Presents, Presents, and Presents!!!

The boys had a great Christmas...all I can say is Presents, Presents, and more Presents! We enjoyed seeing their expressions on their faces. They were extremely excited and loved every minute of it. The hard decision is what to play with first! They are also aware of the reason for the season which is Christ's birth. We talked about it with Garrett and he understands that God sent him to be born and then die later for us on the cross for our sins. I believed in Santa as a child and also understood the reason for the season as well! There is no harm in letting a child use his imagination ...that's a part of childhood! We also watched the Disney Christmas Parade and had a wonderful breakfast made by mom.

Trip to see Santa

We took the boys last weekend to see Santa! It was a long wait, but worth it! We waited 40 minutes. In the meantime we talked to several families around us. We also let Garrett write a quick letter to Santa...he asked for a 4 wheeler. Oh well...he may be somewhat disappointed... that will have to wait till birthday time. He is getting plenty! Brendan told Santa he wanted a dumptruck and WALLE of course. We also rode the train around the fountain.

Deck the Halls

Just wanted to share my Christmas decorations with you all! I have Patrick to thank for putting up the lights on the house. Unfortunately before we could get a picture of the house...a few lights went out. I'm still proud of how it looks! Our house is one of about eight in the neighborhood that is decked out for Christmas! I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas and Alabama Photos '08

Mom came down to help me with the boys to get their pictures taken. Needless to say I NEEDED her help. The wait was of course a long one-from about 2:40-3:45-finally got them in, photos taken until about 5:20, and then prints were received at 6:00! At least they had a Lego table where the boys enjoyed playing. While we waited for the prints we walked around at Midtown Village and shopped a little. In the meantime mom was wanting to get back to Jasper to hear the Lamb Family in concert. They are AWESOME! Well I was trying to call Patrick to come and meet us, but accidentally somehow linked the wrong person...trucker answered and I didn't realize until about 2 to 3 minutes into the conversation...that it was NOT Patrick and I had rambled on talking that the guy hadn't had a chance to say that it was the wrong number. Pretty funny though, I told the person to come pick me up...he said okay SWEETIE! What a good laugh I got out of that one! Anyway these are just a few sweet pics from the photo shoot at Portrait Innovations.

The Moon

Yesterday there was the most beautiful full moon. I wanted the boys to come out and admire its beauty! As we were looking at it the boys were loving it. Brendan enjoyed it so much he wanted me to take him back out to see it. When we went out the second time the clouds were covering it a bit. Brendan began to get a little sad...he said "The moon is broken!" I said, "No, its just the clouds." Anyway he thought I said "cows" and he began to say "Moo!" Pretty funny! I love the things kids will say!

When is Thanksgiving Momma?

This morning we discussed why we were off and Garrett told me that because people fought for us. Smart boy! Then he proceeded to ask when was Thanksgiving...Of course I told him in a couple of weeks. His response was this..."Oh yes, I can't wait because I want some "punkin" pie..you know that Momma...we had that last year in Mrs. Tindle's class!" I thought that was cute. I was talking to Mom on the phone and she told him she would make his "punkin" pie!

I'm a PROUD mama!

Garrett is doing a wonderful job this year. His first grade teacher is GREAT! She is really organized and that has helped us stay on our toes. In AR reading, Garrett has completed his last two tests making an 80 and a 100! Garrett's reading is improving each week and his confidence is soaring. This week he improved by 60 sight words from the previous week! I am such a proud mama! He worked so hard this week on learning his words. By year's end he is supposed to have at least 400 sight words and he is halfway there. Also he continues to shine in spelling. We were also told that he is very artistic and creative at our parent-teacher conference. His "Alabama" notebook they did in class is wonderful. He drew the capital, the state bird, a large mouth bass, and etc. Again I am a PROUD mama!!!

My Little Jedi Crew

We went shopping at Target today and began looking at all the costumes for Halloween. Garrett found a Yoda costume that was perfect for Brendan! So I decided that my two little men would be Yoda and Obi-Wan! Luckily they had an outfit for Garrett to be Obi-Wan. I had Brendan surprise Patrick as Yoda and these are the pics he got of our little Jedi crew! Enjoy!!!

A Family Weekend at Mom and Dad's

We went to Jasper this past weekend to visit with Brent and Becky, Jill and Dave, and Mom and Dad. We celebrated Claire's 1 year birthday and Ally's 4 year birthday together with everyone. Also it was the first time for everyone to see Griffin! During our visit we got to watch the BAMA game - AMAZINGLY though we survived! All the cousins/grandkids got to play together and it was a pretty smooth weekend all in all. Next visit will be Thanksgiving and looking forward to seeing everyone again. Here are a few pics! Also the Texas Weekend post has been updated with pictures!