7 Dec ~ Santa's little helper

....that's good, because she is definitely not mommy's helper! She is her own little tornado. Gotta love her. This is her new smile. Isn't it beautiful? Seriously.... lol.

4-6 Dec ~ Sin City, Baby!

Seriously, I had a TEAM of helpers breakdown the party and clean-up in record time, just so I could make a mad dash to the airport to catch a flight to Vegas. My hubby put together a couples weekend in Sin City and pulled out all the stops. We had an absolute blast!! We stayed at the Wynn (would HIGHLY recommend it), ate at incredible restaurants in private rooms (somehow my man even thought about the details...lol), the men golfed, the women were pampered, we all gambled and parties too hard.... but the highlight of the weekend and the real reason he planned the trip was to see Ron White. Those who don't know him... he's completely irreverent, but we adore him. Anyway, we had tried to see him locally but couldn't get tickets, so we found his next show was in Vegas. That's all it took. We were off....
Met by the limo bus for our crew.


Just the girls:Crazy times.... late nights...
Day 2.... Christy and I pretty much checked into the spa for the afternoon and then, headed for a late snack, shopped, gambled..... mommy loves her slots.... and then, hurried to get ready for the nighttime festivities. We had a blast together.... thank the Lord she went with me!
the big man and me...
The whole group before the show:
Waiting for Ron White to come on. I just want to insert that that man is absolutely hilarious!!!!! It was a roll on the floor good time.

4 Dec ~ Mom's League Christmas Party

Today I had the honor of chairing the Christmas Party for the GCS Mom's League... a lot of time and thought went into it. Because the budget was extremely limited we had to get creative and make a lot the goodies ourselves. I had a great time with several of the ladies (now sweet friends) getting ready for today. I was so happy that everything went seamlessly....and it seemed everyone had a great time!


Here are a bunch of photos from the day...

(I loved these little guys...)
This was the table where the kiddos wrote their letters to Santa and put them in the mailbox headed to the North Pole. The children received personalized letters back from Santa with a "nice certificate" that arrived on their doorstep Christmas Eve.

Here the kiddos decorated their cookie for Santa.

And of course, the Big Blue Choo Choo, which is by far the favorite part (ok, maybe next to Santa)...
This was Pushcart Alley.
And the line for Santa...
The coloring tables

Our time with the Big Man...



Sailer and her cookie...
Sailer making her ornament for her tree:
with daddy's help...
The fun pics...

My very least favorite part of the day....
Santa reading the Night Before Christmas to the kids.
And singing carols with Santa... they loved to get to sing into the mike!
[I just adore this photo of my friend, Sherilyn's, little girl in awe of Santa.]
A little parting gift.

3 Dec ~ Sweet girl

I love that Sailer now wants to "pose" for her morning picture. And so the Christmas flair continues...

2 Dec ~ Home sick again

We are basically at home in preparation for a Christmas party coming up on Friday, so we pretty much just stayed in and worked.... not to mention, my little baby girl is sick AGAIN!

But I had to grab a photo of my little "Bad Santa" baby...
And this poor little girl who doesn't feel so hot today.... why does the sick bug love my house so much???

1 Dec ~ It's Here!!

CHRISTMAS! Ok... December, but I consider the whole of December as Christmas.

I've always loved Christmas. I love to decorate for it. I love the parties. I love the food. I adore receiving Christmas cards. I love the family time. And I love that we are reminded about why we're here. But now that I have children, my love for the Christmas season has been magnified to a whole other level. They make everything more fun and worth all the effort. I love to see the sheer glee on their face with each new holiday surprise. I love making new traditions with them.

These two little faces are the best gifts I've ever received.