It Finally Looks Like Christmas!

Yesterday afternoon and last night we FINALLY got the first big snowfall of the season. Normally I'm not a huge snow fan. In fact, I hate driving in the stuff, and worse yet, it's COLD! But, it is pretty to look at from the inside out a window, and nothing says Christmas better than a white blanket of snow. I remember one year being outside in a T-shirt and jeans, with no snow on the ground at Christmastime, and that just didn't feel right. Plus, decorations put up on dead grass and scattered leaves just doesn't have the same ambiance that snow gives off.

I love how everyone is putting out their decorations...everything looks so festive! We, of course, haven't gotten that far yet. Matter of fact, the Halloween bin is still sitting waiting to be put away! Oh well...it'll get there. Probably Monday night I'll haul that bin downstairs and the tree and decorations upstairs, and have the kids help me and Bub decorate the place. Wonder if the cats will climb the tree...hmmm.... It's always interesting to have the kids help decorate though, because there's three of them using both hands to grab things to put up, and two of us using both hands to decorate with the last item one of them had handed us! Six things out, two things used! It's fun though, and they have a good time with it :o)

Now, to get that confounded Christmas shopping done! I'm seriously, SERIOUSLY considering just ordering everything off of LTD Commodities. Anyone else do that? I just don't have the time, money, energy or desire to go out to store after store and look for ideal things for everyone, just to wonder what I'll find at the next place. Forget it. This way I can glance through everything WITHIN OUR BUDGET and have it delivered straight to our door. Presto Cheapo...DONE!

Trey is still just loving being on the swim team, and he does such a good job most of the time. Except last week he lost one of his swim suits. Again. I've done everything I know to do to help that kid remember to put everything in his bag after swim practice, and he still loses things!! He has a list in his bag of the things he needs in there, we've talked about ideas to help him keep his things organized, and he was doing really good for awhile. Ugh.

In the "Interesting Things Kids Say" category, Talin took the cake this week. I was talking to Bub about how the car is making a funny noise when it's idling. As I was describing it, Talin pipes up from the back seat, "It's probably my foot." Completely serious, as if his foot seriously had something to do with the strange noise the car was making while he was nowhere near it! I had to laugh...it was too funny!

Derrick started going to his new daycare full time on November 26, and he LOVES it!! I'm so happy things turned out the way they did, but I knew they would! I'm a firm believer that the Lord has helped us along that path. He misses his former daycare provider, who moved to a different town, but is always happy to go to his new daycare. What a relief and huge pressure off of us! He's also starting to see and recognize more things around him, and with his ever-expanding vocabulary, it's adorable to hear him say "Look! Pretties!" when he sees lit-up decorations, or "Pretty House!" when a home is really decked out. It's worth the "scenic route" home just to hear him!!

Otherwise things have been pretty normal. Bub is doing a good job adjusting back and forth between working his night shifts and then coming back to daytime during the week. Soon he'll be able to work daytime weekends, and that'll be nicer still. I just can't believe it's December already. Somehow it doesn't seem like an entire year has almost gone by already. Wow...amazing!