Christmas!

(Warning: This post is L-O-N-G, but my memory is not good these days, so I thought I better write it down.)

Where to start? This year has to be my favorite of all time! I don't know what it was...(maybe 2 little boys that live around here!), but we were IN THE SPIRIT! I loved the decorating, the cookie baking, the shopping, the wrapping...all of that was fun! Mainly, though, I LOVED teaching Sawyer about Christmas (maybe Eli picked up on something too. He definitely look like he understood about the excitement sometimes)!
We have talked A LOT about the birth of Jesus and Jesus's birthday. So, when we'd pull up to the stop light, and a candycane or Santa Claus was hanging on the light pole, I'd say, "Look! They've decorated for Jesus's birthday!" So, after a few trips to town, Sawyer would say, "LOOK, MAMA! There's a candycane for Jesus's birthday!"
How can you beat that?? Walker and I teach first grade Sunday School, so as we'd teach them about the star of Bethlehem, we'd make sure Sawyer knew all the answers too. I LOVEDDDDDDDDDDDDDD when I'd ask him a question, and he'd smile and say, "Baby Jesus, Baby Jesus!" (Y'all know what I mean!)
So...the whole thing was fun! We had "Owen" (our Elf) in our house for several weeks. He'd come flying in from the North Pole and land on a tree branch or hang from the ceiling fan. Sawyer would get up every morning on a hunt for Owen. Another highlight was the personalized message from Santa from the "portable North Pole." HOW COOL IS THAT??? Santa Claus even had a picture of Sawyer in his big book! I was impressed!

We had Christmas with the Williams in Clayton on Saturday before Christmas. All the Williams' cousins are WILD! So, Sawyer fits in perfectly! They run all over Granny Beck's house the whole time they're there. Sawyer and Eli love it! One highlight of the night was when Gracie got a Jason Aldean cd with the song, "Big Green Tractor." THANK GOODNESS Sawyer knew it well (he fit right in)! :) Some years, they may do Christmas carols, this year they did "Big Green Tractor."

for the record-Sawyer says we have 2 songs...."Mama it's our song...." One is "Big, Green Tractor" and the other "I run to you!" (just didn't want to forget that!)

We came back home Saturday night, and headed for Hartselle on Monday morning (my parents' 35th anniversary). While they went out on the town to celebrate, the Braddocks and Williams went to Huntsville to Santa's Village. It was CROWDED and COLD, but it "snowed," and they got to run around in the Christmas lights with their cousins, so it was fun!

The Brown house is FULL of grandchildren. It's fun to be there! Sawyer and Eli love Katie's girls and Caleb, so they had a ball.
Can you tell who the antagonizer of the house might be?

If ANYBODY asked Gmama what she wanted for Christmas, she'd say, "I REALLY want a dog!" (kind of in a dramatic, pitiful way!) Katie surprised her Wednesday and fulfilled her request with a precious lab/golden mix, "Lady." So, we had seven grandkids and a new puppy! :)

Eli really wishes we had a puppy like this at our house.

Another highlight for me real quick-My parents, Al & Wes, and Walker & I played Catchphrase Wednesday night...my dad was on a team with Allyson and me. We have never seen my daddy laugh as hard as he did at the answers Allyson and I were giving.....
The one that threw him over the top...His clue, "I think he said, 'Give me liberty or give me death."
My answer: (after 2 seconds) Thomas Jefferson...
He was laughing SOOOOOOOOOO HARD-I'm sure thinking what doe-doe kids I have! :) I was dying laughing too! (in my defense I took tech & Civ at Auburn!)

Gmama out did herself with gifts and food. She's REALLY good at that! Everybody got LOTS, and we went home with full tummies Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve night we put out cookies for Santa.
That was almost too much to handle, because Sawyer was bouncing off the walls at this point while I'm trying to put him in bed. I layed down with him, and he had 50 questions.
"....but how is he going to get in?"
"How do you think he's going to eat those cookies?"

Christmas morning both boys were excited! Sawyer's one request was a BIG dumptruck and Eli a little dumptruck. Santa had both boys' dumptrucks wrapped inside with a few games and their stockings. Sawyer was THRILLED with his big dumptruck. Eli liked his too. (I think.)
Santa also left a note on the tree that said there was more in the garage....They were EXCITED about what they found.

Walker is still taking time off from work right now, so I know we are all four getting spoiled having him home. It's really fun having him around. Today, Eli and Walker made tracks in the backyard on the lawn mower chasing Sawyer in the new Jeep.

I am definitely in love with these boys! I am thankful for their health, their sweet hearts and for the amount of time I am able to spend with them!
Did you know Jesus was with God since creation? As a mom, I try and relate to the sacrifice that God made when he let his son come live on Earth. Then, he let him die to save me of my sins. Thank the Lord there is a happy ending that He now sits at the right hand of God. The whole story is amazing!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! ;)

THANKFUL!

I didn't want to just skip over a Thanksgiving post, so for the record-I'm THANKFUL!
I'm thankful for a 2-year-old that reminds me A LOT about how much we have to be thankful for! When we (me and Al) were camp counselors, the director told this story about working on a mission trip in Mexico. It was H-O-T down there, and when the wind blew every so often, he'd hear some of the Mexican men, say "Gracias, el Dios." They were thankful for the breeze. Anyway...the point of the message was to say that we should be thankful for the little things as well as the big.
Anyway...the story stuck with me! So, when Sawyer-man started talking, and it was 105 degrees in Enterprise, AL and the wind would blow, we'd say, "Thank you, God!" This carried over into other things too. For example, when he sees (one of his many) bruises getting better, he'll say, "Thank you, God!" I'll say, "That's right!" Or when I tell him Eli's nose is not running anymore, he'll say, "Thank you, God!" (Some things I'd just take for granted, but when he'd say it-it would make me thankful and think...Lord, thank you for a child whose bruises heal!)
Anyway...he's reminded me all year about how much I have to be thankful for! Our blessings abound!
Walker says one of his dad's favorite sayings when he was in trouble was, "I'm going to turn that attitude into an attitude of grattitude." (have y'all ever heard that?? I LOVE IT!)
Anyway...Hope you and yours had a fabulous Thanksgiving!
Our little crew of four headed to Hartselle on Tuesday. We played, shopped, ate and helped Katie move into a new(er) and improved rental house. It's a little crazy with ALL of us at my parents' house, but we all really had a good time!
THANK YOU, LORD, FOR OUR MANY BLESSINGS AND FOR BEING SO GOOD TO US!!!