10,9,8.....

....the only way I am going to see midnight is if the Peach Bowl is still on and my team is winning. It's going to be a night of pajamas and football at our house. 2010 was a great year. We are thankful for all of our blessings and hope that things only get better 2011. I hope you all enjoyed our adventures here at the House house. Best wishes for a wonderful new year! See you in 2011.

A tale of two stockings

Mom has made Christmas stockings for every child, grandchild, niece, nephew and anyone else she can find for the last 40 or so years. The stocking on the left is 33 years old and the stocking on the right is about a month old. My original and much loved stocking, has been missing since our move from Greensboro to Concord and this year I finally asked my mom for a new one. I mean, it made sense since the 3 other stockings were larger and more up to date. I was saddened by the disappearance of my original stocking, but glad to see the new updated one with the "Ginger House" on it.  As I packed away the Christmas goodies today, I sorted through a box of miscellaneous items and found my  beloved 33 year old stocking! Ahhh, my plan has worked. Just kidding. I am grateful to have found the original and so delighted to have the new and improved version as well. The best of both worlds. Thanks Momma.

Snow day

Yesterday we dragged out all the mittens, hats, snow pants, more mittens, more hats, coats, and warm socks. There was at least 4 inches of snow to play in. Depending on what region of the country you are reading this from, this could be a ton or a joke to you! We had a a great time though!

Our snowy abode.

Hmmm, this is different.

Up to his thighs in snow!

Exploring the yard.

The dogs appreciated their own winter coats and enjoying a wrestle in the snow.

Ben was a little unsure, ok very unsure of this.

Much better with Daddy.

Here she comes!

Wheeeeee.

Ben managed to stay warm and dry while outside, so it only makes sense to dunk his hand in the dog bowl when he came in.

Christmas Day!

It was a joyful Christmas day in this house. We definitely felt the love of Jesus and enjoyed the family and many blessings we have been given. The kids were overjoyed at the toys and gifts. You will have to imagine all the smiling faces and torn wrapping paper as we have zero pictures of Christmas morning due to 2 simultaneous camera malfunctions. Both cameras have been repaired as of a few minutes ago, so be prepared for lots of SNOWY pictures!!! It has been snowing solid for about 15 hours now. I'm pumping the coffee in my system so I can have the gumption to suit up for the snow.

Santa was here

In case you were wondering....the bottom half of the tree is void of lights and most ornaments; thanks to Ben.

Snotty Snoop

He is in to everything.

Twas the night before Christmas....

....and all through the church....Ben was saying, "Seethat, HOT, HOT, HOT, Seethat, HOT, HOT, HOT."
(Candles)

Quote of the day

"Audrey, do you want to help me wrap presnets?" (Me)

"Isn't there and app for that?" -Audrey

Quote of the day

"Mom, do you know who Mary and Joesph's parents are?"
"I do, it's Mr. and Mrs. Claus."
-Audrey

Miracles do happen....

....Mommy left the house without a stitch of snot on her. No drool, food, or any kid related goop. We do clean up pretty good every once in awhile.

We hit the big neighborhood Christmas bash last night. Audrey came with us for a few hours before we sent her back to the house with the sitter. It was great to get to hang out with our neighbors without chasing a child or two at the same time.

Snow!

It was fun for the 20 minutes that it lasted. They were big, fat flakes that immediately caught the attention of this little man!

Christmas program

It was touch and go to see if we would get to see Audrey's Christmas program at school today. Most of the surrounding counties canceled school today due to ice, but not Audrey's! Ben and I went to watch Audrey sing and dance, and she did a wonderful job. However, I did not do such a wonderful job of photographing the event. What's new, right? Here are a few pictures to document the occasion.

Ben jumping around on stage before the kids came in. He put on quite a show!

An adorable bunch of crooners.

Excited to see her Mommy!

Dear Santa

Even though Audrey saw Santa this year, she thought it was important to write him a letter. She was also nice enough to include the things Ben wants too.

Here is my very own sweet little Santa Baby. On the nice list for now.

Storytime

There's nothing quite like the peace and quiet of story time with Daddy....

No, I really mean it. There is NOTHING resembling peace and quiet, even during story time.

Quote of the day

(While holding Ben's lovie)
"I remember Bumblebee. He was my best friend. I will miss him for a thousand years."
-Audrey

Christmas candids

So, we went to see Santa today. I knew it wouldn't be pretty. Audrey cried her first 2 or 3 years. Ben was terrified of the guy with the white beard he saw recently....he's a mama's boy....but Audrey wanted to tell Santa what she wanted, so we blew the $20 and an afternoon at the mall. I was able to get some cute pictures beforehand of them both smiling!!

Me first, one of just me!

If my Christmas cards weren't already out, this would be a contender! Notice that the bottom 2 teeth are a bit off kilter. They are quite loose.

Checking out some of the presents.

Can you guess what these are??

I think I know!

This is as far as we got with the furry family shot.

Waiting to see Santa in the Narnia palace or whatever it was...smiling so far.

Snow is fun even if it is fake.

Take the stinking picture already. I don't care if he is crying. Come on! 

Our 3G network

BOTH sets of grandparents were in town this weekend. What a rare treat! Audrey and Ben really enjoyed having so much attention! All of us enjoyed the weekend, and we hope it won't be too long before it happens again.

Grandma, Granddaughter, Grandma

3 little goofs. Audrey kept making silly faces but when we finally told her to make one, she was the least silly of them all.

Thanksgiving weekend

We loaded up our car and headed down to the grandparents for Thanksgiving weekend. It was a great time as always. However, we forgot our camera so we will rely on the photos of others.

Ana said she would kiss teh fish, but she seems to be backing out.

Ben had a lot of fun with Ana and Isabel while Audrey was at the game.

Can we help you?

All tangled up

Over Thanksgiving we took all the girls to see "Tangled." They sat in the row ahead of us and it was so much fun listening to them joke and giggle and be silly. They LOVED the movie, and so did the grownups. It was sooo good in fact that Audrey has renounced Ariel as her favorite princess and replaced her with Rapunzel. This. Is. Big.

Dinner time

This seems to be a lot more fun than eating. Ben does eat pretty much everything I put on his plate, but he does like to play with it before, during, and after he eats it. Yes, bath time does immediately follow dinner time....

Audrey's first FSU game

....AKA Seminole beat down. We took Audrey to her first FSU game this weekend, and it happened to be against our biggest rival, UF. We beat the pants off of those guys and enjoyed every second of it. Audrey got to experience a marvelous rivalry win, free pom poms, high fives from strangers, and fireworks!!!!

31-7 

F-L-O-R-I-D-A  S-T-A-T-E!!!!

A bit of history for you....My first FSU game was at the ripe old age of 3. FSU played Pittsburgh when Dan Marino was the quarterback. Yes, I do remember this game, as I remember almost everything from the age of 3 forward. It rained. No, it poured. I remember the fireworks at the opening of the game. I remember it raining hard. I remember the long walk down the ramps of the stadium as we followed the thousands of other people trying to get out of the rain. I remember my dad carrying me to the car through the softball field to our parking lot. I wonder what Audrey will remember from her first and fabulous game?

A few more...

Feast

Today was the Thanksgiving feast at pre-school. Audrey was very excited!!! Of course you know the only day that Ben is going to take an extra long nap is the day that I have to be at Audrey's school early. Oh well. We had a great time and Audrey was a very convincing Pilgrim.

The Pilgrims and the Indians

My Pilgrim

A whole class of Pilgrims

Me and the kiddos

Random shot of a handsome little man. P.S. I had no less than 10 people at pre-school tell me today that Ben looks "just like Jeff." I was sooooo trying to claim this one.