What a busy month!!! I apologize again for leaving ya'll hanging all this time! I have been neglecting all my bloggy duties! But I have an honest excuse. I've been busy!!! However, I am here now for a brief synopsis of what's been going on in the lives of the Oxbow Gang.
On November 27, the girls, DH, and I went Christmas Tree hunting. We found this cute little tree that the girls insisted on helping to cut down. We got it home and immediately decorated the bottom half of it. As the girls slept later, I went in and put more decorations in the blank places.
The next evening, we gathered around a large bonfire at my dad's house, sharing stories and hot cocoa. Then we wrapped the evening up with some stringing of the popcorn for the tree.
Dec 3 - The Teen performed a Christmas Concert with his high school band. Earlier in the day, I was at the school to practice with the high school choir. The band director and I talked a bit. Upon realizing that I could not be there that night for the band performance, he invited me to sit in the class while my son went through the songs they were playing. I thoroughly enjoyed the private concert! What a cool teacher to allow me to observe!Dec 4 - Little Bird performed in her first local Community Choir concert where she learned to sing a couple of songs in German and Spanish! I'm so proud of her!!!
Dec 6 - Little Bird AND Kangaroo both performed in the church's elementary and preschool choir Christmas program. It was Kangaroo's FIRST choir performance and she was such a pro! My chest is just busting with pride for both my girls!
The weekend of Dec 12/13 was my church's Christmas production of "The Splendor of Christmas". It was performed in our Christian Activities Center. The church provided a dinner of Vegetable Beef soup and Ham and Cheese Sandwiches accompanied by a big glass of iced tea and followed by a plate of Red Velvet cake. Yum Yum!On Dec 14, Kangaroo and I went to the local library for some Christmas storytime and fun. While we were there, Santa came by for a visit! Kangaroo got to sit on his lap and tell him all about what she wanted for Christmas. She was so happy!
Dec 15 had us at the Boy Scout meeting hall for a Christmas party and Court of Honor to see The Teen receive some more merit badges for all his hard work. Soon, he'll be sporting that Eagle badge!!!
Dec 17 was Little Bird's FIRST school Christmas Program where she participated in a skit about the "Gingerbread Man" and sang "Must Be Santa" and "Jingle Bells". She was so cute!!!
The weekend of Dec 18 - 20 had the family dealing with the flu and other ailments. Little Bird was out of sorts and kept a fever for a few days. Kangaroo also had a fever but she's always so happy and it's difficult to tell when she's feeling bad. During this time, I went to Walmart and purchased one of those little Gingerbread House in a box kit to try and cheer them up. When the girls began feeling better, we decorated it. I had added too much water to the icing mix, making the "snow" slide right off the gingerbread roof. We ended up eating it as fast as we could decorate it!!! Yummy!!
Christmas Eve had us all down at the In Law's for vittles and gifts. One of the cousins had organized the gift exchange game where you draw numbers and then choose a gift with the cooresponding number. Before you open/unwrap the gift, you must first decide whether or not to keep it. If you don't want it but spy another one that was previously opened, you can then take the gift from that recipient and give them your unopened gift in exchanged. If all the gifts are gag gifts, then this is even that much more fun!!!
Christmas Eve had us all down at the In Law's for vittles and gifts. One of the cousins had organized the gift exchange game where you draw numbers and then choose a gift with the cooresponding number. Before you open/unwrap the gift, you must first decide whether or not to keep it. If you don't want it but spy another one that was previously opened, you can then take the gift from that recipient and give them your unopened gift in exchanged. If all the gifts are gag gifts, then this is even that much more fun!!!
Cousin Blaine looks around for a gift to steal.
When we got home from the In Laws on Christmas Eve night, I sat down at my computer and discovered that Santa had sent my girls a very special Video email!! They were very excited to hear from him and see their names and photo in his big book of good little boys and girls. I read the Christmas Story of the Nativity to the girls, said prayers with them, and they went straight to bed and fell sound asleep without another peep!!! It had been a long and beautiful day. DH and I made sure that we assisted Santa before we turned in for the night.
Christmas morning dawned bright and early with the girls waking us at 6:30 a.m.! They were so excited that Santa had brought them each a beautiful little bicycle and other goodies. After a breakfast of monkey bread and hot cocoa, we dressed for comfort and warmth, loaded the new bikes into the surburban and drove up to the park (where there are paved paths) for a bicycle test ride. The girls did great on their first ride! Hubby and I got some much needed exercise while The Teen jogged along to fill in where we couldn't (as we stood aside gasping for breath). We old folks are sooooo out of shape! (note to self: must make new Year's resolutions!)
On the day after Christmas, my sister showed up with her 2 kiddos. We loaded the entire gang (and their bikes) up and went to the St. Tammany Trace to get some much needed playtime and bike riding in. We then decided that since no other activities had been planned for the next few days, we needed some R&R.
So, on Monday, Dec 28, we packed up and headed north to Hattiesburg, MS where I had reserved a lovely little cabin at the Paul B. Johnson state park. There will soon be another post and more pictures regarding our little mini-vacation. We returned home on New Year's Eve, just in time to ring in 2010!
Happy New Year and may the King richly bless each and every one of you!!!!
