Christmas Morning

Santa came to our house!!!

Check out what all he brought!

We let Noah sleep in our bed Christmas Eve to insure that he didn't get up too soon and ruin any surprises! Jackson woke up first, so we let him go wake Noah up. Once Noah was barely awake, it didn't take him long to remember what day it was. He jumped out of bed and ran to the living room.

Noah helped Jackson figure out what was under the tree.

Then Noah helped Bones go through his stocking- Bones had a pretty good first Christmas. He got a new bed, some toys, and a tag with his name on it.

One of Jackson's most prized possessions- a big bag of Animal Crackers in his stocking.

The next most prized possession- his very own "Blackberry" that looks a lot like Daddy's. Maybe he'll leave Daddy's alone now!

"I just don't know what to do with all this stuff!!!"

Noah played with his new Batcave all morning- one of only two things that he actually asked for this year.

Next Daddy and Noah played with his new Hotwheels truck and rug.

Even Bones agreed that it was a very good Christmas. Noah told me yesterday that he think this was the best Christmas ever. Hope everyone else had a great one, too!

Christmas Eve Pics

In the past we have always gotten together with my side of the family at moms for Christmas Eve. With it falling on a Wednesday night this time, we had to do things a little different. We went to mom's before church for supper, went to church, then Mom, Charlie, Wendy, Scott, & the girls came back to our house after church for presents!

We started off by letting the boys put out their cookies for Santa by the tree (and eat a few, too!).

" What? You mean these cookies are for Santa?"

Noah got to open double the presents this year since he got to help with most of Jackson's! Jackson opened all of his first so he could go to bed since it was already way past his bedtime. Christmas or not, when Jackson needs to go to sleep, it's better for all involved to let him go to sleep!

Noah gave thank you hugs to MawMaw and PawPaw for all his presents.

Daddy and Noah checking out the new MP3 player (Noah's calling it his iPod- they both play music and he doesn't know the difference so far!)

After the rest of the family was gone, Noah went to bed pretty easily since he knew Santa couldn't come until he was sleeping! He was all smiles in anticipation of what he'd find on Christmas morning.

All is Ready for Christmas!

Finally, as I write this at 3:00 on Christmas Eve afternoon, I think everything is ready! Last night Noah helped me make sugar cookies for Santa. After he settled in to fall asleep watching "Kung Fu Panda", I had a big wrapping marathon that last until about midnight!


Today, Noah helped me again and we frosted and sprinkled our cookies from last night. We set aside a special plate for Santa, made a tray for our family Christmas tonight, and (as you can see above) tasted a few to make sure they were good enough for Santa. Noah seemed to like the tasting part better than the baking and decorating!

After finishing up the cookies, I did the last and most dreaded chore of the day and gave Bones a bath. Noah had lots of fun helping me. After a good shampooing, rinsing, and blow drying, Bones is now looking extra spiffy for the holidays. If he tries to attack Santa coming down the chimney tonight at least he'll look good and smell good doing it!

We have a busy few days ahead, so I probably won't have Christmas pics up for a while. Tonight we're having Christmas with my family, tomorrow we go to my grandmothers. I work tomorrow night, then Friday morning we're off to my sister-in-law's in Tennessee for the Bowman Christmas. We hope everyone has the best Christmas ever!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Last night as I was taking Jackson to bed, Noah came running after us. He told me to hold Jackson down to him because "I need to tell my little brother something!" As I held Jackson down to Noah's level, Noah put his hands on Jackson's face to hold his head still, then whispered in his ear "Tomorrow's Christmas Eve Jackson!" Jackson just grinned at him, and Noah ran off happily to continue what he was doing. It was so sweet! I think Noah's going to help Jackson figure out what Christmas is all about this year!

Family Photo with Santa

We took the kids to see Santa today and somehow getting their picture made with Santa turned into a family photo with Santa. While we were waiting in line and watching Santa from a distance, Jackson was all smiles...
Noah was excited too. He even carried Allen the elf with him because we thought Allen might be getting a little homesick by now. (We found him in the freezer this morning eating a popsicle. I guess he's missing the really cold weather from the North Pole.)

When it was our turn, they looked so sweet! Noah took Jackson by the hand and led him right up to Santa.

The smiles from Jackson continued as they got closer.

This is about where the smiling stopped! Jackson loved Santa- right up until we sat him on his lap. At that point, Jackson looked up at Santa and burst into terrified tears!

At Santa's suggestion, we turned it into a family photo instead! Jackson wouldn't smile for the picture, but at least he wasn't screaming anymore!

Noah was very happy with his visit to Santa. He took his letter to Santa that he had written all by himself (with a little spelling help from Mom) and put it right into Santa's hands. Santa opened it up and read it. Noah was sooo proud! Santa also said hi to Allen the elf and told Noah that Allen has been sending him updates on who's been behaving at our house. He told Noah not to worry though, because he'll be stopping by our house on Wednesday night for sure!

Playing in the Diapers

So what happens when Jackson decides to dump all the diapers from the basket all over the floor?
Bones decides to help drag them all over the house!

Oh well, when you're that cute I guess you're entitled to a few messes!

Eating the Unedible

So the little boy that loves to eat decided to try to eat some of Noah's ornaments that he made at school. I think he discovered that glitter covered foam doesn't taste that great. By the way, earlier this week he walked up to me with a "Beggin' Strip" dog treat hanging out of his mouth. That was about enough to make me sick. I guess he thought it was bacon- one of his favorites. Yuck!!

Puppy Entertainment!

I guess at this point you can tell that I've been VERY behind on my blogging! Finally have some time to catch up some this morning so everything's making it on here at the same time. One night last week, Noah decided Bones might need a little help going to sleep and thought some lullabies with guitar accompaniment might be just what he needed. Too cute!

Holiday Visitor

Last year, we had a visit from an elf from the North Pole. He must have worked real hard to get all the toys made early, because he got to come back this year! His name is Allen and he showed up in our Christmas tree last Friday morning. Noah loves having Allen around to play with during the day. At night before bed, we sprinkle the Magic Snowflakes that Allen brought from the North Pole on him and leave out crackers and water for him to eat. That's when the fun begins. While we're sleeping, Allen gets up and plays, and usually gets into all kinds of mischief. Last year we found him hanging from the kitchen light fixture, hiding in the freezer eating popsicles, and raiding the pantry just to name a few things. Below you'll see a photo of what we found this morning. He's sitting on top of the kitchen cabinets unrolling the paper towels!

A Boy and His Dog

Having given up hope of getting that great outdoor Christmas card photo that I wanted, I decided to attempt some indoor shots around the tree this morning. Between sick kids, the weather, and the fact that Christmas is a week away, I figured it's time to take what I can get. Jackson bailed from the photo shoot after just a few shots, but Noah wanted to get more pictures of him and Bones. I wish I could somehow merge Jackson into this shot, because I just love how it turned out. Noah looks so grown up and happy to have his new puppy. (Would you ever have guessed that he still has 102 fever?)

Discovering Oreos!

Looks a little frightening I know, but it's just mushed up Oreos! David gave Jackson his first Oreo one night when I was at work and we were out of his usual dessert of graham crackers. He now recognizes the package and looks forward to having one after every meal! This is one little boy that LOVES food. This morning for breakfast he ate oatmeal, fruit, 2 biscuits, and a muffin. He then tried to steal one of Noah's uneaten biscuits. I don't know where he puts it all!

New Puppy!

Meet the newest member of our family- "Bones" Bowman. Bones (named by Noah himself) is a half Shih Tzu half Yorkie- a "Shorkie". Noah has been asking for a puppy for a long time now, so we decided to take the plunge. So far so good. Both of the boys are having lots of fun with him. He's a really sweet little puppy that loves to play, but also loves to have somebody to sleep with. He's doing real good so far on housetraining, too.

He loves to give Jackson kisses- I think he likes having another little person around.

Jackson and Bones made a Congo line yesterday.

Bones and Noah taking a snooze together on the couch.

Snuggled up to watch a movie together. Noah is definitely enjoying having a puppy around. They make good playmates.

Thanksgiving at the Beach

We just got home last night from a not so typical Thanksgiving celebration. We went with my parents and sister's family to the beach to meet up with the extended family (Charlie's kids and grandkids from Texas) to celebrate the holiday. All total we had 24 people (11 kids) in an 8 bedroom beach house. It was a little crowded at times, but all in all we couldn't have asked for a better trip. The kids had a ball. Most of the time it was perfect weather. It got a little cool in the evening, but a jacket or sweatshirt made it fine. We did have one day of rain on Saturday, but that turned out okay, too since everybody wanted to watch the Iron Bowl anyway. Roll Tide!!!

Noah and Jackson hanging out on the beach. Jackson enjoyed playing in the sand more this time than he did during the summer. Something about being out in 70 degree weather instead of 90 degree weather seemed to make it more enjoyable!
All the grandkids (and some great grandkids) in their custom made beach t-shirts. We had a little craft session one night and decorated them. They had fun with it and we were all really impressed at their creations. They weren't too happy with us when we took this picture though. It was pouring rain and we made them go out on the porch to take it. Noah in particular got very upset at getting wet and having to take his new t-shirt off! By the way- I'm thinking about doing a girls night here at the house soon and thought we might could make some shirts for the kids- let me know if you're interested. They are very cheap and easy to make.

Even though we celebrated a little differently this year, it was fun getting to go the beach again and to see everybody that we don't get to see very often. I know that Charlie enjoyed having everybody together.

It's funny that just yesterday we were at the beach looking at the beautiful sunshine, and today I've been watching snowflakes fall from the sky. We're all a little tired, and the kids are borderline sick, so it's a good day to stay inside anyway. Jackson was actually more than a little tired- he went to bed at about 8:30 last night, and slept until 10:30 this morning. I decided to wake him up then because I was getting worried that something might be wrong. He's fine other than a runny nose- I guess he just missed his bed and was glad to be home. I think we all are!

Noah's Thanksgiving Lunch

Today Noah had a Thanksgiving Lunch at school and all the parents were invited to come eat with them. Before eating, his class lined up to sing some Thanksgiving songs. He looked so cute in his little pilgrim hat. He has really learned this year what Thanksgiving is all about. He said they read a book at school that told about the people coming to the new country on the Mayflower and how they made friends with the Indians and had the first Thanksgiving. I was impressed with his first real grasp on history!

All the kids had made some Thanksgiving artwork that we brought home with us today. One was a leaf that he had colored and told about how he would cook a turkey. Noah's said "by cutting all its body off, putting it in the oven to cook, and then eating it." I don't know whether to be disturbed or amused at his graphic description! I guess since he's only 5, we'll just laugh about it!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

10 years ago today David and I said "I Do!". This picture of us was taken after our wedding on the porch swing of our very first house. We look so young and skinny!

It's hard to believe all that's happened over the last 10 years. We've grown from a family of 2 to a family of 4. We had lots of ups and some downs along the way, but I think we can both say we've had a pretty good 10 year start to our marriage. Wonder what life holds in the next 10 years for us? Can't wait to find out!

Happy Anniversary David! Thank you for being such a good husband and daddy for our family!

I Love You!

Sewanee

Yesterday Becky, the boys and I took my parents on a fall color trip to where I grew up in Tennessee. One of the places we always stop and visit for a while when I go home is the Memorial Cross in Sewanee. It is an incredibly beautiful place on the campus of The University of the South that overlooks the valley from Monteagle Mountain. This place has been very special to me over the years for many reasons. Now, it reminds me of more than just home and childhood memories. It represents an especially symbolic meaning it never before possessed for me. In the summer of 1998 on the steps of this cross I asked Becky to be my wife. I decided what better place to start our lives together as one than at the foot of the cross. Physically, we were at the base of a monument in Tennessee. Symbolically, and more important literally, we were at the beginning of our new life together as two Christians soon to be joined as a Christian family. Now we take our sons to the cross and make new memories each time. I began my life just to the east of here; my life with Christ began just a couple of miles west; and between the two at the foot of the cross in Sewanee I began "Happily Ever After" with Becky. What a perfect place.

Happy almost 10 year anniversary, baby. I love you!!!

P.S. I know I am in trouble now for sneaking onto your blog and posting this without telling you.

Election Day

As everybody on TV keeps reminding us, today's election is definitely going to be history in the making, no matter how it turns out. Watching the way things are going at 8:45 tonight, I must admit I'm getting a little discouraged that things are not going to turn out as I had hoped they would. A better way to describe how I feel would be scared and a little nauseated when I think about how the next four years will go if the election goes the way it appears that it is right now. I really hoped America would have better sense than to elect Obama, but it doesn't seem that the general public has much sense. I have a CD playing in the van everytime I get in right now that helped me put things into perspective a little bit. It's an Amy Grant CD- Hymns of Faith and Praise. The song "This Is My Father's World" is on there and a couple of lines caught my attention and I've been replaying the song over and over again because it does bring a very peaceful thought. "Though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet," and "God reigns, let the earth be glad." The lines in this song helped remind me that no matter what happens in our nation and who our leader is, this is God's world, and he is ultimately in control and will be with us no matter what. We have to trust that whoever gains the presidency is there for a reason and God will reveal that reason in His own time. He's our King and any earthly leaders who are put into power will fall away, but He will always be there.

Halloween Pics

Noah and Jackson had a great Halloween! We went to a Halloween Bash at Danny & Marian Cook's house with lots of other people from church. They had lots of food, fun, & games planned, plus a hayride and Trunk or Treat for the kids. On our way out, we stopped by Wendy & Scott's to let Noah and Jackson trick or treat at their house first.

Superman Jackson's ready to try out some trick or treating!

Isn't Noah a cool looking Batman?

Treak or Treat Uncle Scott!

Noah's saying "That's it Jackson- you just knock on the door and they'll give you lots of candy!"

Is it cool for Superman to be caught sucking his thumb?

Mommy with her little Batman and Superman after we wrapped up Trunk or Treating.

Noah got Mummy wrapped!

The fam!

Checking out the loot! Jackson was intrigued by everything he got. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for Mommy and Daddy, there were several things in there he couldn't have!

We had a really fun Halloween night, but were all tired out when we got home. I didn't have to talk anybody into going to bed! Thanks Danny and Marian (and Sheila and Tanya) for planning such a fun night for everybody! We enjoyed it!