Saturday, December 27, 2014

Twas The Weekend Before Christmas

Twas the weekend before Christmas and all through SC,
  our creatures were stirring and visiting Grandma's house.  
 Our goodies were unwrapped and a trip to the zoo was had,
 surrounded by cousins and everyone was so glad!
 Gran cooked up a meal,
 while Pop gave stockings....
 all gifts were a given and unwrapped with delight,
 and our two littles finally napped - what a good night!
The SC marathon was filled with lots of go, go, go, and we were all so excited to be with family for Christmas.  We began our weekend with the Hook family Christmas.  Nineteen years ago, Ryan took me to this event for the first time - mind you, we had only known one another for less than a month!  We sat down and his cousin came over and asked when we were planning to marry!  I am most positive that I didn't even know Ryan's last name at this point! 
Following the Hook Christmas, we gathered at Ryan's parents' house to share gifts with them.  A fabulous time was had by all and then we were off to the zoo to see the Christmas lights - another long-had tradition!  The children busied themselves running through the zoo jumping on the many animal statues that can be found. We ended our evening with a carousel ride followed by a short trek to Gran and Pop's for a much needed night of rest.
Bright and early Sunday morning, we arose and made our way to church with Gran and Pop.  The service flew by and before we knew it, we were on our way back to open more gifts, eat more food, and just be merry with family.  All goodbyes were said and Merry Christmas wishes were spoken!  We buckled in for a ride back to Georgia and made a stop to see our good friends, the Wileys.  We did a fun little Christmas light scavenger hunt - a new tradition I am sure! With the girls winning this time, yogurt treats were in store!  
We made our way home that evening and we all fell into bed so thankful for the time spent with family/friends and so tired beyond belief!

**I should note that Miss Maryn wasn't feeling so well.  Turns out, she was diagnosed on Monday with double pnuemonia and a double ear infection - ack!  Thankfully, she recovered quickly once meds were administered!  

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Christmas 2014

The Christmas season is in full swing in our home and the traditions continued this week beginning with our gingerbread houses....
 our sweet neighbors joined in on the fun....
 we had a boy house turned drizzle castle....
 and a little one who was busy taking candy from the decorating supplies....
 I love the differences between boys and girls....our boys were all about decorating the house as a whole while the girls were busy assigning specific walls on the house that each girl was responsible for placing the candied goodies on....
 a friend gave the girls some goodies this week....Maddox is all about some good dress-up attire!
 Even during schooltime, the dress-up fun isn't left out....
The girls have been practicing their Nutcracker dance routines and we were given the opportunity to watch in the classes....Maddox tends to get a bit shy in these situations.... 
 but our MK was in full shine mode!
 She was so proud to show us her candy cane dance....

 even after an afternoon of visiting the orthodontist and getting her palate expander positioned in, she was still smiling!
 Friday evening our family volunteered during a Steven Curtis Chapman concert....we received a grant for Maryn's adoption through his organization, Show Hope.  We were thrilled to have an opportunity to assist in making more people aware of the children who wait to come home forever.
In addition to SCC, we danced the night away to Brandon Heath and Third Day.  Maddox said, "Mom, this is the best rock concert ever!"