In the News!

Did you all see the "Families" section of the Tallahassee Democrat today? This photo of Abby and Tyler was featured in a story about Santa pictures gone bad! Many of you may have seen this photo before (we've shared it in Christmas cards/letters), but if you haven't ... ENJOY! It always makes US laugh!

All Wrapped Up!

So, have you all heard of Wrap Rage? It's a real thing, they say! The other day I was, coincidentally, wrapping gifts when a guy on the radio said opening presents is a cause of major holiday stress (guess that person didn't have a to-do list like mine, because opening gifts is the LEAST of my stress. If I make it to Christmas, I'll be happy!)


Actually, they say opening presents is also one of the top ways people injure themselves during the holidays. And I believe that! With all of that molded plastic packaging and twist ties, tape, etc. - I'm surprised Dennis and I haven't seriously cut ourselves trying to break into toys on Christmas and birthdays. We keep several pairs of scissors on hand ... and hope for plenty of patience on Abby and Tyler's part as we free their treasures. I have actually been keeping my ribbon and tricky wrapping to a minimum this year ... partially because I don't want to further contribute to the over-packaging madness, and partially because I'm WAY behind on my gift wrapping! The crazy part is ... I really LIKE wrapping gifts. It usually puts me in the holiday spirit. Guess I better break out my most festive paper as I "wrap up" my gift preparations tonight. Everything WILL be set to go tomorrow - mark my word!

Isn't She Lovely?

Abby is just about to lose her other top front tooth (the first came out a month or so ago) ... it's hanging on by a thread! And, when you see the pictures below, you'll understand why I'm offering big bucks to whomever can help pull it out. I don't want our Christmas morning pictures to look like an ad for ... well, at risk of offending those in certain regions of the United States ... I don't want this "snaggletooth" in our holiday pictures!Dennis and I have been calling Abby "Ruby Sue" and "Cletus" ... fits, huh?

Mr. Postman

Mailing packages off to Iowa... Tyler was VERY hands-on! He wanted to make sure these got to Gram and Grandma & Grandpa in time. I think they did!

Tyler's Holiday Program

Tyler showered US with gifts after his holiday program at preschool. But it should have been the other way around. He did such a great job singing on stage. We could hear every word he was singing ... LOTS and LOTS of practice all month long! As is the tradition at Advent, we had a birthday party for Jesus after the "show," then we got our annual Christmas banner with Tyler's handprints.

Tyler was so excited to show us the reindeer with his handprint antlers. Next Christmas we'll get our last Advent banner (sniff!) ... which makes a grand total of seven. A friend of mine gave me a great idea: make a quilt out of them and bring it out at Christmastime each year (thanks for the tip Karena!) We just might do that!

Construction Zone

To celebrate the season, Tyler had a few buddies - Shane, George and Charlie - over to make gingerbread houses after school one day. What an adventure ... as evidenced by Tyler's less than traditional method of applying the icing: by hand! Christy and Shane had the right idea ... and their house turned out beautifully!Tyler on the other hand, did quite a bit of candy eating and not so much house decorating. Maybe someone should have told him it's easier to put a peppermint in your mouth and suck on it, rather than licking it like a lollipop! You can see - he had quite the sugar fix ... and a very miminalistic house!

And George got pretty creative with the Easy Accent Decorator. When he had enough on his house, he piped a bit right into his mouth ... much to the horror of Alison (his mom!)I think we'll try this project again next year, when the boys are one year older! But I bet it won't be nearly as comical then!

December Preschool Tidbits

Oh, wouldn't it be fun to be in preschool again?!? This month, Tyler got to do so many fun things, including making gingerbread houses in cooking ... And taking a nature hike on a chilly day. We actually packed a S'mores Trail Mix for each child to snack on after their "long hike," and Tyler got to pass them out. I wish I had taken a picture of the fronts of the bags. Tyler did such a great job of making a "T" and an "M" on each ... then I filled in the blanks. On 13 bags - that's quite a job for a little guy! Lastly, here is a great picture of Tyler's teachers, Lisa and Tami. The class gave them custom-decorated Christmas wreaths as part of their holiday gift. They were quite delighted ... and I just had to post this, as it's an adorable picture of the two of them!