Christmas 2010

The week before Christmas we took it easy. Will was out of school and we let the kids sleep late, stay in their PJ's, and just play all day. We played lots of games and read lots of books. One afternoon I helped them make the snowman picture frames that were in their party favor bags from Shepherd's party. The parts of the snowman were just peel-and-stick, so they could do them without too much supervision. They had fun doing them and thought that the finished product was cool.

Mitch was off work on Christmas Eve. That night we went to the Christmas Eve service at First Baptist. My mom and Mitch's parents came and we took over the back row. The service was short and sweet, and the kids did very well. I found Ainsley's Christmas dress at a consignment sale last fall and fell in love with it! I took probably 25 pictures of her that night, and her eyes were closed or she was making a terrible face in all of them. This was the best we got. Will did the same thing. Again, this picture was the best we could do.

After the church service we went to Mitch's parents' house for snacks and visited with the Channells. We came home and got the kids into their pajamas, let them put out cookies and milk for Santa, and open the traditional one present on Christmas Eve. They each got slippers this year.

The next morning we awoke to see what Santa had brought.

We opened presents and stockings as well. Ainsley got a doll highchair, doll, doll clothes, and a doll diaper bag with accessories. Will got a weed eater and chainsaw, and art portfolio and a buggy - this went perfectly with some food and a cash register that they also got. Ainsley had been asking for a robe, so she got a pretty pink one with a butterfly on it. Will loves the "If you give a . . ." books, so he got the moose and pig books to complete his collection.

Will went to a store with my mom one day before Christmas (to see a giant train that they have set up) and ended up picking out presents for me, Mitch, Papaw and Mr. Mike at Hope Landing. Turns out that Will cannot keep a secret - he told us what they were immediately! He got Mitch a hammer and me a tape measure. He was very proud of those gifts!

Later that morning we went to Mitch's parents' house. Santa had visited there too. They got a McDonald's cash register with a head set for ordering, a tray and food. Will got a new race car game and a golf game; Ainsley got a tea set and a doll house - along with other things. We ate brunch, opened stockings, took naps and watched "A Christmas Story".

Late that afternoon we went to my mom's house. Guy and Julie could not make it on Christmas day as they'd originally planned, but we wanted to spend some time over there. We opened some of our gifts anyway. We got mom a Japanese Maple to plant in her backyard - with part of the gift being that Mitch would plant it. We didn't know how to sneak a tree over there, so we put it in the back of Gill's truck and Mitch brought it in while we opened gifts. Will got a cool NASA astronaut suit and Ainsley got a doll cradle; they both got new books, pajamas and other goodies.

It was a long, but good day. I love the kids' faces in some of these pictures. Christmas (as a parent anyway) is hard work, but the fun that they had makes it worth it.  We are very blessed. 

December . . . so far

December has been a busy month so far. On Thursday the 2nd we went to the El Dorado Christmas Parade. Mitch had helped decorate the Miracle League's float but was not riding on it. Last year Will was scared at the parade, but not this year. Both kids enjoyed all the sights and sounds. I was glad it was fun for him this year.

I went shopping with the rest of the Hope Landing staff on Friday 12/3. We met at 8:30 that morning and took 3 cars to Monroe. We hit up the mall that morning and ate lunch at Longhorn . . . After lunch we stopped by several other stores close by. I rode home with Jennifer W., Leslie, Kristi, Allyn and Jennifer S. and we went home through Ruston so that we could stop at Beehive. I found some jewelry on sale and enjoyed browsing. We had a fun time and I got some good shopping done.

The next day was the Wildcat game in Little Rock (here).

We went to the Deacon's Banquet at our church the next week. Here are Mitch and I after the banquet.

Here are the kids with Mitch's parents, also after the banquet.

The next day was the lunch and "dirty Santa" exchange for the staff at Hope Landing. I got a cute plate and mug with big Christmas trees and ribbon on them. Mitch had goodie day at his office on Thursday. On Friday night we went to Jennifer Wylie's for the HL Christmas party for the staff and board members. Saturday went got up and drove to Guy and Julie's for Shepherd's 1st birthday party.  We celebrated that night at supper with yummy cupcakes and cookies for dessert. Julie's family was there, so all of Shepherd's grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were able to help him celebrate.

That night we put the three kids in their matching Christmas pajamas and tried to get a group picture. Needless to say, that did not work out so well. They had fun playing together though. Shepherd opened his presents (Ainsley tried to hijack this activity!) and also celebrated Will's, Julie's and my mom's birthdays since we were all together. No one slept really well that night so we stayed in Sunday and ate a late lunch before we had to head back.

On Tuesday the 14th, we had to take Will to ACH for and ENT appointment and an MRI with sedation. We had to be there at 7am, so we got up at 4 and left at 5. Long story short, the x-ray showed some sublaxisity in the C1-C2 area, which is common for kids with Down syndrome. The radiologist noted during the MRI that he also had cervical stenosis - the cervical spinal cord is too narrow. We don't have a lot of information about those two things and we were referred to a neurosurgeon that we will see next month. The good news about the MRI is that it did not show anything that would be causing Will's sleep apnea. The bad news is that we don't have any answers about what is causing the sleep apnea - - or any "fix" for it. Dr. Bower, his ENT, wants us to see the neurosurgeon first and then we can decide whether we'd like to try a CPAP machine or remove his tonsils for the obstructive apnea. Thankfully we got an anesthesiologist who discharged Will a few hours after the MRI and there were no complications from the sedation. It was a long day.

Wednesday 12/15 was Will's class Christmas program at school. He played a wiseman. They performed on the stage in the fellowship hall complete with props and costumes. All of the kids had at least one line. Will's line was "Let's each take him a gift". The class also collectively recited Luke 2:8-11 and sang several songs. Will knew the words to the scripture and the songs; you could even hear him singing. All of the kids did a fantastic job. They nailed their lines and there were no missteps. Mrs. Lindsey said that was the best they had ever done it; she couldn't have asked for a better performance. We were so proud of our little wiseman #3!!

Thursday the 16th was Mitch's chili cook off at work, Will's art exhibit that evening, and my mom's 60th birthday. I worked that afternoon and met Mitch and the kids at the Arts Center at 6:00 before going to my mom's house. She was hosting her birthday club's monthly party at her house. She has a ton of Christmas decorations and her house always looks great during the holidays. She has a sweet group of friends in this "lunch bunch". They shared their yummy treats with us and the kids entertained the ladies. Friday was Will's last day of school and I helped with his Christmas party. We'd made cookies that we gave to each of his classmates. He gave Mrs. Lindsey a gift card to the movies, which she was very excited about. Santa even made an appearance! Will does not like Santa too much, but he just stood on the opposite side of the room with me and did not freak out. He did wave at Santa as he left.

Saturday we took the kids to the Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover, where they decorate the oilfield in lights. We did this last year and it is a fun tradition.

Sunday after church we took some goodie plates to several widowed ladies that we know. We gave them cookies, sausage balls and little oranges. Four of the five ladies were home and we went in and visited each of them. Ainsley was with us (Will was under the weather) and she did very well. The ladies loved visiting and we enjoyed it too. This is something else we started last year and it is already one of my favorite things to do!  That night was our Sunday School Christmas party at the Shepherd's house. We ate and played "Catch Phrase", a game where something funny always seems to happen (at least with our class).

So far this week we have taken it easy and relaxed as we have nothing major on the calendar until this weekend. That is a great feeling!