Christmas Program

The girls participated in their school's Christmas program on Thursday night. I must admit that I wasn't going to go as I had another holiday party to attend but Jason in his subtle ways convinced me I needed to go and I'm glad I did. Last year they were little wallflowers simply stunned by all of the people and flashing lights. You could really see the excitement they had this year. Haley was a cow and Gracie was a pig (fitting since she is never without piggy) as they were at the stables during baby Jesus' birth. All they did was sing little Christmas carols but it was great. As per their personalities, Haley sang loud going through all of the motions while Gracie fixed her eyes upon her teacher's lips as she sang the song. You'll catch Gracie singing but it is on her terms...she's pretty stubborn like that. They had these cute little masks that Ms. Gwen and Ms. Nayla made that they would hold up to their face - cute! They've changed and grown up so much in one short year that I can't wait to see how they perform next year!

(I can't get the video to post but will try again later...stay tuned!)

Chicken Nuggets & french fries

Each day when I pick up the trio, I try and ask many questions about their day. I usually do not get much of a response, but I keep trying! One question I ask, without fail, is "what did you have for lunch today?" and EVERY day Haley responds "chicken nuggets and french fries"! It is amazing that they still want to eat that when we get home even after having it for lunch every single day! That Haley...she's a mess!

oh the days...

I took test number six last Thursday and found out this morning that I passed...yeah! So for the past few evenings, I have been able to enjoy a little bit of free time amongst the chaos that is the Christmas season. That will be coming to a quick end as books for test #7 are in route and due to arrive any day now. Then my studies will begin again but I am certainly in count down mode with only 2 to go!

Me, my mom and the trio went to visit Santa Clause last weekend; Gracie reluctantly sat first on his lap but didn't cry, only fixated her gaze upon him. Next was Sam and he too sat there nicely with no tears. Of course Haley went nuts. She would not sit on Santa's lap as, in her words, "he scare me mama!". She did agree to sit with me as I squatted next to Santa. When I asked them to tell him what they wanted for Christmas, no one answered. I asked again and Haley, through the tears bubbling up in her eyes, quickly shouted "I want baby clothes for baby" and she was done! It was so funny to hear her get out her wish in such a quick and timid manner, but she did it! Sorry, I did not have my camera and all Tootsie had was her 15 year old camera that still uses film. YES, I said film! So, we'll probably see those pics developed sometime in 2009. We did get some polaroids to capture the moment!

Haley still talks about Santa frightening her but we try to talk about how nice he is and how he loves boys and girls. I broke down and bought Dora's Christmas adventure over the weekend and they have watched it repeatedly; however, Santa is still scary. We'll see if he makes it to 706 Delaware on Christmas eve.

On Friday I went to a holiday open house at the Caddo Parish Special Services office where I was able to visit with Gracie's speech therapist. She, of course, adores that Grace Talbot and sees great potential in her. She reiterated what I already knew that Gracie is a very smart little girl and very curious and eager to learn. She does believe that she is completely capable of integrating into a normal classroom environment but she'll have to work a bit harder than the other kids to overcome her language deficit. As hard headed as she is, if she wants to succeed, she'll do it!

Sam has moved up to the next class at daycare and he is eagerly awaiting the reunion with his friends Zeke and Henry. His language development is just exploding and has lots to say all the time, just like Haley. His newest thing is to ask "what are you doin'?"...way cute! He is certainly learning how to annoy his sisters and has developed a fondness for hitting them, not so cute. He does it to get a reaction from them and it works. This is an issue I believe we will be encountering for the next several years - yikes!

Jason and I have jumped on the exercise bandwagon. We joined the gym and he has been going almost every day during lunch as one of the facilities is very near his office. We are going to run (perhaps walk some) in a team marathon with the Chaneys in March so we have some training to do. It will be fun and I'm glad it has given Jason the motivation he needs to get healthy and in better shape.

We enjoyed a fun Christmas party last Friday with our Sunday School group and look forward to some more holiday cheer this week with friends and family. It is a busy time, but times I wouldn't trade for anything!

(p.s. the photos of the trio are of bathtime when they used the bubbles to make Santa faces!)

The Twelve Days of Christmas

My mom came across the following and I thought it was rather interesting:

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song form young Catholics using code words which the children could remember.

True Love refers to Go
A partridge refers to Jesus Christ
2 turtle doves refers to the Old and New Testaments
3 french horns refers to Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues
4 calling birds refers to the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 golden rings refers to the first five books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch" or Torah or Law, which gives the history of man's fall from grace
6 geese a-laying, which refers to the six days of creation
7 swans a-swimming refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership and Mercy), the seven sacraments
8 maids a-milking refers to the eight beatitudes
9 ladies dancing refers to the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control)
10 lords a-leaping refers to the ten commandments
11 pipers piping refers to the eleven faithful apostles
12 drummers drumming refers to the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

Just a little something to think about as we go about the holiday season; if you're like me, you knew the words had to mean something...the songwriter couldn't have been simply coming up with random ideas!!

Busieness

We had a wonderful trip to the beach for thanksgiving and it was great to be with the family. We had a very successful photo shoot with the trio one day and I was able to capture a Christmas card pic...yeah! I'll try to post more photos later but life has just been very hectic since we returned home. Work is insane as I am now managing our processing department. I hired a new employee and she started Monday so I have been training her along with looking for another hire. We're a man down anyhow so I'm doing the work of 3 people along with this training and such. My head is spinning by the end of the day! It is enjoyable and I am grateful for the new challenge. But on top of the craziness of work is my next test so I am trying to cram for that but keep finding ways to procrastinate (like this blog!). And there is always the trio...quite the busy bunch! Gracie has been sick again this week...we just got over strep throat so I am quite bummed about this new infection. Haley named our "Elf on a Shelf" Miss Erin which I can only assume is because one of the teachers at school (not even her teacher!) is named Miss Erin! Oh well, at least she gave it a name; it took 4 months to name her baby (by the way she is baby Sally and Haley is an excellent little mommy!). Sam is a little firecracker with a personality as big as Texas. He has lots to say and about half of it is comprehendable. It put on my heels yesterday morning and did a little tap dance on our hardwood floors which was way adorable. Jason celebrated his big 25th birthday on Wednesday and the five of us went and ate Mexican to celebrate. Haley kept saying it was daddy's birthday and wanted to sing happy birthday but would clam up when we got ready to sing. I am hoping we can put up our Christmas tree and other decorations this weekend as we have no plans but for me to study.

This post is a total stream of consciousness at the moment as I have been awake for a while trying to work on review questions. Just wanted to give a quick update. More photos of our beach adventure to follow. Happy December...can't believe we have made it to the end of 2008!!!