Thank You Santa!

We had a wonderful Christmas! We spent it laughing and eating and even crying at times. After my grandparent's anual party, we went back to Mom's house and unwrapped our Christmas Eve gift (pajamas). Then we loaded them in the van and drove around looking at lights until they were konked out... roughly 15 minutes later! Then we headed back to my parent's house and got them in bed.
After they were snug and snoring, we went and pulled all the 'Santa' presents out and put the under the tree and arranged a few unwrapped ones in front. I helped Mom finish her wrapping too. Then Hank and I made chocolate trains. This was a special one. Tres had it on his list, but we couldn't find one anywhere! So Hank looked online and found a place that made molds for candy and ordered one for trains. It was fun, but we didn't get in bed until 1 am! :) And we were up before the kids at 7 am so that we could get cameras ready! By 8 my brother, Matt and his wife Kayla were there with their one-year-old Tyler so I went up and woke them up.

Tres was so funny!! I leaned down and whispered "Someone must have been good!" And his eyes flew open... He sat up straight and started shaking Bryant!! "He came! Santa came Bryant! Come on!" That boy has two settings, asleep or awake... so in-between for him. I carried a very groggy Bry downstairs, and by the time we were there, he was wide-eyed and ready for action! We were truely blessed this year.

Hank got:

DVD camera (from my Mom & Dad)
Watch (from me)
David Crowder CD (from Tres)
boxers (from Bry)
PC headphones with mic
1 gig memory card for digital camera
clippers
clothes

Jamie got:

shelf
diamond necklace and earrings (from Hank!!)
6 qt. crockpot
Yahtzee (from my boys)
socks (from my boys)
'girl fabric'- small squares of disney princess fabric that Tres insisted I needed! :)
perfume
guitar (from my parents!!! Watch out music world! Here I come!)

Tres got:

toys
toys
toys
Gamecube (from my mom & dad)
games
clothes

Bryant got:

toys
toys
toys
HUGE firetruck (from my mom & dad)
Buzz toys
clothes

It was a very meaningful Christmas. It was never far away that Jesus was the reason for this time of year. Tres kept telling me that it was Jesus's birthday, and then he would tell me, "We are made just like Jesus, Mom." I think we are finding a good balance between Santa and the reason we celebrate every year!

I will do a picture slideshow soon... I don't know where are the pics are!

Christmas Plans

The boys went out with Hank this morning and bought me presents from them! I am baking sugar cookies, and got some sweet potato casseroles ready for tomorrow. Hank is trying to watch the Papa Johns.com bowl, but the boys are craving his attention! Can't say that I blame them... they didn't get to see a lot of his this last week!

EVERYTHING is ready! I even have a really big surprise for Hankie and I can't wait for his reaction!

We will be going to church in the morning, then to the Gray House Grill in Homewood. There is a singing Santa and Mrs. Claus who will be there so that should be fun (or interesting if Bryant still hates him!). Then we will come home, and let the boys open Christmas from us before we head to my Grandparent's house for the annual Christmas Eve Party. At the party, we'll play Dirty Santa with 30+ people who know what they like! Then we'll drive the boys around and look at lights until they fall asleep. We'll transfer them inside and upstairs at my Mom and Dad's house before we set up Santa and hit the hay!

I can't believe we're so close! I think Christmas is even better now that I have kids!

Busy, Fun Days

Yesterday, Mom,the boys, and I spent a little time picking up a few last things and stocking stuffer shopping. Then we headed over to Matt & Kayla's house for dinner. The boys love playing with other people's toys! And Tyler has a ride-on Thomas train that Bryant isn't too big for. He was having so much fun on that thing!

Tyler was so much fun to watch on his 'home turf!' He was showing toys to the boys, and he was trying to say their names. He is such a cutie anyway!

This is about the best picture I could get of him cause he was on the move all night long! :) But look at the picture I found on their refridgerator! Kayla's Mom, Karen, took this one I think. I know it's not the best quality because it's a picture of a picture, but get over it!


After we left there, the boys went home with Grandaddy so that Mom and I could head back to the mall to pick up a few specific things at Parisians. We closed it down at 10. Then we came back to Belk in Alabaster and closed them down at 11! I love doing that kind of stuff at the holidays though!

Church Christmas Party!

Crosslife Church had a party complete with chicken fingers, hot wings, chips and salsa (from Chili's!), red beans and rice, and a bunch of other goodies! It was a lot of fun. Pastor Tommy got all the kids around him at the piano and they did some Christmas caroling. Bryant was his helper for the most part, and sat beside him on the piano bench. But Pastor Tommy wouldn't let him help unless he was praising the Lord! :)
Notice his little upraised hand! So cute!
Pastor Tommy and Lori, their daughter Ashley, and Tonnie (my sister and their sister-in-law), sand the Martin's version of 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' a cappello. It was awesome!

One of my favorite people from church made it to the party! This is Zac! He just turned one, and is just about the happiest, chunkiest, sweetest fellow around!

We had the party and Doug and Debbie Smith's house. It was gorgeous! She had 8 trees up and decorated... each one with their own theme. She said it takes her three straight days to do it all, and she starts on November 1 and doesn't take them down till New Years. I only saw 5 of the 8!
All the kids played and ate out on their screened in back deck. Thank God for 70 degree weather!

Sun Catchers

I found some Christmas sun catchers for the boys to paint at the Dollar Store the other day. So we sat down to do it when Jennifer and Eric were over (I did this mainly because the boys wouldn't stop beating Uncle Eric with swords!).

Tres did cry one time when I finished painting one after I thought he was done with the project. But over all, it was a fun craft! And now we have a bunch of little hand painted memories twinkling on our tree!

Jennie's Christmas Party

My sister Jennie invited us to eat with her at the Mitchell Center for their Christmas party. Jennie works with a bunch of very special people here in Calera. They put together yo-yo's, water bottles, put washers in different items, and many more things.

I was so tickled by a couple of the guys that we ended up eating with. One of them kept telling me over and over that "You been bad! Santa gonna bring you coal!" Then he would laugh and run off. The other one had his front shirt pocket stuffed full of pens! He's actually the one in the picture sitting behind Jennie and the boys looking toward the camera.

I am very proud that my kids accept anyone for who they are, differences and all!

Friends and presents!

Eric and Jennifer Snyder came over a couple of nights ago to exchange gifts and have an inpromptu dinner! They gave the boys each some clothes, and then they gave them these little Spidermen that you put in water. In 72 hours they grow or something. Well, the boys thought that was the coolest thing ever and had to put them in water ASAP!

It took a while to convince them that they didn't have to sit and watch them constantly for them to grow!

A River Runs Through It

So I got all the guys in bed tonight (Hank included!), and I did some more wrapping (are we ever gonna be done?). I had just put away the paper, when I hear Tres's door open. He comes out crying, and I sit down on the couch and open my arms to him. As he gets closer I see that he is holding his pee pee. I can only assume that he was asleep, because that is the only way I can account for what he did next. He peed on me! I screamed, and that must have scared him, cause he stopped just long enough for me to get him into the bathroom. I swear he peed for a good solid minute! Poor baby had a full bladder!

NOTE TO SELF: Disinfect couch and make sure Tres goes potty before he falls asleep.

A Christmas Casualty

We have this Big Al sleigh decoration, and tonight Bryant decided to see if the sleigh could fly. He broke off Big Al's ear. This is Hank gluing it back together.

Reunited and it feels so gooooddd!

So Hank and I got in from Nashville today around 7... and shortly after, my parents came home from Florida with our kids! They brought home a whole bag full of toys! Cars and color books and tractors! You would have thought Santa had already come and gone. So, if you guys are reading this: Thank you Aunt Debbie, Aunt Gayla, Uncle Butch, Mew Maw Susan and everyone else! My kids had a blast and you blessed them! Thank you. I hope you guys enjoyed them as much as they enjoyed you! Tres told me tonight that Dylan (my cousin's little boy) is his best friend. And the sugar cookies are AWESOME! Thank you for the recipe, Aunt Debbie! How did you know I love recipes?

Hank and I had a blast with our good friends Danny and Jackie. Their little girl Morgan is BEAUTIFUL! I wish that I had not had a brain fart while we were packing. I packed the camera, and left the memory card securely in our hard drive where I had recently downloaded pics. Smart, I know.

I'll scan her picture in soon, though. She smiles and giggles and is so stinkin' pleasant! I just adore her! We spent Saturday at Oprey Mills Mall doing some shopping and bonding. Then we headed over to eat Mexican near their house. Then we went back to their house and played video games, watched sports, and movies and laughed and ate some more until the wee hours! So much fun!

This morning we watche Superman and chilled until Hank and I had to leave.
Right now, the boys are piled in bed with their Daddy and watching the Polar Express. I snuck away to update and clean up toys! I can't believe that one week from tonight we'll be setting up Santa! I'm excited!

"I believe! I believe!"

A couple of nights ago, Hank and I got the boys together so we could make reindeer food. The boys love this! We've done it now for a couple of years (since Tres has been able to understand), and on Christmas Eve we go outside and sprinkle the reindeer food in the yard so that they don't get hungry while Santa's unloading the gifts, and so that Santa knows where to come (for those of us that won't be at home).

So we got some uncooked oatmeal and 'magic' glitter out, and started making.

We put in the oatmeal, and the boys each shook some of the glitter in while saying "I believe! I believe!" over and over again. It was so cute, and they took it so seriously.

I had bought some little glass vials at a garage sale years ago, so we used those to bottle the food. We even made enough for family and friends!


You want some?

Sleeping Cowboy

Here's how I found my little man yesterday afternoon. He REFUSED to take a nap, so I let him up to play. He's been not feeling well lately, so I knew it was a matter of time before he crashed...

Newsworthy items:

Bryant had a sinus infection and an ear infection a couple of weeks ago.
Now he has a cold with an occassional fever.
I don't want my baby to be sick on Christmas!
While cleaning up toys for the like the upteenth time yesterday, I found a ball of fresh poop clinging to some toys. Luckily, it was not on the carpet, but on a pillow case and said toys. The toys are in the trash. The pillow case is being disinfected.

Tres can add really well now! And he likes for me to quiz him.
He is also showing more and more interest in his letters and numbers. Santa is bringing him the Dora A-B-C and Diego 1-2-3 games. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with those!
He is so good at keeping secrets as far as Christmas presents go, that a Hershey bar bribe didn't even work! (Rats!)

The boys are going to Florida tomorrow with my parents for the weekend to visit with my Dad's sisters and brother. Hank and I will be heading to Nashville to visit with Danny and Jackie Butler, and to meet their daughter Morgan for the first time! Yeah! I FINALLY got to buy some girl clothes!

Well all the presents are bought and wrapped, and we're just waiting on the links in the chain to disappear so that Santa can make his deposit under the Christmas tree! Hank's company (ABC 33/40) will be having Christmas festivities tomorrow. I think the boys and I may make a trip up there before they leave. Maybe. Anyway, his company has a bake-off every year, and I spent the last couple of days working in our entry. I hope we came up with a winner! Go to
The Recipe Place to check out the finished product.

Bed buddies

The other night, all of my men fell asleep before me. Bryant ended up in bed with Hank and this is how I found them. For some reason, the word 'security' comes to mind.

Now who could resist such a sweet moment!

Breakfast anyone??

I can't tell you how many mornings I have come out of my room to find Bryant eating peanut butter with the ice cream scoop! The boy is a peanut butter FOOL! Sometimes he drags the stool around and gets it himself... and sometimes he gets an assist from Daddy!

Warm & Fuzzy

That's about how this time of year makes me feel. It makes me feel like using our Christmas tree as a nightlight. It makes me feel like wrapping presents until my back and knees hurt! It makes me feel like baking! It makes me feel like making a list and checking it twice! And it makes me feel like diliberatly standing under some mistletoe!

We removed another link in the chain today... just 20 days till Christmas!

Things I've learned so far this Christmas season:

1- Don't let Bryant help you wrap presents... he'll tell what they are, even if you can't understand him.

2- Tres is great at keeping secrets!

3- Hank has a hard time not telling me (even if he's trying not to tell me) what he got me for Christmas. He ordered me something online, and the e-mail confirmation came to my e-mail address! I forwarded it without looking and then deleted it, because I like surprises!

4- Arts and crafts are a great distraction while you wrap gifts.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Well, we've been to see Santa (picture will be posted as soon as Hank gets our scanner hooked up... and it's worth the wait, I promise! :)). We've got the tree up, and we've even started wrapping our presents.

Yesterday, Hank took the kids to see the Alabaster parade while I had a meeting for the off season volleyball club team I will be coaching with one of my favorite people, Jennifer! They had a blast and came home with a ton of candy... I guess I can just add that to the ton of leftover Halloween candy we have! Or I could just throw it all away! They watched the parade with their cousins Luke & Sierra, my mom, and my sister Jennie. Tres told me that Santa was riding a motorcycle this year. While I was out by myself, I went and got Hank's Christmas present! I can't wait to give it to him! I don't know why I'm so excited, but I am!

The boys and I made a Christmas chain yesterday, or an advent chain. Using construction paper and glue, we made a chain counting down the days until Christmas. The boys LOVE tearing one off every day! And I think it's making me more excited too as the days progress. We will be spending Christmas night at my parent's house and opening there. I'm excited to see them that morning! I just have to smile when I think about it, cause I know Tres will have questions, and funny comments... and I know Bryant will be full of laughter and fun too! This will be the first Christmas that he actually understands what's going on!

This morning at church, the Missionettes had a reward ceremony. Tres is a rainbow and he got his vest and patches! He was so proud, and I was too. I couldn't help but tear up just a little to see how big he is getting! He even recited the Rainbow motto into the microphone! This is before church started in his Rainbow's class.

Then we came home and took our annual family Christmas picture that will be distributed to family and close friends along with a Christmas letter! This is one from the batch that was pretty good, but not the one we used. I'll post that one when it's cropped and cleaned up and I have our letter written. Does anyone else do this? It's something I really look forward to every year. I have one from every year since we've been married framed and I pull them all out at Christmas. I love to look back!

More pics from our trip!

Here are a few more moment's from our Thanksgiving vacation in Valdosta. It was truely a wonderful trip! We laughed and had a lot of fun!


My two sister-in-laws on Hank's side of the family! Betsy is in red and Jackie is wearing glasses! Aren't they pretty!


This is Ashton (Betsy's oldest daughter) and Delaney (Jackie's oldest daughter). They are both pre-teens and definitely into much more grown up stuff! Here they are sporting their lovely tank tops!


Heather wanted to walk the dog all the time! She was so cute. She would just walk Brittany around the yard and call her a good dog. Heather is Bryant's age.


Tres and Donovan found all kinds of things to play with. This is when they were playing near and in the water fountain out in Jackie's back yard.

Be quiet!

A couple of nights ago, we were driving home late from somewhere and the boys were being slightly obnoxious in the backseat. They were picking on each other, and crying, and aggrevating one another... so I pulled out an old phrase I had heard one of Tres's old pre-school teachers use. I said, "Okay boys, it's time to zip it (you make a zipping motion across the face), lock it (make like you're turning a key on the edge of your mouth), and put it in your pocket (put the imaginary key in your pocket)."

Tres promptly does what he is told and looks out the window. I turn around thinking I may have solved the problem for a while... when I hear a loud whisper from the back seat. It was Bryant, "Mommy, Mommy! I no have no pockets!"

Black Friday!- Leg 3 Pt. 2

After our early shopping spree, we came back to the houses (did I explain that Jackie lives next door to the Boemers?), wrapped all the presents that we needed to, to exchange that night. We had also picked up Dirty Santa or White Elephant gifts for the adults to play.

We started with the kids, who were very patient as all us parents gathered our cameras.

We let them open from youngest to oldest (according the the level of patience). It was fun! Everyone was ooh-ing and ahh-ing over their gifts.

We took some time to open the toys the kids got and get them situated before we played.

We drew numbers to see who would go first, and Mr. Boemer got the highest number! Which meant he had his choose of gifts.

Hank got #1 and went for a HUGE flashlight that Mrs. Boemer had put in the game. That thing was the source of a lot of laughter!

The box said it emitted 15,000,000 candle power! Everyone could think of a reason why they would want it! It was so fun.

After that, the dad's went a struck up a fire for the kids to make smores. I think the kids just liked the idea of playing with fire!

But it was fun, and the marshmellows were yummy! Bryant liked to catch his on fire and blow it out over and over again!

After that, everyone crashed pretty hard!

Thanksgiving Day- Leg 3

We arrived back at the Boemer's house in Valdosta at about 2 am on Thanksgiving Day morning. We slept until about 8:30 or so and then it was up for a full day! We had breakfast and played with the kids. Jackie's back yard is perfect for little boys!!

Nice and big and fenced in. They also have a huge playground.
So if the boys weren't out on that, they were in Donovan's room playing!

Mrs. Boemer, Jackie, and Betsy did most of the cooking.


I made a couple of peanut butter pies and helped the kids make some chocolate covered pretzels and peanut butter crackers...

but for the most part, it was all them. They did a terrific job! There was fried turkey and baked turkey. There were deviled eggs, southern stuffing, mashed potatos, sweet potatos, green beans, rolls, gravy, cranberry sauce, squash casserole... and so much more! It was so good!

That night, we planned out the stores we wanted to go to and played cards and a dice game called Farkle with all the girls while the men watched football and the kids played!

All the girls, with the exception of Maggie and Heather, were headed to shop by 4:45. We stayed out shopping until about 1pm. We got some great deals at Target! I found a great deal on a camera at Best Buy, but the line was wrapped around the store, so I wasn't up for that... and the next day the camera was gone! Oh, well! We hit Belk, JC Penney, Kohl's, Target, and all the little shops in the mall too. It was fun. I found a couple of small things for Hankie, too!

Picture Extravaganza!

Here are a bunch of great pictures from Disney! I wanted to share more than blogger wanted me too! :)