Christmas Lights

I wrote earlier in December that Madison Claire loves Christmas lights and it broke my heart that we didn't have any Christmas decorations up at our house because they are all packed amidst all of our other things.  Well...Gary came through in a big way!  Check out the McSwain house this Christmas:

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we headed out to Stoney River with the McSwains for dinner and then came home to wait for Santa!  Madison Claire said goodbye to Howie (who made the trip with us to Cincinnati and Nashville) and we tried to explain to her that she wouldn't see him until next Christmas.  She doesn't quite understand that and still wakes up some mornings asking where Howie is :).  We got all of the gifts out in front of the tree and I had a few moments of feeling overwhelmed at how much "stuff" there was.  We truly are so blessed.  My kids have more toys than they could ever play with, more clothes than they will ever be able to wear, and yet here was more.  I said a prayer that night that my kids would have grateful hearts and that they would learn to be good "sharers" and "givers away" (I'm sure that's not a real word, but you get my drift).  How do you teach about the birth of Jesus amidst all of the "stuff"?  I'm not really sure yet, but Madison Claire has been able to digest that we celebrate Jesus's birthday at Christmas and that his mom is Mary. She will also tell you pretty quickly after that "my teachers say it's not my birthday" which leads us to think that when they were celebrating Jesus's birthday at school, Madison Claire made some comment about it being her birthday too and the teachers telling her it wasn't.  Too funny.  Hopefully next year she will be able to comprehend a little more than that :)

Cookies for Santa

Madison Claire made cookies for Santa with daddy and was so proud of them!  We set them out that night and she made sure we all knew that there were crumbs left in the morning :)

Girls Day Out!

I told Ryan that over Christmas break I wanted to spend some good one-on-one time with Madison Claire.  I was in need of a pedicure, so I decided we'd make a date of it!  We hit Sonic first and I ordered Madison Claire her own drink - what she calls a Cherry Mermaid Slush (aka a Cherry Limeade Slush) and my typical Diet Coke.  Then we hit the nail salon where I had a pedicure and she had her toenails & fingernails painted.  I let her pick whatever color she wanted and she chose purple polish with sparkles.  She did a great job staying still on my lap & was obsessed with the fluorescent light dryer.  It was so much fun...I hope we can do it more often!

Trip to Cincinnati

We took a trip up to Cincinnati the weekend before Christmas to visit with Ryan's extended family.  It was a quick trip, but a great one.  The kids made the trip well and we got to see both sides of the family.  I made a trip up to the outlet mall near our hotel and scored a great deal on a North Face jacket for Ryan for Christmas.  Sunday afternoon we headed over to the Terry's to visit.  They loved the kids -- especially meeting the buddy for the first time.  He was a little charmer! 

Grandma Terry & the buddy

4 Generations :)

The buddy got his first toy of his own from Grandma & Grandpa Terry!

On Monday, we met up with the McSwain crew.  Grandpa McSwain loved seeing the kids too, and we had a lot of fun with all of the little second cousins.  Madison Claire called them "my friends" and talked about them for several days!  So fun!

Fast friends

I don't know what I like more about this video - the buddy's face/reaction or Madison Claire having so much fun with Bella & Addison!



We had a great visit with everyone and only wish it wasn't so far away!!

Christmas Parade

We went to the Germantown Christmas Parade and boy, was it a parade!  I was expecting a small parade that would last 10-15 minutes and an hour and fifteen minutes later, the parade ended.  Imagine a lot of high school bands, boy scout troops, and local businesses strolling down the street tossing candy.  It was a nice day (although a bit cold) and we had a good time.  The best part was the last float of the parade - SANTA!  He was on the top of a fire truck and was a GREAT Santa!  They happened to stop right in front of us and seeing Madison Claire's face light up when she saw him was worth the hour in the cold.  Then, he looked right at her, pointed to her, and said "I see you" and she was absolutely GLOWING.  Cutest thing I've seen in a long time - and I see cute just about every day with her!

Dad chilling with the buddy

Watching the parade with Daddy

All of us checking out the parade

Best seat in the house

The video of her seeing Santa...priceless :)

Breakfast with Santa!

In mid-December, we had a great morning at the Memphis Botanical Gardens having breakfast with Santa! They had a petting zoo & different crafts set up throughout the building to keep the kids entertained while waiting for Santa.  Madison Claire had a lot of fun!  When we got up to see Santa, Madison Claire walked right up to him and got up on his lap.  I put the buddy up there and when they both looked at the camera with a big smile, the whole room let out a collective "awwww".  It was priceless!!  I had it all on video but Madison Claire got into my iPhone and deleted it.  Oh well! Here are the pics that survived: