Giveaway over at The Knotts

Look at my cutest newest reader. She also has an adorable necklace up for grabs!
http://tiedtheknott.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-giveaway-last-post-today-i.html

Check out her blog, but maybe not enter so I will have a better chance :)

Christmas Time

We have started off December with as much Christmas as we can handle. We have gone to the Collierville Tree Lighting with Daddy Doc and Granny T:

we have worn our Christmas jammies and watched lots of Christmas movies:

we have looked for snow:

and played in it:

we have decorated our trees:

and watched Christmas parades featuring Easton and Jake:

we have enjoyed Daddy being home and done with school until January 9 (can I get a whoop whoop!) :

 

we have celebrated PawPaw’s birthday with some ribs from the Rendezvous:

we have played  with our girlfriends at church:

and celebrated BFFs birthdays:

we have enjoyed storytime on the Square:

and we have just enjoyed being together at home.We have been doing an advent calendar everyday that tells the Christmas story and the kids can play with the figures. It is such a privilege to be able to share with them a story from the heritage, and one of their salvation. I also have realized this year more than ever how broken this world is. I have a friend whose husband is fighting testicular cancer (& she gave birth to their 3rd child last week-all 3 and under), I have a friend who lost a precious baby this time last year, I have a friend who just got out of jail (for some undeserved time), and I am just heartbroken for the coach and baby girl not far from here who lost their wife/mama. I am so thankful this isn't the end. And thank goodness, because this place isn't good. It is sad and hard. Thankfully, God loved us so much he has prepared a good place for us to spend eternity. And this season, I am trying to remember myself and teach my kids every day that Jesus can get us there. In fact, he is the only way for us to get there.

We have given our daddy a little more love than usual (but not as much as he deserves!)  

The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much.
--Henry David Thoreau

Thanksgiving Vacay 2011

After Luke’s wreck, we decided not to go to Florida for our annual vacation. For one, he was still in ICU and my parents didnt want to leave me in case something happened. For a second reason, Luke loves the beach more than anyone, and although he wasnt planning on going this year because he was working, my family thought he would freak out if he realized where everyone had gone without him (& at that time, he probably would have. although, he was gator hunting in FL without us, so…) Anyway, we rescheduled for the week of Thanksgiving because Luke and Blake were both out of school. The rest of us rearranged our schedules, and voila, we went to Orlando. We had planned on going to Universal for two days (b/c Kath wanted the boys to see Harry Potter World!) and when we got down there, Jeff decided to treat everyone to a day at Magic Kingdom (for our Christmas present!) We had a wonderful time at all three places, and I was not ready to come home. I am so thankful that we had that time away from our house and everyday life, and so thankful to have family to share it with. We shared a condo with Meg and Brett, and after the kids woke them up the 6 day in a row at 7 am (and this was after I had kept them “quiet” in our room for an hour), I dont know that they will ever have kids! Alright, on to the pictures!

Day One:

We did the original Universal Studios. They had lots of stuff for the kids, and for the big kids. We broke up several times and then we would swap the kids with someone so Luke and I could ride. It was a nice, easy day to start out with. Preston loved the characters which really surprised me! His favorite thing was the ball factory by Curious George. He LOVED it! It was a huge room full of foam balls, vacuums, and ball guns. Paradise to a 13 month old boy! Kate loved the Woody Woodpecker roller coaster that she rode with Luke. The big kids loved the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. It was an awesome roller coaster and they video you the whole time=hilarious! We were there from 9:25 am –7pm.

See that bow right above my head. Yep, it got left there.

Day Two:

We ventured over to the Islands of Adventure. We walked in and headed straight to Hogwarts. It was crowded, but not as bad as some of the horror stories I have heard. Note to Universal: if you would sell Butterbeer in the ride lines, you would make a whole lot of money. Also, I loved your kidswap option (much better than Disney, we would find out!)

Kate loved everything in Seuss Landing! I loved everything in Seuss Landing :) I think the only thing we didnt like was the Popeye and Bluto River Barge. It was not fun, just wet. Ok, soaked. And we were wet the rest of the day. When we were done with everything else in the park, we went back to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and rode everything again. Awesome. We were there from 9:20 am –9 pm.

Day Three:

Hung out in condo; saved energy for Day Four. Oh yea. Dad signed us up for a free breakfast buffet where all you had to do was take a survey. Breakfast was aweome (can you tell Kate loves bacon?) and Dad, Mom, and Blake got to listen to a 2 hour presentation from Andres on why they should buy a time share.

Day Four (Thanksgiving Day)

Magic Kingdom. Love absolutely everything about this place.(except the kid swap, and no refillable cups like Universal!) We arrived about 9:15 am and got back to the condo at 12:30 am (& we were the early car). That’s how we do it, folks.

Looking for the castle from the ferry boat. I think she sees it!

Eating our Thanksgiving Dinner.

We even go to spend some time with Grammy and PopPop while we were there! They came over to the condo on Sunday night and ate dinner with us, and then we met them for lunch at The Rainforest Cafe on our way out of town. So fun to be close to them again!

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I'm glad he took our presents. You can't hurt Christmas, Mr. Mayor, because it isn't about the... the gifts or the contest or the fancy lights. That's what Cindy's been trying to tell everyone... and me. I don't need anything more for Christmas than this right here: my family.

Lou Lou Who