We have been really busy doing lots of fun Christmas activities this month. I have taken thousands of pictures that I will probably never be able to scrapbook, so I thought I would post them for someone to be able to see. Just click on the link for each activity and it will take you to the pics for that day. Click on the first thumbnail and then click the next button to scroll through all the pictures in each photo album. Hope you enjoy...
The day after Thanksgiving we kicked off our Christmas festivities with a trip to the North Pole on the Polar Express. But first we had cake to celebrate Holly's b-day! We wore our jammies, rode the train, visited with Santa, ate cookies and milk, and sang carols. A good time was had by all and it really got everyone into the Christmas Spirit! I have some good video that I am having trouble downloading, but I will keep trying...
December 1-Since Bailey is so small and we celebrate Christmas in Baton Rouge I was going to pass on decorating this year, but I decided we needed just a few. I thought we could put out only unbreakable items. Weeellll after decorating alllll day...we ended up with 5 trees, the snowman collection arranged, and the stocking all hung by the chimney with care. It was a really great day DECORATING with the girls!
December 3- My sweet hubby stayed home until after lunch to watch the girls that were sick with the sniffles, so I could go to my Bible Study Christmas Luncheon...it was a very special time as usual! Thanks Nancy for always spoiling your girls each year for Christmas. I/We feel truly blessed to have a spiritual mama like you to lead us in studying God's Word!
December 4- Bailey and I had lunch at Jim and Nick's with Meme B...thank you I had a super great time, the food was really good, and I LOVE my birthday scarf....it is beautiful! Thanks again for remembering my special day!
December 5- The FBIRA threw a Christmas party at the Summit Club...31 stories above the city. The food was really yummy especially the shrimp n' grits! We danced and had drinks, but NO DESSERT! Soooo...after the party a few of us headed over to Bottega for some excellent bread pudding and coffee. 
We had Elizabeth (Thanks Girl) come to babysit and the girls had a great time making a Gingerbread house. Hopefully they behaved. We strolled on home around 12:30...so much fun!
We had Elizabeth (Thanks Girl) come to babysit and the girls had a great time making a Gingerbread house. Hopefully they behaved. We strolled on home around 12:30...so much fun!December 6- Hubbs left for New York. The McCaleb girls came over and picked us up for the Alabaster Christmas Parade. The little girls stayed here with JM and the big girls and the mamas went to the brave the cold at the parade. It was REALLY cold, but we had a fun time throwing candy and singing carols. Afterward, we picked up the babies and then went over to Cracker Barrel for some brunch and coffee. We stayed for a long while, made a huge mess, and then went Christmas shopping. It was a really nice day even though we missed daddy!
December 7- We went to church w/o daddy, then to Los Arcos for lunch, and then out for some more Christmas Shopping with our sweet friends. After shopping, we rewarded ourselves with Starbucks! The Mammas had coffee and gingerbread and the girls had hot chocolate and banana bread. More shopping and then after a couple of meltdowns we decided to call it a day...when is daddy coming home?
December 8- A special play date to make Christmas ornaments at Painted by U. After working up an appetite with all that painting, we headed over to Mickey D's for some fries, nuggets, for the girls and a double cheeseburger for me. The weather was pretty good, so we were able to play outside for a little while.
December 10- Happy Birthday Brian and Kim...I hope you had a great day! We had storytime in Pelham, Chick-fil-a for lunch, and then home for a nap! Later we met friends for dinner at Habanero's and then went to watch the Live Nativity at church. 
Brooke was amazed! Baby Jesus (Will H.) did great and our sheep friend is an incredible baaa-er! ;-)
Brooke was amazed! Baby Jesus (Will H.) did great and our sheep friend is an incredible baaa-er! ;-)December 11- I had a staff Christmas luncheon at the Kitt's given by the delicious hostess Nancy. There, we had a super Italian themed lunch! It filled me up for the entire day and I didn't even have to eat supper. ;-) Brooke's Pre-K class had a Baby Jesus Party at the same time. Mrs. Rockett snapped a few pics for me. They ate cupcakes and created a special nativity scene during craft time. Hopefully Cookie is starting to understand the real reason for the season!
December 12- Today we went to the mall Seeking Santa....we took pictures with the big guy, had lunch in the food court, and then made some moose at Build-a-Bear. It was a super fun morning. Later that night daddy came home!!! We met him at Pizza Pro for dinner. Back at home, we found letters in the mailbox from Santa and special gifts from Daddy's trip. Yay....we are so glad you are home, Daddy!
December 13-Another date night, YAY!! Mrs. Connie (Thank you so much!) came over to keep the girls and daddy and I went on a double date. The Keys picked us up and we headed over to a No Grinches Allowed Party. The crab claws were to die for...actually all the food was pretty darn good...and I drank up or spilled ALL the White Zinfandel in the house. I even won a door prize...a book...How the Grinch Stole Christmas and my Brookie loves it. We finally made it home around midnight. Miss Brookie was still up and we all didn't get to bed for a while.
Boy do I love going out on a hot date with my honey! And I would like to take this opportunity to give a special shout out to our DD....who made it all possible...thanks y'all!
December 14-Whew...a busy day followed by a late night, but we can hang! Church and then lunch with special friends at Joe's Italian. We finished lunch around 2:30PM and then home for a short nap. I brought some Jim n Ni
ck's over to a friend that just had a baby and then back home to pick up daddy and the girls to go to ZOOLIGHT SAFARI at the Birmingham Zoo. We met friends there and had a nice time. I even got this cute video of the girls dancing! (Be sure to pause the music on the blog, so you can hear the Christmas light show music!)
After Zoolights we stopped at Cheesecake Factory for a late dinner and some yummy Cheesecake!
ck's over to a friend that just had a baby and then back home to pick up daddy and the girls to go to ZOOLIGHT SAFARI at the Birmingham Zoo. We met friends there and had a nice time. I even got this cute video of the girls dancing! (Be sure to pause the music on the blog, so you can hear the Christmas light show music!)After Zoolights we stopped at Cheesecake Factory for a late dinner and some yummy Cheesecake!
December 15-The Andrew Peterson Concert at Oak Mountain was fabulous and then out for some breakfast and coffee at IHOP. :-) Thank you friend for inviting me... What a great way to spend a rainy night!
December 16-This day, I attended a staff brunch at church. I brought a sausage casserole (thanks to the help of my honey)and ate way too many goodies....again! We drew names earlier in the month and exchanged gifts at the brunch. My gift was awesome....a silver reindeer figurine and a gift certificate for a manicure. Thank you Ginger, you rock! (See I wasn't so hard to buy for ;)
December 17- This was another one of those really busy days! We started off the morning at the Alabaster Library Christmas Party. There we visited with Santa, rode the horse and carriage, and then decorated ginger bread cookies. The girls even wore their gingerbread dresses for the occasion! After the party we headed over to Chick-fil-a and had some lunch. Next, we went home for a quick nap and then daddy came home from work. We all went to music night at church where we listened to and sang carols. Afterward there was a reception that had tons of homemade cookies. Another special special Christmas tradition for our family. And after this year Brooke is expecting Daddy to get up on "the stage" with her and sing a song for Christmas 09...I really hope she can talk him into it!
December 18-More parties....this time it was Brooke's MDO and dance party! By the end of the day I was pooped and hadn't even packed to first thing to go to Baton Rouge for 10 days! We decided to leave on the 19th.
December 19- We headed to BR for a little rest and relaxation!! Hopefully...maybe? The drive was uneventful and we stopped at our new favorite stop in Meridian....China Buffet II. It is always a good break during the drive. They even have 8 different flavors of old fashioned Blue Belle ice cream for dessert. We finally made it after about 6.5 hours of driving....BR is so far!
December 21-We had a day of settling in and now its is time for more Christmas fun...church, out to lunch, and presents with Poppy . Then, a girls night out for me....I met up with some high school friends for a little Christmas Reunion....too fun, too fun I tell ya!
December 22- 
We spent this day with sweet friends for some last minute Christmas shopping, dinner at Calendar's, and lots of playtime. Isn't reindeer Aiden cute?
We spent this day with sweet friends for some last minute Christmas shopping, dinner at Calendar's, and lots of playtime. Isn't reindeer Aiden cute?December 23-It's Christmas Eve Eve!!!!! Today we spent the day with Mimi running last minute errands. Of course we enjoyed some time playing at Mimi's store and eating pizza. Tomorrow~Santa is coming to town....FINALLY!!!!
December 24-We spent this day playing with cousin Peyton and baking goodies for Santa. That evening we went to eat out and to candlelight communion. The service always includes reading the Christmas story, communion, and then lighting the candles to sing Silent Night. Back at Mimis, the girls got to open a few presents. We had baths and then Brooke made a huge plate of goodies and a mug of milk for Santa. Daddy read "The Night Before Christmas" and then it was off to dreamland for the girls. And you know mom and dad had to stay up late doing you know what...thank goodness our girls are not early risers!
December 25- Woke up late...watched the girls in awe of their Santa stuff, got dressed and then opened presents with the Ardoin family. After a while we had a big Christmas feast and then we all vegged out on the couch while the kids ran wild!
December 26-Mom and I went to see Marley and Me at the theater. It was soooooo good! While we were at the show, Hubby and the girls made a run to LSU to meet some friends and see Mike the tiger. After visiting with Mike and friends, they went to Baskin and Robbins for some ice cream.
Later that evening, Mimi was our sitter and we had yet another date night. Oh yeah...I think that makes 3 for the month which is totally amazing considering that we have probably not had 3 in the last year. And let me tell you....this girl was lovin' it! We met friends at Metizo's Grill for some Louisiana Mexican food~think pricey Mexican seafood and really strong margaritas~yeah it was really fun and they even let you order margaritas to go and that is exactly what we did! We took our margaritas over to the Graphia''s (their kids were off at grandparents) where my sweet friend raided her girl's closet and gave me tons of new/used summer dresses for Brooke. Then, we spend the rest of the night chatting with the guys on the back porch and playing the Wii. So much fun...thanks y'all for having us over and thanks mom for babysitting!
Later that evening, Mimi was our sitter and we had yet another date night. Oh yeah...I think that makes 3 for the month which is totally amazing considering that we have probably not had 3 in the last year. And let me tell you....this girl was lovin' it! We met friends at Metizo's Grill for some Louisiana Mexican food~think pricey Mexican seafood and really strong margaritas~yeah it was really fun and they even let you order margaritas to go and that is exactly what we did! We took our margaritas over to the Graphia''s (their kids were off at grandparents) where my sweet friend raided her girl's closet and gave me tons of new/used summer dresses for Brooke. Then, we spend the rest of the night chatting with the guys on the back porch and playing the Wii. So much fun...thanks y'all for having us over and thanks mom for babysitting!
December 28- Home again home again doodley doo! What an incredible Christmas~Thank You God for Your Son~and a fun holiday season....I am sad that it is all over, but look forward to a calmer new year. And I especially can't wait to see what God has in store for this family in 2009. I pray that whatever it is He will give me the strength and grace to love Him through it and give Him all the glory, glory!
Hope you had a Fairy Merry Christmas and will have a New Year that's even better!
