Basically, the month of December in ONE SINGLE POST!

Grab a drink and a snack and make yourselves comfortable, folks. It's gonna be a long one.

It's the post you have all been waiting for!! (Well, at least the post the grandparents have been waiting for...) CHRISTMAS!! Since I have been a total slacker over the past month when it comes to blogging, I am just going to post tons of pictures and let them do the talking. 'Cuz lets face it... the pictures are the best part anyway!

I'm going to do my best to get all this in somewhat of an order.

First, we had a party at my parent's house on December 16th. This was for my mom's side of the family. We all brought a covered dish and there was tons of seriously awesome food like Honey Baked Ham, turkey, rolls, green bean casserole, and my specialty...baked macaroni and cheese. It smelled soooo good... but I was so strong and resisted it all!!! Even the Godiva Chocolate cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory! And that my friends, took some friggin' will power if I do say so myself!! After dinner, the adults played a super-fun game we made up to hand out the white elephant gifts while the kids each got 'real' presents to open.

Here's Allie waiting as patiently as a three year old can wait...

After dinner she and Kate wasted no time and dug right in...

Here's Michael's look of 'yes, I do take a genuine interest in all things Care Bear' as Allie shows off the 25th anniversary bear and DVD she just opened. He was quite proud of himself since he was the one who picked that gift out for her. (Yep, she totally has him wrapped around her little finger!)

At first Wyatt thought he would rather cruise around the gifts than open them...... but after a little help from Cole he soon got the hang of it The result... one happy boy! He was so glad to get his first big boy toy. His baby toys were getting a little boring for his taste, and Allie's dolls and princess stuff are just not suitable options for guy who exhibits macho qualities, like himself!

Allie shows him how to work his new truck

My happy boys...

Next, Granny had a surprise for all the women. She gave each of us a beautiful wind chime that she had made herself out of silverware and beads. The silver belonged to both her and her mother, my great grandmother. They were absolutely beautiful and sounded so pretty. I can't imagine how long she worked to get them all made! I love anything handmade... especially if has sentimental value like the wind chimes!

Now off to Christmas day. Michael likes to be home Christmas morning so the kids can wake up in their own house. I guess it's kind of our tradition, but I think it's a good one.

Here's all the presents Santa left... Allie's loot......and here's Wyatt's. Turner made sure to give it a thorough inspection first. We added his truck in so it didn't look like all got was boring ole' clothes.
Next the kids opened their wrapped presents. Allie got some Care Bear pajamas, which I might add, are now a favorite and considered proper attire for all day wear. Sometimes we parents have to pick our battles, right???I give you the people's exhibit A. The p.j.'s went into immediate action and were paired with the pink guitar she had asked Santa for repeatedly for the last two months.

At this point Wyatt is an ole' pro at the whole present thing. He went straight to his stuff. Too bad I... er... 'Santa' was a total looser and didn't bother to read the box that said 'adult assembly required'. Dub was a good sport though and played with everything else while mommy put it together.
After all the presents were opened and each toy had its four minutes of glory, the madness of Christmas officially began. Both families live in Georgia, which is great... but makes holidays totally hectic.

My family is an hour and a half away form our house. Michael's is an hour away from my parents house, and then it's an hour from his family's house back to ours. To try to make things fair, each year we try to spend the majority of time with one family and then travel to the other family's house for a short visit. Then, the next year we switch. Ya still with me??? It's the best we can do. We try to stay on the same rotation as Michael's sister and her family who come every other year from Texas.

This year it was my family's turn for the 'biggie', so most of the pics are from their house.

Mom (aka Moo-Moo) made us each a scarf and some mittens to match! Allie loved hers just a little bit!

Here we are showing them off...Here's Dad, as happy as a kid on Christmas!And now I have a confession. Well,... you see... my mom... well,... my mom is a hooker. A rug hooker, that is. She loves it and is very, very talented at it. She hooked my sister and I each a rug for Christmas. Here is Pam with hers...

And here's mine... it's a portrait of Turner! I took a picture of him with it so you can see how amazingly similar they are! Man, I LOVE ME SOME HANDMADE PRESENTS!!!
Yes, I realize this one needs some explaining...

Last year about a week before Christmas, the mail truck that delivers my parent's mail caught on fire. The mailman was able to save some stuff, but most was lost completely. The crazy part was that the USPS never bothered to tell anyone. They simply delivered the charred remains of letters and scorched sections of boxes. The gift that my mom had ordered for my brother-in-law was totally melted and black! It was only after my dad called to report it that they got the whole story. Way to go, snail mail! That's what I call dependability. So this year, my dad jokingly burned the packaging of Chris's present.

Next comes Michael's family.

New house... new presents to open!

Wyatt loved the singing , rocking puppy on a sleigh.

And Allie liked her new Doctor's Kit

She made Dr. Poppy test it out right away.Michael showing a little gratitude gangsta' style for his new ski hat. We can't wait to leave for that trip!!!

Sadly, this is the only picture I have of my poor Mother-In-Law. (Sorry Nancy!!) Things were hectic and We all were totally exhausted. I meant to take pictures of the kids with Nana and Poppy and Uncle Jon-Jon but my brain just quit. This picture was the result of Jonathan sticking two bows down on the ottoman right as Nancy went to sit. Classic! She had no idea!!
After she finally found out, she actually moved them to another choice spot a bit north of the belt... I tried to snap a picture of it, but I was not quite fast enough. Dang! It would have been for you, Katie and read a little something like this... "You like my bows? They're real. My bows." I'll be more on my game next year...

Finally, I leave you with this little jewel of a picture...

'What's a guy gotta do to get a little supervision around here?'

Yep, there's just no denying what happened here. It was one of those situations where I thought Michael was watching Wyatt, and Michael naturally assumed I was watching him. I knew there was trouble when I found Michael enthralled in a T.V. show and the house was eerily quiet. It was one of those quiets where you just know something is up. I dashed down the hallway and Michael bolted from the couch and we began the semi-frantic search for my mischievous little guy. We found him in Allie's room consuming the last of about 10 pieces of foil-wrapped chocolate from a goody bag her Sunday School teacher had given her. Yep, foil and all! Whoopsie. (Note to self: in the future, check kids rooms for hidden baggies of candy, food, or other consumables.)

Well, you've reached the end at last!! Sorry for the marathon-post. It took me days to type this little novel. And, to top it all off, Michael woke up with the Flu this morning so the interruptions were... um... slightly multiplied. I could say 'I told you so' and bring up the fact that he was 'just too busy to wait the fifteen minutes at the doctor's office' for the nurse to give him the shot, but me being a loving, caring, forgiving wife... well, I just won't even go there.

Oh, and tomorrow is my birthday!! WooHoo!!