On Friday, December 14, we went up the road to a nearby church to drive through their live nativity scene. We weren't sure what to expect since it was a drive-through thing but it ended up being neat! There were several different stops, and the whole thing lasted about 10 minutes. The kids liked it but they did not want their windows down! They were most interested in seeing Baby Jesus.

Speaking of Baby Jesus, they have been doing a lot of role play lately and they are loving playing the roles of Mary and Joseph, and they have a pile of pine straw outside that is Baby Jesus. And Lucy is always a camel. :) It is so funny (and fun!) to listen to them play!

On the 15th, Scott and I got to go to an adult's only party! It was a lot of fun - many thanks to Dianne for watching the kids so we could have a fun night out. We were pretty tired the next day (we didn't get home until 1 am) but it was worth it!

On Sunday, the 16th, we took the kids to a children's Christmas party. They had a great time decorating cookies, cupcakes, watching Polar Express and playing with someone else's toys.

On the 19th, they had their Christmas Program at school. They were both sheep during the program but were supposed to wear white to school. I was surprised they both came out in costume because Fischer was upset he wasn't a donkey and Addison just didn't want to wear it. I guess peer pressure pays off sometimes. Sadly, the videos I took did not turn out at all - they are all completely blurry and you can't see a thing. So, so sad.

It's impossible to see them, but in the picture above, Fischer is on the left and Addison is in the middle. They did an awesome job with their songs! With the other 3 year olds, they sang 2 songs and then sang 2 more with the 4 year old class. Addison's spot on stage was front and center, while Fischer's was right in front of his teacher. Not a coincidence, I'm sure. :)  But both got very into the songs and were so proud afterwards. They got to come home early that day and then their Christmas break officially started!

We've had several rainy days so far, which is kind of a bummer. But one day, all 3 kids (Lucy included) pressured me into letting them outside to play. They had the best time getting wet and muddy, and all 3 came right in and got baths (Lucy actually got a shower). It's amazing how much good some fresh air can do, even if it's wet and muddy!




And that brings us to tonight - Christmas Eve! I can't wait until tomorrow morning. We'll see what time the kids get up - they are SO excited!

At school, the kids sing blessing each day before eating snack.  We aren't quite sure what Addison's sounds like but Fischer proudly sings his each night before dinner. He wants to sing alone and is quick to remind us to bow our heads, close our eyes and put our hands together.

And, the cutest thing is how he pronounces some of the words. I really love hearing it each night!
The words are supposed to be:

God our Father
God our Father
We thank you
We thank you
For our many blessings
For our many blessings
Amen
Amen

Fischer says:

God ow Fodder
God ow Fodder
We sink you
We sink you
For ow many bwessings
For ow many bwessings
Amen
Amen

Love it :)

This past Sunday (December 16) we headed to Scott's VFW for their annual Christmas event. We'd heard Santa was going to be there so we were anxious to meet up with him!

Addison has said for months that she would not be sitting on Santa's lap this year (she didn't last year either). We told her it was up to her, and I was hoping she'd change her mind. But, she didn't... and there was no point in forcing her because she gets so nervous in those types of situations. She was happy to stand back with me and wave.

Fischer, on the other hand, could hardly wait to sit on Santa's lap. He hopped up there, said "My name is Fischer and I want a laser for Christmas." He has been talking about seeing Santa and telling him about this laser for weeks. Since Scott and I aren't quite sure what type of laser he is talking about, Christmas morning could be a little disappointing, but hopefully not!

So, after they saw Santa, they got to walk over to the tree and pick out a toy from the many different ones. Fischer looked back at Santa and said "Where's my laser?" He totally thought that the laser would magically appear right after he said it to Santa. So funny. He wound up picking a snack, which we thought was a rubber snake. Turns out it was a giant sucker shaped like a snake. We let him try a little bit of it later that day. Addison picked a Marshmallow gun - a hot pink gun that shoots marshmallows. They were happy with their choices!

After seeing Santa they made ornaments, which are now hanging on our tree. Then they got to eat some cookeis, and head outside to run off the sugar.

After picking a goody bag, then sitting in the fire truck, it was time to head home.

It was a fun time and I'm sure we will go again next year!

We've had a busy, fun-filled December so far!

Here's just some of what we've been up to!

I got to go on a shopping weekend with some other girls over the first weekend! I had a nice, relaxing time and came home feeling refreshed. Scott and the kids had some fun of their own back at home! They got to go eat lunch at Whole Foods (pizza for Fischer, wings for Addison) and got to play with Rylan when Mike and Mr. Mark came over (Irish and Melissa were with me on the shopping trip).

We went to bed late both nights on our trip, which happened to be at the beach. I still got up early both mornings - I just can't sleep in anymore. But it helped that I was waking up to this view!

A couple of weekends ago, on Saturday, December 8, we went to the Christmas parade in Camden. It was our one and only parade this year but it was fun! The kids came home with quite a stash of candy, which has been added to our treat bowl (which still has candy from Halloween in it!). While we were waiting on the parade to start, the kids sipped on some hot chocolate. :)

We've been spending a lot of time playing around the house too. The kids have been dressing up...

Eating Christmas PB&Js....

Practicing their writing (this is Addison's work!)...

And tonight, Fischer practiced some spelling. I asked him how to spell "Lucy" and he said "L-I-C." Obviously that's not correct but I thought it was a pretty good attempt at sounding out the letters!

Addison and Fischer have been playing so well together lately! I'm curious how the next couple of weeks go since they won't get their normal time apart at school. It's funny to listen to them play... lately they've been pulling suitcases and other things around saying they are going on vacation - usually to the beach. Fischer likes to lay with his hands behind his head and say "aaah, it's a beautiful day at the beach."

While it's great that they play together and keep each other entertained, it's not so relaxing for me... they like to get into things together and even encourage each other. I often find them playing in the water in the bathroom, or climbing things they shouldn't be. They definitely keep me alert and on my toes. :)

Tomorrow morning is their Christmas program at school - I can't wait and am hoping to get it on video!

Sunday after Thanksgiving we met up with Nixie to do a photo shoot for Christmas! Luckily the weather was good but it was COLD! There was still some ice around when we got there, and of course we couldn't wear jackets because they would cover up our outfits! :)

I was a little nervous because Addison and Fischer were quite uncooperative during our photo shoot back in June. I went armed with candy canes and kit-kats this time and that seemed to do the trick! Actually, they were having a great time and an hour flew by and Nixie got some great shots.

Here are a few of the many she took. 

 Once again, I am going to try and play catch up! :)

Going all the way back to Thanksgiving... 

The kids had a Thanksgiving "feast" at their school. Their feast included chicken nuggets, which made Fischer extremely happy! They dressed up in little pilgrim outfits that day too - I'm hoping one of their teachers got a picture for me! 

Addison did get to wear her festive pumpkin shirt, even though she was mad at me for making her wear a shirt and skirt rather than a dress. :)

As usual, we stayed home for Thanksgiving and hosted a small gathering at our house. My parents, my Grandma and Jim and Dianne came for dinner. My parents and Grandma were here most of the day so that was fun! The kids loved all of the extra attention!

Scott smoked two turkeys this year, and they were very tasty!

He also cooked some collard greens that we grew in our very own garden! The kids had fun helping him cut them, wash them, tear them up and throw them into the pot!

Saturday after Thanksgiving we went to get our Christmas trees. Like last year, we got 3 smaller trees - 2 are inside and 1 is on our front porch. We put the 2 smaller ones inside up on top of our cabinets beside our TV. We did it last year to keep Addison and Fischer out of the trees and this year to keep Lucy out of the trees. I'm hoping to have a "traditional" floor tree next year because I have some fun ideas. I actually want to do several throughout the house! :)

That Saturday was also Carolina/Clemson day so we went tree-searching in our garnet and black!