The Hustle and Bustle of Christmas

the last few weeks have been so busy.  we've had Christmas programs and parties at school, shopping for gifts, wrapping presents and so much more.  it has been a whirlwind, but it's finally slowing down.  today i finished the last of the shopping and wrapped all the presents and we're now ready to celebrate.  just tonight as pete and i were driving over to meet my in-laws to pick up the boys (they so kindly kept the boys for the day so i could get some things done), we both said we were so excited about Christmas in just a few short days.  of course, we're excited for the boys to see what santa brings them, but we both just love spending time with our families enjoying good food and good company, and most of all, celebrating the birth of Jesus.

i remember being younger and being excited about the gifts i was going to get (even as a young adult), but now it's just not about that.  i love to find the perfect gift for the ones i love.  i really put a lot of thought into the things i choose for my family.  

i'm happy things will slow down this week, especially since the boys are out of school for two weeks.  even though it was crazy for a few weeks, i so enjoyed seeing the boys perform their Christmas songs and have fun at their Christmas parties.  they are such precious gifts and i love that i'm able to enjoy these times with them.

we've also had an amazing program at church called intentional acts of Christmas where we were given a pool of money from the church as well as our own contribution to help a family or families in need.  it's been a wonderful experience to be able to help people who are really in need and show them God's love through our giving.  we assisted one family through our couples' small group we've been involved in since september.  the other family is a girl in my women's small group.  they've had a difficult year of several job losses and have really struggled.  i felt God press on my heart to help this family (they have 4 children) and along with the generous contributions of my parents and their Sunday school class, we are able to provide them with some much needed financial help and some gifts for Christmas.  i'm so excited to share everything with them next week.

so i end by wishing all my friends in blogger-land a very Merry Christmas!  may you be blessed during the wonderful, magical season! 

Time for Santa

last weekend, we took the boys up to hoschton where my parents live to visit with santa.  santa comes to the depot (i assume it was an old train depot at one time??) and the kids get their picture made with them and then receive a little goody bag.  we've done the whole mall santa thing and just never liked it.  it always seemed like such a rip-off and the santas were never very good.  this deal is free...it's put on by the women's civic organization in town and everything is done on a volunteer basis.  

doodlebug was excited about seeing santa this year and about telling him the 3 things he has on his list.  he walked right up and sat on his lap...no fear at all.  now, peanut on the other hand was not having it.  he screamed the second we put him on santa's lap.  we snapped our picture quickly and ended his torture.  doodle stayed up there a few extra minutes to have a little chat with santa.  it was quite adorable to watch them talk.

now, i know some people don't get all into the santa thing b/c they don't want to take away from the real reason for the season, Jesus' birthday.  doodlebug knows it's Jesus' birthday on Christmas and he's learning all about the story of his birth at church and at preschool and at home.  that will always be the most important part of Christmas in our family.  however, i have no issue at all with letting our boys enjoy the magic of Christmas and santa and all those fun things.  i still have memories to this day of my sister and i crawling into the same bed on Christmas Eve and eagerly awaiting santa's arrival.  there were many a Christmas where i would sneak down in the middle of the night to see what santa put under the tree.  it's a fun time of wonder and excitement and i want my children to have those same type of memories growing up....as long as the always remember the greatest gift given to us on Christmas day.

Catching up!

it has been way too long since i've posted.  this last month has been crazy.  with the holidays and work and happenings at preschool, i've just been so busy.  so where to begin to catch up...

i'll start with thanksgiving.  we spent the holiday weekend with my in-laws in blue ridge, georgia, which is up in the north georgia mountains.  we had a wonderful family weekend.  the weather was pretty crummy, but it really didn't matter.  we brought games, watched football and, of course, ate!  

we left out thursday morning and were there by lunch time.  we brought a honey-baked ham and all the fixins for our thanksgiving dinner.  the cabin was off a dirt/gravel road at the top of a steep hill.  It was very nice and very big.  i really wouldn't call it a cabin.  it was more like a house!  it had plenty of room for all of us.  the cabin had 3 bedrooms, a huge wrap-around porch with great views of the blue ridge mountains, a pool table/game room in the basement and a hot tub...my favorite!  

we did venture out on friday for a hike, but it was short-lived.  we got down the long driveway, around the bend and up the hill and doodlebug said he was tired.  so we turned around and trekked back to the cabin.  later on, pete, emily and i went on a nice long hike on the benton-mackaye trail.  it was nice to get out and walk and see all the quaint little cabins hidden in the woods.

most of the weekend was spent playing with the boys, reading, watching TV, playing games and, of course, eating!  we had an outdoor fire pit so we lit that two nights and enjoyed the warmth of the fire on the cool nights.  it was actually quite warm up there for the mountains....days were about mid-50's and nights were in the mid-30's.  and wouldn't you know, the day after we left, they got a good little snowfall right where we were.  we kind of hoped to have snow while there, but we missed it by a day.

all in all, we had a great weekend.  it was nice to just relax and hang out and not have any chores to do or anything like that.  and for me, personally, nobody got on my nerves the whole weekend. that's saying a lot for me....especially in close quarters!

enjoy the pics!  more to come soon of some holiday festivities!