Christmas Memories

I have so many wonderful Christmas memories so I thought I would list a few:

1. Making cookies and any other kind of tasty treat with my Nannie...she always encouraged me to taste as we went along:)
2. Looking at neighborhoods full of Christmas lights with my parents and grandparents too sometimes, while listening to Christmas music.
3. Appple cider brewing on the stove.
4. Waking up Christmas morning and opening the treats in my stocking while we waited for my grandparents to arrive for the Santa gift opening. ( They lived in the same town till I was in sixth grade so this was a very special treat for me.)
5. The big Bogart the Basset hound stuffed dog I got one Christmas.
6. My Mom (aka Santa's helper) shopping till she dropped looking for all of the things on my list. (Yes, I was spoiled.)
7. The Christmas my Dad drove a few hours from where we lived to wait in line before the store opened to get me just the right Cabbage Patch doll I had my eyes on. (Thanks again Dad.)
8. The singing Santa on Nannie and PaPaw's back door which sang when you pushed its red nose. ( Nannie and I loved it but I think it annoyed everyone else.)
9. The house covered in decorations and holiday magic.
10. Walking in the door and hearing Nannie whistling to the Christmas music on the radio or the old record player.
11. My Mom always wanting to make everything perfect...her divinity candy is the BEST!
12. The years of pictures with Santa as Mom and Dad looked on with smiles on their faces.
13. My Dad getting the presents down from the attic and me pretending not to hear in my bed.
14. Seeing just how early I could get away with waking my parents up on Christmas morning.
15. Christmas Eve with all my relatives, catching up on the many activities of the year.
16. The love of our family.
17. Christmas carols on the radio all day.
18. Making my list for Santa along with cookies and milk.

I am sure there are many more memories but those are definitely the tops from my childhood. Who knew (besides our parents) how much better Christmas would be when you have children to spoil? The looks on their faces Christmas morning are priceless. I am having so much fun this year with Kaylee since she is old enough to understand what is going on and wants to immerse herself in everything Christmas related. It is definitely more fun through the eyes of a child whether it is yours or someone else's. May you all have a very Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Tag

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate definitely!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa wraps every present. I just love unwrapping them. I have seen that I am in the minority on this one.
3. Colored lights on tree & house or white? Definitely white lights...is there any other color??

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, but I would if I had some!

5. When do you put your decorations up? If I am home the day after Thanksgiving...if not as soon as possible.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? For dinner, honey baked ham, dressing, green bean cassarole, etc...

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Waking up Christmas morning and opening the things in my stocking while waiting for my grandparents to arrive so I could open the good stuff from Santa.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Are you kidding? I still believe..those who do not believe do not get any gifts. Right?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I always got to open one present from my parents. I always picked based on size and shape.

10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him? Usually the slice n bake sugar kind with canned frosting on top.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it!

12. Can you ice skate? I have never tried so I do not know. I have always thought it sounded fun though.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Probably my diamond tulip ring from Santa one year. I have always been addicted to jewelry.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Watching my children experience the magic of the season, being with family, and seeing people think of others for a while who normally would not.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I would have to say pecan pie.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? All of them are great! I would have to say driving around and looking at Christmas lights while drinking milkshakes and listening to Christmas music, decorating cookies with Kaylee (Campbell in the future), and watching the sparkle in my girls eyes with ever holiday sparkle.

17. What tops your tree? An angel I searched for and finally found the perfect one.

18. Which do you prefer Giving or Receiving? Definitely giving, especially to my children or to other children who need so much.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Carol? Winter Wonderland or White Christmas

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yum!

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

We finally LOVE Santa!

Yeah!! Kaylee finally sat on Santa's lap and actually enjoyed it! She was a little hesitant when we were about three people away from him but I bribed her a little and things went great. She even talked to him for a little bit and gave him her list. He gave her a wink and told her to be good till Christmas and he would see what he could do. She made sure he saw Campbell's list too! It was so nice to not have crying or screaming. If only she had been looking at the camera but I will take it after three previous years of trying. It looks perfect to me. The highlight for Kaylee was Santa giving her a Chronicles of Narnia snow globe which her picture can be placed in later. (She adores snow globes. That is all she wanted Cary to bring her back from Seattle when he went a few months ago.)

Then there is Campbell who immediately pulled the poor Santa's real beard the minute I sat her in his lap. He just smiled and gently pryed her hands off of the beard. She just grinned from ear to ear like a pro. Too bad the smiling was not there this morning when we were getting the girls Christmas pictures taken and Campbell's 6 month pictures. You will see a somber faced girl in our Christmas cards. Oh well you cannot win them all I suppose. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Letter to Santa

Well here is Kaylee's letter to Santa. Why do they always surprise us by adding something they had never talked about before? She may be a little surprised on Christmas morning when a few of these are missing or maybe she will have forgotten since her list changes all the time due to different commercials. Hope every one is enjoying their holiday season. We go for pictures tomorrow to put on our Christmas card. Wish me luck! We may try to squeeze in Santa too if I feel really brave. ( If you cannot see the list very well you can click on it to make it larger.)

Christmastime or Crazy time?

Well the past week has been a blur. There is so much to do with so little time. We are officially moving a week from Friday so not only do I have Christmas stuff to take care of, doctor's appointments to fit in, suitcases to pack, special keepsakes to pack, friends to see, and many other last minute things to do. Where has all the time gone? Who's idea was it to move during the holidays? We have never moved from one house to another and may never again! (My only saving grace is that the new employer is paying for movers to come and pack everything!)

It was nice on Saturday night to attend our class Christmas party after the crazy week. Little did we know all of our dear friends were going to surprise us with a sweet going away gift. (To all our class friends who read my blog the gift and love behind it meant more than words could ever say. We will look at it often and think of each of you. We love you all!) I do not think the reality of moving had hit me till that moment. I think I spent the whole time we were standing up trying not to break into what Oprah terms as "the ugly" cry. I am excited about the new opportunities for our family I just wish we could take all of our sweet friends with us. We have been fortunate enough over the past 6 1/2 years to develop some of the friendships many people spend their whole lives searching for. How many people can say they have a list of 20 people they could call at a moments notice and they would drop everything and come running? I dare say not many. I know in my heart the friendships will remain but just take a different path for a while. We will probably be back so often they will wonder if we really moved. (I am already planning on coming back for a very special baby shower and the ladies retreat.) Some of my best girlfriends have even changed their cellular plan to our plan so we can call each other anytime and all the time at no charge. I am just going to cram all the fun I can into the next two weeks.

I just realized I still have to get... pictures with Santa, a picture of the girls for our Christmas cards, and change of address cards printed. Off to get things done!!