 10-month old in a fashion good enough for a Christmas card????

Let's just say that I am glad we have digital cameras because that film would have been expensive to have processed!  Here is to the season!

Football & Pumpkin Muffins

The Good's and I decided to take the children to Athens for a football game.  Figured it was 3 parents on 5 children, surely we could do this.  We went down Friday night and ate dinner at the Mellow Mushroom in downtown Athens.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn downtown so we just walked around everywhere and enjoyed a crisp fall night in God's Country.

Saturday, we were up early for the game and headed over to the Tailgate Station where we have a parking spot.  It's a great place for children (and adults) because it's fenced around, indoor bathrooms, TVs, and usually a band is there to keep our feet moving.  These pictures say a thousand words - if there was a powder-puff UGA team, Bonner would be trying out for captain-ess ... Ian has his backpack on with his Toy Story friends in it and is more interested in talking to himself than catching the football!  Ha!

Somebody was talking the other day about a 3-ingredient recipe for Pumpkin muffins... well, Bonner overheard it and was bound-and-determined for us to try it.  And, I mean, it's hard to say "No" when there are only 3 ingredients.  So I made a batch and the children loved them - have been requesting them every day since.  You mix 1 box of yellow cake mix, 1 can of pumpkin, and some Pumpkin Spice together.  Fill your muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes.  The pumpkin moistens the cake mix and I am clearly considering these a helping of fruit at this point (or are pumpkins actually vegetables since they have seeds)?  Either way, it's not much better than good old-fashioned cupcakes, but it's a little bit healthier!  I'm pretty sure that I have figured out why the children love them so much ... and I don't think it has anything to do with the end result!

Disney on Ice

Disney on Ice came to the Bi-lo Center so me, my mom, and the children set out to enjoy some entertainment.  It was really good - the kids loved it and the skating and theatrics was fantastic, as usual!

 We're here...

The first act was all about ~

 Mickey & Minnie;

 Goofy (mommy's favorite);

 Cars characters like Mater; and,

Tinkerbell's Fairy friends (so cool to see her flying around the ice rink)!

The second act had Ian's full attention ... TOY STORY!

 The Army Men called us to attention -

 Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head was on the ice -

 along with our favorite dinosaur, Rex - 

 and, of course, Woody, Bullseye & Jessie!

Even Barbie & Ken got in on the skating action.

Their skit, by the way, was hysterical!

We had a great time - so glad we went and that we bought this picture because I did not get any good ones of the two children with my camera!  Cheese!

Thanksgiving Feasts at School

Each class had their own Thanksgiving feasts and put on little programs.

Ian was an Indian...

 Ian with his helper teacher, Ms. Nordeen

Ian was at the head of the table ...

"That's me, chief indian!"

Bonner was a pilgrim ...

 Bonner with her precious teacher, Mrs. Zivitski

And here are my most favorite Indian and Pilgrim ever!