CHRISTMAS EVE

CHRISTMAS EVE, MY favorite part of Christmas. The anticipation and.... a night off from cooking. You see, for the past 4 years, we have decided to take this night off and go out to eat.First, church at 5pm. It is children's mass with all of the kids friends & ours, then our family, Nana and Chris and Adele's family meet at T Bones and feast on delicious food. T Bones stays open because they feed the Jenkins Orphanage at Christmas every year. So, besides eating a wonderful meal, we are supporting a great cause. This year our friends Karen, Eddie and Amanda joined us. We all had sooo much fun & as usual, stayed and closed the place down.

Also, Cathy, Tim, Zac, Daniel and Maggie came earlier in the day and we exchanged gifts with them.

After dinner, it took a LONG time to get all the kids to sleep so SANTA could come. Only 4 hours of sleep later, Christmas morning came....

WHAT ARE YOU DOING A FEW DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS???

I, like most moms out there, am tying up loose ends before the man with the red suit and long white beards comes.... Thanks to my friend, Gigi, I got motivated to finish all shopping including groceries last night. We both agreed we'd be staying up and wrapping gifts into the wee hours of the morning...and I was. Went to bed at 3am, but all gifts are wrapped, lots of good food to share is in the pantry/frig, supplies for baking and sharing with neighbors, and the BEST part- I got to sleep in today!!!! So... after two cups of Godiva Chocolate coffee ( a gift from a parent at my school), breakfast with the kids & reading the paper (PURE LUXURY), I did what most of us do, LAUNDRY & CLEANING. Then a break to play HORSE and 21 with the boys outside, baking sugar cookies for the kids to decorate tonight and have with hot cocoa, call my sisters and brother and plan for Christmas Eve and Day, call my mom, of course and come to the realization that NO cards will go out this year. Oh well, some things just didn't get done. We have spent time together laughing, eating, playing, shopping, etc. Tonight we will go as a family for the children to pick out gifts for each other, a fun tradition. Then we will head to Starbucks downtown and take hot chocolate with us to Marion Square where the beautiful tree and decorations are.

Tomorrow night, we will go with Nana to children's mass, surrounded by many friends and focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Then anything left undone, will pale in comparison to the true meaning of this season & all we will remember will be the love and laughter we've shared.

Where are the pictures????

YES we are celebrating the holiday season!!!!No, I don't have any pictures downloaded yet.... Oh how working full time has rocked my world. Michael told me " you're not cool anymore. You used to be more fun" I need to work on the fun factor. We started our season in Root Tradition, by going to the James Island Holiday Festival of Lights on Thankgiving weekend. The climbing wall ( which niece Maggie insisted she would only try if I did it too!) , the marshmellows and hot cocoa. Yes, it was fun & embarassing strapping on the belt and gear and THE ONLY ADULT CLIMBING with the children. And Michael thinks I'm not fun...

Marion Square is another favorite, so we checked that out. Putting the tree up, putting up the lights outside, the Christmas calendar count down, and did I mention that SCHOOL IS OUT!!!Yes, we can sleep in. Lighting Christmas candles and the tree every night. OK I am going to sleep now. Hopefully I will update pictures soon...

Thanksgiving

Well, no good pictures of the kids because when the cousins get together they stay outside playing all day. Suffice it to say that we all had a wonderful day together. Family, food and lots of laughter. We drove to Cathy and Tim's for the day and got home late. Everyone made their favorite dish and Tim grilled the turkey this year. Well, this is not a very good post and it doesn't at all represent what a fabulous day it was, but I am not feeling very creative today, so it's the best I can do...

They're here.....

Tuesday night, at 10pm Aunt Jeannie, Uncle Jerry and cherubs Kevin & Li arrived!!! Li was wide open after a long day in the car, Kevin was fast asleep.

Random thoughts.....

I haven't taken any pictures lately, but I have been very, very grateful for many things. Lets start with this weekend. Although I felt horrible ( that is unusual these days- I feel fabulous most days), Morgan had 4 friends sleep over. Easy- snacks, movies, dinner, pillows, blankets and they are set. The best part is that these are good, christian girls. They all went to Nativity School last year, and are in high school together. After the sleep over, we all went to church where the girls and all of us parents sit together. All four families are friends. What a blessing!!! Just looking at all of us sitting together gave me chill bumps. God gives me days like this to help me through some of the tougher ones. Then I read my book for hours today. What a luxury. This week is Thanksgiving. Jeannie, Jerry, Kevin and Li are coming. We can't wait. I love the cousin thing, and the sister thing, and of course the Thanksgiving thing.

Last home game

Another Citadel Football Season is over. This was the last home game and Bruce and Brad did a BIG tailgate party. We had sooo much fun. You moms know how we love to see our cherubs having fun, eating, running around outside, etc... Well it was just a fun day, until the rain came...

So now that football season is over, it's on to the holidays. The kids are making their wish lists and of course I am making mine. I think it is time for an updated TV in the den. The dinosaur we have in there is just not cutting it anymore. I don't think it will be too hard to persuade Bruce to go shopping for a TV.