Christmased Out

Whew. The rush is over, and I finally have time to sit down for five minutes without someone yelling "MOMMY! I NEEEEEED YOU!" at me. We had Christmas morning at our house (with just us) on Monday morning, and it was so much fun. The girls' two big gifts that they REALLY wanted were somehow hidden by mischievous elves, and after they thought they were all done, they found the others. It was SO CUTE. Jesse asked them if they had gotten everything that they wanted, and they said, "Yep.... oh, wait. Except for my treehouse (Josie) and my purse with lots of stuff to put in it (Sadie)." The look on their faces was absolutely priceless when they found their gifts hidden in the corner. I think that's going to have to become a tradition!


We had a great trip down to NC, and the weather (and traffic) both ways was a definite blessing. We had no bad weather to contend with, and traffic was clear and easy. I couldn't believe it! Anyway, we got there early Tuesday morning, so we had basically a whole week to visit, party, and do nothing. We got to spend lots of time with Papaw and Mamaw (yes, there was tractor-driving involved, and Sadie got to steer all by herself), our cousins (Adelaide and Bayleigh had a fabulous time getting to know each other, and Sadie and Josie had a great time at our Christmas Eve get-togethers - trying to pull poor Bryce apart with their other cousins and wrestling with Caleb and Cameron), and our friends (the girls made their debut at Melanie's new house for the first time and we also got to spend time at Louis and Brenda's AND Brian's house). Sadie and Josie attended their very first wrestling match with Britt and Natasha at my old high school, and you should've seen them doing their own moves on the gym floor in front of the bleachers!

Unfortunately, Jesse and I both got a yucky cold - no big surpise since I seem to get sick EVERY time I go home - and we had to cancel a few things toward the end of the week. However, I did get to see my friend Jason whom I haven't seen in almost five years, so that was good. All of the girls were EXCELLENT the whole time we were there (with the exception of a couple of minor meltdowns brought on by lack of naps). As always, Sadie and Josie had a grand old time at Great Grandma's house, even though it was a bit crowded for my (and Jesse's) taste this time around. The weather was gorgeous most of the time, and we didn't even need a coat for a few days.

Adelaide is getting her two top teeth now to go along with her two bottom ones. The girls are offically "Christmased Out," and I have purged the toy closet and toy box to make room for the giant mountain of presents they received from our Ohio family before we left plus the other giant mountain of presents we hauled back from NC!

We're glad to be home, and now we're just trying to get back into the swing of things. Thank God for our families, our friends, and the hope of a new year.