'Twas the Night Before Christmas....

Before our Christmas Eve service at the church....
At home:
At church:
And here is one of those "keepin' it real" pictures in which Anna Claire is refusing to cooperate. Love it.
When we are at church, Anna Claire loves nothing more than to be on the platform singing! Yes, she is her father's child!
During the service, I was in the nursery. Anna Claire took it upon herself to "read" a book to her friend, Hannah, who sat patiently while Anna Claire told her a story.
When we got home, I explained to Anna Claire that we needed to leave cookies and milk for Santa. Anna Claire told me that Santa wanted some peanuts and chocolate too! And you can't forget a candy cane! Then, before she went to bed, she took a bit of the cookie and ate one of the Hershey Kisses...quality control, I guess. (Sidenote: Anna Claire left 2 of her pacifiers for the reindeer (seen next to Santa's plate). We were hoping she would leave all 4, but she was only willing to give up 2).
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Better Late Than Never....

So, I've been a complete blogging slacker, but there have been a few things going on around here.....
First things first, Happy Birthday, Kerstin! On December 13th, Kerstin turned 17! She celebrated her birthday in 3 parts:
First, she opened gifts from her family
Then, we took her out to a nice dinner with her friend, Karin (also an exchange student from Germany...but they didn't know each other before arriving here).

And finally, while we were in Dallas for my granddad's funeral, we celebrated all December birthdays! Somehow, I managed to not get a picture of Elizabeth....Happy
23rd Birthday, Elizabeth!

And now for an Anna Claire update....
The other night, Brad and Anna Claire were watching ESPN, a favorite hobby for both parties (sidenote: sometimes Anna Claire will go to the tv, turn it on, and say, "I watch football, Mommy!"...well, right.), and the Heisman Trophy presentation was on. Brad was thrilled to see Sam Bradford win, and so, he took it upon himself to teach his daughter how to do "The Heisman"....football in hand and all. This picture does not do the "pose" justice, so when you see her in person, just ask her about it!
We had our church Christmas dinner last Sunday night, and while most ladies were taking off their shoes while cleaning up after the meal, Anna Claire was trying them all on!
While in Dallas, the whole family loaded up and ran to Willow Bend Mall. Anna Claire convinced Gigi that she "needed" a soft pretzel, and once Gigi gave in, Anna Claire proceeded to walk through the mall with a huge piece of pretzel hanging out of her mouth - so attractive.
It was freezing in Dallas, and Anna Claire doesn't own a pair of gloves. Papa Bear was kind enough to share his with her!
And here's my parting picture.....Today was "Mix and Match" day at Anna Claire's school - the kids were to wear clothes that didn't match. Anna Claire's outfit consisted of purple sweatpants, a Pampa shirt (green and gold), and a bright pink bow! Before going to school, I asked her to stand in front of the Christmas tree so that I could take her picture. Here is the result of said request:
Can't you just hear her saying "Cheeeeeeeese" in the above picture? *grin*

A Few More Snow Pics.......

Anna Claire came around the corner asking to go play in the snow again....here is what she was wearing!
Kerstin went to school this morning only to be there 30 minutes and have the school district announce that school would be closing. Seriously, people? Gottta love Baton Rouge schools! Anyway, she came home and we all went out and played. She made a snow angel for us!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Can you believe it? It's snowing in south Louisiana! We know it won't last long, but it's still fun to enjoy it while it lasts!

Blue Bell in Heaven

I'm pretty sure Blue Bell is being served in Heaven this evening as my granddad, Pa (Maurice), peacefully passed away this morning. Pa often said that Blue Bell would be the choice of dessert in Heaven!
Pa was a wonderful granddad and we were blessed to be able to call him Pa. You never saw him without a smile on his face, and he was always willing to lend a helping hand. He was quite the handy man - always able to create beautiful wood work and fix just about anything. Pa loved his desserts, and as grandkids, we really liked this quality! Dinner was not complete without a little scoop of ice cream or some other sweet treat!
So many memories flood my mind tonight as I remember my special granddad....too many to type. He was a wonderful man of God who treasured his family and friends. While he will be truly missed by all of us, we know he is no longer in pain and he has gone Home.

The Big Apple

Disclaimer: My mom doesn't like slide shows on blogs because she feels she doesn't really get to look at the pictures because they are always moving; therefore, this will be a really long post filled with too many pictures. I love you, Mom! (PS - My mom, while we were gone for the week, managed to potty train Anna Claire!! Way to go, Gigi!!!)
Brad and I returned home yesterday from a purely delightful trip to NYC! We've never been to New York at Christmas, and wow! it was simply magical! We stayed the first night at the Marriott Marquis, and our room had a wonderful view of Time Square.

Since the last time I was there, M&M World has opened in Time Square. Love it.




While walking back to our hotel the first night, we passed the funniest place in Time Square. There is a facility sponsored by Charmin toilet paper, and well, this lady was more than happy to tell you all the wonderful things this place had to offer (20 restrooms that were cleaned after each use, a place to have your picture taken with the Charmin bears, etc)! Seriously?
Here we are at one of the many Christmas trees in the hotel:
The whole city was decorated....here's a sampling:




Macy's at Christmas:




Brad bought me a lovely new necklace from Tiffany's for my birthday! Here I am being a total geek with my little blue box in front of the store. I couldn't resist.

We also stayed with my friend, Chris, and his wife, Amanda. We had so much fun hanging out with them! We tried some incredible restaurants like Max Brenner's and Virgil's. If ever you are in NYC, you need to try these two places....yummmy! We also went to see the Rockefeller tree. Wow. Visit Chris and Amanda's blog where Amanda wrote up a wonderful recap of our time together!





Bloomingdales at Christmas:



Our last night in the city, we had tickets to see A Prairie Home Companion - Brad's favorite radio show, hosted by Garrison Keeler. Well, we had center balcony seats,
3rd row. We were early to the show and sitting in our seats, when the theater manager came to us, saying that some people had cancelled their tickets and he needed to fill the seats. We ended up sitting on the 6th row, center isle! Brad was elated!