Fear Not Festival 2016

For Halloween, we took the family to our church for the Fear Not Festival. Stephanie volunteered and spent the evening happily painting children’s faces. Aubrey and Elijah both ended up with other friends and families, while I spent almost the whole time at the inflatables watching Joshua repeatedly go through the obstacle course over and over and over again. He loved it and didn’t care about much anything else. One of the teenagers manning the station kept asking him for a high-five as he climbed up the ladder for the final slide. His response was classic toddler talk (or drunk friend at a party). "No, "he would laugh, "Elijah has braces."

Nerf Party

Today, while Stephanie and Aubrey took a trip to Stone Mountain with Ms. Patti for a fun time at the Yellow Daisy Festival, I took the two boys to Memphis’ Birthday Party. The Theme: A Nerf Gun Party. This is my kind of celebration. I got to run around and shoot a ton of kids in the name of fun. And I was proudly the only adult (the guy running the party games doesn’t count). So as Elijah and I teamed up to get sweaty running around outside in the hot summer weather, Joshua played in the inside air-conditioning with several little girls inside with Memphis’ and Myah’s toys.

Second Grade, Here Elijah Comes

So Elijah is now in second grade. Our first impressions of his teacher were a little disappointing, seeing a lot of his friends (Lyle, David, Cassie, Brianna) wound up in Mrs. Thompson's class, and when we met Mrs. Craig she neither introduced herself nor smiled. Turns out she's a great teacher and Elijah though loves her; the fact that she gives them candy tops the lists. I told him the White Witch also gives candy... just saying.

Well within the first week or so, the students had a project to create a poster about themselves. We enjoyed his answers.

I want to be: "a mrenbiolojist" (A Marine Biologist)
I always: "will Love God"
I Love to: "play Socer"
I am good at: "Socer and writeing"
Someday, I will: "be like my Dad" (I teared up reading this one)
I love to doodle: "Navy Ships"
I like to: "swim alot"
I wish: "I could be in Mrs. Toomsin's class with my frend" (I'm sure his teacher enjoyed reading this one)

 

A week later he came home with some of his school work. He was suppose to write three declarative sentences. These were his three (The last is my favorite. It cracked us up. Apparently we make too many jokes about our lack of income):

Talk Like a Pirate 2015

Today was Talk Like a Pirate Day! And to celebrate such a widely celebrated holiday, Krispy Kreme once again gave away a dozen donuts to whoever came in dressed like a pirate. We got two dozen, gave one to the ladies at the library and shared one with some neighbors. Elijah, who had a little attitude problem missed out and had to watch the rest of us eat donuts. Stephanie and I split a pumpkin spice cake donut (so we did actually buy SOMETHING while we were there). That junk was good. Afterwards, Joshua slipped into a sugar comma with icing all over his face while we made our way to Danielsville in the van. So cute!

First Grade Finally

So I found out the night before, but I was able to go to Elijah's First Grade Awards Event. Like the Star Student Assembly, it was in the morning, just yesterday. They gave out two awards per class (so six in all) for each subject (Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Math) as well as additional awards like Reading, Writing, etc. There were also awards for Music, Art, Technology, and PE. I saw a few of Elijah's friends get awards. David for Technology, and Lyle for Math. Even little Jacob down the street got the Citizen Award. I was proud to see our oldest boy bring home both an Art Award and one for Writing.

And thank you, Mr. Cooper, for a great First Grade Year. I'm pretty sure you have to be the coolest teacher in the school, especially for all those young boys when you're a volunteer fire fighter on the side.

Awana Sparky Award

Last night was Awards and Family Night at Comer Baptist for Awana. This year Aubrey was in Cubbies with Mrs. Brittney and her husband and Ms. Shannon. I have to confess I failed to work very hard on her verses with her, but she got a few of them down through the year. Funny part on her was that half-way through the year she had told her mother after refussing to eat her dinner, "I'm just going to get snacks at Awana." Well, Daddy put an end to that. I relayed the event to her teachers, and they graciously complied to a "no snack" policy for our little girl. There were a few times she ate her dinner and was allowed some snacks during the evening. It became routine for Brittney to ask me every Wednesday, "Did Aubrey eat her dinner?" And I would say, "Nope." And she would turn to Aubrey and say, "Your killin me Smalls!"

Elijah was blessed to have Mrs. Nedra as a teacher again, along with Mrs. Margaret and Mr. John. I had watched this couple the year before lead those kids with such enthusiasm that I was really looking forward to Elijah being in that class. Last year a boy down the street go the "Sparky Award" by finishing all three of his books in one year. I remember turning to Elijah and encouraging him to go for the same. And go he did. He would listen to his CD, foregoing story time at home sometimes or even game time at Awana to work on his verses. Not only did he end up devouring all three of his Sparks books, but he also finished the first review book and was going through the third (they didn't have the second... Mr. John didn't know when they had had some one use one). So, he without question earned his plague. Awesome Job, Prophet! And thank you to all His Awana teachers and Comer Baptist for serving this community in the name of Christ.

Soccer Season 2 End

So these past few months Elijah entered his second season in soccer. We were blessed for him to once again be on coach Kevin's team, but that also meant he played up a level on the U8 (7 and 8 year olds) league. So, even though he wasn't the smallest kid, he was the youngest. And for some odd reason, Kevin asked me to be an assistant coach. He must have been hard up, but I was glad to help and it ended up being pretty fun. Not sure how effective I was one those two occasions I handled the kids without him for a practice, but it was good to learn the game a little better (thank you YouTube for the instruction and ideas). But the best part for me was getting to know each of those kids and how special God made them.

(From Left to Right, Top to Bottom) Coach Kevin with "Squeeze"; The Goallies Lydia and DeLaney; Give it his all Michael "Samples" and Haden; "Gwen" Riley "The Boot"; Carter, the defence man; Braxten (whose dad was a much more qualified assistant coach), Matthew "Highfield", and Landon; and Carter. (Missing were Bela and Kennedy)

All in all, it was a great year, and a lot of fun. We look forward to next year when "The Squeeze" puts a good boot on it and gets a goal with the same style that he nails them in during practice. Proud of you, "E"!

Star Student

Every month, Comer Elementary has a Star Assembly where they award students who have demonstrated exemplary behavior. Elijah received one award last year and another at the beginning of this school year, both for good behavior on the bus. Which, I'll be honest, isn't overly thrilling because he's on the bus for literally five minutes at a time since we live so close to the school and  are the second to last in the morning and second stop in the afternoon. I hope the kid can behave himself. However, last month he received an outstanding achievement award for art (which is quite appropriate for this family). And then this month he received the Star Student Award from his teacher, Mr. Cooper (the only male teacher in the school, a volunteer fire fighter, and thus the coolest teacher in the school).

What was really fun about this star assembly, is seeing not just Elijah, but friends Memphis (3rd from left), Maddie (6th from left), and Brianna (7th from left), all in that same line getting Star Student Awards from their teachers. There is also a short statement written by the teacher that is read out by the Principal after each name is called. Most are fairly standard, praising the student for their helpfulness, their cooperation, or some other great trait. Elijah's said that he is "a great leader in class. He consistently listens and follows directions. He also sets a good example of STAR behavior."

As a side note, Memphis' had the funniest one I've heard, praising him for his "intrigue mind" and the fact that "he asks to play outside, even when it's 32 degrees because, 'we can survive at that temperature.'"

Getting It

Friday morning, as Elijah and I were eating our breakfast cereal, Elijah proudly showed me his Christmas bag that he made at school the day before. He told me that all the other kids decorated their bags “with presents or gingerbread men,” and he was the only one that “did baby Jesus.” I love it, and I especially like the skyscraper city behind the stable, the the three wise men hiding behind the levitating Christ child. But it does make me proud and think that some of it all is getting through.

Later that day, I took off a little early to hurry home so I could take Elijah to a friend’s birthday party. We were to go to Athens to ice skate (the apparently setup a temporary ice rink in the bottom floor of the Classic Center), and then over to Haden’s house for pizza and a sleepover party. Elijah had not been ice skating before, or any skating before for that matter. But I know he’s a fearless kid, and I had confidence he would do well. He did not disappoint. Since Haden’s dad Kevin had already purchased the kids tickets, I had to go back upstairs to get mine while the kids got their skates on and got out on the ice. So once I stepped out on the ice, Elijah was already in the middle of the rink skating around. Of course, he was constantly falling down, but he was also constantly getting up. He had some pretty hard falls, and at one point I asked him if he wanted “to go in?” His response was typical Iron Squeeze, “No,” he said in anguish, “I’m okay.”

I think when I was a kid, I was the one clinging to the edge all the way around the rink, terrified to fall down. I remember when I was a teen, I was about to fall while skating, and I clung to some poor little kid to keep from falling. I remember plainly that in my head I was telling myself, “let the kid go,” but I couldn’t make myself release him until I was stable. Pretty pathetic. Yet I look at Elijah and realize how determined he is to master something, whether it be bike riding, swimming, soccer, math, His Awana Bible verses, or ice skating. In fact, he was more upset that he wasn’t able to “ice skate” (and master the skill), than he was about his bumps and bruises. He just would’t be deterred. Proud of that boy. And with a little more practice, he’ll get it.

(Funny caveat, the next day as he was sleeping in the van, he would awaken every now and then, with a whimper about his hurting leg, then fall right back to sleep).

Lighting of the Christmas Tree 2014

True to “tradition” (I use that term loosely), we decorated for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. This year I wised up and put the tree up several days earlier, then spent the several nights getting all the lights on (and then straightening our leaning tree by using twine to anchor it to the wall). It was far less stressful this way, and we got to actually decorate the whole day, and the tree was done in relative quick timing. We all enjoyed some eggnog pancakes (in the traditional Rudolph presentation), pulled out the Christmas books the kids excitedly looked through, played some of our favorite Christmas CDs, and ended the day with a movie with the kids. We watched The Polar Express, and the kids loved it.

However, I can’t help but scoff at the exaltation of the generic virtue of “believe,” as if belief or even faith is some pinnacle of existence. “It doesn’t matter where the train is going, but whether you get on.” Really? Should we just blindly trust without supporting evidence to its reliability? Is it wise to walk upon an iced lake without a knowledge of its foundational depth? Perhaps I don't have to know "where the train is going" if I can trust the conductor, but I'm not sure a strange man who sounds like every other adult and claims his trackless train is headed to the uninhabitable “North Pole” qualifies.

Soccer Squeeze, Season 1

Well, even though we lost that last game, we ended the season with a makeup game victory 6-0. The team was pulling for Elijah to score, but he ended the season without a goal. However, for his first season, he has drastically improved. He’s getting over his timidity to get in the fray, and his improved ability to kick the ball with power and accuracy has been impressive. And most importantly, he has developed a love for the game, a better understanding of teamwork, and several lessons learned (or at least opportunities for those teachable moments).

A few funny moments this season:

Since Elijah’s coach was Kevin Cheek, a friend we knew from church and familiar with Elijah’s nickname, the whole team knew Elijah as “Squeeze.” In fact, one official was under the impression that that was the team’s name after they heard the coaches and parents cheering, “Go Squeeze!”

After the last game and during our cookout celebration, Elijah’s trophy was missing from the lineup. He still got his photo with the coach, and later he got a cool T-shirt as an apology. In addition, no one else got their nickname on their trophy… a good teachable moment.

Elijah and I worked a lot together to develop his skill, and so I was often locked into the game to watch his performance. Sometimes I would just go, but there were several occasions that the whole family went to watch. On one occasion, I heard a stern, “Aubrey,” from Stephanie and turned my head to see Stephanie grabbing our daughter who had her pants around her ankle. She told us she needed to “pee.” She also told us she was “only kiddin.” I never know with her, but I could just hear Jeff Foxworthy saying, “If your daughter pulls her pants down at the soccer field to pee, you might be a redneck.”

Can’t wait for next season and what it might bring.

Comer Fair, 2014

This year’s Comer Fair was a little different this… you know, out of the three years total we’ve gone. We thought we might just go as a family and had picked the best day for us to go (Tuesday-the cheapest). But when I got home, I got a bad report in regards to my children’s behavior. Elijah was kicking the large purple ball around and knocked off a ceramic plate off the mantel. It of course broke in several pieces, to which his mother informed him he would have to pay for it. He got angry, and it escalated as it often did, even to the point of him kicking at his mother and calling her names like “stupid.” Aubrey had a little back talking of her own that day, but nothing quite so severe. I got home, and then had to make a tough decision. I even phoned my parents for some additional opinions. Do we still go to the fair? Do we just let Aubrey go? Do we just call off the whole thing?

Well, in the end I realized that Aubrey deserved a spank, but her privilege to go would never even be at risk if it had not been for Elijah’s behavior. So I was just going to take her, and let Elijah stay at home and learn a tough lesson. But when I informed him that Aubrey was going to go, and he was going to miss the Fair completely this year, he became irate, and so I just decided to send the girls out, and the boys would turn in early, despite all the screaming and yelling.

Aubrey had a wonderful evening with her mom. They stayed out pretty late, until around 9:30 (it closed at 10) when Aubrey informed her mother, “I’m ti-uhd, Mama.” When they got home, Aubrey came in with a giant smile and a half-eaten bag of cotton candy. Stephanie then told me a few cute things about the evening. She really enjoyed the Ferris Wheel and the long slide. She also seemed to really enjoy the bigger rides (the ones where she was just tall enough to go on). Last year when Elijah rode those rides, he stuck his tongue out and distorted his face like he was going to throw up. This year, the younger Aubrey held a big smile the whole night. On one particular one of these rides (where they also play all the inappropriate music), Aubrey noticed a teenage girl in front of her pointing her finger and pumping her arm in the air to the music. Perhaps believing this was an expected activity while riding, she did the same. Too cute.

And back on the home front, I spent the next hour enduring some angry words and disrespectful behavior… for a while, hoping to let Elijah vent some of his anger. In the end, I made sure he had a very unpleasant evening. We received confirmation the next week that the tough decision indeed made an impression. Elijah’s class at school read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day, and then answered the question, “What was your terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day?” I’ll give you one guess what his answer was.

But one more important aspect of the evening. Elijah and I had a good talk about the importance of respect and obedience, and the reason these consequences are a loving thing. Because the real problem isn’t the “stupid” comment, the kick, or even the broken plate, the real problem is the condition of his heart. He was willing to calm down a little and be respectful until he found out he wasn’t going to get what he wanted, and then he had a decision to make. Do I trust that my father is good (with all the many good things around me to assure me of this truth), and that he knows what’s best for me, or am I going to decide he’s a bad father who is withholding good things from me that will bring me joy? The same decision we constantly face in regards to our Heavenly Father. Because as much as I’m now an adult and father, I’m still His child.

Pirate Grub

Today was Talk Like a Pirate Day, one of my favorite holidays. And this year Krispie Kreme gave us a great opportunity to celebrate and was giving away a free donut if you ordered like a pirate, and a whole dozen if you dressed up like one. I got Aubrey dressed up, and did a little myself (mainly the hat), and so while we were out running errands, we stopped by and went in for a free box. To my surprise, they gave us a dozen for EACH pirate in attire. So we walked out with two free dozen donuts (and a few flavored ones we paid for), so we distributed a few half dozen to some neighbors. Arghh…. Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Lego Adventures

Today both Elijah and I received a wonderful birthday gift from my dear parents. Well, it was Elijah's birthday gift, but I got to go along. Grandda, myself, and Elijah (three generations of Neals) took a trip to Lenox Square to the Legoland Discovery Center. We enjoyed a small tour of how Legos are made, then hopped aboard a small interactive ride where we got to shoot at various themed bad guys with Lego modeled pistols. Afterwards, we got to build a race car and race other cars down a track. Elijah wasn't too interested, so he ended up running around the play area while I finished making mine. Several kids complimented my creation (it did look pretty cool), but it proved too top heavy and kept getting stuck on the release. Oh, well.

Elijah's really enjoyed the 4D movies (all four of them), where they integrate wind, water (for rain, waterfall spray, and giant sneezes), and snow, along with 3D glasses, to make it a multi-sensory experience. His other favorite activity was building with the giant foam Legos (which we kept coming back to), constructing houses, large pedestals and towers (as shown above). I'd love to have those at home.

Inspired by his trip, Elijah took to making his own creations the next day, like his Lego ship (top right). It was a great trip, one we all really enjoyed. Thank you Grandmommy and Grandda.

VBS

"Snack time" at VBS, which consisted of a complete meal.

So for the third time this summer, Elijah went to VBS during the week. The first time was to Hamilton Mill UMC at his Grand-Mommy and Grand-Da's church. The theme there was Weird-Animals. Several weeks later I took him to Comer Baptist's VBS with the same theme. So that week he surprised his teachers and classmates with his familiarity on the Bible Buddies. And this past week, our church Riverside Baptist had its VBS. But this time I volunteered and played camera man. So not only did I get to witness the experience, but I got to capture some of it on film... or, on an SD card (that just doesn't have the same ring to it).

First Lost Tooth

This week, Elijah has been going to Comer Baptist for VBS every night. On our way to VBS, Elijah asked, "What if my tooth falls out?" I responded, "Pick it up, just don't put it back in your mouth." He's had a few teeth in the front that were starting to wiggle. When I went to pick him up that evening, Laura, one of the girls leading the VBS, informed me, "He lost a tooth, so we put it in a bag." Sure enough, Elijah came to me with a gap in his smile.

The Big "Oh-Six" for Elijah

So today was Elijah's Birthday, and even though he threw a few selfish tantrums when he wasn't winning the games I was playing with him (I took the day off) this morning, the rest of the day went pretty well. I took him out to eat at Chili's first, since we had a free kids meal coupon. Of course, kid's meals aren't usually worth the money though. Anyway, then we went to see the Lego Movie at the "Dollar Theatre" (I guess, "Two-Fifty" isn't as fun to say). Then we went to a few thrift stores and found a nice pair of roller blades for $5, stopped by the Varsity for a Frosted Orange, then went by the park to play for a while, and finally returned home for hotdogs and some cookie cake and ice cream. Lastly we let him open his presents from us and expend a little more energy before going to bed.

Daddy-Daughter Weekend

This past weekend, Stephanie and Joshua took a trip up to Tennessee to see her mom, Elijah went to spend part of the weekend with my parents to go to the Riverside Military Parade, and Aubrey and I spent a few days--just the two of us. It was fabulous. She was a delight.

We started our Friday morning with some cereal and one of Stephanie's Apple muffins, then went into Aubrey's room to play blocks. She loved building tall towers, and then knocking them down. And I had great joy in watching her and helping to build. On one tower, I added a toper... I guess to humor myself.

I did vacuum the house, as she lay upon the couch, then we ate lunch. Apparently carrots are good dipped in milk. We then built a tent in the living room and setup camp. Then we played a bit outside, came inside to read some stories. Then ate dinner and watched a movie in our tent.

The next morning we woke up a bit earlier, and left the house around 9. We first went to Bear Hollow Zoo in Athens. She seemed to enjoy seeing all the animals, continually exclaiming, "I see mow ayimahs." The turkeys she found especially humorous, because "dey fat."

After the zoo, we walked around Memorial Park and had some fun on the playground. Then we went out to eat at the ever staple Chickfila, where she ate her fruit and drank her chocolate milk, and I ended up eating all her snubbed chicken nuggets (hey, great deal for me). Afterwards, she asked to play on the playground there. Of course, I complied, finding a seat inside the play area to watch her. At one point, she was playing around the toddler area, pushing the buttons on the zoo wall. There, a most creepy woman's voice comments and asks rhetorical questions like, "What color am I?" Is she suppose to answer that, or is this like watching Dora where we just wait out the awkward silence for her to give us the answer? However, when I heard the voice say, "Obey your mother and father," I couldn't help but respond out loud, "Push that button again." A nearby mother laughed and offered, "They should put that on continual replay."

It's also interesting how different our kids are. Whereas Elijah likes to play rough, and will wrestle with a stranger if they let him, Aubrey expressed great disapproval when a strange boy "puh my shuht (pull my shirt)." And whereas Elijah always loves being with people and is happiest when people want to play with him (something he also wrote as school), Aubrey wanted to "pay by myshelf."

Anyway, after we finished eating, my friend Dave gave me a call and invited us to join him and the family at Sandy Creek Nature Center. So we did, taking another walk around the woods, and then visiting their Nature Center which exhibited turtles and fish in their tanks, an active bee hive that you can observe the inside through glass, along with educational propaganda to encourage energy conservation and recycling (I'm all for that stuff too, I just think its funny).

Then we made our trek back home to let the dogs out and finally go over to pick up Elijah.

Snow Days 2014

So the end of January and the beginning of February of this year have brought two "winter storms." It would probably make our friends and relatives up north laugh, but in Georgia, several inches (or millimeters for that matter) will shut everything down. So Elijah has barely had any school lately with all the snow days (at least four at this point).

But last storm (a few weeks ago, see video below) brought lots of fluffy snow that didn't stick too well at first until it started melting. This was Aubrey's and Joshua's first snow (Elijah got three good ones his first three years of life). We did play outside twice, and Stephanie brought Joshua out for a few minutes for a few pictures. I also had a few short snowball fights with the two older ones and I helped Elijah build a snowman. Oh, and Aubrey ate LOTS of snow.

I guess we'll see what this second one will continue to bring, but the snow today was great, and we built an even bigger snowman this time. Actually, it was a snow Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Not the best, but it was complete with a shaped nose, bandana, and a cardboard shell. I'm just glad it came together. I almost wasn't able to get the second body layer on top of the first (it weighed a little more than expected). Here's Elijah posing with his ninja stance.

Christmas 2013

PART 1, December 21

Top Left: Elijah is looking at his new easel and Battleship game (which his parents enjoyed playing later)
Top Right: Aubrey is sporting her new Rudolph glow nose.
Bottom Left: Joshua is showing off his Christmas Hat while checking out his new plush talking Dusty (the plane)
Bottom Right: Steve and Kimberly watch the kids as Courtney is probably texting (that all too familiar glow).

So we started the Christmas Festivities on December 21 over at the Shulman house in Dacula. But before we headed that way in the afternoon, I started the morning in Colbert at my Men's Bible Study (like every Saturday), but then went back home to pick Elijah up to take him with me to our service project (building a new wheel chair ramp for a family). Can't say he helped as much as I would have liked... hope that just comes in time. Then he and I did a little last minute Christmas shopping for his lovely mother. Then we came back home to get ready to go to our Christmas #1.

Steve an Kimberly had quite a few presents for our little ones. And Elijah could hardly contain himself through dinner preparation and the meal. He kept pulling out the boxes and finding his name on tags. He kept pulling out the boxes and finding his name on tags. Needless to say neither kid was very interested in food. So after we tried to enjoy a delicious meal together, we let the children open their presents.

Elijah has already been enjoying his new planes and keeps bugging me to put up his cool plane display shelf. Both kids have loved their sleeping bag and just had to bring the along to Tennessee. Talking Optimus has been a hit, but the little girl has taken to it more than her brother. Elijah has already put together his legos, and can't wait to see the TMNT movie. Aubrey absolutely loved her Hello Kitty pajamas, and wore them several times over the next week.

And Steve and Kimberly were so sweet and got us a new grill. Can't wait to give that a try--and Stephanie more so (but I have to put it together first). Thank you so much, guys.

PART 2, December 22

Elijah and Aubrey play with Aubrey's new doll house. Aubrey wonders what the world would look like through Obi-Wan's eyes. Elijah looks at his new TMNT toothbrush that he pulled from his puppy stocking. The most creative Christmas pancake that Mama makes.

Well, we got back late, and neglected to even tell the kids that we were going to open presents and stockings here at home the next morning. So once Aubrey got us up (she's always the first one up), we woke Elijah and Joshua up and moved into the Living Room to see what Santa brought. Elijah got a new desk for art and schoolwork from us, and then presented him with all the dress-up stuff that Chuck and Jill and their boys gave us. We gave Aubrey a big doll house (the kind that has no front and just sits agains a wall), and presented her with lots of Kitchen stuff from Chuck and Jill (Thank you so much guys). Once the guys looked through their stockings (candies, puzzles, toothbrushes and a cup, legos, some art supplies, etc.) and opened a few presents, we at a festive pancake breakfast.

We got to relax a little before we started getting ready for our trip. We were planning on getting out of here around 4 so we could make the Christmas Service at The Church at Southside, but even though we worked hard, it just couldn't make it out of here on time. So we ended up leaving after 5 and getting to my parents for a wonderful meal of Chicken Pot Pie. Once again, Elijah kept trying to examine the presents to find which ones were his. So we got the kids in bed, with them anticipating the next round of gifts.

Part 3, December 23

Grand-Mommy enjoying her boys. Aubrey opening her new RaggedyAnn and Andy book. Grand-Da taking pictures. Elijah showing off one of his new Bumblebee figure.

So we got up in the morning, still having to wake Elijah up (he's such a great sleeper). The kids were excited to open yet more presents. I messed with Elijah and handed him everybody else's presents to hand out before giving him his. He acted all dejected at each gift until I handed him his stack. He was most excited about his Bumblebee Rescue Bots (these guys have gotten lots of play time). We had an enjoyable morning, and we surely loved all the wonderful gifts. So we spent more time that morning loading the car back up, then we left shortly after lunch for Tennessee.

Part 4, December 23-25

The Family Afternoon Service at Brentwood Baptist Church. Aubrey, such a doll in her Christmas dress (worn two years in a row). Elijah with his decorated gingerbread man. The 11:00 Christmas Eve service at Brentwood Methodist Church.

Well, the trip to Tennessee was great. The kids slept a lot of the way, and we didn't have stop at all. So once we got to Tennessee, G-Mommy made some delicious home-made chicken-and-dumplings. Afterwards, the kids made Christmas cookies with G-Mommy. The kids weren't too messy, but lots of sprinkles were used in the process. It was hard to keep this kids focused with the enormous new television in the living room constantly calling to them. Of course, it could have been a 13 inch black and white television and it would have still beckoned them.

It was pretty late when we got the kids in bed. Elijah and Aubrey slept together on the air mattress. It didn't take Elijah long to go to sleep after we told them to stop talking, even though he was excited and Aubrey kept crawling over him. But our little girl kept getting out of bed (even more than usual), and we had to go in there probably a dozen times.

Anyway, so the next day, Christmas Eve, we had our evening packed. We went to the early Christmas Eve Service at the Baptist Church with my sister and her family. It was enjoyable, but we got there a few minutes late, the place was packed, and trying to sit through any service, even a short one with kids all around, can be a little distracting. Then we all went over to their house for a wonderful dinner of chicken tortilla soup (It was most yummy, yummy). There we decorated gingerbread men, and then took the kids back to G-Mommy's house to get them in bed.

Then, Stephanie and I were privileged enough to go out on a date and actually enjoy a Christmas Eve Service, just the two of us. We went to Brentwood Methodist Church, a large traditional building with stained glass windows and giant organ pipes. The pastor there had moved there only a year ago from the Methodist church in Lawrenceville and had married Steve and Kimberly last November. It was probably the most beautiful service I've been to. The Sanctuary was spectacular. I usually don't even enjoy choirs, but this one which was made up of probably 100 youth (high school and college) and was spectacular, and combined with soloists and a small orchestra made for the most beautiful worship music including Hallelujah and It Is Well. Pastor Davis Chappell's sermon was wonderful, and we sat next to a nice couple who made us feel most welcome. It made a perfect Christmas Eve.

When we got back, we watched a little Elf, and then went to bed. The next morning we woke up to celebrate Christmas morning at G-Mommy's.

Aubrey enjoying her new skating Dora and Boots. Elijah, checking out another Rescue Bot. Joshua, laid back as ever, just enjoying the show. Elijah and Aubrey enamored by the television.

The kids were excited (I guess it never gets old) to open all their presents. Elijah had not stopped touching all the presents as soon as we arrived, and so he was thrilled to finally open them. Aubrey racked up with playsets, figures, and yet more cute clothes. I think her favorite was the skating Dora and Boots toy. Elijah got a hand-painted Movie Night box filled with popcorn, candy, and a TMNT DVD from Uncle Greg and Aunt Riya (you guys know the way to his heart-the kid loves movie night).

Thank you everyone for being so generous with your gifts and most of all your time this Christmas. We enjoyed spending time with everyone.