Christmas Eve and Day

Christmas Day 2008

Our House at Christmas

Weather

For those of you traveling down here for Christmas or the weekend after, it's supposed to be in the upper 70s through the weekend with lows around 60 every night. Hope you weren't dreaming of a white Christmas!

Our Wonderful Rosa

Well, it turns out that whether or not I have a full-time job has no bearing on my abilities as a housekeeper. I think Stephen finally had enough of caked-on food, dog hair, and dust everywhere and realized that I am missing the housekeeping gene (I just don't think it's in my genetic code, right, Mom?). Thus, we have hired Rosa, a wonderful lady who will be coming to our house to clean every other week.
I wish I were better at this, really I do, but with two babies and two 80-lb. dogs in the house, I think it's more than one woman can handle. So, now I will probably run a vacuum over the floor and mop the kitchen and do laundry on Rosa's off weeks but I'm done with scrubbing showers and toilets, unless company comes between Rosa's weeks.
She came this morning at 7:30 and is still here. Our house was apparently dirtier than I thought. But now it's bordering on spotless!
Thank you, Rosa!

"We Drawed on Each Other"

SMUMC Children's Christmas Program

Mary Grace in front of our Christmas tree with the flowers her mommy and daddy gave her after her performance.


Mary Grace and Elsie



Blurry picture (stupid camera!) of some of the kids during the program. You can't tell it from the picture, but Olivia and Mary Grace are holding hands!

Happy Apple Christmas Party

Elsie getting in on the action!



Mary Grace and Lainee



Mary Grace at the Red Apple table



The Happy Apples had their Christmas party today. Mary Grace and the other 3-year-olds were Rudolf. Their noses were red and they had antlers! They sang several pretty songs in the Sanctuary then we went over the Bailey Hall (our fellowship hall) and had a party. We only took video in the church so these still shots are from the party.

Stephen's Christmas Gift

I'm so excited! I just ordered Stephen's Christmas gift. It should be here Monday or Tuesday. He is going to LOVE it! Can't say what it is yet in case he reads this but it's something he will really, really like!

Some Photos from Thanksgiving in North Carolina

Elsie, Singing Ariel, Mary Grace, Singing Ariel, and Grandaddy




Elsie Chatting It Up with Grandaddy



I know it looks like we just took Gramps out of the Home for the evening! This picture is too funny!



Two angels making angel biscuits with Nana. That reminds me, Nana, I need that recipe!


Grandmomma, Grandaddy, Stephen, Elsie, and Mary Grace



Mary Grace, Momo, and Elsie



Mary Grace, Aunt Chatham, Elsie, and Uncle Johnathan



Cassie, Mary Grace, and Elsie at Our Cookie Party



Making Sweet Potato Casserole with Nana

Another Oldie

A Typical Day

Today was a typical day in the Salt Marsh. I woke up at 5 and went to the gym. When I got back at 7, Stephen was up and showered and almost ready to go to work. Mary Grace was laying in our bed watching Dora. Elsie was still asleep in her crib upstairs. Stephen left around 7:30. I jumped in the shower and when I got out just at 8, Elsie was awake. Both girls had strawberry oatmeal for breakfast. Then we all got dressed and left at 8:45 to take Mary Grace to Happy Apple.

Elsie and I played upstairs in the playroom while Mary Grace was at school. We read some and played with some dolls. We left around 11:45 to pick up Mary Grace. We got back home around 12:15 and the girls had peanut butter sandwiches and applesauce for lunch with milk. Elsie went down for a nap at 1 and Mary Grace layed on my bed with me. I read while Mary Grace watched yet another episode of Dora. She then fell asleep around 2. I read some more then played on the computer some. Mary Grace woke up just after 4. I wouldn't say that was typical for her. Most days, she doesn't take a nap at all. I try to get her to at least lay down on the sofa and watch a movie or something for quiet time. Sometimes she falls asleep, sometimes she doesn't. Elsie loves her nap, though. She sleeps anywhere from 2 to 4 hours in the afternoon. Today, she woke up just before 5. The girls then had apples and raisins for snack and went upstairs to play a little. We got dressed for dinner and Stephen came home at 5:45. Then we left for dinner at the Rogowskis'.

Our friends, the Harrises, were there with their little boy, Brady, who's 18-months old. All the kids had a big time. I think they pulled all of Olivia's toys out! You couldn't even see the floor!

We got home about an hour ago and the girls went straight to bed (a little later than their normal 8 pm time).

Now, Stephen is laying in bed reading while I type this.

All in all, that's a pretty typical Happy Apple day for us. On a non-Happy Apple day, I may take the kids to the park or to the library. Some Happy Apple days, I take Elsie to the grocery store or to the gym while Mary Grace is at school.

The days always go by so quickly and I'm always surprised at how little I get done. It seems like someone is always needing something. And the house echos so bad that I can't easily do dishes or any loud cleaning while Elsie's taking her nap.

I'm starting to go to the gym early in the morning before everyone else wakes up. I'm going to have to do that come January, so I may as well get used to it now. It also gives me more time with the girls. But, man, I am tired!

The picture above has nothing to do with this post, obviously. It just makes my heart warm, so I thought I'd post it. Wonder what Mary Grace must have been thinking at that moment? It's hard to believe that Elsie is just one month shy of the age Mary Grace was when Elsie was born.

Mary Grace - 3 years ago

Jesus' Birthday

It was dark when I brought Mary Grace home from dance class last night so we got to see all the Christmas lights in our neighborhood. Mary Grace said that the whole world is decorated for Baby Jesus' birthday and for Santa Claus.
We had a surprise when we drove up to our own home. Stephen and Elsie had put up a Christmas tree on our front porch. It's so pretty with little white lights. I think I'm going to decorate it with coastal ornaments: sea shells, starfish, etc. It will depend on whether the girls and I can make a trip down to the beach this week. Coastal Living has a front porch tree on its December cover.
Mary Grace also has a purple tree in her bedroom. Olivia helped her decorate it this weekend. It's very pretty. From outside the window, you can't tell it's purple. It just looks like a pretty little tree with white lights. Then we have our big tree in the family room. We're still working on getting it decorated. So, we're officially a 3-tree family this year.

Problems with my computer

For the past week or so I have been unable to upload any photos to any website. I can't upload to Blogger, Snapfish, Shutterfly, Facebook, or WalMart. It's very frustrating. You all are missing so many pictures that we've taken over the last few weeks. If anyone has any ideas what the problem might be, I'd love to hear them. When I try to upload, I get an error message that I'm not connected to the internet. It's like something is kicking me off the internet just when I try to upload photos. Anyway, it's really aggravating.

Mary Grace and Elsie's Story

Once upon a time, in a land where palm trees grew;
Lived two little girls in a house with a Riverview
Where Spanish moss swayed in the ocean breeze
And the bright sun was shaded by the most beautiful live oak trees.

With their mommy and daddy and two dogs, Daisey and Roo
These two little girls live a dream come true.
They love to frolic in the ocean and dance in the sand.
Through it all, they are blessed to be held safely in God’s own hand.

These two little girls, Mary Grace and Elsie are their names,
Are a blessing, a gift, a reason for acclaim.
For, you see, they are sweet and good and loving and kind
And each is blessed with a brilliant mind!

Mary Grace is a princess who loves purple and pink.
She likes to bake cookies and cakes and wash her dishes in the sink.
She is a graceful ballerina, living up to her name
And the best of friends to the Happy Apples and Miss Julie’s gang.

Elsie is fearless, a real go-getter.
She doesn't let her big sister get far without her.
She climbs and she jumps and she dances around the house
And her favorite star of all is Mickey Mouse!

Their daddy is wrapped around not one but two little fingers.
He’d better save up so the weddings don’t send him to the cleaners!
Their mommy loves everything about her precious peeps
From the tops of their bow-heads right down to their bare feet

Yes, these girls are pretty and smart and sweet, true dreams;
Everything a mommy and daddy could want, it would seem.
So, amidst the warm breezes that carry their laughter,
They live beautifully and happily full of love foreverafter.

A Whirlwind Tour

The girls and I just got home from our tour of the Southeast (or the states that count, at least!) on Sunday. It was a wonderful 15 days! We started out on Saturday, the 15th. We flew from Jacksonville to Birmingham (with a plane change in Atlanta). When we landed in Atlanta, Mary Grace said, "Mommy, look at those trees! Their different colors! That's silly!" Since palm trees, pine trees, and live oaks don't change color, I guess she hasn't really seen changing leaves before! The flight went well. We shared a row of three seats on each flight and the flights were short. Only one little snag when we landed in Birmingham without one car seat and the girls' luggage. Leave it to Delta, I guess!

Nana picked us up at the Birmingham airport and we headed to the Eureka Fish Camp (Aunt Judy and Uncle Bryan's). That night, we had dinner at Jim and Angie's beautiful home in Talladega. The girls had so much fun playing with Lauren and Cody.

On Sunday, we went to Crosspoint for church and then had lunch with Coke Man, Pam, Butch, Seth, Mallory, and Mike. We had a wonderful visit with them and were so thankful for the time.

On Monday, we visited Maw Maw and Paw Paw at Aunt Elaine's new home outside of Anniston. They are doing well and seem happy and relaxed. Aunt Elaine is taking good care of them.

We had lunch with Patti Anne and Aunt Judy on Tuesday before heading to Atlanta to stay with Mike at his hotel for the night. It took us all day Wednesday to get back to Raleigh.

We were in Raleigh for my birthday and they suprised me with a beautiful Edible Art cake. The girls and Nana and I went to Trinity for church that Sunday. Monday and Tuesday were spent polishing silver and ironing napkins in preparation for the Biggest Thanksgiving Ever. Yes, it was so big it deserves a title. I think the final count for Thanksgiving dinner was 42!

Stephen drove up on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We went over to Mooresville on Friday to visit Grandmomma and Grandaddy Voils. We had a nice time with them and we headed back home on Sunday. Whew!

It was such a special time to spend with family and friends. Since I'll be starting work in January, I won't be able to take that much time again (or at least for the next 4 years!).

I took abotu 200 photos. For some reason, Blogger isn't letting me upload any right now. I'll try again later.