Christmas continued

After our Christmas celebrations in Georgia we headed back home.  On the way, we made a stop in North Augusta to visit our dear friends Landon, Laura and Liam Jones.  Sadly, I did not take any pictures of our time with them because we were so engrossed in catching up.  These are friends who have known David and I since our pre-dating days so they are so dear to our hearts. 

We got home in time for Christmas Eve where my family came to join us.  Our first activity was to bake gingerbread men.  Caroline was not interested in the cookie preparation but more of the decorating with icing and eating of the cookies.

Later that evening Caroline was so hyper from cookies and candy canes that she wanted to have a dance party. 

 

Here she got her Papa and Daddy to show off their moves for her while she cheered them on.  There is nothing they wouldn't do for her.

After a drive to look at Christmas lights, we all gathered in the living room for David to read from Luke 2.  We wanted all of our hearts to be focused on the reason we celebrate Christmas.

  "For unto you is born this day 

in the city of David 

a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

We let Caroline open one present on Christmas Eve.  And of course she took him to bed with her that night.  

 This was David's first year having to build something on Christmas Eve.  He was initiated into the brotherhood of all dads who undertake the task of assembling toys purchased for Christmas.  He did a great job putting together this easel. The rest of us enjoyed watching SNL reruns on Hulu while he worked.

Christmas morning surprisingly we all woke up before Caroline.  She was a little camera shy at first but it didn't take long for her to start ripping open packages.  

I successfully cooked my first Christmas dinner with some tips from my mom.  I made our family's traditional Christmas favorites.  The menu consisted of ham, macaroni and cheese, pineapple casserole, green beans, and yeast rolls. 

 

Here are a few family shots.

We had a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas

Christmas has come and gone and I am so thankful for the sweet times we got to have with our families.  It was so fun watching Caroline really get into the celebrations this year.  She was belting out Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman every day.  She also took her Fisher Price nativity set with her to bed for every nap and every night.  And she made sure to say hey to Santa every time we went to the mall although she was not interested in sitting on his lap.  

We put up the tree this year BEFORE Thanksgiving and it was wonderful having some extra time enjoying the twinkle of lights in our living room.  Caroline helped me put the ornaments on.  We have a tradition of adding an ornament every year with a picture of her from that Christmas.  It's crazy how much she has changed in just three years! 

We made it to the Christmas lights at the zoo this year.  It was our first time doing this and it was so beautiful. We toasted marshmallows over an open fire and enjoyed the snowfall in various spots around the zoo.

 We spent some time before Christmas in Georgia with David's family.  Caroline was so excited about getting to spend some time with her cousin Ella.  She woke up at 5am the morning we were headed there ready to hit the road. It was a laid back time which was really refreshing.  Caroline loved playing on the tire swing that held so many memories.  This swing has been in David's family for over 30 years.  He played on it as a child with his siblings and now all the grandchildren are loving it.  

 David's dad aka Papa D worked very hard on his lights display for the outside of the house.  He had strung lights set to music that you could listen to when you tune into a certain radio station.  Caroline was mesmerized!  You can see her wearing their headphones listening to the music.  

Here Caroline is helping Papa D feed the fish down at the pond.  They were jumping like crazy for their dinner.

 

Caroline enjoyed making art with Ella.

Overall we had so much fun catching up with Papa D, Gee Gee, Aunt Lauren, Uncle Patrick and Ella. 

Newest Obsession

Every summer for some reason I think it is fun to find some sort of new obsession to get engrossed in.  This one sort of fell into my lap.  You'll never guess what it was this summer!  Wait for it.

HARRY POTTER!!
 

Last year and again this year David is teaching a linked course at USC.  It consists of a Harry Potter-themed English course where the same group of Potter devotees make up his University 101 class.  David not being much of a reader crammed last summer for his class by watching all of the Harry Potter movies.  I declined to join him in that pursuit. This summer was a different story.  Every Saturday night one of the movies from the series was shown on tv and by the fourth movie I decided to throw in the towel and check it out.  I was quickly hooked and it became our Saturday night ritual to make homemade popcorn and lay on the couch watching the latest installment.  To cap off our new love we got to go see the finale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 last night in the theater!  It was awesome!  


Now my next mission is to read all of the books.  I know the movies probably only show a portion of the story.  I can't wait till Caroline is old enough for me to read the books to her and enjoy them together.  It was such a great story of loyalty, friendship and sacrifice.  I highly recommend it if you are one of the very few who are still resisting the Harry Potter craze.