O Christmas Tree. O Mackie Boy.

Today was a gorgeous day!  We decided to go ahead and get our Christmas tree and start enjoying all the wonderful fun of the holiday earlier than usual.  I got out on “the wrong side of the bed,” one might say.  Josh quickly told me that if I was going to be “Bah-Humbugging it”, then we would all just stay home.  I laughed at him and decided to straighten up!  Then, Ruby started pouting about the jacket we told her to wear.  Josh told her the same thing he told me.  She straightened up, too.  As we pulled out of the driveway, I could hear Molly singing and singing “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth.”  I commented on her joyful disposition this morning and that’s when it started.  A new Dorminy Family tradition….the “JOLLIEST ELF AWARD.”  Josh decided that Molly should receive the JOLLIEST ELF AWARD for the 10:00 hour.  Ruby said she wanted the award and wanted to know what it was….she didn’t quite understand that the award is the title itself.  Molly was so happy to be the winner of the hour and kept up a good attitude, giving us all a run for our money.  I am not sure Mack ever got the award…maybe once.  He was a stinker off and on all day.  He wouldn’t smile for the camera most of the day, and he was into EVERYTHING when we finally got home and tried to start decorating.

At Chick-fil-A, note Mack looking away from the camera

At the tree farm in front of our tree, note Mack’s “non-jolliest elf” disposition

Inside at Berry Patch Farms, enjoying a cookie….what a face that Mack is making!

This is the tree that is now sitting in our living room.  We are all so tired from a full day, so it won’t be decorated until tomorrow.  We made time to put up an artificial tree in the kid’s school room.  It has colored lights and decorations they have made or have been given over the past five years.  It looks so great!  I love that they have their own tree.  Josh unplugged it tonight after putting them to bed, then we heard scampering around, and when Josh went upstairs to his office, he saw that the tree was plugged back in.  I am sure our “jolliest little elf” had nothing to do with that!  I will be posting later on the full day’s experience of tree-shopping and family fun, but for now I will leave you with these pictures of Mack…..showing you another reason why we will have to wait until tomorrow to decorate.  This stinker is into everything!!

And lest I forget, let me finish the “jolliest elf” topic.  After the tree was tied to the car, the kids were all buckled in and we were ready to go, Josh accidentally spilled Molly’s diet coke all over his seat.  He started a little rant about how it shouldn’t have been in the car and what a mess it was and on and on….He walked away to throw the can in the trash and someone told Ruby to say to her Daddy when he got back in the car, “Daddy, if you want to win the JOLLIEST ELF AWARD, you better be careful!”  He just looked at me.  Hilarious.  Let’s just say Daddy didn’t receive that award during the 1:00 hour.

More Christmas posts to come!

Thanksgiving 2009

We got back this evening from Augusta.  It was such a wonderful Thanksgiving!  All of the cousins played and played and played some more.  I enjoyed catching up with my sisters, and I always like the late night talks with my parents after the kids are in the bed.  We ate way too much, but that is just how it is on Thanksgiving, right????  Right.  I will narrate  as I post the pictures.  Cacy will be sending me some more pictures, too.

We went to see MeMe on Wednesday afternoon.  She was doing very well and seemed happy that we all came to visit with her.

What do you do with little kids in a nursing home?  Blow up the gloves into balloons and bounce it around the room!  That’s what.

That night we all ate outside at my dad’s “lean-to” behind his shop.  Molly followed Renn around “helping” her all night.

This is my dad getting the heater ready down at the “lean-to.”

The kids played with, what I called, “glorified trashbags” that I brought.  They would just throw them around, hit someone with them and them pop them.  Fun times.

Aunt Marcy with my girls

Mack and Vance

Aunt Cacy with her daughter, Kaybeth

Vance–mad about something

Classic Tommy (PawPaw) and Kay (Sweetie)…he never leaves his bedroom without shoes and socks…she could have been out in the freezing temps with shorts on!

My sweet husband

Molly was quite bossy most of the time.  There are seven grandkids and five of them are younger and shorter than her!  She took full advantage.

Molly and Renn

Mack in a little swing

Thanksgiving morning with three little munchkins I am thankful for!

Our family of five

My mom and Ruby

My dad and Josh watching the turkey fry

Mom making her dressing

Ruby reading “Dick and Jane” stories

Marcy, Jesse, Rennison and Vance…her finger is up her nose, how cute!

Renn is not happy

Mack wasn’t willing to be a part of the cousin group

Aunt Marcy doing dishes…had to get a picture of this!

Aunt Cacy watching Aunt Marcy wash the dishes

Renn and Me

Kaybeth picking her nose

Renn eating a turkey egg roll thing that my mom and dad made…..they were very good….turkey and dressing in an egg wrap and then fried.  YUM.

The guys all hanging out

We went to Aunt Cacy’s house later on Friday and the kids played outside,  then went inside the playroom for a dance party.

Ruby doing the sprinkler

All tuckered out from the dancing

All seven grandkids with Sweetie

All seven grandkids….at this point they are over getting their picture made!  They are all so sweet and cute.

Maybe after a good night’s sleep and some cleaning up around here, I can think of some stories to go along with all the pictures.  For now, I will go to bed!