Santa Claus is Coming to Town

I marked my calendar weeks ago for tonight, so we'd be fed and ready to go before Santa came to town.

The boys and I were in the middle of dinner when we heard the sirens, but they were 30 minutes ahead of when I was expecting them! Thankfully, LaVor was at the stoplight waiting to turn into our neighborhood and he called me to tell me Santa was coming. We dropped our forks, didn't even put our shoes on, and we ran outside to catch the man himself...Santa!

Doodlebug was so excited to see him! The Lime was really concerned that we didn't have
our shoes on :)

We were the first ones Santa saw and the first one to receive our candy canes. Since I didn't have enough time to grab my camera, we ran back inside the house, gathered our things, and drove down the street to see Santa again.

I still wasn't completely satisfied with my pictures so we drove down the street one more time and caught some great shots of the police car and fire truck leading the way for Santa.

When the elf tried to give us a candy cane at the third stop, I embarrassingly told her we'd already seen him twice before. She giggled but I think appreciated that we were so into seeing the big guy.

This is such a neat tradition that our city puts on! I'll be sure to mark the right time in my calendar this time next year.

Class Party

I feel like we just had The Lime's Harvest party (because we just did) but that's what happens when there's only 2 weeks in between Thanksgiving and Christmas break.

I volunteered to make the sugar cookies and frosting for the cookie station.  Poor Doodlebug was asking for a cookie as soon as they got out of the oven.  I told him once we got to The Lime's party, he could have one.  Sure enough, as soon as we walked in, he asked for a cookie.  Unfortunately, he couldn't have one right that second, which resulted in a lovely meltdown (it's tough when these parties fall during nap time). 

Thankfully, The Lime is an awesome big brother and he took Doodlebug around to each station with him.

There was a Pin the Nose on the Snowman station, a reindeer bag station, cookie decorating station, and reindeer hat station.

Can you guess which one the kids liked the most?

I have some friends who can't bring younger siblings to class parties. It makes me SO grateful that The Lime's teacher is more than willing to have families come participate (and then stick around for story time and movie time).

I'm also very appreciative of the classroom mom who takes on all of these parties and plans every little detail. The activities are always cute and creative and I know the kids enjoy it immensely.

As do little brothers.

Gratitude: Day 30

I'm skipping the alphabet thing this year and just picking something from the day that I'm grateful for.

You didn't really think I'd go the whole month without expressing gratitude for my awesome husband, did you? I'm just saving the best for last.

This guy is a gem. He's always looking for a good time and is the calm that balances my crazy.

See that cheesy grin on his face up above? Guess what he was doing.

Sometimes I feel like I have three children but I couldn't have asked for a better dad to our boys or husband to me.

Earlier this year, he was given an opportunity to take a new position at work. The paranoid freak I am was extremely hesitant because why mess up something that doesn't need fixin'? But LaVor really wanted to jump on it, despite the hesitations we both had. And so he did, he took the position and he's been thriving...THRIVING, folks! Every time he meets with his bosses, they tell him they wish they had made the change sooner. It's been good for him and great for me because he comes home clean every night :) He's always been confident as a mechanic, and still has times where they need his help, but I love seeing him grow and learn in another aspect of the industry.

Sometimes I wish everyone who knew him when he was younger could see how amazing he turned out. Especially this glimpse that I caught the other night...

I love my big, tough, burly guy but I especially love, and am grateful, that he can snuggle our boys, especially when they don't feel good. And tell them how he wishes he could take away their pain and discomfort.

I'm beyond blessed and forever grateful that I get this stud for eternity.

Gratitude: Day 29

I'm skipping the alphabet thing this year and just picking something from the day that I'm grateful for.

I had a situation with the USPS last month that left a sour taste in my mouth. In fact, I've had a couple issues with them that have left me frustrated and disappointed.

But then I heard the mail truck pull up after 9:00 at night last night to deliver a Christmas package to us and I started to feel a little guilty.

I know it's their job, and they're getting paid to be out so late, but it made me feel bad that it was at my expense.

So even though they've royally goofed on several things, I am truly grateful for the hard work that the USPS puts into delivering my mail and packages, no matter the time of day or day of the week.

Gratitude: Day 28

I'm skipping the alphabet thing this year and just picking something from the day that I'm grateful for.

It's been several weeks now since LaVor planted our winter garden and we are flourishing with produce!

It was such a treat to go outside today and pick fresh arugula for our pizza (and the most intense tasting arugula, I might add!).

I'm thankful for LaVor's interest, talent, and determination to plant gardens every year. The winter one is easier to maintain (as long as we receive rain), which I'm grateful for because I am not a fan of standing out in 100 degree heat watering that sucker for an hour. But there's just some sense of pride and satisfaction in growing your own food.

Gratitude: Day 27

I'm skipping the alphabet thing this year and just picking something from the day that I'm grateful for.

Today is this pretty lady's birthday. She would have been 91.

I find myself quoting her often and it always brings a smile to my face. She was such a character and I hope she's keeping everyone on their toes in Heaven, cause she sure as heck did a great job down here.

Doodlebug and I got to visit her grave (twice in a month!) and place some purple flowers on her headstone. She loved purple but not so much flowers. I remember her telling me they were a waste of money because they died within a week.

She was one of a kind and I'm grateful I was chosen to be one of her granddaughters. My dad will have the opportunity this week to be sealed to her and my grandpa, which has been 27 years in the making.

Even though she's gone from this life, I know I will have another chance to see her again. I'm thankful for the peace and comfort that eternal families bring.

Gratitude: Day 26

I'm skipping the alphabet thing this year and just picking something from the day that I'm grateful for.

First and foremost, I am grateful for our home, sleeping by the fire, and the family not waking up until 8:45 this morning! Clearly we all needed some rest.

We had a lazy morning around the house. I decorated for Christmas (grateful for the screaming deal we got on an artificial tree last night!), the boys watched movies, and we stayed in our pajamas until lunch. Doodlebug went down for his nap, LaVor took The Lime to get haircuts, and I got ready for the afternoon.

We talked about visiting Bass Pro today and remembered the free photos with Santa. Aside from our community events, our boys have never visited Santa. We thought Doodlebug would love it, since he's been saying ho ho ho all weekend but when we got close, he freaked out. Hence why I'm in the photo.

I'm grateful we got a smile out of Doodlebug.

I'm grateful for stores that provide fun opportunities for families. Bass Pro has a whole kids area fixed up with a hunting game, archery game, digging, four wheeling, and a train to enjoy.

And I'm grateful for this magical time of year where the boys' eyes seem to sparkle a little bit more and everything is fun and exciting.