Early Christmas in Jacksonville

Our clan took an early Christmas vacation to Jacksonville to deliver paintings but more importantly, to see family. It was a quick weekend however lots of cousin time...as you can see from the pictures. One of the main goals of the weekend was to get Christmas card pictures with all 5 grandkids. On top of that, Holly, Leigh and I had a secret mission of trying to get a "portrait" picture of the kids too. It was chaos. 5 kids under the age of 6. 1 newborn, 1 toddler, 2 frisky girls and a high energy 5 year old. Pure insanity....but we got it done! We celebrated Christmas with Nana, Papa, Ma and Pa too which was a treat for everyone and had a great time but the only pictures I captured were the photo shoots. I guess I got a little tapped out after that. Another wonderful visit!

Brooks' School Christmas Play

Brooks had her acting debut in her school's Christmas play this month and she got the part that every girl dreams of...the nativity donkey. Move over Gwenyth, this girl's getting the lead roles from now on! Brooks was adorable and so was the rest of her class. We always love watching a play where the actors are distracted before they even hit the stage. Pure comedy!

The Start of the Holidays

Christmas time is here and Harrison and Brooks are living in the moment! I absolutely love seeing it through their eyes. Sure there are some moments that I would rather not deal with like the constant whining for more presents and the inevitable "must do it all" attitude that comes with every Christmas time ritual. But this year is really special for us. First of all, Harrison and Brooks are at the prime age for Christmas excitement and anticipation of Santa. On top of that, we moved into a neighborhood that goes nutso for Christmas lights! And I'm talking, NUTSO. We made sure to do our part in decorating which is way more than our usual outside decor but probably not quite up to par with rest of the houses. We'll get there though! And Harrison goes outside each evening to make sure our inflatable snowman and Santa are blown up and to check the lights. This Christmas is our first one in this neighborhood so we rented a golf cart with the neighbors to check out the lights. The kids absolutely love going for rides around the neighborhood and it is a great way to enjoy all the decorations while having a little fun.

And every morning, Harrison wakes up with 3 things on his mind...1. Where is the elf? Personally, I have a love/hate relationship with that guy but that's a whole set of issues that I can always elaborate on later. 2. What numerical day is it so he can eat the chocolate out of his Advent calendar. 3. Turn on the Christmas tree lights before Brooks. Yes, he is a creature of habit. But the joy it gives him each morning as he anxiously awaits Christmas Day makes it all worth while.

And what's on Brooks' mind each morning? To beat Harrison to any of these 3 things if possible. This rarely happens because that would mean getting up and doing something before whining and screaming at Mommy about something completely ridiculous like replacing the shoes that she decided to sleep in for boots and a headband. I use this as an example because this is an argument we have had more than once. But after her morning "diva demands" she does get into the Christmas spirit and has especially loved listening to her Christmas music on her way to school.

We love Christmas and are very thankful that we will get the chance to see all our family around Christmas time too since we will make special trips to Jacksonville and Athens in the month of December!

Black Belt for my Ninja

My little man earned his black belt last month and boy oh boy were we proud. He has worked long and hard to get this and he most certainly deserved it. All up until we went out to dinner after the belt ceremony and Harrison decided to check his black belt behavior at the door. That was resolved when Robert drove Harrison back to the karate school so he could give the instructors his black belt back. He got the message.

But Harrison really has put his heart into karate and it finally paid off! We loved seeing the excitement in his eyes when his instructors made a huge announcement to his class about his accomplishment of getting the final belt. It was a very proud moment for Robert and I and I'm sure Brooks would have been proud too had she not spent the ceremony goofing off with her best pal, Leah. I love it that Harrison has such a huge accomplishment at such an early age and I especially love his enthusiasm for trying to excel at the things he loves to do.