Monday, December 26, 2011

…and the countdown is on…

 

Christmas Eve 2011

We spent the whole day at home…just relaxing and preparing for the big day!!  Marci and I baked a little bit…she’s such a big helper!

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Marci’s own tree in her room!

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These are Christmas bears that my mom made clothes for when I was little…this is another thing that has been passed down to my kids.

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Sitting by the cozy fire reading Christmas books!!

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YES!  Paige LOVES Santa…but I think she loves her Cheerios even more! LOL Winking smile

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Our Family Tradition:  Reading the Christmas Story from the Bible.  Marci wanted to read it this time!

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…and of course, what would Christmas Eve be without “Twas the Night Before Christmas”…Marci read it to us this year also!

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Cookies for Santa…Smore Bars actually…

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Marci wrote Santa TWO letters…and Hi Lighted them…so he would be SURE to notice them!!  The 1st letter was thanking him for “Parker”-the Elf on the Shelf…and asking him to “Right back” Winking smile  The 2nd letter was asking him to leave something for “Emma” (her American girl doll).  AND since this was Parker’s last night at our house, Marci wanted to make sure I got a good picture of him!

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Merry Christmas to all…and to all a good night!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Christmas Break!!!

This is seriously my favorite time of the year…it’s the scents, Christmas movies, songs and decorations…and I love to GIVE…but most of all, I love my children being  here all day long…not having to rush to go anywhere…seeing their sweet faces still sleeping when I go to work (I hate to wake sleeping babies…even when they are 14 and 7…they’re still my babies!) …no homework or projects or lunches to pack…we play games and stay up late…I love it!!! 
Yesterday we played Uno, Hangman, Connect 4,  Rock Band(I don’t care how much I play this game…I will NEVER be able to play on “Hard” or “Expert”…my pinky can’t reach the orange button and my brain can’t go that fast)and Paige played puzzles! Smile
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Paige loves to ride on Trace’s shoulders!
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Uncle Brad and Aunt Ladale and Bryson got Paige this outfit…and she sports it well! Smile Thank you for my cute outfit, guys!
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ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY TWO FRONT TEETH!! Smile
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Marci calls this  her “Christmas gown”…I wish I could insert pics from the last 2-3 Christmases…because she’s been able to wear this gown the last few!  It’s just gotten a little shorter…she won’t  get rid of it!
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Trace can rock that guitar on hard and expert levels…and Marci is an excellent singer…not sure why she feels as if she HAS to stand on the table to sing…but she does!…maybe she’ll be a performer one day!
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My mom made this Bear Advent Calendar for me when I was Marci’s age…so it’s been around for “Several” years…it has a little bear that has velcro on his back…and each day of December, you move him from room to room on the calendar, til he finds Christmas!  I’ve done this with my kids, since Trace’s 1st Christmas…and we’ve never lost the bear…UNTIL this Christmas…Nosey little Paige has hidden the bear and we can’t find it! LOL  Maybe it’ll show up soon Smile
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Nonnie found these Christmas pj’s in Branson…they have lil reindeer on the feet…so cute!

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Marci passed this chair down to Paige..and she loves it…here she crawled up in it, watching morning Cartoons…Mickey Mouse Clubhouse…she won’t stay here long…not real interested in staying still at this age Winking smile
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Had to include a picture of Christmas cassettes that have been a part of my life since I was very young…the top one is “Disney Songtape” the middle is “Cabbage Patch Christmas” and the last but certainly not least is “Conway Twitty and the Twitty Birdy Christmas”-this one was my favorite and I drove  my brother, Trent, crazy listening to it each year growing up.  It’s now a family joke b/c I still bring it out each year…yes…I still have a cassette player in my house…and will not part from it…for this reason alone Smile  And since I’m ratting on myself, I still have a VHS player too, that I won’t part with…we have to many classic VHS movies that Marci still likes to watch from time to time…HOME ALONE…TOY STORY…SHREK….hello!!! LOL

Wishes DO come true!

News travels fast…especially when you are SEVEN!  Obviously there are several of Marci’s friends who have an Elf on the Shelf at their homes!  Marci was a little concerned that she didn’t have one of these elves, watching her every move, who could fly to the North Pole each night to report her actions to Santa!  So…when she sat on Santa’s lap at the mall last week, she asked Santa for an “Elf on the Shelf”. 
In the meantime, one of Marci’s classmate’s mother called inviting us to a Christmas party at their home on Dec 22nd…she mentioned that last year Santa surprised them with a visit…and she wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he didn’t make another surprise visit this year.   When we arrived to the party at the home of the Hoover’s that evening, the house was decorated so festive…there was a spread of scrumptious food and tons of people mingling around…like probably 70 people!! The kids all sat down for a story, Twas the Night Before Christmas, when all of a sudden we heard  a “HO HO HO’ and Bells jingling….Could it be?? YES it was!!! Santa was there!!  AND..he was wagging along a BIG bag of loot.  He sat down and started pulling out gift by gift, each was labeled with a child’s name!  Marci received her gift and sat on his lap…the kids even tugged on his beard to ensure this was the REAL Santa…his beard was REAL!!
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There were so many children there, you can imagine that my sweet little Paige got a little impatient in the long wait…so we escaped for a moment…and I have to insert these pics of her…because I LOVE this little outfit on her so much!!  Marci’s 1st grade teacher, Mrs Kemily Estes, got it for her on her birthday!! How cute is she in it!!!
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While we were taking a break, of course I missed Marci opening her gift from Santa…but so glad that my friend, Judy, got some great pics for me!  The look on her face is absolutely priceless!! She couldn’t believe that she had gotten an ELF on the SHELF!!
marci elf on the shelf!
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This is where she finally got over to me…she was sooo happy!  On the way home she was in the back seat thanking Santa(because he can hear you all the time!) and telling him he was the best ever Winking smile And pondering on names for her new Elf.  His name became “Parker”!030
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We got home…she immediately  sat down to read the book!…told Parker goodnight…and when she woke the next morning…where in the world was Parker??? He was in Trace’s bed, with the remote, watching Disney!  Trace was at a friend’s house, so he missed the fun…but Parker kept his bed nice and warm for him Winking smile
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Marci couldn’t believe her eyes!! Trace wanted the “spooky thing” out of his room ASAP when he returned home…LOLBe right back
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Day #2…where was Parker today?!
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Dec 24…since this is Parker’s last day with us for the year, Parker had written a note saying “Merry Chistmas!   -Til next year…Love, Parker”
Tonight when Santa comes, Parker will fly behind Santa’s sleigh and head back to the North Pole until next Christmas!! Parker, we will miss you!