Pretend Christmas and Christmas Day 2011

Christmas is always a very special time for my family to celebrate the birth of Christ our Savior! There are many traditions that have been passed down through the years, and it is always fun to be a part of them all. As all of the children in the family have gotten older, it is harder and harder to arrange schedules so that everyone can be together at the same time. So, this year, we basically had TWO Christmas Days so that everyone could participate on at least one of the days! We decided to call the first celebration our "Pretend Christmas!" And pretend we did...so much, in fact, that it really did feel like Christmas Eve and Christmas Day even though the calendar said that it was December 20th and 21st!

Our pretend Christmas Day was created so that this part of the family could celebrate with us:



 On our December 20th Christmas Eve, our sweet mama had new PJs set out for everyone, and we gathered up our blankies and went to bed...

 Pretend Christmas morning was such a cozy day...it was pouring down rain...it wasn't the white Christmas that I was dreaming of, but at least it kind-of felt that way!

 Having little children around on Christmas day makes EVERYTHING so much fun! We had a blast just watching little buddy take it all in!! He looks like he is not quite sure about all this excitement:

 But it didn't take him long to figure out that this was really FUN!!

 Aunt RuRu reading Thomas one of the books he got...

 Snuggle bugs on Christmas morning...

 My mom found the cutest present at a thrift store in Atlanta...a miniature leather recliner just Thomas' size!! Here he is reading in his new chair:

 This is what he did when we told him to lay back in his new chair! :) Hmm...maybe he has seen someone use a recliner before? :)

Mama Claus fixed a fabulous breakfast with biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon, grits, eggs, donuts, and fruit. Yum!

After breakfast, it was back to playing with the toys...

 I love Thomas' expression in this one! He seems to really like his flashcards from Aunt RuRu:

 We had a photo shoot to remember this pretend Christmas day!

 The boys minus Robby who was in New York City!

 Group picture:

 Real Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were really different for me this year. Unfortunately, the ER does not close for holidays, and I was scheduled to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! Christmas Eve was SO busy, and I am glad that I was able to be there for all the kiddos that we saw (Santa Claus came to see all the children on the floor and we had bags of wrapped gifts for each patient and all their siblings), but it really didn't feel like my normal Christmas Eve!
I had planned to spend the night at my parent's house Christmas Eve night, and when I called to tell them I was leaving the hospital, my dad told me to come on...that they had saved me a plate of squirrel and collard greens! I just laughed! :) Y'all, I promise my family is REALLY not redneck!! My brother Jonathan got a rifle for his birthday and had gone hunting in the woods with one of his friends and shot these:

I wanted to be a supportive sister, so I did try some of the squirrel, and I can't believe I am saying this, but it was not too bad! :)

I am so upset that I did not take more pictures from the real Christmas day! My dad read us the Christmas story and we thanked God for the gift of his Son Jesus! We had a special time opening presents and enjoying being together! We missed the Irelands, but were glad that Robby was there to celebrate with us! We had to be on a tight schedule because we had church, but we did manage to snap a few quick photos before we rushed out the door!

 Merry Christmas!

Christmas Happenings!

Christmas was definitely in full swing this weekend! I had a Christmas party for the Children's ER at a very nice hotel...it was a fun time to dress up and enjoy the festivities outside of work:

 They had the inaugural "Golden Urinal Awards" (I know it's a little strange...but that's life in the ER for you! :) We voted for nominees among our co-workers for individuals in categories like "best RN," "best MD," "Nurse most likely to get a difficult IV," "Tech you would want beside you if your patient was crashing," etc... I was nominated along with two others for the "Glass half full award," and was surprised when they awarded it to me! It is a very humbling experienced to be recognized by your co-workers like that! I thank God that during this season of my life I have a job I enjoy so much!

 Yesterday we had my mom's side of the family at my parent's house for Christmas with them. We were sad that the Irelands and one of the cousins couldn't make it, but we had a great time!
My sweet mama and me:

 Robby and Uncle David:

 My amazing parents:

 Silly siblings:

 The menfolk...minus Tom and Thomas (Not sure what the two brothers on the outsides are doing... :)

 The cousins from B'ham brought the funnest gift...the newest addition to the family...

 Our hostess with her mama...

 Aunt Lori with her new grand baby...

 These pretty girls belong to my twin cousins Josh and Jon...didn't they get some gems? We are glad to welcome them to the family!

 Mama with her biscuits....yum!

My Daddy reminding us again just what the good news is that we are celebrating this season! Thank God for the wonderful gift of his Son Jesus!

 My turn to hold the baby:

 Waiting for the presents to be handed out:

 Nathan and his girlfriend Laura (she's just part of the fam!):

 Jonathan and me:

 Jonathan with his new birthday present...

 Jonathan and Nathan brought their puppy home from college for the holidays...now my parents have 5 dogs to take care of! :)

 We traveled to Atlanta this morning for Christmas with my dad's side of the family. I didn't do a good job getting the camera out, but we had a wonderful time even though it wasn't well documented!

 Sisters:

 Opening gifts:

 Merry Christmas!

We are gearing up for some more Christmas celebrations this week! The Irelands are coming to town this week and we will have Christmas with them!

Smiles!

I love children's books! In fact, I have a collection of over 300 right now! :) One of my favorites is a book by an Australian author, Mem Fox, and is entitled Time for Bed. This is my favorite page:

 I love the thought of reflecting at the end of the day about the joy that you experienced in the day...the things that made you laugh, the conversations that brought a smile to your face, the little glimpses of God's faithfulness that always bring such joy. So, tonight, I am thinking of several things that brought a smile to my face over the past two days...

1) A quick trip to Birmingham, and lunch with two of my siblings! A lady sitting beside us said, "I haven't been meaning to listen to your conversation, but I just have to ask...are y'all brother and sisters? You remind me so much of my children!" So thankful for each of my siblings and the joy that they bring to my life:

2) My precious little nephew...I love this little man! He has such a cute personality and can make me laugh with his funny faces and his irresistible chuckle...he has a sense of humor already! :) I am so glad I got to visit him today!

 3) Driving back home tonight, the Birmingham skyline made me smile. This is Regions Center, and from what I've heard, every year they light up each of the sides of the building with a Christmas image using the lights on each floor to create a pattern. It makes me smile! :)

4) Last night, I listened to a sermon from my old church, First Presbyterian in Augusta, Georgia. George Robertson is a very gifted pastor and the sermon I listened to was from 11/27/11 called "Morning by Morning Faithfulness." What an encouragement to remember God's faithfulness and his sovereignty in every detail of my life! Remembering God's sovereignty brings me such joy!

5) A conversation yesterday made me laugh: I went to my parent's house to help my mom host a Christmas party for the staff members at  my dad's office. One of my jobs was to mix up some potato salad. In the kitchen after lunch this conversation happened:
M: "Who made that potato salad?"
I mumbled something like, "It might have been me...why?"
M: "Well let me ask you this...where is your husband?!?"
I never know quite how to respond to questions like that, but I said laughing, "umm...well...God hasn't brought me one yet :)"
M: "Girl...you can't make potato salad like that and not have a husband!!"
:) Hilarious!!

6) I overheard a conversation in the dressing room beside me at TJMaxx...a little boy asked his mom...
"So, when you were a little kid, who was your mom?" (note...I love how children develop in their understanding that mom actually had a mom when she was young just like they do!)
Mom replied, "Grandma was my mom when I was little..."
Child responded somewhat surprised, "Oh!...I was wondering who told you what to do..." haha :) Children say the funniest things...

So...those are some of the things that brought a smile to my face or made me laugh over that past two days...what happened today that made you laugh? :)

In the Christmas spirit...

Last night I was definitely in the Christmas spirit and handled some pretty hard-cord multi-tasking as well. I mean, it takes a little talent to make Christmas cookies and Christmas shop (online!) at the same time! :) I had to call customer service about one of my orders (the discount wasn't applying to certain items!), and had to explain the racket I was making taking pans out of the oven!

 I saw Martha Stewart do something really neat with the icing on bells, so that's what I made this time...

First, I iced them with a layer of white icing:

 Then I added green stripes (also did some red ones, too). I just put some icing in a sandwich bag and cut a teeny hole in the corner and used as my icing bag! Then you run a toothpick through the stripes...

 And it makes this design:

 Here are some of the finished products:

 I also made a few snowmen just for fun...

 They didn't turn out as cute as I thought they would, but here they are...

Hope each of you can find time in this busy season to try some fun activities!!