You Are My Sunshine

Once again I am apologizing for the lack of posting lately:(  It is already half way through January and I still haven't done much about Christmas and our trip to Boca Raton and JP had a birthday last week...oh, I get an epic fail on starting off this year full blog ahead!!!

Anyway, just something real quick before I forget about it.  This is a moment that I want to remember forever and so I need to document it before I forget and then hopefully sometime before the end of this week I will get my blog on and finish 2011....hopefully (fingers crossed)

When time permits and usually it does, I love to sing to JP after we are doing reading at bedtime.  Shelby long ago let me know that it wasn't "cool" anymore, but JP still lets me so you better believe that I take full advantage of that.  I typically always sing the same songs in the same order and every once and a while I will throw in an extra, but I always sing the three original songs-You are My Sunshine, Jesus Loves Me, Love Him in the Morning.

So last night we were all snuggled up in his bed and I started with You are My Sunshine and at the end I sang, "Please don't take my sunshine away" and over me JP sang at the same time "Please don't take my mommy away."  (tear)

JP's Christmas Program

So when is it that you finally quit the water works when you are watching your children do something???  Please say it doesn't last forever!!!  I just can't help myself; as soon as I see Shelby or JP up on stage to sing or whatever my eyes get all misty and before I know it the tears are flowing.  Happens every time!!!

In true Montessori fashion, the primary classes Christmas program was so cute and wonderful!!!  They started out singing "Joy to the World" and as soon as those first four words came out I was lost in a mix of tears.  Seriously, I could hardly see to take pictures for the rest of the program.

JP looked so big up there with all his classmates and we all got a huge kick out of his facial expressions.  One minute he would have this angry face and then the next minute he would be singing with the biggest smile; so, between the tears I was laughing too.

This year's program was really one of the best for the primary classes that I have been too.  The songs were all new which was definitely a nice change of pace since we have been hearing the same songs for the last four years and the children all seemed to be really excited to be there.  Although, the fact the I didn't have to have a crying child ripped off me at the beginning might have a little bit to do with the relaxed, good feelings I had towards the whole experience this year.

 Isn't he so handsome?!?!?!?

Angry eyes

JP with his carpool buddies, minus Shelby.  Yeah, the poor boy is constantly surrounded by girls.





Christmas Miracle of 2011

No, this is not a dream and Yes, that is Santa in background!!!!  This is the first picture with the children with Santa since their first Christmas!!!!

It is truly a Christmas Miracle!  Shelby and JP even got close enough to give him a high five, but no closer. 

Santa also has received the go ahead to come to our house this year to deliver presents.  Shelby told Pratt that he could come under one condition and that condition was that she gets to leave out milk and cookies for him.

I am still in total shock over the new development!!

All I want for Christmas

Is my two front teeth! 

 Shelby was so excited this week when she lost her other front bottom tooth on Sunday  night.  Ever since she figured out it was loose she would say, "Mom, I have to lose this tooth before Tuesday. I just have too."  It took me a few days to figure it out, but then I realized that she really wanted to lose it so that when her class sang "All I Want for Christmas" at their Christmas play she could sing it with conviction.  I have a feeling there was more tugging going on in the loss of this tooth versus the other, but she was so excited.  So here is a picture of our toothless babe and the letter she wrote to Chrystal, her tooth fairy.

Translation:

Dear Chrystal  To night I lost my second tooth  Watch out for Daisy  She has been nibbling good  I left a special surprise for you  It is on the edge of my bed

Love Shelby

The special prize was 8 pieces of candy from her candy stash.

Shelby has had a very busy week thus far.  On Monday night she went to a Nursing home with the American Heritage Girls to sing Christmas Carols to the residence and hand out poinsettia pens that the girls made and note cards as special gifts.  While I really struggle with nursing homes, she seemed to enjoy it.



After the nursing home all the girls and their families went back to our church for a little Christmas party and ceremony to present the girls with their Joining Award patch as they all successfully completed the requirements to become official American Heritage Girls!!  It was exciting and I am so thankful that Shelby has the opportunity to be apart of this troop.

As if that wasn't exciting enough!!!  Last night Shelby had her school Christmas performance.  It is so exciting to think of how far she has come in these.  When she was in the Cottage at MRM we couldn't even get her to participate in the Christmas program.  The next year she at least got on stage, the year after that she sang a little, and last year she did about half the movements.  This year she was so excited about the Christmas performance.  She smiled through all the songs and did all the movements.  It was a beautiful night and all the children did a wonderful job. 





Reindeer Sighting

We have a fun little Christmas tradition in our house where we have a Christmas angel visit the children every few days during the month leading up to Christmas.  The children love waking up in the morning and checking their stockings to see if the angel came and what the angel could have left. 

One morning the Shelby and JP awoke to find reindeer antlers in their stockings.  They loved them and really loved trying to put them on Daisy.  Daisy was a good sport but as hard as I tried I could not capture a clear picture of our reindog.  But, I was able to get a few of JP. 

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all

We had a wonderful week of Thanksgiving.  I say week because we literally celebrated Thanksgiving nearly the whole week.  JP had his class thanksgiving party on Tuesday, Wednesday we enjoyed a beautiful day with our neighbors, Thursday we enjoyed thanksgiving at John and Sandi's, Friday we had another family dinner at John and Sandi's that included most of the family from Tennessee and all the Reeds that live here, and then on Saturday we went to my parents for Thanksgiving lunner (lunch/dinner).  It was a whirl wind and I am tired, but it was so much fun!!!  We give thanks for the blessing of family!

Here is the finished product of our annual Thanksgiving turkey.  Didn't it turn out lovely???

All the great-grandkids with Grandmother and Granddaddy.  I think this picture includes all of them.  Isn't it amazing?

A little Go Fish before lunner with Grandmother.  This is one of the children's favorite things to do with Grandmother among others that I am sure I am not even aware of;)

Saturday morning before heading to the island we picked up our tree and set it up so that Sunday it would be ready for decorating.  Since we had a late night Saturday night (it was the Clemson/S. Carolina game-booo hoooo) Pratt let me sleep in; but once JP started trying to hang his socks on the tree he knew it was time to get this show on the road.  After I rolled out of bed and got myself together we started decorating the tree.

We had such a wonderful morning of family time and decorating that we decided to stay in and spend some family time together.  It was great.  JP and Shelby did a wonderful job under the supervision of their dad at decorating the tree.  It is one of the best trees we have ever had.



All the decorations are out.  The outside is decorated and so far I am happy to report that we have only had one casualty; this morning Daisy got a hold of one of the wise men from our Fisher Price nativity scene and well, he is no longer with us.  May he rest in peace.

Number 2 on 2 Wheels

We are so excited to announce that there are no more training wheels in this house!!!  On Wednesday JP decided to give the old two wheels a try and following in his sister's footsteps caught on right away.  The very first run down the street he did it all by himself and every since then he has been riding like a mad man.

One of the draw backs of being anything other than a first child is a lot of times your actual first of doing anything isn't caught on camera:(  Sorry buddy that this is a few days after you started riding.  We are so proud of you!!!