Christmas Morning

We enjoyed a quiet Christmas at home this year with just the five of us. Christmas Eve we attended services at the Strand Theatre in downtown Marietta for our new church, Sanctuary. We came home and spent a quiet evening watching a movie (or my family did) while I wrapped presents and then headed to bed. I was so happy to be allowed to sleep until 8:00 which was the absolute latest that Maddie was going to allow anyone to sleep.

Yeast Sausage rolls and Cinnamon buns in the oven, we sat down to read the Christmas story before opening presents. "And there were in the same country, shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night." I never tire of hearing those words and we have made a tradition since the girls were very little that we would always read the Christmas story on Christmas morning before opening gifts. A way to bring us together and to remind us what was important.

Every year, I can see a little less of the Christmas tree. They are growing way too fast.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

December just flew by here at our house. From 5th grade Christmas concerts to class parties to fun trips with friends to a Stone Mountain Christmas and a classic Christmas performance at the Fox Theatre. It's been the "Most Wonderful TIme of the Year"

Abby and her best friends Mary Katherine and Bria clowning around after their 5th grade Christmas Concert. Abby was a dancer.

Abby and Daddy and her first red roses that he got her for her performance

Abby and Mary Katherine

Lizzie, Abby and Mary Katherine

The very patient Mr. Griebe and two of his "favorite"students

Her beautiful roses

Maddie hard at work at Christmas Bingo

I loved getting to spend time with my girl at her Christmas party

Abby and her reindeer headband

The 3 Amigo's

Abby and all of her friends

Beautiful Christmas Lights at a Stone Mountain Christmas

Brandon or Michael, I have the hardest time telling them apart

The beautiful shops

The Snow Angel

One of many of the beautiful trees

Making Smores over the open pits

Hey Santa!

One big happy family

Our second family, the Harris's

The beautiful Fox Theatre

My 2 gorgeous girls right before the usher told me I had to put away my camera

The girls at the Nutcracker at the Fox Theatre on Christmas Eve

Old Faithful

Ten years ago we bought our Christmas tree. How proud I was of it that first year with the multi-colored lights twinkling. I remember propping Abby up on a pillow early on Christmas morning so that when her Daddy walked in from working all night that he would see her first thing.

She fell asleep under that same Christmas tree when she was 18 months old right after we had moved to Ohio on Christmas Eve.

The first Christmas picture with her new baby sister, Maddie, in their sweet matching tartan plaid pajamas was under that tree. That same year the tree twinkled and sparkled with ornaments as we got to have Grammy Kay to ourselves for Christmas instead of having her working retail.

There were a few years it didn't make it out of it's storage box while we were living in Missouri or moving into our new house but it made it's reappearance four Christmas's ago and it's been up every year since.

So many memories. So many moves. It has gone from New Mexico, to Ohio, to Georgia and to several houses in each of those states.

Every year I swear I am going to buy a new tree the next year. A bigger one. One with white lights instead of colored. One that I don't have to individually separate each branch or struggle to connect all of the cords so that the lights will light. But.... I have never been able to bring myself to spend the money for a new tree. Every year Old Faithful has still lit up and allowed it's branches to be pulled and tugged and hung with ornaments. The girls have taken their pictures in front of it and gathered around it to ooh and ahh over their presents on Christmas morning.

The year with the flood I was sure that it has been in the basement and was ruined and I was all prepared to go get a live Christmas tree for the first time in our married life. But.. Old Faithful was still there. This year though two branches are broken, it's a little more dilapidated and for the first time ever we had two areas that didn't light up.

I was sad as I hung ornaments on it for the last time tonight. I will take pictures of it

2003

2004- Not sure why we didn't have a picture in front of the tree

2007

2008

2009

2010

Where did the summer go?

Summer is over and it's only August 4th. It's still a hundred plus degrees out and it still doesn't get dark until 9. The mosquito's are still bad and the pool water is the perfect temperature. So why is summer ending? Summer is ending because the girls are going back to school tomorrow :(