Christmas Has Begun

As the girls get older, each Christmas is getting more and more exciting.  They are really excited about Christmas this year, and all the Christmas related activities we've been doing.  One of those Christmas things they enjoy is our Elf, Scarecrow.  I think the rule was to get him out the day after Thanksgiving, but I forgot about it.  Also, he's supposed to move every day, but I forget (sometimes for a couple days in a row).  So, if they ask me why he's in the same spot, I just say that he was really tired, so he didn't want to move that day.  It's hard thinking of creative ways to position that thing!  Rosie kept asking me about the cereal box, because she remembered that he was in the cereal box last year.  So, he already ended up in the box, and I've already run out of ideas for him!  Matthew even looks for him now, and when you ask him where the Elf is, he'll point to wherever it is that day.  I won't bore you with a bunch of pictures of what Scarecrow has already done, but the girls did really like this one:

So far, we've been to two tree lightings.  We went to the Suwanee 'Holly Jolly-Day event, but it was kind of a bust, since it was drizzly, and Santa didn't even come out until after 8pm!  We got some popcorn, cookies and hot chocolate, waited in line forever for Santa who never showed up, made bead necklaces, then left.  On our way out, at about 8, we saw Santa still waiting in the little train to 'appear'.  The girls got to say hi to him and that was it!  The next day, we went to Sugar Hill's tree lighting and Santa meet.  This one was much better, since it wasn't raining.  It was a little chilly, but the kids didn't mind.  Rosie ended up going to work with Scott that day, so it was just Emily, Matthew, me and Grandma.  We waited in line for pictures with Santa and I thought Emily would become stone faced, but she actually enjoyed her quick time with him, smiled for the pictures, and thanked him.  Matthew, on the other hand, HATED Santa!!  The tears were flowing down his face within half a second of getting on his lap!  The pictures were free, and they're mailing them to us, so I'll have to add them to this when I get them.  For now, I've got a couple that Grandma was able to take while they were with Santa, it was just hard at her angle to get clear pictures.

Christmas time means it's time for Christmas cards, and taking pictures to put in those cards.  Any time I try to take nice, posed pictures of the kids, it is SO exhausting.  Getting them dressed, getting them positioned, getting Matthew to stay in one place for more than 2 seconds, and then getting them all to look at the camera and smile at the same time.  I'm exhausted just typing about it!  To make it even harder for me, I did one session on one day, then decided I didn't like the dress I had on Emily, and there wasn't a single picture where the kids looked posed and smiling right, so I did the whole thing over again the next day!  Here's a couple of the runners up, but didn't quite make it on the card:

AND, the best picture, which really should have been the one I put in the Christmas cards...

To finish off this post, I need to talk about something I've never talked about on my blog before...Jesus. Now that the girls are going to a Christian preschool, they're being exposed to many things we haven't exposed them to before, about religion, and God, and Jesus.  The artwork they bring home is the cutest I've ever seen, including these nativity scenes they brought home yesterday.  I bring this up because the girls are doing something I hadn't expected...they're reminding us of the real reason for Christmas!

I hope everyone is enjoying the excitement of the holiday and the fun of December!

Until next time,
Mrs. J