2010 Christmas' at Dabe's and Nana's

I am going to have to let the pictures speak for themselves on all our family Christmas celebrations because otherwise, I might be March before I finish posting Christmas!!! I hope to have Santa's visit and Christmas at Pap & Suzy's posted as soon as possible!

Christmas Decorations 2010

Here is a peek into what our house looked like at Christmas (and some of the fun we had!) for those of you that didn't get to see it!

Disney on Ice - Princess Wishes

We all waited excitedly (is that a word?) for Disney on Ice for a loooong time and it was everything we thought it would be and more! Da'be treated us to tickets and we were very grateful. To say the girls loved it would be an understatement - Maggie was in awe from the moment that it started and when it came time for intermission Addison was almost in tears wanting to know why all the other princesses didn't come out...she was not ready for it to be over!!! Our tickets came with a disposable camera and Addison was also distraught when she realized that she had used all her film before intermission (she also had to get used to the fact that she couldn't see the picture she had just taken - haha!) I went to Disney on Ice as a child and remember how much fun I had so I was so glad to get to share this experience with my little girls. Of course we had to wear our princess attire to go watch the princesses! We will definitely be returning the next time the show is in town!

This is Maggie's reaction the moment the first performer (who happened to be Mickey & Minnie) stepped on the ice! Priceless!!!

Aunt Pat gave these to Addison at the family Christmas the weekend before Disney on Ice and she was so excited about wearing them (they were much harder for her to manage than I think she expected - ha!)

Thanks Da'be...we had a blast!

Breakfast with Santa!

Our neighborhood hosted Breakfast with Santa for the second year in a row. The girls LOVED Santa (and Mrs. Clause) this year. It was so much fun to see how excited they were to sit in Santa's lap. Maggie was ecstatic! My last year's picture has Maggie screaming and reaching for her mama so this was a great improvement.

Christmas Programs!

As I have mentioned before, we were REAL busy during December and as I am reminded looking back through pictures it might take me a full week (or two) just to blog through this particular week of fun, fun, fun! Starting with Wednesday night, December 8th, Addison's daycare presented their cute program showcasing the Christmas Story with an emphasis on the animal's prespective!!! She was the "Star of Bethleham" and we were shocked when she lifted a 8-10 foot pole with a star on it above her head (and all the other kids in the program!); she was so excited about being the star and we were so proud!! I am always grateful for the Christian influence that my children are exposed to each day while I am working away. It is humbling beyond description each time I hear that large group of children belting out traditional hymns and contemporary praise songs. That night, in particular, Suzy made a special trip down to show her support for Addison then...when we walked in the sanctuary we were all surprised to see Da'be! It meant so much to Addison to have grandparents in the audience like so many of her classmates! Thanks for always being so supportive!

Then...on Sunday, she was part of the AWANA's Christmas program - The Christmas County Spelling Bee. She was an extra on the set and came in periodically to buzz as the "bee", cheer on the contestants, then light the way as the final songs were sung. The older kids in this program were great - it was a really funny production.

Lindley Family Christmas!

The day after Nana's birthday dinner, we gathered at Aunt Linda's for the "big" Lindley family Christmas!!! It is so great to see everyone and celebrate being blessed with such a large, loving family! Thanks to Aunt Linda and Aunt Pat for all the effort they put forth each year to make sure that we are all together at some point during the holiday season. I know how difficult it must be to try to fit into everyone's busy schedules during December.

Little funny story that I have to share that came from my totally innocent 4-year-old. I went to a baby shower and she stayed at Nana's with the rest of the gang so this was relayed to me from Meg & Kate. They were all discussing the Lindley Family Christmas and the fact that we were all going the next day when Addison looked up at both Meg & Kate very seriously and said "why are y'all going to the Lindley Family Christmas - you're not Lindley's!" then she looked at Kate and said..."You're a Norris!" Of course, this proceeded to a long conversation trying to explain that their last name used to be Lindley's, etc. It is so funny to see things come to light for children; they have so much to learn and they definitely start absorbing at a very young age and do so at a very fast pace!!!

Happy 60th Birthday to Nana!

The first weekend of December all of Nana's children, spouses, and grandchildren traveled home to help her celebrate her birthday!!! We hung out on Saturday and decorated her house for Christmas (well really Meg & Kate did all the work!) then that night we went out for a special dinner at Broussard's in Columbus and it was so much fun and the food was excellent, of course! We only took the older grandchildren to dinner so I thoroughly got to enjoy my night out without having to feed someone else or make sure they weren't interrupting someone else's dinner! I am pretty sure that Nana couldn't have asked for a better gift than to have all of us together. Here's to many many more!!!