Christmas Recap - Warning it's long!

Hannah was a naughty little girl all day Christmas Eve. I even made a call to Santa to see if she made the naughty list. Luckily he gave her a warning and she was fairly good after that. She got into my mascara and was very proud of herself!



Christmas Eve we went to Josh's aunt Patsy's house. We got to see everyone that we only get to see a couple of times a year! It was a great night. Hannah got so many nice things. She was so excited to open her presents. It is no surprise that there was great food and I ate too much. We left a little earlier than normal because Hannah didn't take a nap & she was cranky. She fell asleep about 1/2 mile down the road. (By the way, due to the large amount of pictures taken, I have decided to do the picturetrial so I could post most of them.)

I had such a hard time sleeping on Christmas Eve. I was so excited and could not wait for Hannah to open her gifts. I knew she was going to be surprised. She had only asked for brocolli (yes, brocolli) so I knew she would be excited. We woke her up around 8:00 am. She came running in the living room and screams "roller coaster!" We had it set up and she jumped on. She knew just what to do. This has been the best gift! I highly recommend it. She must have been a good girl because Santa was good to her. Josh thinks Santa went a little overboard and maybe he did considering I opened most of the gifts. She wasn't interested after the 3rd or 4th gift she opened. She dressed up in her band uniform (that is what she calls her purple flapper dress). She is really into wanting to direct the band lately like Meleah & Crystal. She put on the dress and a princess crown & necklace and directed the band. She then hopped on her roller coaster and rode down in the dress. It was hilarious and very lady-like! LOL!! She was so funny all morning. When she opened her My Little Pony, she yelled out "It's just what I needed!" Then Josh said look at all of this stuff you got. She said "Look at all this junk!" Paper was everywhere and the living room was a mess but we had a wonderful Christmas morning.

Mom came over to see what Hannah got from Santa. Then we went to Billy & Mary's house still in our pj's. I did a horrible job taking pics at their house. I didn't even get one of my cute pajamas. Oh well, we missed Kim, Addi, Levi, & Lila. They were sick with a stomach bug and couldn't spend Christmas with us. It wasn't the same without them! Paul got to eat breakfast with us and we enjoyed that but wish the rest of the crew could have been there. Despite missing them we had a great day. We just lazed around in our pj's. ATE (aren't you surprised again?), opened gifts, watched a little tv, took a nap, & laughed a lot.

We left a little earlier this year and went to my mom & dad's for our family Christmas. I did change out of my pj's. We ate a lighter dinner. We decided that since we had so many Christmas parties to attend that we would do a soup & sandwich. It was good!! Hannah was showered with more gifts from more people she loved! It is a blessing to be loved by so many people. There was the annual wrapping paper war although this year it seemed to be a little less violent. I think it is because Clay got a Wii and the boys were more interested in playing that. Once again Hannah was exhausted when we left and so was I!

Saturday was our last Christmas party at my grandparents house. We don't get to see them that much and we love going to their house. My cousin couldn't make it because she is in Washington snowed in. We missed her bunches! However the kids had a great time. They played in the trees and climbed in and out of the back of my Papaw's truck. It reminded me of being little. They lived in Corner at the time and he had a tractor. We used to play on that tractor and in the back of his truck all the time. Hannah was filthy from head to toe by the time we got home. I know this has been lengthy but I want to make sure I remember what a great Christmas that 2008 was! I hope each of you had a merry one like us!

Santa Claus is coming to town...

and of course we had to make cookies for him! Yesterday Amy, Emily, Clay, Carla, & Meagan came over to make cookies. We had a great time & I think Santa is going to very pleased with the yummy cookies we made. I hope Santa is good to everyone of you! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! It's finally here!!!!!

Christmas is in full swing!

We have been enjoying the Christmas season. It has been BUSY! Friday was my 29th birthday! I can't believe I am one year away from being 30 years old. I had a great birthday. Josh gave me an Ipod Nano. I was so excited! I got several other gifts. I love everything I got and appreciate the gifts. I felt very loved that day, not because of the gifts but I had many birthday wishes from people I love. Amy & I took Emily, Clay, & Hannah to see Santa. We originally started at the Galleria but when we saw the price of the photos we decided to go to Brookwood Village for Santa pictures. While at the Galleria, I found the bedspread I had been spying out for Hannah's big girl bed. We are finally going to move her out of her crib and into a full sized bed. We will do this as soon as I buy a rail for the bed and we find the time to rearrange the furniture. Once we got to Brookwood Village, the line for Santa was not long at all. Hannah did not want to sit in Santa's lap but I snapped a picture of her talking to him. I didn't get a "professional" picture of her standing by him because she wouldn't get close enough. I think the pic I got is cute.



Friday night we went to the Wylie's house for the teenage party. Josh is their teacher and Mia graciously opened their home to us. We had a BLAST! We ate (way too much) then they made gingerbread houses. They actually had a competition - girls vs boys. Here are the pictures of the houses.


The front of the girl's house


The back


Front of the boy's house


The back

Now can you guess who won? The picture below says it all. The boys won the competition!



Jazz & Sydney were in shock! :0)


After they opened gifts, we played Taboo. The girls redeemed themselves and won! I think they had a great party!

Saturday we went to Christmas for my mom's side of the family. I brought my camera but didn't take any pictures. (I was having such a good time, I forgot) Saturday night Josh, Hannah, & I went to Trussville to eat dinner and did a little more shopping. It was fun being out and about in the bustle of the shopping madness.

Christmas is only two days away and I am getting more and more excited. I feel like I did when I was a kid waiting on it to get here! Stay tuned for more Christmas fun!

We had a very busy weekend. Friday afternoon we met Kim, Levi, Lila, Jennifer, Ian, & Maddie at Chic-Fil-A. The kids played for about 3 hours. Friday night our young adult class had our Christmas party at Ben & Rachel's house. Jazz & Zac kept all of our kids for us. It was wonderful to have a night of uninterrupted conversation with adults! :0) I didn't have to fix anyone's plate and I didn't have to share anything on my plate. I think Jasmine & Zac survived & hopefully they weren't lying when they said the kids were good. LOL! By the time we picked Hannah up she was EXHAUSTED. She fell asleep about 2 minutes after she got in the car.

Saturday I spent the day watching movies with Hannah & wrapping the rest of my gifts. Then Saturday night we went to the church building for our congregation's Christmas party. We ate a lot and played dirty Santa. Hannah has now realized how fun it is to open gifts and she is very interested in the ones under our tree. She hasn't opened any but she keeps bringing them to me asking if she can open them. Hopefully all of them will stay wrapped for the next week and a half.

Sunday after morning worship services, we went with all the kids 6th grade & under to ride the Santa Special train ride at the Heart of Dixie railroad. We all had so much fun and the kids loved it. Hannah was fascinated by the train. Santa & Mrs. Claus made a special visit and handed out beanie baby bears (say that three times fast). Hannah was excited and nervous about Santa. She is not 100% sure that she likes him yet. As he was getting closer to her she got a little nervous. She even cried when they tried to hold her. After Xander got his picture made and was talking to him, she decided that he was okay and let them take her picture. She looked up at Santa and asked "What yous name?" He said "Santa Claus." She was so excited to see him. The train ride was a GREAT idea for our party. I think all the kids had a great time.




I love this picture. She sat looking out the window for a little while (as long as her little attention span lasted)


This is the look she had when Santa came on the train. She was so excited until he got a little closer to her.


I never got a good picture of Hannah looking forward at the camera. But at least she wasn't crying this year.

Christmas Pictures

On Monday Susan took all of the grandkids to have their Christmas pictures made. We got good pictures of the girls. I think their dresses are BEAUTIFUL & the kids in them are kinda cute too. :0) (Levi didn't want to have his picture made, which is why he is not in the pictures.)

Parades & Wild Birthday Parties

We have had a great week and weekend! Although Hannah & I have been battling colds/sinus problems (and Hannah had a croup attack one night), we have been Christmas shopping and enjoying our tree. I have wrapped all of my presents that I have bought so far. It makes me so happy to wrap presents! I asked Josh if he thought I could make money wrapping gifts. :) If any of you are willing to pay, I will wrap. LOL! Anyway we went Friday night with the usual crowd to the Fish Market. I will say that this is not my favorite place. I don't like to eat fish & I don't like the smell. However, I found something that is wonderful there - chicken pasta. It was GOOD! Plus it was wonderful company. Hannah & Xander sat by each other and they had a great time. He has finally realized that she isn't a baby anymore. For a while, he would ask us how she was talking or how she knew his name. He thought she was too young to be talking but now I think he has decided that she is kinda cool (as cool as a girl can be anyway).

Saturday we went to the parade. Jared, Emily, & Xander met us there. Xander & Hannah had a great time playing and picking up candy. They got to see Santa, Elmo, Spongebob, Dora, Ernie, and many others. We also got to see our friend Meleah in the band. Meleah is the drum major and has inspired Hannah. She will walk around with gloves on saying I am leading the band. Hannah was so excited! She came home with a bag full of candy and saying Xander is my best friend (pronounced frand - she is a country girl) in the whole wide world!


"Look Jawed, pongebob!"


Xander watching the parade go by.



Our friend, Meleah


Hannah & Xander with more candy!

Saturday we went to Addi's birthday party. It was a Hannah Montana birthday makeover. Hannah had so much fun. This was one of the best party ideas I have heard of. They all got their hair, nails, and makeup done. Even Lila got her hair done. Then they had a fashion/talent show. Addi had a great birthday party. She is a special girl to all of us. I will say that she cracks me up. She is a little too smart for her age and she can come up with some funny stuff to say! Addi, thanks for letting us come to your party.











Yesterday morning before church I tried to take a few pictures of Hannah in one of her Christmas dresses. I love this dress. I bought it for $5 at the Kid's Market. It was one of the best deals I got there. The best part is that I think she will be able to wear it next year too. She is beautiful, isn't she?



She is also a little silly.... (Josh has taught her to put two thumbs up and she loves doing it.)

Oh Christmas Tree...

Last night we bought and decorated our Christmas tree. I am in really in the Christmas spirit now! Hannah enjoyed decorating the tree and so far she has stayed out of it. I was a little worried because she likes to get into stuff so much. Enjoy the pics.







In other news, Auburn ended its winning streak against Alabama. It was good while it lasted but nothing lasts forever. Alabama deserved the win but it would have been nice to upset them. I just heard on the news that Auburn fired Tommy Tuberville. I am really mad about this. In my opinion it is STUPID to fire a coach that has had one bad season! Tuberville has been a GREAT coach! I am not sure who they have in mind to replace him but it better be someone good.