Countdown To Christmas

3 Years, 33 Weeks.


I cannot believe December is here.  Seriously, what happened?

We're down to the home stretch; 2013 is soon to become a distant memory.  Only 19 more days to Christmas from this post date!

And the kids can barely contain their excitement.

Which is why Tangie made this month's family activity craft to be an Advent Calendar, to allow the children to see how many more days left until The Big Day, and to slightly pacify their patience by giving them small trinkets and treats as rewards until then.

It's been received very well, a little too well, in fact, as each day they anticipate the next round of goodies.

Great job Mommy!

24 days of anticipation!

The children rotate their turns.

Can't you just feel the excitement?

Here was our week:

• Saturday morning some of us awoke to sniffles and coughs, most likely from the chilly evening and smoke inhalation from the hotdog roast the night before, so we opted to just stay home and enjoy the Sabbath from the comfort of our backyard.  That evening we headed over to American Signature Furniture to pick out Mommy's new vanity chair for our bathroom, and completed decorating our Christmas tree and the Advent Calendar, Sunday being the first day of December.

Got milk?

Mr. Mustache.

Sharing the hammock.

Putting on her trapeze show.

At one time we lost Kohlden, and found him inside his playhouse watching Veggie Tales!

Helping Mommy work on the Advent Calendar.

Duck...Duck...Goose!

Testing out some recliners at American Signature...

as well as some beds...

and a nice comfy chair!

• Sunday morning the guys and girls split up, Mommy taking Brae and Maddy on some errands while Kohl and I did our round of Christmas shopping and then back home for a couple of projects before the big game at 4.  The Broncos playing their 2nd game in 3 weeks against the  Chiefs, this time at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.  Started off pretty shaky, Manning throwing a couple of picks that allowed them to lead 21-7, before we took off in the 3rd quarter and scored 28 unanswered points.  One last defensive stand solidified our victory as we took control of the division with a 10-2 record and, more importantly, a 4-0 record against the teams in the AFC West.  4 more games until we reach the playoffs!  And the good news, our head coach John Fox returns to resume his position after only 4 weeks from his heart surgery.  Talk about a huge comeback!

Out and about, sitting in the big boy chair!

Doing some work with Mommy at Starbucks!

Tangie stuffing the tubes with prizes and treats.

Showing off her star ornament.

• The rest of our week.  Tangie was in Pensacola Monday and Tuesday; hopefully that will complete all the major travel she's done for this year. Braelyn is back to school after a week off, as she and her classmates prepared for OJA's Christmas concert and upcoming Gymnastics program.

Braelyn supervises Kohl juicing up some oranges.

Maddy wanted in on the action.

We swung by the play park for a few minutes of fun.

Teamwork!

Took the three to Tijuana Flats.

Snuggling with Daddy early in the morning.

Reading some books at Costco!

Good spirits, waiting in the car line to pick big sister up from school.

Fashioning her shepherd's headdress for the Christmas program.

Eager to contribute and share.

Girl + girl + boy = 105 lbs!

Helping Mommy make cookies for her work's cookie exchange!

A quick stop to the library for some books.

Look who joined us!  With Uncle Mike for the Christmas program at Forest Lake Academy.

Kohl anticipates the start of the program.

Hard to tell, but Brae is the green shepherd front and center, holding the staff.

With our other "brother" Richard Hickam, from Southern.  His girls go to school with Brae.

With her teacher Mrs. Lowry after the program.  Great job Braelyn!

Saying goodnight and goodbye to Uncle Mike.  Thanks for visiting us!

Traditional catching up dinner.

Randoms:

Reason #1 for living in Florida, especially at this time of the year!

Apparently the sale wasn't as classy as they had anticipated!

Reminded me of when Zoe would ride in the car like this.

Maddy surprising herself with a self portrait!

Food:

Pesto Chicken with Eggplant and Artichoke.

Pear Salad with Fig, Pistachio, and Crumbled Bleu.

Quotes:

• Listening to Christmas songs on the radio on our way to pick Braelyn up:

          Madelyn:  "What is this song Daddy?"

          Me:  "Emmanuel by Michael W. Smith."

          Madelyn:  "What Daddy?"

          Me:  "Emmanuel by Michael W. Smith."

          Madelyn:  "What Daddy?"

          Me:  "You heard me."

          Madelyn:  "What Daddy?"

          Me:  "Oh no...I know what you're doing."

          Madelyn:  "What Daddy?"

          Me:  "You're just playing a game to see how many times you can say

                   'What Daddy.'"

          Madelyn:  "Okay, okay..."

• Along the same lines, Kohlden has been playing the "Why?" game, where I'll tell him something and he'll ask "Why?" and I'll say "Because...[yadda yadda yadda]." and he'll say "Why?" and that will go on for minutes at a time!

• Kohlden and Maddy woke up and saw all the newly wrapped presents under the Christmas tree:

          Kohlden:  "Wow!  Look at all the presents!"

          Madelyn:  "Oh!  They're BEAUTIFUL!!"  [hugs Kohlden]

• Driving to Costco and stopped at a red light right next to a black Town and Country minivan, exactly like ours:

          Me:  "Hey look!  There's our minivan!"

          Madelyn:  "No it's not!  This is our van!"  

          I stand corrected.

• Maddy and Kohl were riding their balance bikes around the island in the kitchen, going in opposite directions and almost crashed into each other:

Madelyn:  "Hey, watch out lady!"
Kohlden:  "I'm not a lady!"  [puffs his chest out]  "I'm a man!"

And to all a good night!

Have a great weekend!