CHRISTMAS EVE

We arrived home just before lunch today after an uneventful final 4 hours on the road. We threw the kids in the tub while we unpacked the van, then set them to work building their new Gears sets from Gramma (an early Christmas present) while we got organized to start our Christmas Eve traditions.

James got the Movin' Monkeys set and Cora got the Under The Sea set

Buster got a fancy new memory foam bed for Christmas, yet we found him tucked into the tiny cat bed that Cannon inherited from Catfish and Skeeter instead...

Jay came up with a new tradition for us this year... "Make Your Own Pizza"! It was a hit because everyone got to have exactly what they wanted, it was quick and easy, and cleanup was minimal. More time for playing and other traditions!

James was purposely trying to photobomb my attempt to get a decent photo of Jay with one of his new beer glasses crafted from cool shareable bottles, an awesome and unique birthday gift from Robyn and Stephen

 Making and distributing reindeer food in the driveway. The kids thought it would be better to put it on the roof, but us parents did not agree...

 Making Santa cookies (and J and C cookies for the kids to eat tonight)

Denise's cookies

Jay's cookies

Everyone's cookie that was chosen for Santa (tree from James, star from Cora, Gingerbread man from Denise, and alligator from Jay)

Viewing Christmas lights on our end of town: Before and After...

The kids lucked out this year because they not only received a gift from Santa, but also a gift from Ralphie... They had told Santa one thing, then I caught them whispering to Ralphie one morning...



Santa showed up before midnight this year!

24(+) HOURS TO GO

We left Florida yesterday morning knowing we would be driving through rain again, worse than what we had to deal with on the way to Florida, but not knowing just how severely bad it would be... We hit a few very strong bands (as in, rain sheeting so thick you can barely make out the tail lights of the truck 20ft ahead of you...) before we even reached Tallahassee, took a lunch break to try and wait out another strong band, then picked our way carefully to Daphne before taking another longer break to attempt to avoid the worst of the storm, which was heading our way from Mississippi. We went to a movie and ate dinner (periodically checking on Buster and Cannon, stuck in the van), spending about 3 hours there, before deciding to try and push through to home, taking the longer southern route to avoid the devastation caused by a tornado touchdown near Hattiesburg (we thought we should steer clear of the mess and stay out of the way of cleanup crews). After just an hour of driving though, and seeing that we still had multiple strong bands to cross, I got a bad feeling and Jay agreed to stop at a hotel for the night in Pascagoula. There were just too many abandoned vehicles on the sides of the highway, too many accidents and emergency vehicles heading in both directions, and too many inexperienced drivers out in the storm. After almost 12 hours on the road (we would normally be home in that amount of time!), we threw up the white flag and tucked in for the night. This morning we awoke early to clear skies and safe roads. We kept to our southern route as planned, after reading more about the damage in central Mississippi, and arrived safely home before lunch, ready to start our Christmas festivities, yet feeling sad for those affected by the storms, now unable to enjoy their holiday. It was another one of those trips (like the epic ice storm drive last March) where you are beyond grateful to get to your destination in one piece!

GINGERBREAD TREE WITH UNCLE JAMIE

BEACH BREAK!

Another (short) break in the rain meant another trip to the beach!

Post beach bath to warm up, all to himself for once (and highly enjoying the space!)

THE HOBBIT IN 3D

After church, we visited another cool light display near Gramma's house, then dropped her off with the kiddos and went to see The Hobbit. In 3D (which was not as nauseating as I worried it would be).

CHRISTMAS SERVICE

AT GRAMMA'S HOUSE...

...there is bacon on Christmas trees (according to James)

...there is a friendly yeti

...there is a fish tank on Cannon's level (when daddy gives him a boost)

...there is a bowl FULL of sparkles!...

...that make great makeup (according to Cora)

...there are sand and seashell ornaments to be crafted

..."Don't forget the shark tooth!"

...there are new Christmas pajamas! (and the kids' excitement didn't disappoint!)

...there is advent calendar work to be done...

...and Darth Vader got a Christmas makeover!

...there are puzzles everywhere (and mama got lucky completing this one on her first try!)

...there is a big rocking horse with room for two riders (sorta...)

...there were 4 batches of cookies to bake (the girls worked hard!)...

...and a trifle to make for our early Christmas dinner