Singing and Santa and snow!

What a busy couple of weeks it has been! Gabe had a 2nd Grade Christmas production at his school on the 19th. All the second graders did a wonderful job and were so cute. We saw our friends there and their daughter Madison sat with "her Drew" for a few minutes.

How cute is she!!!

The lighting is terrible in the school gym so my pictures didn't turn out too well but you can see that Gabe was happy to be there. They had worked so hard for weeks on their songs and we were so proud of them.

Another night, just as we were putting Gabe to bed the doorbell rang. Jeff opened the door and look who was standing there with candy canes for everyone!

That was such a special treat! (Don't tell Gabe but it was Wayne, our neighbor from a few doors down! He had been playing Santa at his church and thought he would surprise the boys!) He came in and handed out his candy canes and even took Gabe's letter that we hadn't mailed yet. Gabe wasn't sure what to think of it all but he was so excited.

Then the boys got out of school for Christmas break. And then Gabe got the flu. Poor guy. He has to take meds that he can't stand. Can hardly get them down. He's finally getting better but he's been so pitiful.

And then it was Christmas Eve! The boys made Christmas cookies so they could leave some for Santa. Gabe got his own bowls of icing since he was sick.

After they finished making cookies, Drew and I went to my sister's house for dinner and exchanged gifts with family. Since Jeff and Gabe couldn't go, we Skyped them and opened gifts together. It was fun. The boys got a cool "Nerf"-type shot gun that cracks open and ejects the shells just like a real shot gun. Even Jeff has had fun playing with that one! We had a wonderful dinner of ham, mashed potatoes and lima beans. And of course the traditional birthday cake for Jesus for dessert!

Then everyone finally got to bed for the night only to get up at 6:00am to see what Santa brought.

Drew got an Ipod Touch! He thought he was getting a new Ipod Nano but Santa had other plans. His best friend got one too so they can use "Facetime" and watch movies.

Gabe got lots of Iron Man stuff including both movies.

Here was the Christmas aftermath.

And we got a white Christmas! Sorta. It started snowing late Christmas Day and this is what we woke up to on Sunday.

 We measured about 4 1/2 inches on the deck. The boys didn't play in it. They had gotten money and gift cards for Christmas that were burning a hole in their pockets (this includes Jeff!). Once we knew the roads were okay, we made our way to the mall and Lowe's Home Improvement. The little boys got new Lego sets at half off. And the big boy got a new set of drills with a free battery.

Here are me and the little boys putting together lots of Star Wars Lego sets.

I hope your Christmas has been all you wanted it to be and more.

Inspiration overload!

If you haven't been following Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas this year, you are seriously missing out! He's out-does himself every year and this time is no different. Today's tag is my favorite so far. So beautiful! Check it out!!

How "joyful" is this?! Click HERE to go to Tim's blog and see all the tags!

No way!

Has it really been almost a month since I blogged about getting away for the weekend?! Yikes! I want time to slow down. It's moving way too fast for me to keep up. Speaking of time flying by, my oldest is about to turn 12. I can't believe it. I know that 12 is still so young but at the same time, how can he already be 12!?!?

Anyway, let's get caught up on the past month. When last we "spoke" I was at my sister's house in VA for a little "me time". I returned so refreshed and stress-free (other than a cold/sinus infection. Yuck!) Then it was time to begin thinking about Thanksgiving.

This year, Wendy decided to have Thanksgiving at her VA house with both sides of her family. It was a wonderful weekend. The food was amazing and the company was fun. We ate, played games, ate, stayed up late, ate, and shot guns. Oh, and we ate some really good food!

This past Friday night was the last crop night at my LSS. It will be closing soon. I'm so sad. I have known Traci, the owner since she opened 4 1/2 years ago. It's been such fun to work for her, teach classes, and make many new friends. I hope we don't all lose touch. We made the last crop night a party. Lots of people brought food. Several were there from the time she opened that morning until midnight. There was good food, drinks and lots of laughs. Oh, and we all got a little scrapbooking done! Thank you, Traci for all your hard work. It was truly a special time for me and a privilege to get to work for you and with you.


Now it's time to think about Drew's birthday. He will be turning 12 and he can't wait. I can't believe I will have a teenager in only one year. Scary. But he's a great kid, doing well in school and growing up everyday. For his birthday, we are going to take him and a few friends to see Harry Potter, then have cake and open presents at home. I'll be sure to post a few pictures.

After that will be Christmas. We decorated the house this past weekend and most of my shopping is done. Yay! I need to begin signing Christmas cards (handmade again this year) and wrap a few things. It certainly feels like winter around here. Temps are in the 40s.

On the 16th, Jeff will have knee surgery and then be home for 8 weeks. He's not one to sit around and do nothing. This should be interesting!

That about catches you up on the Patterson's. Hope you are having a wonderful Holiday Season!