Merry Christmas To All (Part 2)

So, I believe I left off when we arrived at my mom's house.  Have I ever mentioned that Georgia is the best place to be?

Because the boys had been traveling that day too they were wired when they got to my momma's house.  Seven hours in the car gave them a lot of time to store up energy! It was impossible to get them calmed down . . . and Mommy can't go to sleep until they do. 

Saturday we went to the Ellison Christmas gathering (Danny's mom's side of the family).  Weren't my boys handsome?  I love a boy in plaid!  (Apparently they weren't as excited about it.)

That was one packed house!  On the ride over Jonah thought we were going to "Diane's house" (Danny's grandparent's house in SC).  I tried to explain that we were only driving a little way to Grandma's house but he would not hear of it.  When we pulled up in the driveway the garage door was down and we had to go in the front door - which we never do so Jonah was even more convinced it was "Diane's house".  And who is the first person he sees upon entering???  Grandmama Diane!  He was still confused when we left.  When Huck and Eli weren't eating they were sleeping, but Jonah got to play with all the big kids.  He thought he was something else! 

Sunday we went to church with my momma.  Jonah never gets to go to Sunday School because chapel only has child watch.  So, he was excited!  They were having a Happy Birthday Jesus party with cupcakes and all!  That afternoon Danny and I snuck off to do some shopping.   We didn't find anything on our list, but we did find Jonah's birthday present half off!  Woohoo!

Monday was Christmas at my Momma's house!  Here are a few pics of the boys and their toys . . .

Rocking horse! Not the best picture, I know, but I had to show the rivalry.  It took Danny and Sean to get it together, but once assembled the little boys wouldn't get off.  Well, they pushed each other off.

Finger puppets!

Bean bags!

The funniest gift was Danny's family photo album.  When he opened it my mom told him it was full of pictures of the family to take with him on his deployment.  The first picture was . . . David.  the second picture was . . . David.  The third through tenth pictures were . . . you guessed it - DAVID!  Danny was about to die laughing!  Thankfully there was redemption in the back with a few pictures of presidents. ;)

On Christmas Day the boys woke up to more fun.  Check out this face!  Looks like fun, huh?

We went to spend several hours with the whole clan up at Maw and Poppy's house eating and opening presents.  My sweet cousin Hannah had picked out special gifts (many that she made) for each person.  She is such a sweet girl! 

Here is one of my favorites!  Two tired boys with Uncle Darryl.  :D

Sadly, Danny and I had to leave in the afternoon to head back to North Carolina.  The boys stayed with Mamzie so we could do some packing for a few days. We were planning to stop on the way home to pick up some dinner.  Silly me forgot that everything is closed on Christmas and there is not even one single Waffle House on our route.  Thank goodness Uncle Darryl had given us some deer jerky and Maw had handed us some rolls on the way out.  That was dinner :D

I have to say that Christmas this year was very special.  Since we live out of town we had to spend the night - and thus much more time - with family.  It was wonderful!  I also love Christmas as a parent.  It is so much fun to see the joy on their faces and it brings a smile to my face to hear Jonah tell the Christmas story (since he really does listen - who knew?). 

Tomorrow we go to pick up our boys!!!  I can't wait for them to see the BIG surprise we made for them.  I will post about it later.  I would hate for you to ruin the surprise ;)

Merry Christmas to All (Part 1)

It has been a wonderful, fun-filled, whirlwind of a Christmas.  Going into this two week tour around the southeast I thought I would be exhausted by the time we got home.  However, now that I am home I have terrific memories and still have energy for the five hundred loads of laundry I have to do. 

I like for Christmas to be enjoyable.  Too many people are "busy" with Christmas gatherings, shopping, wrapping, and cooking that they miss out on what really matters most.  Thankfully I finished all my shopping and wrapping at a leisurely pace before December began and I got to do my cooking with my favorite little guys - and one big guy. 

Here Danny and Jonah are making strawberry icing.  The little guys are making Corn Pops.  :D  Half of the icing gets eaten before it makes it on the cake - they are masters with icing.  We just can't help ourselves. 

I felt like a grandma.  I made buckeyes, puppy chow, chicken buffalo dip, strawberry cake, and white chocolate peppermint fudge.  Then we loaded it all up and headed to our first destination . . . the Melin family gathering in a beautiful cabin in Banner Elk, NC!

Yes, that picture took forever to take, but we will cherish it forever, right?

I think the highlight of the week was the gift exchange.  It was not exciting because of the gifts - not that they weren't great - but because of the way we exchanged them.  Each year I use a website to randomly assign each sibling/spouse to a Secret Santa.  However, instead of just saying, "Hey, I'm your Secret Santa!" each person had to write a song to the tune of a Christmas carol revealing who would get their present.  I was in stitches!  My song (written by Steven Melin) was the best - even if I am biased.  "Lots of boys, lots of boys, lots and lots of boys" to the tune of Jingle Bells.  I need to get the complete set of lyrics and post them.  It made me smile!

We also spent the week sharing meals and playing the our boys!  I loved having so much time with Danny and my little Dannys.  Here are some cute pics of Jonah, Huck, and Eli having fun, fun, fun!

Eli taming the bear!  Isn't that the cutest grin?  And, yes, the tree there got a gate too . . .

Huck had a "project" with his spoon behind his ear :D

Jonah liked his new winter gear.  Eli liked the boots but got too hot in the whole get-up.  At least his feet will be warm!

However, Jonah was Uncle Ronnie's sidekick all week, especially after Ronnie gave him a Ninja Turtles book.  Jonah had to learn all the turtle names and facts.  He woke up in the mornings wanting the go see Uncle Ronnie.  Too bad Jonah wakes up a little too early for a visit right away.

 

 

Okay, so I could go on and on posting cute pics of my boys, but I will save the rest for posting to Facebook.

Thursday night (right before the first and only snow) Danny and I had to scoot back to Fort Bragg so Danny would perform a wedding.  It was a long trip in some serious fog!  After the wedding bells rang, we left on a very slow trip to Georgia.  I have never experienced holiday traffic because I have always been in walking distance to my family's house.  It is awful, and I feel for anyone who has to do that regularly!  Five miles from my mom's exit and we hit standstill traffic - really?!?!  We made it safe and sound though and our boys were waiting on us. 

Well, that brings me to halfway through the trip.  I will pick up next time with our time with my family.  Now, it is time to go give Danny his presents from me.  We are making Christmas last the rest of the year!

Not As Wonderful As It Sounds

So, tonight was my very first official military ball.  I wasn't super excited about it because I am HUGE so that makes dressing up more of a chore and I can't even middle school slow dance because I have to stand two feet from Danny.  However, I squeezed into a dress and we were on our way.

We arrive and Danny notices that everyone is in a bow tie.  He is wearing neck tie.  Apparently they want everyone to match - who knew?  At this point we are 30 minutes early for the receiving line, so we have time to find a bow tie.  We are thirty minutes from home, so going home won't work.  We decide to hit up the closest Walmart.  Thankfully we have a GPS to tell us where the closest Walmart is.  Danny runs into the store only to find they had just run out of bow ties.  I guess EVERYONE was needing a bow tie seeing as how they are soooo popular.  After trying three other stores (all shown to us by the GPS) we find a bow tie at Kohl's.  Unfortunately, it is NOT a clip on.  It is the kind you have to tie.  So, I called the only person I know who I knew would know how to tie a bow tie . . . my sister.  After explaining that we are not near a computer and that we are over an hour late for the ball, she walks me through step-by-step of how to tie this thing.  It is suppose to be around the man's neck when you are tying it but since Danny was driving I didn't think that was too smart.  So, I hike my leg up onto the dash and tie it around my leg.  I figured if I could tie it around my leg then I could remember how to do that and tie it around Danny's neck.  Not so. :/  Danny's calls a friend to see if he can tie it.  It turns out this friend is leaving the ball because he just came to meet and greet, so Danny can use his tie.  PLUS we can return the new tie.  Woohoo! 

I am ready to just go home because at this point we are way late and I will be so embarrassed to walk in at this late hour.  Surprise!  We get there to find that everything is running behind, and they are just starting the receiving line.  The good Lord knew I couldn't stand in heels for 2 hours and that is exactly what this bow tie hunt saved me from.

We find our table.  I was hoping to be seated with some of Danny's friends.  Nope.  We are seating with Mr. Ed, a man who is super excited about the Army and tells us his stories from when he served years ago, and a couple that is not even 21 and very excited about the free wine on the table.  It was interesting to say the least.

So, there you have it.  My first military ball!  Believe me - it was unforgettable.  :D