Snow Night/Day!

I think I get the Worst (or the Best) Mother of the Year award...depending on who you talk to. Last night when the snow started to fall, I immediately alerted the kids who immediately ran to get their shoes on, so that they could get a closer look at the fluffy white stuff floating around outside. (You know, here in the south, we don't get to look, see, touch, and taste snow very often...in fact, this could be our only snow of the year!) So, all three of them quickly ran outside with the bare minimum. I think two of them had on crocs, Avery had on short sleeves and none of them had on even a jacket. But, boy did they have fun! They scooped it all up, made a Charlie Brown snowman, and Avery ate his fill of snow last night. They only stayed out for less than five minutes, and I promised them that if school was cancelled today, we could go out and spend more time outside.

Well, we got the call Thursday night from the county automated service informing us that school was indeed cancelled for Friday. I made the mistake of telling the children that they were not going to go to school the next day. I was convinced that they would sleep in and get lots of good rest. (I was hoping for some good rest for myself, too!)

Sadly, they were SO incredibly excited about the snow that they all came bouncing down the stairs at 6:11 this morning screaming about wanting to go play in the snow. We convinced them that they needed to at least wait until the sun came up before they went outside, because the neighbors might get upset with us. They reluctantly complied, but around 7:00, they couldn't wait. Chris decided to go into work late, so he got up, showered and then donned his snow attire. They all went outside and had a blast. They even got to ride on the sled that my sister and I rode on when we kids. (You know we rarely get to pull this thing out...it isn't much fun going on a sled ride through the yard, when it keeps getting caught on the grass.)

Afterwards, my three cold babies warmed up with a cup of hot chocolate. What a perfect Friday right before the Christmas break.

Thank you, God, for our blessings!

Visit to Santa Claus

Well, we decided to venture up to the great Opryland Hotel today to see Santa Claus. My sister had emailed about wanting to take the girls up for their first visit with Santa, so she wanted to know if I could go with her to help out. Well, we decided that Friday was a good day for both of us, so we put it on the calendar. So, we (along with my mom) took our three combined children to see Santa this afternoon. I decided to dress Avery up in his Halloween costume (which was Santa), so that I could get a picture of "Big Santa" and "Little Santa". By the way, last year's visit to Santa was an absolute bust for Avery...he was absolutely terrified, so he wouldn't get anywhere near him. I had been talking to him really since last Christmas, and he had finally convinced himself that he was ready to meet Santa.

Until he saw him for real in person.

After several minutes, I finally convinced him that we could stand beside him and I could hold him just so we could get a picture of him since he looked like Santa. (I also bribed him with a ride on the "choo-choo," so I think that helped a little.)

I actually got my mom to take some pictures of us while we were up there. She had a little trouble with my camera, but we did get a couple of good shots.

Anyway, I think Avery and I were much more of a hindrance than a help to Candy. The girls did a great job. I think they may have been asleep during the actual photo op, but I was busy calming Avery down, so I didn't even get to take a picture of them with my camera. Candy ended up having to feed the girls while Avery and I rode the train, and I ended up having to leave to go pick up the kids from school, so our visit was a little rushed. I apologized to Candy for not being more help, and she said she'd have to find better help next time.

I posted a few pictures of our day today. I also included a picture of Avery in his jammies on "Polar Express" day. Sweet baby! :-)