Christmas at my Mother's house

My mother, Dianne, with all nine of her grandchildren -- Seth, Preston, Keith, Claire, Kirsten, Alec, Brandon, Jackson, Parker My sister, Kathy, her husband, Chuck, and their boys, Seth and Keith

Mitch, Julie, Kirsten and Alec

My brother John, and his boys, Parker and Jackson

My sister Lisa, her husband, Jason, and kids, Brandon, Preston, and Claire

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning started early in our house -- 3:00 a.m. We had already lectured the children about not going downstairs without us and not even waking us up until after 5:00. However, I heard them talking around 4:00 and they said that they had been awake since 3. We made them wait until 5 anyway, but it was a long, hard wait for them. Alec opens a Garmin GPS wristwatch that is designed to help pace and track your running or walking workout. Now, he is really ready to start his cross-country training.

Now, this is a GUN!! Alec got a BB gun with a scope and everything. He was so excited! He looked at the brand name DAISY and was a little concerned that it was a "girl" gun.

Kirsten, also, received a Garmin GPS watch and she was so excited about it. She is ready to start running again anyway, and this is an added incentive.

"A real AMERICAN GIRL doll!" She didn't think that we would really get her an American girl doll. She had hoped and dreamed and talked about one for months. She was one happy girl!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Eve To Everyone!!

We are going to clean house this morning before we get to our tradition of family time this evening. Every Christmas Eve, our family unwraps one gift (a game, or new movie) to play or watch. We also make ice cream sundaes with as many toppings as we want. It is a very enjoyable time of fun and family togetherness. We try to make it a reasonable bedtime hour; however, the children are usually too excited to sleep. We also, do not put our presents under our Christmas tree until after they are asleep; that adds to the "magic" of Christmas morning.

We want to wish every one of our friends and family a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and we pray that everyone will a have a safe and blessed holiday.

Making a Gingerbread House

1. Every year at Christmas time, we purchase a gingerbread house kit and try to make it look like the box. Unfortunately, we are not that creative, artistic or patient. But the kids have so much fun that it really doesn't matter what it looks like, or even what it tastes like. You cannot tell Kirsten or Alec that it does not taste good -- they think that it is delicious!

I was upstairs folding laundry, when Alec told me that I might want to take a picture of something. I grumbled internally but went anyway and I am glad that I did. He became very creative with his Hot Wheels cars and spelled out this greeting, with no help or input from anyone. I was pretty impressed and so was Mitch.

Christmas in Cotton Plant

This is a picture of one of Kirsten and Alec's favorite characters -- the Grinch! Every year they dance with a "real" Grinch. They also love Mississippi State Bulldogs, so they had to stop to take a picture with this inflatable.

The hot chocolate is very good and very hot - which is a good thing, as it is soooo cold. Alec loves Spiderman and just had to have a picture of him.

This picture was taken at the entrance of one section of the display. This has become an every year tradition for us. The displays are a little cheezy, but the kids love them. The owners have added more than 100 new inflatables this year and we had fun trying to figure out the new ones. They have Thomas the Tank Engine, Dora the Explorer, Spongebob Squarepants, Looney Tunes, Action Figures, Charlie Brown, Winnie the Pooh, and lots of Santas and Snowmen and others. You can have your picture taken with the Grinch or with Santa. The display opens from 6:00 - 9:00 every day, except Wednesday and Sunday. If you have little children, I highly recommend it. It is a strictly donation operation, and you can drive through part of it instead of walking.

Christmas Ornament Tradition

Every year for Christmas, my Uncle Bruce and Aunt Susan, from Michigan, send all my father's grandkids a special and unique Christmas ornament. It is a tradition that they started when my siblings and I were born. We still have every ornament that they sent us from the year we were born until we started having children of our own. Each ornament is different from all of the others. I am sure that they spend a lot of time searching for that special ornament. One of my favorite ornaments that they sent me is a very fragile ornament in the shape of an egg with an wooden angel playing a tiny piano inside. I have not put this ornament on my tree since the children have been born and active, due to the fact that I am scared that it will get broken. This is especially true since we have four cats that come in and out as they please and love to attack all of those "vicious" ornaments hanging on the tree. One year, I got up in the morning and found 23 ornaments on the floor. We have since learned the fine art of a spray bottle and they leave it alone most of the time. The ornament tradition is one that all of the children look forward to every year and we so appreciate each and every one.

Save-A-Life 5K in Ripley

Kirsten after the Sav-A-Life 5K in November in Ripley, Mississippi

Alec after the Sav-A-Life 5K in November in Ripley, Mississippi The Spartans that ran the race, happy and cold. Go, Spartans!

Say Hello to the Spartans -- Homeschool XC Team

Kirsten's Best Time of the Season -- 30:30

Alec's best time of the season -- 25:40

New To Blogging So Be Patient

I have been watching blogs for about six months, but never thought that I would have one. But, I realized that since I enjoy keeping up with other people through their blog, that they might want to keep up with me and my family through mine. So here goes nothing. Please be kind in your critiques of my failure to be creative or even grammatically correct. English and Grammar and Writing were my three main shortcomings in school. However, I could always do circles around most other people in math or anything related to numbers. My family is the most important thing in my very busy life, and I love to take pictures of the children, especially since I have been taking digital pictures. So, you might get tired of all the pictures of the kids. Because, I don't like to write very much, I will probably include more pictures than writing. Who knows, maybe my writing skills will improve through this blog. We are very busy getting school finished up before the Christmas break, as well as, everything else that has to get done this time of year. Mitch is staying busy with work and his honey-do list; the kids are staying busy with school and playing. We hope to get back to running after Christmas, as they are taking a month long break from running. They competed in several 5K races this year and have improved so much since the start of the season. I wil try to post something here every few days or so. Please let me know if you like the blog!