Saturday, November 24, 2007

Thanksgiving Fun and....Shopping!!

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time for our family this year. Grandpa is here from Florida and we all went to my parent's house for a few days. Charlie and Madeline loved seeing their cousins, Jordan and Jared, and Charlie and Aunt Sharon seemed to hit it off especially well. The kids spent time in the Gameroom, the three dogs spent time fighting for attention, the guys watched football, and the ladies watched the sales. We had turkey and all the trimmings, including homemade Cranberry Sauce by Mom, and my late grandmother's Pumpkin Pie which Sharon made. The only thing missed was time with out of town families.

Then, Friday came. Mom and I had been looking forward to this day for over a week and made all our plans the day before. We got up at 4AM, left the house at 4:30, and proceded to Christmas shop for 11 hours!! It was tiring but oh, so much fun!! We started at Toys R Us at 5AM and went from there to Kohl's, Target, Wal-Mart, Sam's, Family Bookstore, Lowe's, Best Buy, the Mall, and Kirkland's Home. I cannot believe how much we accomplished even though we stood in line A LOT! (The longest was 2 hours at Kohl's.) But you know, it's worth it. I wish I knew exactly how much we saved by doing this because the deals were incredible. And the best part of it is the excitement of Christmas. I love buying gifts, hearing Christmas music playing on the speakers, smelling cinamon and pine scented potpourri, looking at all the decorations, watching other people get excited about Christmas, and even the rush and the crowds. But it is so easy to get caught up in this excitement that we forget the real excitement of Christmas. As fun as it is to give and receive gifts, we must remember the true Gift of Christmas. I only hope that among all the joy and fun of preparation and presents, we can instill in our kids that those things don't matter one bit. That the only real reason we celebrate Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ, our Savior. He is the true Gift.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Friday, November 2, 2007

It's A Girl!

We finally found out that we are indeed having a girl! We are all so happy! Charlie actually wanted two sisters, and of course, Madeline wanted a girl. I was okay either way, already having one of each, but I must now admit that I really wanted another girl. I never had a sister and always wanted one. So I cannot wait to watch Madeline and her little sister grow up together. And Charlie will be the older, protective big brother.

I am still trying to iron out my difficulties with posting pictures, but I will at least keep updating anyway.