3 Days til Christmas...and counting

It's finally here!! Almost... Braden and Kendall aren't driving us crazy too bad right now, but they are definitely excited that Santa will deliver their presents in 2 more nights!! We got a small taste of Christmas time this last weekend with a trip Saturday to Ashville for the Moody family Christmas. And then on Sunday with a trip to my Grandmother's for the Reese/Cosby family Christmas. We are far from finished too. We still have Christmas Eve at my parents and then next Saturday we will make a trip to the Tennessee state line to see my Grandpa Reese. THEN, we'll probably drive out to Blountsville on Sunday and see Mamaw Moody. Wow, I'm tired just thinking about it!! Tomorrow Lara (my sister-in-law) and I will make one last trip into shopping land and pick up the last minute stuff, then I'm DONE!


Here's a couple of pics from our trip to pick out a Christmas tree 3 weeks ago.





MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Dec. 22nd-You don't pay back your parents. You can't. The debt you owe them gets collected by your children, who hand it down in turn. It's a sort of entailment. -Lois McMaster Bujold

Patiently awaiting Santa Claus...

I remember so clearly when I was little that the month of December seemed to just crawl by so slowly. As a kid, I spent day after day analyzing my Christmas list and then finally I got to see Santa. After weeks of prioritizing my list, I would wait in a long line and when it was my turn to climb up on his lap he would ask, "What do you want for Christmas?". Right about then I would draw a blank and randomly name off something that I wasn't sure I had even written down on my list. Inevitably, my mother would inform me that it was okay and St. Nick would have no problem remembering everything I wanted from my carefully written list.

Apparently my son has absolutely none of the same misgivings that his mother had in years past. We always go see Santa Claus at Brookwood Mall. On our way to the mall I carefully rehearsed with Brady what he should say and do once he saw Santa. We got there around 1 p.m. and Braden & I walked right up to the lady that was taking money for the pictures...NO LINE!! How exciting!! While I was busy paying attention to the absence of a line, Braden was awestruck watching Santa. Now we would see how he felt about sitting on a virtual strangers lap and telling him what presents he wants. Santa waved him forward, and he takes about 4 steps and stops. So I had to lightly push him forward. Finally, he climbs into Santa's lap and quickly his apprehension is gone. He looks at Santa (paying no attention to the lady calling his name trying to get a picture) and says, "I want Thomas the bridge". This has been the one constant thing he has asked for the last 2 months. Needless to say, Santa will be bringing Brady that toy this year. So, I'm happy to say that Brady's Santa Claus experience this year was a good one. And we are all now patiently awaiting Santa's visit to our home.

Dec. 14th-And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch of their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.- Luke 2:8-11

THANKS-giving Holiday

As far as holidays go this year was the same in many ways, and different in others. It was the same because of the hectic schedule, the large amount of food we consumed and the hours we spent in the car traveling to our family gatherings. It was different because the kids were a year older (and the parents, ugh) and instead of going to my maternal grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving, we went to the Swafford get together. This was the first time ever that I’ve been to my dad’s side of the family for Thanksgiving.

We had our lunch Thursday at my Aunt Kim’s house in Clay on Pine Mtn. Her house is huge and gorgeous (and for sale, I wish we could buy it) with plenty of room for the kids to run around and play. Friday I did a little bit of shopping with Jaclyn while Josh went to a doctor’s appointment, and that afternoon I spent with my Grandmother Chris. Finally the festivities came to an end with lunch at the Moody’s in Remlap on Pine Mtn. on Saturday.

Of course, this is a great time to catch up with the family that you love, and also a wonderful time to start planning for Christmas gatherings. First and foremost it should be a day of THANKS! Obviously. So I’ve made a list of a handful of things that Josh and I are thankful for this year…
Our happy, healthy kids
A supportive, loving family
Caring, fun friends
A roof over our heads
Reliable cars (even if I wouldn’t mind another new one)
Still having our jobs (although some days we’re not always so thankful for that)
Central HVAC!
Christmas bonuses that insure we won’t have to charge any presents on our credit card
Vacation days that mean we won’t have to work ½ of December!!

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY…
Our Lord above that has given us all of these blessings!!

If the Lord is feeling generous enough to bless me with one of these I’d be most appreciative…

Dec. 2nd-Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.

Family Memories

Once again we took time out to have some family pictures taken. I'm very lucky to have several good friends who also happen to be spectacular professional photographers. Our last family portraits were taken in the fall of 2005, by Holly Allred (The Photographers)... and this year we decided to let another good acquaintance, Leigh Ann Hall (LA Photography), take our pictures.


We met Sunday at Aldridge Gardens in Hoover and had a quick & fun session. Leigh Ann has a very candid and natural approach to her photography. Lucky for her we can't seem to sit still long enough for posed pictures anyway. ANYWHOSALL...I always buy the package from Leigh Ann that includes copyrights and a CD, so I know it's alright if I share a few of these with everyone.


If you want some wonderful photos, you need to check out Holly's website -- http://thephotographersinc.smugmug.com/


OR, check out Leigh Ann's website -- http://www.leighannphotography.com/


You will definitely be amazed by some of their work.





Nov. 12th-Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.

Halloween with Friends

Friday night was a lot of fun for Braden (and Josh & I). We met with Kristy, (affectionately known as KB) Jay & their son Ben for a small party at their neighbor's house. There were plenty of kids there, and after they had their fill of pizza and junk food we were ready to head out for some trick or treating excitement!

Braden, Ben & Owen (another friends little boy) held hands and ran from house to house ready to grab all the candy they could get. In the end they had a great time and got WAY too much candy. Oh, and I have to applaud the people who live in KB's neighborhood for buying the good candy. I don't think Brady got any candy that wasn't AWESOME!! LOL!

Nov. 6th-"My child, observe the commandment of your father; And do not forsake the teaching of your mother; Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck."Proverbs 6:20-21

Juvenile Diabetes-Walk for a Cure

This past Saturday, Braden and I woke up and drove to Inverness for the JDRF - Walk For A Cure. ACIPCO is a Corporate donor and we had a team that met to walk for this very worthy cause. Unfortunately, Josh had to go to drill this weekend, so he couldn't walk it with us. :( There were SO many people there!! A few Hewitt grads that I recognized too. I couldn't believe how many people made it, and from the looks of the various license plates in the parking lot, some people came from a long way to do this! Anyway, at 10:20 we started the +/- 3 miles. Me, already sweating, and Brady, comfortably jabbering in his stroller. Less than one hour later we finished our walk, and much to my surprise we ran into a very sweet Hoover cop, named Kenny Maddox, someone that I've been friends with for several years, but I haven't seen in almost 2 years! I was very happy to catch up with my buddy. Braden was just happy to be talking to the police officers. He loves the t.v. show COPS, so it's no surprise that he was happy to see them up close and personal.

As a side note, Josh will be going to drill (again) in Hoover this coming weekend. If he likes the Hoover unit he will move there from Tuscaloosa. It would be nice if he moved to this unit, that way he will be able to come home at night on drill weekends.

Hair Cutting Time...

All summer long I've put off cutting Braden's hair. It was such a gorgeous blond color that was natural, yet somehow it looked like it was out of a bottle. People were constantly asking if we highlighted his hair (why anyone would want to highlight a toddler's hair, I'm not sure). I would run my fingers through his hair and brush it and fix it different ways. I loved it, but it was just getting too long. I didn't care that he looked like a little preppy boy, I was tired of spending almost as long fixing his hair every morning as I did my own. Well, Josh is the official hair cutter of the family, so I told him on Sunday that he could cut it.
It's officially the first time I've ever not liked how Josh cut his hair...

And I cried...

Now I need to see if we're going to have to reschedule our family portraits until Brady's hair grows back out some. I'm not blaming Josh, but I definitely will start paying someone else to cut his hair from now on!