Santa Claus is Coming to Town

You heard it...Harrison and Brooks made it onto Santa's "good" list this year! And man, oh man, did he deliver. You would have thought that these two hadn't had a single off day all year in terms of behaving. Santa is obviously skimming a bit in the research department, but I think that deep down, Santa knows they are the sweetest kids in the world and he couldn't help but spoil them a little. And yes, the Batman helicopter did arrive and it is everything that Harrison was dreaming of.

We made it up to Athens on Wednesday and got to spend almost a week with Nat Nat, Zach, Lee Lee, and Bill. Plus we got to visit with MaMa, Da Barbara, Molly, and Davis during our trip. Harrison was able to fit in a nasty spill that always manages to remind me that our dental bills are going to be outrageous in the near future. But he was a trouper and didn't seem too set back by the fact that his front tooth got pushed back and his bottom lip had the imprint of that particular tooth. Nevermind it was his good tooth (the one that WASN"T already turning black). But who's counting?

We had a great time being with family and watching the excitement of two little children as they soaked in all the Christmas magic and anticipation of Santa's arrival. Plus, we were fortunate enough to have a small, or should I say, large visitor on Christmas Eve. Uncle Zach must have some serious pull up in DC because he was able to make a few phone calls and arrange for a special appearance by Santa himself. Brooks was a little less enchanted than Harrison by Santa's visit because she had woken from a nap to see a big, red, bearded person holding her, but Harrison couldn't have been more pleased. It was a wonderful Christmas and fantastic vacation. And I'm pretty sure my house will explode if one more toy gets taken in. My car is already on the verge of breakdown just from the load we brought back! Christmas was a success for all of us and I hope that anyone reading this had just as good of a holiday! Onto the New Year!

Christmas Chaos

Once again, Christmas has turned me into complete maniac who can't entertain a single thought for more than 2 seconds, much less, remember anything. And yet, I still love the holidays. I really love it right now because it is such an amazing experience to watch your children take it all in. Even though they don't truly understand the full meaning of Christmas, they definitely bring out the Christmas spirit.

Robert and I have gotten the biggest kick out of watching Harrison's amazement in Christmas lights, decorations, trees, songs, and of course, toys. He is a huge fan of Frosty the Snowman and he marches to the song when he sings it. He also loves Rudolf the Red nose Reindeer but he covers his eyes when the abominable snowman appears. Harrison turns on the Christmas lights every morning before he barges into our room to wake us up. And he lets us know if the inflatable Santa in our yard is working because he checks outside his window right before he gets out of bed. He and Brooks continue to dismember all the nutcrackers in the house but I leave them out because they love to play with them. Just like my newly acquired snow village for the kitchen table. I might as well have just put a big dollhouse out and decorated it because Brooks climbs onto the table the second you turn your back to play with the village people...which are breakable I might add. But I keep it out to see their delight when the ice skating rink turns on and the table becomes a miniature snow village.

And it's not just decorations, songs, and lights that amaze them. Harrison has been talking about Jesus at school and has let me know several times, especially right after he sings Jesus Loves Me, that Jesus died. I don't really know that he grasps the whole reason but at least he is learning. And last night, he had his Christmas school play which was such a fun evening. The play was so cute and on top of that, Nana, Papa, Ma and Pa all came to Palm Coast to watch and celebrate an early Christmas with us. Hoyt, Holly and BeBe made it for the Christmas celebration which made for a very entertaining evening. We attempted Christmas card pictures, opened gifts, and unveiled Harrison and Brooks' new means of transportation...a power wheels jeep. And like any other family Christmas gathering, we ate, drank, and were merry. That's right, with all the craziness of Christmas, I still love it!