White Christmas

We woke up Christmas morning to a beautiful sight and the best gift anyone could ask for...a white Christmas! Call us Alabamians, but believe me when I tell you that we've never seen that much snow. My dad was with us for Christmas, and he claims that it's the first white Christmas he's ever seen. It started early that morning, snowed fast and hard, and by about 8:30 we were like kids in a candy store. A snowy, gorgeous candy store!

The view when we stepped outside the front door...
This is what we saw when we took a peek down the street...
And that was just the beginning!
Let me back up a few days, though. Remember the flu that took over our house? It was still lingering before Christmas. I was afraid that the girls would be opening gifts from their spots on the couch come Christmas morning...
Can you tell what kind of mood the sickies were in? Not fun!
Towns perked up much quicker than Cate did, but she didn't stray too far from the couch either. This picture is funny...She's texting Bethany on J's phone, playing the Cake Doodle game on my phone, and has a round of Barbie going on her DS. Is that a sign of the times, or what?!
Thankfully, by Christmas Eve morning everyone was somewhat back to normal enough to help me out with homemade cinnamon rolls...
My dad came into town that afternoon and they could hardly wait for him to get here, so I kept them busy baking cookies for Santa while we waited...This was the hard part...
Is it just me or does it seem like they take ages longer when you're watching them cook?
Finally Pawpaw rolled in, and not without a few early Christmas goodies for the girls...
Matching bicycles!While they tested out the new bikes, Mirabelle was busy getting their Christmas pj's ready. Elves must know that Santa doesn't play around when it comes to bedtime on Christmas Eve, so she said she came to help us out a little...They didn't have too much trouble closing their eyes that night after the cookies and milk were set out. While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads Santa was making tracks. Of course they were up with the sun on Christmas morning!
I'd much rather see them opening all their gifts than get a single gift myself. Watching my children on Christmas morning takes me back. I love it!
Towns was so excited to get Love's Baby Soft perfume in her stocking...Anyone else remember that? It was my favorite when I was her age.
Cate's never been one to see present opening through 'til the end. Once she opens the first few gifts, she's done. After she opened her hot pink DVD player (she still thinks it's a laptop) I'm pretty sure that was it...
J opened the rest of her presents while she checked out only the things that were left unwrapped...All the baby wanted for Christmas was a "back and a front". It took us a while to translate that. What she meant was that she wanted a stroller that had a back and a front to put two babies in. When we went to see Santa she wouldn't even look at him, so Towns had to fill him in on what Cate wanted. The fact that Towns simply said "a stroller" didn't go over very well. Cate cried for hours because Towns left out the "back and a front" part. We assured her Santa would know just what she meant, and thank goodness he delivered...
I'd be willing to bet she's put a hundred miles on those wheels already!
In contrast to her sister, Towns loves opening presents. She wants to drag it out and make it last as long as possible...She got some pretty fancy shoes that I wanted to snag myself...Daddy and the girls...
The girls were totally satisfied with what they'd gotten so far, but there were two biggies that they hadn't seen yet. J pointed out a set of keys hanging from a branch on the tree...
What could they possibly go to?
A polka dot four wheeler, naturally...And Buggy was oh so thrilled over her pink "Escalay" as she calls it...It's quite ghetto with rims and speakers in the back, but she loves it. And somehow, it just kind of fits her colorful personality!
We couldn't let the morning pass without getting the two new vehicles out in the snow, so we headed a few blocks over to the park where there's plenty of wide open space...Apparently Cate needed 4-wheel drive for all the ice and snow...Blondie was loving life...We were all frozen before long. After a few more pictures we had to go home and thaw out...
Towns couldn't wait to use her new towel wrap and her very own hair dryer after her hot bath. She wanted to get herself ready in Bebby's bathroom, and I can't imagine why that would be. Maybe because she wants to do everything just like her big sister? Probably so!We got dolled up as fast as we could because we couldn't wait to pick up Bethany and head to Grandmommy and Pop's...
There aren't many pictures to be had of B opening her gifts because she tears through them so fast. I suppose she's had lots of practice and is a pro by now...
Before we left to visit with the rest of J's side of the family we couldn't pass up the opportunity for a few family pictures...
Keaton's face in that one makes me laugh! :)
I'm still amazed they were cooperative enough for a cousin shot. Sweet, sweet kiddos!

Our Christmas was a very special one, and we hope yours was too. We've been busy ever since and maybe I'll catch up with everything by 2012...that's a long shot, though!
Happy 2011!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you the gift of faith, the blessing of hope and the peace of His love at Christmas and always! Merry, merry, merry!

Wrapping It Up

It's time to wrap up all the pre-Christmas posts before the big day rolls around...I know I won't have a shortage of pictures and stories to share, so I should probably cram as much as possible in while I can! First things first...I hope our nemesis, the flu, hasn't visited (translation: taken over) your house like it as ours. We've been home bound for almost a week now, and I'm ready for it to vamoose. We're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Thankfully, J and I have stayed healthy. That's rather helpful when you're taking care of two super sick princesses who need someone at their beck and call at all times. I can't confidently tell you that they haven't worked it to their advantage. That's what we're here for, though!

Take a look at this poor baby...
She couldn't even hold her head up in the bathtub, bless her bones!

Here's what we were up to before the sickness struck...

Towns asked to make ornaments for her classmates for Christmas, so I put her to work one night after Cate went to bed. She was so determined to paint them just right...
But her big sister loved tickling her to try to break her concentration...
It's safe to say Bethany has a little of her daddy in her!
While she was painting up a storm, I was baking up a storm...
Towns' big celebration on the last day of school would be centered around a Christmas Cake. One mom out of the class volunteered, and yours truly (knowing how much the girls love being in the kitchen) decided I'd be the lucky one. What I didn't count on was our oven going out and having to bake a 3 layer cake using a toaster oven. Talk about a sight for sore eyes! The whole thing is pretty neat, and I did enjoy it. The cake is round to represent the world into which Jesus was born. The black layer represents the fact that all have sinned. The red layer symbolizes Jesus' blood that was shed for our sins, and the green represents the new life we have in Christ after our sins have been washed away. The whole cake is iced with white icing for Jesus' righteousness and purity. A border of red hearts stands for brothers and sisters united in Christ circling the earth as His witnesses. Then there's a 6 point yellow star on top like the star that shone leading shepherds to the manger where Jesus was born. It's a very ceremonial thing with the lighting of certain color candles that represent various things. The kids were captivated when Mrs. Lindsay was telling them about what everything meant...
It was so sweet seeing them participating...Afterwards, everyone got to dig in. That, along with eating most of what was supposed to go on the gingerbread houses they decorated made for some hyper kindergartners...
You should see the picture I have of her eating the icing like it's her job. Priceless!
The only two girls in the class...
A class photo was a major challenge. Remember the icing, candy and cake?! At least they're all in their seats in this one. In most of the ones I took they look like they have ants in their pants!
Mrs. Lindsay got to open her gift from the class before the big gift swap...
I do believe she loved it!

Mrs. Lindsay and Mrs. Pace's two classes combined to swap gifts. They played musical chairs, and each time someone got out they got to pick a gift to open. This led to people wanting to get out so they could have the best pick of the gifts, so we had to modify things a bit and give them incentive to stay in the game.
Once everyone had a gift they tore into them, which sent wrapping paper flying like you've never seen...
Emma B., Josie and Towns comparing their goods...
Towns couldn't have gotten asked for anything better...
Sweet Delights Moon Sand!
After the party we hit the road to see the Rockettes, but I couldn't help but get a picture of Towns on her last day of the first half of the year...
Sentimental is my middle name, and I'm not afraid to admit it!

Cate was supposed to have a big Christmas party in her class, but it got called off because of school letting out for bad weather. I couldn't leave without a picture of her and her main squeeze, though...
Other than that, we've spent our days and nights (and everything in between) like this...
I'll be glad when everyone is back up and running...literally. Didn't realize how much I could miss the sound of their little feet ripping up and down the hardwood floors!

Here's hoping you and yours have a very Merry CHRISTmas!