Christmas Family Fun

Today was the Stone Family Christmas Party after church. And for all you grammar gurus, I do realize that it should not be all capitalized, but in my mind, it qualifies just because of the magnitude. Lots of people, lots of food, lots of laughs, lots of kids, lots of love. I will admit that this has not always been my favorite holiday party. I grew up with a very small family, and Daryl's family is soooo not small. I am extremely introverted with people I don't know...painfully shy even, so parties, in general, are not things I look forward to. Then there is the fact that all of Daryl's sisters and neices are model gorgeous and maybe weigh 100 pounds soaking wet. Nicest, most genuine people you would ever want to meet, and they never made me feel anything other than totally welcome, but I found them all a little intimidating and myself paling in comparison. And finally, the fact that they are all so spiritually grounded, and here I was so new in my faith. So in my mind, the Stone Family Christmas Party felt like the equivalent of being thrown to the lions. Nerves galore a week before, agonizing over gifts to give and what to wear, praying that I would not appear to be as uncomfortable as I felt, that I would make Daryl proud, and not embarrass him. Over the years, though, I've grown to love this party, mostly because I have grown to love this family. The feelings of inadequacy remain, as I fear they always will, just because of who and how I am, but I am now able to look past that and enjoy the loud, boisterous beauty of Daryl's family.

And as tradition dictates, I once again forgot to take the camera. If I had remembered to bring it, you would be looking at pictures of these sweet moments from today:

*Hannah performing, with angel wings, in the children's Christmas program this morning. Daryl and I didn't even know that Hannah was going to be in it until this morning, and even then, we weren't sure she would actually go through with it. But rest assured, she was precious. She did come on stage with her dress hiked up, pulling up her panties and tights that had slid down her backside (note to self...size 4T-5T tights...too small), and she stood in the wrong spot (with the speakers instead of the nativity scene), but she was just precious.

*Maddy singing in church today. Once again...I didn't even know she was singing until we were up on the stage and the service had started!

*Hannah and cousin Benji chasing each other up and down the hallway. They were both so red faced, and Hannah was "fweaty, Mommy, I am so fweaty. Dis is a big pwobwem."

*Charlotte being passed around and not fussing a bit.

*Daryl giving the devotion. He did such a good job--I love to hear him teach. I swear I fall in love with him all over again every time. I love it that he is the spiritual leader of our family and that I can still learn from him and that he still gives me butterflies after eight years.

So another Stone party is in the books, and next year there will be more spouses and more children (but NOT from us on either count!), and most likely, I will forget my camera.

Ready or not...

Josh has applied to three colleges--North Georgia College, Atlanta Christian College, and Toccoa Falls Christiann College. And today, he got his first response...an acceptance to Toccoa Falls, the school of his choice.
North Georgia is cheaper, Atlanta Christian is closer, but he really wants to go to Toccoa Falls--has prayerfully considered it and feels led by the Lord. And we know that God will provide. And he....he is ready. His momma? Considering the nauseous feeling in my stomach upon reading his housing request form...not so much!

I'm just sayin....

When, in one week, you get this in the mail from your sweet Mama....

And get this from your sweet Aunt Mary...
And your dear dear husband decides it is a great night for pie (because, after all, he is going on a diet after the new year and in order to win the biggest loser contest at school, he needs to gain all the weight he can in the meantime)

and your sweet mother in law sends you home with these from AWANAs...

It is sooo sooo hard to be satisfied with....this.

But...I didn't give into the temptation, although I will admit to one peanut butter cup. Because, after all, everything in moderation, right?

And just because, a little Charlotte cuteness...

Saturday of Service

This Saturday morning saw us all up and at 'em this morning, and for once it wasn't for a game, a competition, or to work, but to do for others. Josh headed out with the Student Leadership Institute at school to hand out food to some needy families at a holiday celebration, and the rest of us headed to the assisted living home to spread some holiday cheer. Our church choir met there at 9:30 and we sang a few songs from our Christmas program. I took the big girls because I thought we needed a little bit more power with our little choir, and they both knew the music because they had been in the drama portion of the program. I took the little girls, thinking that the residents would like to see them, and had visions of Hannah charming them and learning to come out of her shell around strangers.

But first...a picture of my sweet baby girl who has slept through the night for two nights in a row! This is how I have found her both mornings, thumb in mouth. She is my one and only thumb sucker, and I am glad...at least there is something about her that is like me (not that I still suck my thumb, but I used to!). Heaven knows that other than this newfound habit, she is all Daryl!

Nanny and PawPaw, while not in the choir, came to support us, and to watch the little girls.
Or should I say girl. Hannah was having none of the "charming the old people." Note how I sang most of the program...holding a 40 pound three year old. The rest of the time, Daryl was holding her.

Not only did we sing, but Doug played some carols on the piano.

The "crowd" enjoying the music.

And Charlotte was sound asleep by the end of it. It was nap time-ish, and it was so incredibly hot, she probably had no choice but to nod off.

It was a good morning, and it made proud of my teenagers who willingly got up on a weekend morning to come to the aid of others!

Creativity

Well, well, well...it turns out that there are indeed advantages of being a mom torn in five or six different directions. For example, while you are trying to enter grades, soothe a teething baby, and work on a Christmas gift all at the same time, your 3 year old has time and opportunity to be creative. And then she comes to you sooooo excited and says, "Mommy! You wanna see something really cool I made in my room?"

And I do realize that some of you are tsk-tsk-ing me right now for having gumdrops in a place where she could reach them, and letting my child play with...gasp...candy,...double gasp...at night,...out of drawers that aren't child proofed, BUT my big kids made forts in the living room with the couch cushions and kept them up for days/slept in laundry baskets/played with playdough on the carpet/had a pot and pan band/played in the mud in the rain and most fun of all, played king of the mountain on a pile of laundry...numerous times and they turned out fine..so far.

Sing We Joyful, All Together...

Can you name that Christmas Carol? (Few people know that I am two time Deacon-Widow Banquet champion of the guess the Christmas carol from some obscure reference...impressive, huh? The useless knowledge that floats around in my head...)

Anyway, I thought it a fitting title for today's post, as it was ELCA's annual Christmas concert, and Maddy, being part of the middle school chorus, was performing. Josh stayed home to shuttle Sarah back and forth to Spivey (thank goodness for teenage drivers in the house!), and I loaded up the little girls and Maddy and met Nanny, PawPaw, and Daryl back at the school (my car could really drive there itself, I sometimes think)

Here's Maddy before we left for the concert. Doesn't she look pretty? A bit summery for a Christmas concert, but the directions were wear black and white... and this is what we had!

And a grumpy teething Charlotte before we left...I was thinking that this did not bode well for a long holiday concert, but she actually did alright
with a little help from Nanny

Maddy singing--the third from the right on the bottom row

Daddy and Maddy after the concert with her flowers. Daryl picked up a bouquet from Grandma since she couldn't be there, and then a bouquet from himself too!

Pretty flowers for a pretty girl...

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On the weight loss front, this week, I did EVERYTHING right. Lots of water. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies and lean protein. No extra salt and no high sodium foods. No cheat days. And you wanna take a guess at how much I lost? NADA Yep, not a single fraction of a pound. And for about two minutes, my first reaction was...Chick Fil A here I come. A big ol' greasy piece of heaven on a biscuit. But I didn't. After all, this is a journey, not a race. A lifestyle change, not a diet. And at the end of the day, it would have been a darn good breakfast, but I still wouldn't have lost any weight, I'd still have high blood pressure, and the chicken wouldn't have helped a bit. So in the end, a victory of sorts. A day I chose ME over the habits, the mindset, and the inner deamons that got me here in the first place.

Decking the Halls

This past Tuesday night we put up our Christmas tree. I think this is the earliest that we have ever had it up, and it was thanks, in large, to our busy schedule that we did. And Tuesday night? Who puts up their tree on a school night???? Those that have weekend activities right up to December 20, that's who!

When we got down the Christmas decorations, we found Josh's old train set. Ahhhh, the memories. Josh and his friend Andrew were obsessed with these trains for about three years. They each had a train table and all the pieces. We got it down for Hannah and she loved it. See...I knew it would be an investment!

Maddy enjoyed modeling the Christmas decorations...
Daryl took the big kids to get the tree....

and Hannah and Maranda...

While Charlotte and I stayed home.

Here's the gang in front of the tree. This is the second year with Maranda in the picture. Last year when we put up our tree, it was her first time coming over to our house, and we cleaned for hours. This time? We picked up the toys. Ha! Notice that Hannah is in mid-meltdown. Too much excitement + no nap = cranky Hannah.

And her is a picture of our "tacky tree," as Josh puts it. He calls it this because Maranda's tree is one of those beautiful all matching trees (actually, it's her whole house, but sigh...that is for another post) and ours is what I would prefer to call our "memory tree." Every ornament has special meaning, or was made by one of the kids, and has a special memory attached to it. And the tacky star, well we bought that together the very first Christmas we spent together as a family, before we got married.

Hannah LOVES the tree. She loves to look at it, to plug it in, to sort the presents under it. She is really enjoying Christmas this year, and it has made the season fun. Which is why she was so distraught when we came home from school on Thursday to this:

But never fear...it's back up and just as beautiful as ever!