It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas....Kindergarten Christmas!

Christmas in the elementary school....there's nothing like it.  The kids are excited, Christmas music fills the air, everyone's fingers are sticky from the myriad of Christmas crafts.  The kids are excited, the teachers are tired, and both can't wait until the last day before break!

This week also meant, for us, lots of activities for Hannah in kindergarten.

First up was the kindergarten and preschool Christmas program, "Love Came Down."

Here's Hannah in my room before the program.

 Coppin' a "tude"

 on the risers before the program.  During the program, I was too smitten with the cuteness of my daughter and the pure sweetness of 3-5 year olds singing about baby Jesus that I forgot to take pictures.

 With Grandma and Grandpa after the program

 With Daddy and Nanny

 And with Maddy.  She didn't have an exam, so she got to come too!

 Later in the week, it was time to party!!!

Here is Hannah and her friend Jacob in the super cute sweatshirts that they made!

 The impromptu Christmas concert started by none other than my daughter!

 Jesus Bingo.  Oh, goodness.

Hannah, after she didn't win the first game.

 or the second...

 or the last...

 It's so hard to lose when you're five!

 Then there was the book swap.

Waiting....

 so excited!!!!

 Reason #123 why I don't teach kindergarten.

Notice the boys rolling around on the floor amidst all of the chaos!

 Merry Christmas from Mrs. Farr's Kindergarten class!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas....Aloha Christmas!

The title of today's blog post makes one think that perhaps we are celebrating Christmas in Hawaii this year, but alas, we are home and enjoying every minute of this busy busy busy holiday season!

Aloha Christmas was the title of our church's Christmas play this year.

The girls that Sunday morning, which has nothing to do with the program, but I love it when I get a picture of them all together, and I think they look so pretty!  (and for some reason, I think Maddy looks like Kim Kardashian in this picture!)

Hannah had to be at the church 3 hours early to go over the play and get ready, and for the first time, I left her there by herself.  She was fine with it...I couldn't wait to get back to church for her, just sure that she needed me, wanted me, was falling apart without me.

Um...don't think so...do you?

This is how she greeted us.  "I'm surfing!" 

 So happy big brother is home and here to see them!

(Char looks thrilled, doesn't she?)

 Hannah really got in to all the dancing!

 Midway through the play, they all left....and she came back as a cow!

And to my surprise, Maddy came back in with the rest of the cast.  Seems as if she asked if they needed help, and they put her in!

 Christmas rocks!

 After the program, Grandma and Grandpa met us at 15th Street Pizza for dinner (and to see Josh, who was working that night)

 Hannah and Charlotte enjoyed the tree...

 maybe a little too much!

 mmmmm....ketchup!

Let Christmas Begin!

Since Josh was home from college for the long weekend, we thought we would get a head start on our Christmas decorating and go ahead and put our tree up.  This is a first for our family.  Usually, we hem and haw and procrastinate until we find a short window one weekend night to put it up, and for the first week or two after Thanksgiving, I am remorseful over our lack of holiday spirit.  I think, though, that because Josh isn't home regularly, Daryl decided to take advantage of the time he is home.  That, in itself, is a gift.

181.  Putting up the tree the weekend after Thanksgiving.

182.  The Christmas tree smell

183.  Watching my boys work together to get the tree up.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care....

Which one of these is not like the others?
(excuse my mix of Sesame Street with Twas the Night before Christmas...)

ah yes,...the stockings.  Josh's was completed a good month or two before he was born.  Sarah's was completed by the Christmas before she was born (New Year's Eve)  Maddy's?  In time for her first Christmas.  Hannah's was done just in time for her...um....5th Christmas.  And Charlotte's?  Well, let's just say that hers is a work in progress!

Charlotte loved going through all the ornaments

 Each one of them has a special meaning, and Daryl told her all about it.  So sweet.

 The big kids worked together to put up the lights.

 Maddy and her ornament from Grandma from last year.

FAST FORWARD A WEEK....

Breakfast with Santa

Here, you see Santa....



and here are my girls eating breakfast....NOT with Santa.

Because they were scared.  No really.  Scared.  Like, scream hysterically and hide behind my legs while chanting "carry you, carry you, mommy" scared 

 However, I was the official photographer for the event (I know, I'm laughing at that one too!) so they had to come out of the nursery.  Hannah soon warmed up to Santa once she realized that it was really just Mr. Bernie.

 Charlotte, perhaps worn down by her two solid hours of crying and clinging, finally decides to take a look....of course, after I have changed her out of her new dress from Kay Kay

 And this is what we got.  Probably would have been a better picture, but I had packed up the camera after the last of the children left.  But it's something.....right?

Next on the holiday list?

Spivey and the church play...

Stay tuned for more pictures!

Thanksgiving 2011

WARNING:  Picture Overload!

 

I love Thanksgiving.  A week off from school.  A week to celebrate being thankful for what you have.  Being with family.  And most of all, the beginning of the Christmas season!  The first specials come on TV.  Christmas music on the radio.  Putting up the Christmas tree.  Just enough Christmas to enjoy before all of the stress and hustle and bustle begins.  You're just at the beginning, with a feeling of anticipation, not worn down by the endless stream of parties/programs/concerts/projects. 

Ah...another gift.  166.  Thanksgiving

We all slept in Thanksgiving day (til 8:00 for me!) and then packed up in the SUV and headed for Grandma's house.

My brother, sister, and her kids were already there.  We couldn't wait to see everyone, especially Clare and Cole, my sister's twins.  The last time we had seen them had been in the summer.  We were supposed to go to their first birthday party in August, but for a fateful encounter with an elliptical machine.

When we got there, they had just woken up from a nap, and I think the sheer enormity of our clan overwhelmed them a bit.

A little food in the belly, and they were all smiles...

 The guys, hanging out "together" while the women did the cookin and watchin the kids thing...

 Time to eat!

(look how skinny my sister is...so jealous!  And she just had twins a year ago!)

I volunteered Daryl and myself to sit at the kids' table.  I remembered how mad Kathleen used to get when she was included with the kids, just because she was the youngest of the older people, so I didn't want to make Maddy or Sarah do it. 

 Sisters....

 Char had three bites of mashed potatoes and a roll and decided she was ready for some rappin'.

 Before we left, we wanted to try to get a picture of all of the cousins...

 (note my children all sitting and smiling nicely....)

 My brother, my sister, and me.

 So many gifts that day....

167.  My sister as a mommy.  She is 11 years younger than I am, so she is always about 15 in my head (which makes me about 26...I like it!)  She is so good with those babies....so disciplined and laid back and always on a schedule.  Sniff sniff....I think she's all grown up on me!

168.  Clare

169. Cole

170.  Watching how my sister and her husband work together as a team so well, so easily, so naturally.  Makes me happy to see her in a happy marriage.

171.  Seeing my brother.  It's been a while. Shamefully, we both live in the smae metropolitan area.  He's way north of Atlanta, and I'm south.  We never see each other, which is sad to me.  It was good to see him too!

172.  Mom's good china.

173.  Setting the table with my mom.

174.  Making our water glasses "sing"

175.  laughing about old times

176.  enjoying Thanksgiving without it being all about food--I stayed within my point range and even managed to lose 2.2 pounds that week (then fell apart last week, but that's a story for a different post)

178.  All of us together in the same car at the same time

179.  Daryl, at home, with us, all day

180.  Christmas music!