It's the most wonderful time of the year (take 2)

Or is it? I love Christmas (this sounds a lot like another post I wrote this month) but even I have to admit that it is stressful. The shopping, the cooking, the cleaning, everyone trying to be on their very best behavior....it can really be overwhelming at times! AND I don't even have something really serious to contend with this Christmas...no grieving, no terrible illnesses, no depression or loneliness. Yes, we have some uncertainty in our future (who doesn't?) and some hassle (like all of the copper piping being stolen out from underneath our GA house....yuck) but who doesn't? And honestly I can think of so many people who have it so much worse. Who will be spending this holiday grieving the loss or a loved one, or spending Christmas in the hospital or all alone. I am really so blessed!
So, recently I read this article titled "Christmas is for those who hate it most". Basically (and this is my summary) it said that Christmas and Christ in general is for those who are grieving, who are lonely, who are depressed, who are hopeless as much as (if not more) for those of us who are not. Christmas is all about HOPE! and who needs hope more than those who don't have it? Not necessarily the hope that all will be well here on Earth (it won't be and it can't be because we live in a broken world) but the hope that lasts forever. The HOPE that was born in a manger (that made himself like us) on that very first Christmas night! AND even more the HOPE that took my place on a tree at Calvary! Christmas IS for all of us (whether we want it to be or not) from the greatest to the least! So, while I will be opening presents, eating Christmas goodies and visiting with family on Saturday I will also make the time to celebrate the Savior and the HOPE that only he can bring.

Gracie's snowman stocking!

Last night Gracie and I were sitting in the living room looking at the tree and checking out our stockings for the 100th time (at least) and she pointed at her stocking. Now, you probably remember that I made all of us new matching stockings this year (yes, as a matter of fact I AM supermom! ha!) so we've spent lots of time admiring them as they hang over our fireplace! Anyway, Gracie pointed at her stocking and our conversation went a little something like this:
G: Gracie's stocking!
Me: Yep, that's Gracie's stocking!
G: snowman stocking!
Me: nope, no snowman stockings.
G: Gracie's snowman stocking!

Now in case you've forgotten this is what Gracie's stocking looks like.....

Hilarious! Gracie thought the polka dots were some kind of mixed up snowman! I tried to convince her that those were polka dots and everybody had them on their stocking but she was having no part of it! LOVE it and that crazy girl and her snowman stocking!

Just because......

They're so dang cute!

Christmas on the Rocks!

This weekend we met Josh's sister Becca and her family (Matt, Walker and Laynee) at Noccalula Falls for Christmas on the Rocks! The pioneer village, train and animal habitats are decorated with thousands and thousands of lights! You can take walk through the park at your own pace, visit the petting zoo and of course ride through the park on the train and take a peek at the lights!
We, of course, were running late but we got to the park at about 6:15 with about every other person in Gadsden and the surrounding areas (I swear Josh and I laughed and laughed because it was like "town day"...there were SO many people there and some of them probably hadn't been "to town" in months or ever!) Oh well, we got in a super long line to ride the train and then decided to bail and just walk around the park. We figured the line for the train would die down while we strolled around the park (boy were we wrong!). We had a great time just strolling around the park and checking out the lights-they have a giant Nativity scene made of lights that would have been very very cool if most of the characters actually lit up. Oh well! We made a quick run through the petting (or as I like to call it No petting) zoo and then stopped for a little hot chocolate. It was a chilly (more like FREEZING) 36 degrees! YIKES! After our stroll through the park we decided we would brave the line for the train (more like the kids mutinied at the thought of leaving without riding it)! We waited (and went to the bathroom 3 times....really, 3 times!) and finally made it to the train. WOW talk about FREEZING. When that train was moving, it was COLD! The kids had a great time despite the super cold wind! Even Jack seemed happy as a clam snuggled up in my wrap (that thing is THE BEST)!!!
After the train ride we bundled up and headed home for a LATE dinner (Grandmother's lasagna...yum!). Definitely a fun little adventure with our cousins...the kids are already talking about going back next year! I think we can make that happen! :)

Josh and the girls walking into the park! Look at all of those cars (and my cuties)!

The kiddos playing in the "lighthouse"!

Josh and Matt with Gracie and Laynee....my camera was blurry because it was on manual not auto focus! What a dummy...I didn't figure it out until yesterday and I was freaking out because my camera was taking blurry pics!!! Still cute even though it's blurry!

The petting zoo (yuck) had these HUGE nasty chickens you could pet. It also had HUGE nasty chickens in the rafters above our heads....YIKES! I hate stuff like that!

The big kids on the swing...another blurry pic :( but too cute not to post!

A Christmas miracle.......

Can you believe it?!?!? All four kids (semi) looking at the camera and none screaming or crying...even a smile or two in the mix with SANTA CLAUS!!! Am I dreaming or what?I cannot believe this happened! If I didn't have a picture I'm not sure I would believe it myself!

We really had decided that we were just going to skip out on visiting Santa this year. The mall is just SO crowded and the Santa doesn't look that great and we do have FOUR kids and waiting in that long line just sounded like a disaster in the making! Thankfully, our sweet friends invited us to a Christmas open house where we could meet and greet Santa in a much calmer environment! Hooray! I still wasn't expecting much...no need to set myself up for disappointment but I thought the experience would be less traumatizing than the whole meltdown in the mall I knew would be headed our way if we went that route! Amazingly all of my kiddos were happy (or at least not afraid) to crawl up in Santa's lap and let mom snap away!

A Kindergarten Christmas

First of all, let me just say that I can hardly believe that I have a Kindergartener, let alone a kid who is almost half way through with Kindergarten! YIKES! Time sure flies when you're having fun!
All of that aside, last week Annie had her class Christmas party! Emma, Gracie, Jack and I were invited! Hooray! (That was the same day as Emma's Christmas program so it was a day of parties!) We had such a great time hanging out with Annie (or Anna as she prefers to be called at school...hilarious!) and her friends. The kids got to paint and stamp and color with glitter markers...too much fun! AND ate pizza and fruit and some yummy gingerbread cookies Annie's teacher made! The kids gave Mrs. Capra her Christmas gift and got to wear their Christmas t-shirts (so cute)! I think a good time was had by all!

Working hard on her Christmas craft!

These girls and Jack were so sweet! E and G didn't even get out of the stroller or fuss ONE TIME! (It may have had something to do with the fact that I kept the food and drinks coming! Hey, whatever works!)

Special Delivery!

Last week the girls and I whipped up a few Christmas goodies to deliver to some of their teachers! I always have the hardest time deciding what to do for teachers (both at church and at school) because there are so many! Annie's class decided that we would all just chip in for some gift certificates...I love when that happens. So easy and the teacher gets a nice chunk of change to spend on something they really want! Since Annie's teacher was taken care of I really only had to worry about Emma and Gracie's. I decided we would just put together some holiday goodies! We made yummy homemade bread and some chocolate and butterscotch candy...YUM! (Since it was so good I decided to send some to Annie's teacher too...lucky!) When it was all finished I took Emma and Gracie to school to make a few special deliveries! :)

Our basket of goodies!

Two sweet delivery girls!

Emma and Mrs. Lisa

My little helpers with Mrs. Suzi!

Happy Anniversary Baby! I got you on my mind!

Hard to believe it but these pictures were taken 8 years ago today! On a cold Saturday night in Chattanooga, TN surrounded by lots of friends and family Josh and I committed to love and cherish each other for the rest of our lives! What an exciting 8 years it's been! We have lived in 4 different homes in 3 different cities! We have gone from a family of 2 (plus a dog) to a family of 6 (minus a dog)! We have had ups and downs, hills and valleys, good times and hard times and lots and lots of fun times!
I am so thankful that we get to be on this journey together! I couldn't ask for a better husband and father for our kiddos! Here's to the next 8 (or 80 or so) years together! :)

***Sorry the pics aren't good quality...they are pics of a framed pic. I'm too tired to take the pictures out of the frames! :)

Some cute pics!

None of these made the cut for the Christmas card but I thought they were still adorable! Hope you enjoy too!

Tired boy....worn out from ALL of the pics I was taking!

Chewing on Jack's paci and a bunched up skirt...not quite the look we were going for!

Emma goofing off with Daddy! Check out those legs...we might have a future Auburn cheerleader (or three) on our hands!

Annie's turn!

And of course, you can't forget about Gracie! She was really flying!

G wasn't quite ready to quit "flying"!

LOVE this! Wish all three of them had been standing there!

This is where G was instead...I love that look of concentration! She was serious about getting on that chair! :)

LOVE this one too! Sweet girls!

We LOVE baby Jack!!!

Just a few pics of us enjoying life with baby Jack!

Emma, Jack and I at the playground Thanksgiving weekend! Could I look any rougher? Maybe I should have put those sunglasses on and then I wouldn't be so squinty! Oh well.

Cute kiddos! Emma looks a little thuggish in her Uncle Daniel's toboggan (he's had it since 6th grade....cute!) but I thought the pic was too sweet not to share. AND typical of a night at our house...you never know what you might find or what clothes we (well, our kiddos) might or might not be wearing!

Squeaky clean sisters snuggled up with baby Jack!


Love that sweet smile!

Napping with Daddy!

Another attempt at getting all four to smile (or even look) at the camera!

Something's not quite right

I have this really great Nativity set that one of my aunts gave me. I love it because it's a great size, it's really pretty and it doesn't break. I have a few others that have to be put out of reach of little hands but this is one the girls can play with. I love that and they do too! My only rule is that they keep it on the table where it's set up (a rule made necessary by the accidental loss of baby Jesus for several weeks last year)! Annie was playing with it earlier this evening and I wasn't paying much attention but when I came into the living room after the girls had gone to bed this is what I found.....

Somehow, I don't think this is how it really happened! I don't know if you can tell or not but baby Jesus is on the roof! I think I'll put things back to normal in the morning but for now I'm just enjoying a little laugh at my kiddo's staging! :)

Wish me luck

I love homemade bread, especially in the winter. There is nothing like the smell of hot bread baking in the oven...it just seems homey and comfortable to me. My favorite kind of bread is a sourdough that you have to have a starter to make. Usually someone in my family has a starter and is kind enough to share but right now I don't know anyone who has one. That stinks! You can make your own starter but the one other time I tried to make a starter it was no good. My bread never tasted right. I followed the recipe but something was just off. Well, I'm going to give it one more go....we'll see how it turns out! I'd really like to use it as part of my teacher gifts but believe me after my last experience there will be lots of practicing (and tasting) before I give any away!! Keep your fingers crossed for some yummy homemade bread! :)

My starter....maybe this time will be different! :)

Look who's got something in their stocking!

ME! This morning when we woke up Jolly Ollie was hanging out in my stocking! The girls thought it was hilarious and decided that I must have been VERY good this year to have an elf in my stocking! :)

The stockings were made by the mama with care......

The mess!

The finished stockings!

Hanging over the fire!

This year the Thompsons have brand new stockings! We've never had any that we just loved and they were all mismatchy but I've never really worried about it because we always spend Christmas Eve at my Grandmother's house and just "use" the stockings she has for us at her house. Josh and I were talking about it the other day and he was saying how much he disliked the ones he and Annie and I have so I decided that I would just make us some new ones! These are nothing special....just homemade with a whole lot of love! :) One day I'll get around to making each of us a "fancy" homemade stocking (cross stitch or something) but for now these will do (and look pretty cute in the meantime)!!

The BIG Reveal....

With Love Chartreuse Christmas Card

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It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I LOVE Christmas! It is truly one of my very favorite times of the year. I love the decorations and the music. I love to get Christmas cards and hear from old friends. I love to have a quiet night at home watching a Christmas movie with my family in front of the fire. You name it I love it! AND while all of these things are great, it can be so easy to get caught up in them and forget about the real reason for the season. But I don't want to forget. And I want to be certain that my kiddos understand just why we are celebrating. Josh and I have always done some kind of advent devotion to help us prepare our hearts for Christmas and this year is no different. We've always included our kids as much as possible but this year we found this family devotion that I hope will make the season more meaningful to all of us. There is a short devotion and family activity for each of the days leading up to Christmas. Some of the activities look like they might be a little over our heads (at least for the littlest ones) but I think they can be adapted so that we can all participate.

One of the activities is to create a wreath where you attach stars with some of the different names of Jesus. Last night the name in our devotion was "King".


Annie wrote King on this star and we attached it to the wreath after reading several verses describing Jesus as King.

My hope for this season for our family is that we would recognize the reason for the season. That we would not be caught up in decorations or Christmas cards, movies or music but that we would wait and anticipate the coming of the King. That our focus would not be on the transient events of this life (be them good or bad-and 2010 has been a doozy of a year for us in both ways) but on the eternal implications of Christmas! That we would look beyond our circumstances and be filled with awe and gratitude because without Christmas there could be no Easter and without Easter we could have no hope! That we would REJOICE because we do have HOPE!

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be to all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2:10-11

I LOVE....

This messy face!

A visitor

When we woke up a couple of mornings ago we found this little guy hanging around (literally...he was hanging from his knees off the mantel)! We decided we would let him stay awhile..in fact we named him (Jolly Ollie-a shoutout to my brother Daniel who wanted us to name Jack Ollie instead) and are enjoying getting to know him and discover his hiding place each morning!
We've never really done elf on the shelf before but I think our kids are at an age where they will really enjoy it! We'll see how it goes-I've heard that sometimes elves create a little mischief of their own (we have quite a few mischief makers in this house already) so we'll see how much trouble he is! I'm really looking forward to making this one of our families Christmas traditions!