See Rock City

On Wednesday after church, we loaded up into our van and drove up Lookout Mountain to see Rock City. We've taken Hannah to see Santa at the Enchanted Garden of Lights since her very first Christmas. This year she has been asking "When are we going to Rock City?!" nearly every time we get into the car. The schools here only had a half-day on Thursday before the kids all started their break, so we decided we had better go to Rock City before school was out. Last year we waited until two days before Christmas and it was packed!

It was a dreary evening, but the temperature didn't get below 50. There was a little drizzle of rain and some foggy patches, but it wasn't bad, and the weather seemed to keep the other people away. We almost had the place to ourselves. When we got to Santa, there were no other kids around so Hannah got to sit with him and visit for a nice long time. Lydia visited too, but she wasn't sure she wanted to let Santa disturb her evening nap. Here is a picture:


Because we were basically the only ones there, we also got to take plenty of time for pictures. The ladies at the gift shop were more than happy to have something to do, but we still felt like we should thank them by buying something from the shop. Since we don't need ANY MORE Christmas decorations at our house, we opted for Hannah's all time favorite: face-painting. It cost $5 for a few sparkly looking snowflakes, but what the heck? It only happens once a year, right? Here are some other pictures from the evening.






The only downside to having all of Rock City to ourselves was being alone in Fairyland Caverns. The black lighting on the fairytale & nursery rhyme scenes is usually a little creepy to me. When there is no one else around, it is downright disturbing! I found a flickr album someone posted online with some pictures that can only begin to convey the creepiness. Click here to see it (but be warned!) Hannah had a love/hate relationship with the caverns. She adores princesses and fairytales, but she is terrified of the dark. She has asked to go back several times since Wednesday night, but I think she is asking in part out of morbid curiousity! It will be awhile before Mommy can take her back- maybe Daddy...

Aside from the cave, it was a special night for our family. I hope you are able to find some time in all of the rush of the season to enjoy sweet traditions with your own loved ones.

Give it up

I know I've already blogged today, but I missed a week so I think it's okay. And besides, we just had a very traumatic experience at our house.

It started with our visit to Cincinnati. At my parents house, Hannah fell in love with this tacky little stuffed cat- the kind with a hard little body covered in rabbit fur. She carried it with her every where she went and she slept with it at night. She brought it back with her, and it has been her constant companion.

Today, while Hannah & I worked on this darling little Nativity story book you can illustrate yourself with stamps, Kitty met Sophie. It was not a good encounter. I looked over and noticed something other than rawhide in Sophie's mouth, rushed to remove it, and almost cried when I realized what it was. Furless, in pieces, with only one eye left... Kitty was gone.

In the past, we've quickly thrown out things Sophie demolished and hoped Hannah would forget they existed. Once, to let Hannah know we meant it when we told her to keep her toys off of the floor or Sophie would get them, we left her chewed up Schleich figure right where we found it- scars and all. When she later found it, the curious, concerned look on her face as she asked, "What happened to my panda?" and inspected his disfigurement was enough to keep me & John giggling for a few days (not because we're cruel, just because it really did look like it had suddenly come down with a bad case of leprosy). This time, I knew Hannah would notice Kitty was missing, and I did not want to leave the disturbing little pile of kitty pieces for her to find. I just told her: I think Sophie just ate your kitty.

I have to give her credit: the kiddo handled it better than I imagined. There were lots of tears- it was a devastated kind of cry, and I just held her and told her I was sorry. This was real grief to her- she lost something very special, very suddenly. To comfort her, or at least show her that I understood and survived the same sort of ordeal, I showed her something I lost to Sophie's chewing earlier in the morning: an angel ornament made by my aunt. I'd had it for 20 years, and Sophie destroyed it when we left her alone for 20 seconds. I held Hannah for a little longer, then asked if she wanted to cuddle & watch a movie. She said no, that she wanted to finish the stamp book. She took some deep breaths and asked if we could try to find a new kitty. (We did- that's "new kitty" above.) She fussed again for a bit when I explained that the new kitty would not be arriving for a couple of days, courtesy of a seller on e-bay. And then, to use her words, she "gave it up."

I am so proud of her. When I found Kitty, I was angry. When Hannah found out, I expected DEFCON 1. For a three-year-old, especially one who has not had a lot of sleep in the past week, to be able to say, "I cried & cried, but then I gave it up" is pretty amazing. As an adult, I have let myself get attached to so many things. I have to be honest, I'm still upset about the angel ornament. But I'm thankful for the lesson in letting go, courtesy of my own little living angel.

Cincinnati

Last weekend we went to Cincinnati. We'll still be heading up there on Christmas day, but we'll be cutting our visit short to go to see John's family in Virginia for a few days. Since there were still so many people who hadn't met Lydia yet, and less time for them all to get to snuggle with her after Christmas, we headed up to Ohio. It was a great visit. It is always so wonderful to see people we love and to see how much they love Hannah- and now Lydia.

It was also wonderful because I got to take John to an NFL game while the girls visited with family. His Redskins played my Bengals. Here is the sign I took to the game:


Well, there wasn't a tie. The Bengals actually won! I was trying to give John the opportunity to see the Redskins win as an anniversary gift. Oh well. He was disappointed, but we had a good time anyway. After the game, we visited with more special people and then took Hannah to see Christmas lights with Nana & Papa. Then we headed back Monday, and the girls were great in the car! Hannah was very sad to leave everyone, but it was nice to be able to say we'll be heading back in 10 days!

Exactly one year ago, John & I were arriving in New York for a quick but wonderful trip to celebrate our 5th anniversary. He surprised me by planning the whole thing. He even made an itinerary including a carriage ride in central park and a broadway show. What a great husband I have! There is only one problem: this year we both miss the sights and sounds of Manhattan at Christmas more than we could have ever anticipated. Here are some of our favorite pictures from the trip:

Pajama Monday

We had a busy weekend, and I haven't been feeling 100%, so today we enjoyed a lazy PJ day. In fact, right now, both of my girls are napping and they are still in their pjs. Don't judge us- you know you're jealous! Lazy PJ day consisted mainly of the following components: PBS kids on television, washing/folding lots of loads of laundry, snacks, and (so I don't feel like a totally terrible mom) an art project. Here are the darling little Hand Santas made by Hannah. I especially like how she drew pupils in the eyes and made the mouth big "so he can say Ho Ho Ho."

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my anniversary! John & I got married 6 years ago today. On one hand it seems crazy that we've been married that long, but on the other hand it seems like even longer ago. So much has changed in our lives since December 7, 2002. John was still in seminary- his one exam was already finished because he had an understanding professor who thought of "no better reason" to miss exams than one's own wedding. I on the other hand was right in the middle of my exams & projects to get my masters/certificate at Samford. I actually had to take an exam the day we flew out! After our rehearsal dinner, my bridesmaids and I watched Father of the Bride together, and then my maid of honor & I went upstairs to tag-team-tackle a lesson plan unit that my dad then ran out & mailed before the wedding! Seriously. It was horrible. Most brides have sleepless nights due to nerves or excitement before the wedding. Mine was due to finals!

But we survived and had a beautiful wedding day. I actually think the stress of the semester was beneficial to me, because if I were able to devote myself totally to wedding preparations I might have been more of a bridezilla. As it was, I was probably more laid back than anyone might have expected, most of all me! So we forgot our toasting glasses, so what? We forgot to plug in the Christmas lights on the stage? Oh well. We're here, we're married & we're sharing it with all the people we love. Who could ask for more?

That was 6 years ago. We both graduated. We've been in at least three churches since then. I student taught, and then had my own classroom for two years. We made a home in Birmingham. We moved & made a home in Chattanooga. We had a precious little girl named Hannah. We had another precious little girl named Lydia. Time marches on.

I wish I could say I've approached the rest of our life & marriage the way I did our wedding day. The dog ate our entire screen door? Oh well. It's taking us three + years to get rid of the tacky wallpaper in our house? So what. Unfortunately, especially lately with all the pressure to have a picture perfect holiday season, I've been a lot more tense. But today, sitting and reflecting on that day not so long ago, I am thankful. We're here, we're married, and we're sharing our lives with the people we love. Who could ask for more?

To my husband- I love you even more today than I did then. Things might be less glamorous, but they are definitely not less interesting! Thank you for being a patient and loving husband, a devoted (and fun) dad, and a perfect partner for me. I look forward to many more years, many more changes, many more opportunities for me to see how blessed I am to have you. Happy Anniversary!!!

Sara

I know I already posted today, but I found this picture while feeding Lydia and just had to share it.

This is Sara. She is a star at a Sea-Worldish place in Istanbul. I googled her & found more info and pictures here. I think this is right up there with the elephant painting. Plus, I just watched the beginning of "50 first dates" the other day, and Sandler's character talks about how people don't know much about walruses and what they can do. I for one did not know they could play the saxophone. Thanks for educating us, Sara. Rock on with your big walrusy self.

SNOW!

Yesterday, as I sat nursing Lydia, Hannah called in from the living room, "Mom! I see snow!" I thought it was something on PBS kids- the Word World episode had been a Christmas one. But she quickly let me know it was real snow and told me to look out the window. Sure enough, I peeked through the blinds to see big beautiful flurries. I could tell it was terribly cold when I took the girls to the grocery store that morning, but I had no idea I'd be seeing snow!

I get really excited when I actually get to see snow these days. Growing up in Ohio, I don't think I ever experienced a December, let alone a winter, without a nice covering of snow. We didn't always have a white Christmas, but I can remember at least one time it snowed before Halloween! I've seen snow a few times since moving to the south, but I'm pretty sure they were small dustings in January or February. There is just something special about snow that comes when Christmas is in the air. Hannah felt it too. She was jumping around, scrambling to put on her shoes, plotting to catch a flake on her tongue, and asking "Is Santa coming?!" over & over. To her, it was Christmas.

So, I bundled the girls up and took them outside- it was Lydia's first snow, after all. But we just stayed long enough to greet the flurries, catch a few, and snap some pictures. Then we hurried inside to warm up again. That's another one of those magical moments of the holidays- coming back inside and stripping off wet clothes to thaw with hot chocolate. What a nice surprise! Of course, it didn't stick, and if I were in Ohio it would not be a very meaningful snow. No schools would close, no big deal. But I'm not in Ohio. And I miss the snow at Christmastime. So to me, it was a big deal! Snow!

Hannah was so excited when we stepped out onto the porch!

Lydia's first snow took her breath away (or maybe that was the wind!)

I'm a grown up!

I did it! I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for the very first time. I was fortunate to get to try this big undertaking with just my little family, so there wasn't a bunch of pressure from extended family depending on me to get everything just right. I made a real turkey and just about everything I used to have for Thanksgiving at home. I timed everything almost perfectly too- if we hadn't stopped to document the event with pictures and figure out how to seat our little ones at the dining room table, it would have all been hot from the kitchen.

I feel this officially qualifies me for "grown-up" status. I know that since I am someone's mom (actually two someones) I should already consider myself a grown-up. There are definitely times that I realize I am a full-fledged on-my-own adult: when I pay my mortgage, when my girls are sick and I have to figure out how to best take care of them, when John & I travel on our own, when people I've never heard of sing the national anthem at major sporting events... that kind of stuff. But cooking a whole Thanksgiving dinner is another level of grown-up that I honestly didn't know I had in me. I'm proud of myself.

Now, if I can just get these silly Christmas decorations set up...