Christmas 2012

I thought I had better post this before the new year came around :) And it's going to be a pretty long post too!

This was the first Christmas without Grandad, and I know that it was on just about everyone's mind at some point, but we have so many happy memories of him, and I hope to keep those memories alive for the little boy always. :)


The little boy woke up early on Christmas morning, but he didn't realise that it WAS Christmas.  He DID, however, see the presents under the tree, and said, "Mummy, look at the presents! Is it Christmas??", to which I replied, "What do YOU think? Is it Christmas?".

Jaxon: "I need to look outside, mummy"
Mummy: "Why?"
Jaxon: "Bring me outside, mummy, I need to look outside"

*mummy brings the little boy outside*

Jaxon: "No, it's not Christmas"
Mummy:"Why?"
Jaxon:"There's no snow!"

*grin*

Anyway, I convinced him that even though there was no snow on the ground, that it WAS Christmas after all, and he tried really hard to be patient, waiting for daddy to get up, and not just ripping through all the presents.

When it did come time to open the presents, I was surprised to see that the little boy pick up the smallest gift under the tree, but which to him was one of the most excellent ones - a Star Wars Angry Bird t-shirt - which he IMMEDIATELY asked me to help him put on :)

The rest of the gifts under the tree seemed to get unwrapped at warp speed.  The expressions on the little boy's face were just priceless.

( By the way, when I was growing up, I was somehow under the impression that you would get only ONE gift at Christmas time. Man, kids these days.. heheh )

Of course, then it was off to the fireplace in the RV where the little boy had hung his stocking the night before, where the unwrapping spree continued with much excitement and glee.

It was truly a "living vicariously through a little one" moment, seeing the little boy's wonderment and amazement that Santa knew exactly what he wanted :)

Of course, we had to make sure we got every single present that could possibly be hiding in the big stocking :)

We didn't have much time before we had to go on to the next activity, ( which the hubs and I actually missed breakfast for ), CHRISTMAS LUNCH at Oldham Lane.

There were less of us there than usual, seeing how Shana and family were in Ukraine, Sabrina and family were with Todd's family, Walt and wife were in Lubbock, and Frances & family were in Memphis.

The little boy had insisted on wearing his Star Wars Angry Birds t-shirt, and hey, it was Christmas. The boy could wear whatever he wanted - within reasonable limits :P  The kids found different ways of entertaining themselves, and I was remembering the previous years when I was so much  more the "helicopter parent", but this time I actually sat down and played a few rounds of Scrabble with the girls!

That night, we were back together again for dinner of leftovers,

after which, we went over to Christmas Lane at the State Supported Living Center,

and the little boy got to sit in daddy's lap and pretend to drive :)

To top Christmas off, we saw THIS display at a home during our drive back :)

One thought... "The Griswolds live here!"

Christmas Pre-Party with the Ladies.

Last Friday, instead of our regular Bible Class, Cindy treated us to Christmas breakfast/brunch at McKay's, downtown.

 

We opted for Turkey croissant sandwiches, and the little boy picked out a snowman cupcake as well.

The little boy and daddy had a good time too, but soon excused themselves to another part of the room to let the little boy romp a little with his new teddy bear that Xia Yu brought.

Later in the day, the little boy fell asleep in the car, still holding on to the beloved teddy.

Our Tree This Year

What with it being the day after Christmas, you'd expect me to be posting Christmas photos, but as we all know, I've been quite sad in the keeping-up-with-current-issues front.

Instead, we're going back in time to follow the tree purchase and what not.

We went by Lowe's, and because we were one of those people who waited until 10 days before Xmas to get ourselves a tree, they were massively discounted.

The little boy tried to be helpful in choosing the perfect tree, but little boys can't fight the urge to run run run  :)

We don't have a big or even medium sized house. Anything new that is added needs something old out of the way or thrown out. However, even with threats of "just 5 feet and no more!", we managed to procure an ( at least ) 8 foot tall tree.

After it was in place, the boys put the star on the tippy top, and it finally got "fully" decorated about 3 days later :)

 

The  bottom 1/3 of the tree is quite different from the top 2/3, as one can imagine when one of the decorators is less than 4 feet tall :)

Happy Boxing Day, y'all :)

HEB Feast of Sharing

Last Tuesday, we missed Taco Tuesday once again, to attend the annual HEB Feast of Sharing at the Civic Center.

This year, they served almost 7 thousand people ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, mixed vegetables, rolls and apple pie, in the spirit of the season.

When we got there, the Abilene ISD group, Revolution, were playing their sets rather rambunctiously...

 

much to the chagrin of a little boy who didn't appreciate how loud they were.  I didn't care for the overly loud decibels either, but the little boy was truly distressed, so daddy brought carted him off in search of a quieter place to eat.

Cindy and I found them in the room reserved for Volunteers' Registration and the like, where the little boy could finally eat in peace and QUIET.  I'm sure it was highly irregular for us "civilians" to be in that room, because we kept getting glances from the ladies who were manning the stations.  But the little boy and the hubs WERE directed there by a rather nice "person-in-charge".

There was a large room room full of craft stations, a photo area with Santa, a book giveaway station, and several others.

The little boy was intrigued by all the inflatable decorations, and was particularly tickled by a snowman who would disappear into his er, bottom-most part, and then pop back up again. :)

He gave Mr. Panda Bear some love,

and tried to help a collapsipated Santa back onto his feet.

And thanks to Cindy, we managed to get a few family shots :)

Breakfast with Santa

Two Saturdays ago, we had breakfast with a jolly white bearded man in a red suit at church :)

The Multi Purpose Room was decked out in Christmas Trees and lots of red, green and white decorative pieces..

We met up with Cindy there and made a few new friends!

The little boy was hungry, so he quickly wolfed down his pancakes, sausage patties and orange juice.

After breakfast, one of the older boys "recruited" him over to the Story Time area for a story.  At first, it was just the little boy there, and he was totally engrossed in the story, and then a few more kids trickled in.  The little boy wasn't shy to be up front close to the teacher and participating :) He loves stories so much, so he was having a grand time.

Afterwards, we went around the craft tables, starting with the temporary tattoos. He chose a Gingerbread Man.

We made a little sack for his goodies, and he carefully wrote his name on the front of the sack.  Then we made some ornaments and a decorated a gingerbread cookie, which didn't get to see the light of day very long :)

Then I stood in the "come see santa" line, and it was interesting to stand back and just watch the crowd for a little bit.

When it was the little boy's time, he was not fearful like last year, but climbed onto Santa's lap when it was his turn :)  When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he answered, "A Present!"

How undemanding of you, little boy. Heh....

Stay tuned for our next holiday adventure... the HEB Feast of Giving! :)