Christmas Morning

Christmas morning we got going at 7....here is the sleepy bunch on the steps

the girls got Cabbage twins (of mine when I was about 7...shhhhh!)

Bennett also got my old cradle for her baby dolls

and my little chefs also got aprons to be my helpers in the kitchen

the group under E and Hunt's Christmas tree, post-Santa, pre-family gifts

my favorite spot on Christmas Day was E's porch....here we are cuddled up after breakfast

and later all the girls on the couch

We loved our time at E and Hunt's over Christmas- and the fun continues because next week we go to Disneyworld!

christmas eve....

Most of Christmas Eve I spent in the kitchen. Dave and Ben went to Holly Hill to hunt. So the women had the kiddos- we had panettonne (sp?) french toast for breakfast which was so yummy! And then Wiz and E took the girls down the street to the playground at the yacht club while I whipped up and recreated Gran's dressing and sweet potato casserole (a big hit thankfully! they tasted just like hers!....we couldn't find her recipes!).

Wiz at the park with all the cousins

sneaky Ben

Wizzy and Celia

We were able to go to E and Hunt's church for the Christmas Eve service which was "kid friendly" but Bennett's joy and excitement could not be contained- she sang holy holy holy loudly a couple of times so Dave took her to run around the back until it was time for the candles- then she tried to eat fire and torch her hair so she had to deal with a blown out candle instead. Henry had gone with E an hour early so by the time the service started he was fast asleep. When we got home we had E's lasagna and salad- then we scared the Celia half to death when we left out the cookies and milk for Santa- she was suffering from PTSD from when Wiz rang jingle bells from the garage while the kids were leaving reindeer food on the lawn. Celia immediately freaked out and then when we left the cookies out she really thought he'd be there any second. Needless to say she's not a big fan in person.....but the next morning she didn't think he was so bad!

Henry, Celia, and Samuel

Bennett, Mary, Dave, Ben, Elizabeth, Dargan, Celia, Samuel, and Henry

Christmas in Dixie

We headed to Charleston for Christmas this year. We got there Sunday Dec 23 and after some delicious shrimp and grits we commenced to gingerbread making.....my mom has the best pictures but here are the few we took-

Hunt is the resident dough-roller and the big kids did most of the cookie cutting

Dargan helped a little but mostly played with dough-

and Bennett essentially ate her way through the gingerbread making experience until it was sprinkle time and she went to town!

christmas bears....

This year we were able to see the Christmas bears again.....I was able to take the kids with Kara and Austin and Marion....they were great!

Christmas Past....

We found some of our old Christmas videos of Celia.....a taste of Christmas past....
this is from her first Christmas...it must have been about a week before. That Christmas we actually spent at MUSC for a couple nights.





This is Celia's second Christmas, our first one in Charlotte





Here is a sampling of our Christmas music...

Christmas Party

Ok this picture is horrible but we just wanted to say how much we LOVE our lifegroup! We started up this fall and it has been a great semester- last night was our Christmas party. We played the white elephant gift swap (I got coffee, Dave got Nacho Libre)....and then celebrity empire- it was fantastic! Merry Christmas Lifegroup- we'll see you in '08!

christmas catch up

Finally our sickness came to an end and thankfully Celia never got it- that may be our Christmas miracle! Since then we've been cramming in the Christmas fun-

First we made Christmas cookies

then on to the gingerbread houses....here Bennett has had one too many m&m's

Celia nearing the end....

Bennett's finished house

Celia's masterpiece!

Celia vs the cookie dough

Bennett's turn

"Uh-Oh"

Dave finished his finals Monday and after reading on Tuesday, he had set aside time for family time before he goes at it again the week before Christmas.  Unfortunately our time is not looking like what we intended--- sweet Bennett woke screaming my name yesterday at 3:30...I walked into her room and she pointed at throw up all over her crib, floor, etc and said "uh-oh"--- uh-oh is right.  She had a rough afternoon.  She got sick every 10 to 15 minutes for 4.5 hrs and then it seemed to taper off.   She slept in a pack'n'play in our room with Dave.  Where was I?  On the couch downstairs- it was my turn next.  So it was a rough night for me.  Dave let me sleep so much this morning....one praise is that he is home now and not in finals!  Then this afternoon its been his turn.  We've yet to see it play out with Dave and are trying to prepare Celia for what's to come-  

one funny thing that did happen today was when Bennett and I went to pick Celia up from school.  She was talking about her cousins, how all 3 are her most favorite, when she would see them again, etc.  I told her that Uncle Beej would be getting a job hopefully at MUSC when he finished in Birmingham next summer ('09) and they would move to Charleston. 

"With E?" she asked....

"no baby, they'll buy their own house"

then puzzled but without skipping a beat said "But Mommy who will carry it?"

looks like she understands the Christmas shopping season is upon us-

Birthday Party for Jesus '07

This year we celebrated Jesus' birthday a little early again at the annual Uptown Birthday Party for Jesus! It was well organized by Shannon Arendt and the amazing volunteers- our girls had a blast-

Here they are working on a goodie bag to tote all their treats-

The King- Dave was asked to tell the Christmas story this year- He did a great job bringing the story to life for the children and adults using props while at the same time showcasing his best accent!

Our lifegroup was in charge of games this year- here is Rob.....

....and Tyler working the room

Harris Stevens worked as a balloon maestro and made all kinds of things for the kids- Here Adam and Silas show off Silas' new sword- check out those fancy pants!

Bennett opted for a hat instead

Marion, Bennett and Celia were dancing hard for the Christmas songs

played by Mr. Dave Latham

It was a joyous time to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas-

Here is a little sampling of the fierce moves on the Christmas dance floor-

a beautiful mind...

Miss Bennett is quite the mathematician....she counts by herself all the way to 15! we're trying to capture it on film but just wanted to let those out there in the math world to be prepared....we'll have her working proofs soon!

Thanksgiving trip to Philadelphia

This Thanksgiving we spent time with Dave's family in Philadelphia- Here is a picture story of our time there....

Here the girls practice resting comfortably during short delay for our flight out-

right before takeoff the girls were all smiles...they did great on the plane coloring and watching Angelina Ballerina-

Our first full day in Philly we took a train into the city. Here is Mamu and the girls at the train station wating for our line into the city

on the train to go the Philadelphia Children's "please-touch" museum

it was a gross day but we did well-we were thankful to leave the 70s behind in Charlotte

in the museum the girls honed their farming techniques

Bennett loving the pig

Celia helped Mamu make and ice ginger cookies which were DELICIOUS!

One night our dear friends Dan, Sarah, andQuinn O'Neill stopped by so our kids could hang out. Then Mamu and Pops babysat so we could do dinner with Justin and Meg as well. It was so great to catch up with old friends-

Despite a ROUGH week with cat allergies Celia warmed up to the little rascals...here she is trying to get Cassidy to play with her

The Valley Green park was really close to the house so we went a few times. Aren't the leaves beautiful?

Aunt Jess and Uncle Zach arrived Wednesday sans luggage (they mailed it and it never showed up! HA!) so we went back to the park and had a party in the leaves

Uncle Zach covering Celia

Thanksgiving Day we went to a praise service at OPC and then came home to watch the parade, then Jess, Mamu, and the girls made pumpkin pies-

Before thanksgiving dinner we headed to Aunt Jean's house to visit and the girls loved her piano. I loved her yummy food...not to mention the dancing...video below, be sure to watch!

Dave, Pa, MomMom, Celia, Bennett, and Mary- so sweet to see Dave's grandparents-

and the table- the spread was amazing- both girls ate like champs! Notice the placemats that the girls made from some of the leaves at Valley Green park. Mamu is so crafty and has a laminating machine at home! Who knew?

And for the video, Here is it....this was maybe the most fun thing about Thanksgiving Day...
Aunt Jean is an aerobics instructor and she shared some of her moves with us. She rocks-
This is for you Aunt Jean.....