Merry Christmas!

The children opened their new matching pajamas last night.

We have had the most fun family day! The children woke up about 6:15...well all of them except for Sam. I think he slept until about 6:45. We spent the morning leisurely opening presents and playing with new toys. Santa brings each child one new gift each year, and after the children play with their new item for a little while, they begin opening presents from Jimmy and me and from each other. Olivia and Julie had a handmade gift for everyone in our family. This year, all of the presents were opened before lunch. I prepared a special breakfast and late lunch. We stayed in our pajamas all day, and we just enjoyed the slow pace of visiting, eating, and playing with new toys and games.

Clay with a new Lego set

Julie with a book from Leah

Sleepy Leah looking at what Santa brought her....a basket filled with stationery, markers, pens, stickers, and special notebooks and notepads.

Sam--with a mouth full of candy! He spent the entire morning eating the contents of his stocking!

Olivia and Julie modeling the gifts they made each other --Julie made Olivia's hat, and Olivia made Julie's bag.

Olivia with the raccoon that Sam gave her

Leah wearing the hat that Julie made for her

Happy Jimmy!

These are the slippers that Olivia made for Jimmy.

I spent my day drinking about 5000 calories worth of mocha punch, helping the children with their new toys, cooking, cleaning the kitchen, and.....playing Scrabble on my iPhone with family and friends. I had 4 games going today!

The Aftermath!

Merry Christmas!

Sugar Cookies

It's that time of year! Time to make beautifully decorated sugar cookies! I baked the cookies in the shapes of gingerbread men, candy canes, stars, and Christmas trees, and then the children had a ball decorating them!

Julie decorated two plates of cookies to give to her teenage boy cousins as a Christmas gift, and the rest we are eating ourselves....oh, we will save a couple for Santa!

Merry Christmas!

A Trip to Atlanta

Last week we took a trip to Atlanta to visit Jimmy's cousin Warren and his family (wife-Holly; children-Will and Emma). We had planned a couple of days of sightseeing, visiting Ann and Buster (more of Jimmy's relatives), admiring Christmas decorations and lights, and wrapping up our visit with a train ride on the Santa Express.

Our plans were modified! About 200 miles into the trip we discovered that both Leah and Sam were running fever, and shortly after that Sam threw up...in the van. After much deliberation, we decided to continue with our journey to Atlanta, but instead of stopping by Ann and Buster's house, and instead of staying overnight at Warren and Holly's house we reserved a hotel room. For that afternoon and night, and all the next day and night, I camped out in the hotel room with Leah and Sam. They just laid around all day, in the beds and on the floor. Jimmy ordered 24 hours of wireless internet for me, so I played around on my computer to pass the time.


Jimmy took the older three children to Stone Mountain for the day. We had previously visited Stone Mountain 6 years ago, when we had only 3 children. Here are some pictures from their fun day.

Clay, Julie, and Olivia then......

and now!

This time Jimmy let them climb on top of the rock!

across the bridge then......

and now...The rocks were moved so they could not cross anymore.

in the bridge then......

and now....I can't believe how much they have grown!

Jimmy took the children on a one mile hike up to the top of the mountain. Last time, we rode the ski lift!

on their way up the mountain

still going up

I think they are almost there!

at the top of Stone Mountain then....

and now!

Leah made the first trip too.....in my tummy! Since she was sick on this trip, Leah still hasn't set her feet on Stone Mountain...Sam either. We will plan another trip.

It's cold on Stone Mountain in December!

Sweet Sisters!

Julie, Olivia, and Clay

in front of the mountain

Clay was worn out after the 2 mile hike up and down the mountain!

supper at the mall

the sick ones!

The last day of our trip Leah and Sam were better, but then Julie started running fever. We still visited Warren and Holly for a couple of hours before our train ride. Holly served us a delicious brunch, and then we all rode to the train depot.

Even though the trip did not turn out like we had planned, we still had an enjoyable time and made many family memories.

Ornament Swap and Brunch

Almost two weeks ago the ladies of our church gathered at Sheila's home for our annual ornament swap and brunch. As usual, the food was delicious, and the ornament exchange was entertaining. We always have a couple of ladies (usually a mother/daughter pair) who playfully scheme to get the ornament they want. It is so much fun! I came home with a beautiful ornament that Season brought. Since it is breakable, I hung it from the light fixture over my kitchen table.

Lynn (on the right) with her sister and Mama

Heather with our host, Sheila

Lynn and Me

Mrs. Idella, Mrs. Mary Alice, Miss Shelly, and Mrs. Dunk

the delicious Mocha Punch that Lynn prepared

Yummy!

Making Reindeer Food

Last night Leah, Sam, and I made Reindeer Food. This was our first holiday baking session, and since we did not begin until 9:00, we stopped after three batches.

Leah and Sam took turns pouring in the rice chex and chocolate chips.

Leah stirred everything all together.

Here is the Reindeer Food cooling on waxed paper.

Clay joined us in time to tasted the finished product, lick the bowl, and then help with the packaging.

All Ready!

Recipe for Reindeer Food

1 bag milk chocolate chips

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup butter

1 box rice chex cereal

3 cups powdered sugar

Melt chips, peanut butter, and butter in microwave. Pour over rice chex in a large bowl. Stir gently to coat. Add powdered sugar and stir again until the sugar coats the rice chex mix. Spread on waxed paper to cool.

Menu Monday

We eat Christmas Eve lunch at Jimmy's parents' house....it is also Jimmy's mother's birthday. We enjoy a meal of sandwiches and salads. On Christmas Day, my family stays home all day. I prepare a special breakfast and lunch. We spend the day in our pajamas, and then we eat leftovers for supper.

Monday

BBQ chicken

baked potatoes

steamed broccoli

Tuesday

spaghetti

garlic bread

Wednesday

leftovers

Thursday (Christmas Eve)

pasta salad

chicken salad

Friday (Christmas Day)

Breakfast:

egg casserole

monkey bread

mocha punch

Lunch:

steak

shrimp and grits

roasted asparagus

crescent rolls

Visit OrgJunkie for more Christmas Week Menus.

How Did You Get That Tree Up There?

Each December our visitors usually ask us that question......

We have a dormer window at the top of our foyer where the ceiling is 19 feet. Jimmy thought it would be neat to put a Christmas tree up there, and thankfully, our builder knew that we would want to put something up there some day, so he installed an outlet.

Jimmy uses an extremely tall ladder to climb to the window. This year he allowed Olivia to join him in decorating the tree. We use a remote control to turn the lights on and off.

Julie climbed to the top of the ladder, but she did not climb into the window area...I was afraid just taking pictures of it all!

This ladder is stored in our garage down in the basement, but it is so tall that it cannot be carried up the stairs into the house. Jimmy has to carry it around to the front of the house and bring it in the front door (directly below this dormer window).

Another picture of brave Julie

I was hoping Jimmy wouldn't fall....or jump down.

The finished product!

Olivia is sporting the tree skirt! She did put it around the tree before climbing down.

We have had this pattern of taking down this tree every other year. Really! The first Christmas we celebrated in our new home (5 years ago), Jimmy put up this tree....and he never took it down.....until after Christmas the next year. Then that 3rd Christmas he put it up, and didn't take it down until after the 4th Christmas. This is our 5th Christmas here, and I don't know if he plans to leave it up until next year or not!

It certainly is a conversation piece!