December

As I mentioned in the last post, we knew that December was going to be a busy month for us.  Because my home was scheduled to be occupied by 65 college students and 10 adults we were hosting our annual Camp War Eagle Christmas party on December 1st I did something I have never done before - I did some of my Christmas decorating before Thanksgiving!  I know some people find that sacrilegious and some find it to be the norm, for me this year it was necessity.  It was nice having the entire house decorated by the first of December, thus allowing me to enjoy the lights and decorations for almost a solid month! 

The party as always was tons of fun, and Turner and I both got in on the Dirty Santa exchange this year.  I walked away with a Starbucks gift card (after having my gifts stolen 5 times) and Turner was the proud recipient of a Justin Bieber calendar.  I guess your particular station in life dictates who you perceive to be the bigger "winner" in this situation.

And so it goes with college students...one of Mark's student employees had promised to "tuck him in" at the end of the evening.  So off to our bedroom we all headed, cameras in hand, to watch this spectacle.

Turner and sweet friend Cooper Dunn.

On Friday, the night after the CWE Christmas party, we had the first of our two winter dances at school and in my new role that means a late evening at work!  Two days later, on Sunday, we had our Christmas worship experience/musical at church during which I was both an instrumental and vocal performer.  And to think...all this fun and at this point it was only December 4th!

The next week of December brought many fun events, such as pajama day/Polar Express day at preschool, parent visitation night at dance class, a school choir performance at my school, church activities on Wednesday night, dinner with a friend on Thursday, and the second winter dance at school another late night at work!

During this particular week we went to dinner with Mrs. Norma, and she gave Turner this beautiful Santa figurine.  I was both humbled and convicted when I went to Turner's room later that evening and found him to be arranged in this manner. Turner explained that she placed him that way, "Because Santa should be looking at baby Jesus."  When the housekeeper turned Santa to face the front a few days later, Turner was quite irritated and asked me, "Will you please tell Miss Susan to not turn Santa around again - he needs to see baby Jesus."  And so he stayed the rest of the holiday season - a nightly reminder to me that my gaze should also be properly focused during the holiday season.

The second weekend of December brought the celebration of Mark's birthday, the city of Auburn Christmas parade, and my performance at a banquet at church - all in one day!!  Turner had been talking about riding in the parade on the Nix Dance Studio float and we really enjoyed seeing the parade from a different angle this year.

The third week of December was slightly calmer, allowing us a little time to start our Christmas shopping, mostly via amazon.com.  On Thursday I attended Turner's Christmas performance at school, as well as my faculty Christmas party in the evening.  Turner was such a sweet performer, and I will never forget the look on her face when she rounded the corner to see us sitting in the audience.

Enjoying cupcakes with friends after the performance.

Turner and Aubrey - who she stays with in the afternoons.

Such a clown...

On Friday the 17th, Mark and I hosted our church Deacon and Staff Christmas Party.  If you know us well, you know that planning and organization come naturally to us, and when we combine our unique talents in this regard it can be really fun. Mark had been working with a caterer friend on the menu for weeks. Thankfully my sweet Daddy brought me bags of fresh magnolia leaves and holly, and Mom and Dad came in to help as usual (both with decorating and childcare for the evening).  I am heartbroken that I don't have a single picture to show of the beautiful lodge after we decorated!  The food and fellowship were perfect and Mark and I couldn't have been happier about how the event unfolded. For us - it was the last "big event" on our December calendars save Christmas.

Turner enjoyed our neighbor Anderson's birthday party the next day at one of her favorite Auburn locations - Frog Legs!  My girl is a champ at air hockey!

It would have been so wonderful if Friday, the 16th had been my last day of school....but alas we had to return to school for two random days the following week not getting out for good until Tuesday the 20th!  Mark was off work so it was not fun at all each morning, leaving the house quietly while the rest of my family snoozed away.

It certainly made for a short time off before family arrived in town on the 23rd, but we spent our days wrapping gifts, making and shopping from the biggest grocery list known to man, and preparing ourselves for a fun filled holiday with family!