December 18, 2008: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town!!!

Somehow the last 6 weeks or so have flown by...and it's almost Christmas!! I can't believe the big day is just one week away. We've had a busy November and December so far, filled with some fun events!

Going back to my last post, we had a great time at Big Canoe the weekend of Nov. 9-10 with the Steeds. The girls were so excited to have a "sleepover" on the sleeper sofa on the bottom floor, and they even slept pretty well after staying up semi-late! The leaves up there were absolutely beautiful. I can't believe we've never been during this time of year. We'll have to keep it in mind for next year! It was fun to get away for a night and enjoy some time with some good friends.

We flew out to Houston on Thurs. Nov. 20th. We attended Dr. Hong's awards ceremony that afternoon and thank goodness he was the first to receive an award! The kids managed to stay quiet during his award and then we slipped out the side door to return home for a little while. Then we joined the crowd at a restaurant for a reception and the kids behaved pretty well, considering it was already past their bedtime (eastern time) when the dinner started! We visited with the Consolis while there and Burt and Audrey even took the kids to the zoo. We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner on Friday night, although the kids' behavior (particularly Daniel's) was not stellar due to the fact that he missed a nap for the second day in a row. But we went to Mark's for dinner the following night for Mi Hwa's birthday and he behaved much better, thanks to a good nap earlier in the day. In all, it was a good trip and we were glad to see everyone.

I won't say much about the UGA/Tech game on Nov. 29th. Except to say that it was cold, rainy, and miserable. 'Nuff said.

Thanksgiving was wonderful, though. We gathered at Mom & Dad's for a terrific meal and we enjoyed seeing Marv & Mimi and Susan & Tim's family. We missed Laura and her boys, who couldn't join us due to illness. Elizabeth enjoyed playing with Erin and with Maddie and Caitlin. We then headed over to Bruce & Denise's for the other half of the crew. The highlight was seeing Duke, Ashley & Jeff's brand new bulldog puppy! He was so irresistibly cute!! I spent the night at Mom & Dad's that night so Mom and I could set off on our shopping adventures early the next morning. We started at Wal-Mart just after 6:00 where we got a few things. Then we headed to Mall of GA where we were able to make a huge dent in our gift lists. I love getting so much done in one day! We ended up at the Avenue in Snellville for a few things and lunch at On The Border. Zachary and Ed played golf with Jody at Stone Mountain while Dad watched the kids. We gathered at Mom & Dad's for a dinner of leftovers to get stuffed...again!

Saturday was the game (puke) and then we had a relaxing Sunday after going to church in the morning. So it was a busy, but very good Thanksgiving weekend.

....And then we were suddenly thrust into the Christmas season! We've had a great December so far, with the purchase of a new camcorder (Sony HD!) and a Sony Blu-Ray player (to play our beautiful new DVDs made from the camcorder, of course) to capture all the precious moments. Elizabeth participated in the children's choir performance at church on December 10th and she just completed her starring role as Mary in the preschool Christmas program yesterday morning. She was disappointed that she didn't have a speaking part (I was glad about that!) but she was very excited to be Mary! And Will Grice, who is adorable, played Joseph. Elizabeth even got to bring her own baby doll (Ariel, her American Girl bitty baby) to play baby Jesus. The program was so wonderful this year ("The Friendly Beasts Welcome Baby Jesus") and very sweet. The costumes were great and all the kids got to participate. I'm so glad we had the new camcorder and the great Nikon DSLR camera to capture it all!

We've also had some fun family events, including the Stone Mountain Christmas on Dec. 12th with MiMi and PaPa. Daniel LOVED riding the train. He seemed scared at first but when the ride ended, he jumped up and said, "I LOVED it, Momma!" It was so funny! We also saw a show this time and the kids enjoyed making a Christmas cookie. We're considering getting a Mountain Membership so we can enjoy some of the summer events and also so we can go to the Christmas celebration more than once. The tickets are not that cheap ($17 for adults and $14 for kids) and it's hard to squeeze everything in to one visit. It would especially make sense since we'll have to pay for Daniel starting next year (he's been free up to age 3).

We also surprised the kids with a trip to Philips Arena to see Playhouse Disney Live this past Sunday (Dec. 14th). They both really enjoyed it. It was a great show, with singing and dancing from Handy Manny (my personal favorite), Little Einsteins, Pooh and Tigger, and of course, Mickey and Minnie. We rode MARTA, which was fun for the kids, and we had dinner at CNN Center before the show.

Of course, Ed and I have had the Sunday School Christmas party and the church SPR/staff party, along with a few dinners. Busy, as usual! The last day of school is tomorrow and both kids have their school parties and then we're off for two weeks. Ed's parents are also coming in tomorrow and staying for 10 days. I'm looking forward to some relaxing time at home with the family, as well as the chaos and fun of Christmas Eve and Day!

I'll make this brief so as not to break my Christmas spirit but in some not-so-great news, the economy continues to be the dominating topic of the country and it's trickling down to all aspects of life. Ed has been tapped as the SPR chairperson for the church next year and they've ended 2008 by laying off 5 people and reducing three others to part-time. I'm just praying that things will stabilize and that charitable giving will be up in December so that no further cuts need to be made. I already know of a couple of people who have lost jobs and more may be on the way. It's definitely a time of prayer for the whole country and I just thank God for all of our blessings. I pray that Ed is able to keep his job and that my loved ones will be secure. It's definitely a time of year to count blessings and be mindful of others who are struggling. We sponsored two children for Angel Tree this year and got them some great things from their wish lists and we've also participated in a Dream House gift card drive with the preschool along with a couple of canned food drives. It just doesn't seem like enough but I hope we are able to make even someone's Christmas a little brighter in these tough times. God Bless us all, and may we all remember the true gift and joy of the season.

So...back to the holiday spirit! I'm finished with all my shopping and wrapping, probably earlier this year than ever! So my goal is to relax (as much as possible...ha!) and enjoy the remainder of the season. We are looking forward to Christmas of course but I'm also looking forward to the New Year. Vanderbilt is playing in the Music City Bowl in Nashville so of course we're going! My parents are watching the kids and Ed cashed in some hotel points for the Hampton Inn in downtown Nashville. Plus, Robbie was able to get a block of free tickets in the club level! A ton of Ed's friends are coming from all over. The game is at 2:30PM (central time) on New Year's Eve so we'll still have plenty of time to celebrate the victory (hopefully!) and ring in the New Year in the fun areas of downtown Nashville. We are staying the nights of the 30th and 31st. I am so excited and I think we'll have a great time. It's also great that Ed and I are able to get away on our own. We really haven't done that since the UGA/South Carolina game back in September! We will deserve it after being so crazy and busy the last couple of months.

So, I'm signing off...my next update will be (very soon, hopefully!) after Christmas! Merry Christmas to all!