Maybe it's done snowing??

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Today has been a fun day here with the excitement of Santa as well as the snow that continues to fall outside. We were supposed to go to Mama Mae's today, but since it's not safe to travel, we will have to wait and go another time. For now, we're just enjoying being at home as a family. Hope you enjoy our photos from the day!

Before we got to Santa's gifts, we had to have breakfast. This girl has her priorities in order! :)

Excited about the surprises in her stocking

Pulling out more things from our stockings. . . I know that spoons may not sound like an exciting gift to most people, but Lucy cried when I took them away to wash them. She also carried them into lunch at church with her today!

First of all, I love this photo! Look how excited Lucy is as she gets close to her new toys that Santa brought her! :)

Playing with puzzles left by Santa

Testing out everything in our new kitchen

Pushing the blender button and listening to it play music. . . after all, every good toy makes noise!

After presents, we went out in the snow. At 7:30 this morning, we had nothing on the ground. By 10:30, when we went outside, this is what we found!

And it is still snowing as I type this! :)

Playing in the snow

Even with all our new toys. . .

Even with all her new toys, today Lucy decided it would be more fun to play in Mommy's kitchen! She dug out tupperware and metal bowls from the one cabinet she can get into and went to town! Hope you enjoy!! :)

Also, a few pictures below. . . the first one is from dinner time before we got ready to go to church. The last one is another feeble attempt for a Christmas family photo. . . apparently we won't be able to get a good one this year. . .

Grove Park Gingerbreads

We drove up to the Grove Park this afternoon to see the Gingerbread houses with Lucy. It was CROWDED so we didn't stay long, but we got some cute pictures and some nice family time together. Afterward, we went to Baylee's Steakhouse where Lucy consumed her entire kids meal of chicken tenders and sweet potato fries!! This child LOVES to eat!!

So here are a LOT of photos from our day. . . it was too hard to choose a few, so here are my favorites! :)

Getting ready to go

This picture is for Aunt Nae - we LOVE our tea set!!

Too cute!!!

We tried to get Lucy's picture in front of the Gingerbread tree but she was much more interested in her Candy Cane she got as she came in . . .

Enjoying our candy cane

Mommy and Lucy in the sleigh

Daddy and Lucy in the sleigh

Posing with the reindeer

Lucy's favorite "house" - she loved the doggy

Wondering how to break through the glass to get the Gingerbread house

Another Gingerbread house

Flack Christmas photos

Here are photos from Christmas with all the Flacks! Lucy has so many wonderful new things to play with and Santa hasn't even come to visit yet!

Very excited about the present she's opening

Being cute for the camera

Lucy is upset because she wants Bella's toy. . . learning that all the presents under the tree are not for her is a hard lesson!

Lucy helping Pappy open his presents

Reading with Uncle Joe at her new table

Brown-eyed girl :)

Having tea with Aunt Lauren

Making music with Gramma

Family photo

Family photo 2

Bed head! (And 18 month well check stats)

Lucy woke this morning with quite the case of bedhead! I had to take a washcloth to her hair to get it all down! We went to the doctor's office this morning for Lucy's 18 month check up. Everything looks great and she's developing just as she should be! And thankfully, there were NO SHOTS at this appointment so Lucy was all smiles as we left.

Lucy is now 21 lbs, 10 oz. and 32 1/4 inches tall. She jumped from below the 25th percentile to just above the 50th percentile in height these past 3 months although her weight is still between the 10th and 25th percentile. (Which is amazing to me by the way that she eats. . . .I can't believe she weighs as little as she does and eats ALL THE TIME!)

Enjoy the early morning photos! :)

Christmas Part 2

Today was Christmas with the Flack side of the family! It was a busy, fun-filled day and once again, Lucy has so many new, wonderful things! Gramma and Pappy got Lucy some new clothes and pjs, some ornaments, a CD, a table and chair set, a xylophone and tambourine, and a Little People Farm set. Uncle Joe and Aunt Lauren got Lucy a Jojo the Rabbit which plays Hide and Go Seek with you!

I'll try to put up some pictures from today at a later date. Today has just gotten away from me, so I don't have any new pictures uploaded. However, the picture below is Lucy after her bath last night in her snowman towel - isn't it cute??

A Busy Day

Today was one of those Sundays. . . we have been busy all day! Because of the snow last weekend, the final performance of the Christmas cantata was moved to this Sunday. So there was an 8:15 and 9:33 service at church followed by the cantata at 11:00. After church was over, we had our Staff Christmas Party at Paul B's house. It was a nice time together, but most of us had to eat and run! The MRUMC Handbell Christmas Concert was this afternoon at 4. The ladies were nervous, but as the director, I have to tell you, I couldn't have asked for it to be better. They did a fabulous job - I only wish there had been more people there to hear them! After the concert was over, the Carsons and the Robinsons had a wonderful reception for everyone to enjoy. As soon as I left there, it was back here to the Parsonage for the Youth Christmas Party. (This was supposed to happen last weekend, but was canceled due to snow.) By 7:30, the kids had gone home, and Michael and I finally had a chance to sit down.

Are you tired after reading that? I'm tired just thinking about all we did today! Lucy did a fabulous job handling the day though. We only had one minor meltdown today, even with just an hour nap. She's gone to bed for the evening, and her Mommy and Daddy aren't far behind! We've got a fun day ahead tomorrow with the Flack family Christmas so hopefully everyone will get a good night's sleep!

And as promised on an earlier post, here is Lucy's photo with Santa! :)

SO many new toys!

Lucy has spent a lot of time playing with her new toys today. She flits back and forth from item to item, as if she is checking to make sure they are all still there! :) We have had a semi easy day today with only a handbell rehearsal in the afternoon. The rest of the time has been spent playing with toys, eating, and napping. (A pretty good Saturday, if I say so myself!)

Here is Lucy with all of her fun food. She has had a great time with it, putting food in her pot and pretending to eat it, and then bringing food to us and having us pretend to eat it. She also likes to "drink" out of her tea cups. . . she doesn't quite understand the teapot part yet!


Here is Lucy pushing her baby around the kitchen in her stroller. (See Grammy, she does use it!) We took baby all around the house today in the stroller, as well as holding her by the scruff of her neck. :)


Lucy also received a sweet gift from a lady at church. Lucy has a special relationship with this friend and loves to see her at MRLEC, Primetimers, and church. She has had the best time this afternoon playing with her little learning house, as you can see from the pictures below.



And also - Lucy is 18 months old today. A year and a half. Wow. Time is flying by so quickly!

Christmas Part 1

We had our first of several Christmas celebrations today. Grammy, Poppa, Mamaw, Aunt Nae, Uncle Lattie, Jenni, and Uncle David were here to eat lunch and exchange gifts. Lucy had a great time visiting with everyone. She was especially excited to have the attention of her "Funcles." We had a great lunch and a great time visiting together. Lucy was a little overwhelmed during present time.. . she got so many wonderful things that she just didn't know what to do! Grammy and Poppa gave her some cute clothes, a snowman book, some play pots and pans, some fun food, and a baby doll in a stroller. Lucy enjoyed playing with her baby doll and took her all around the house this evening.

Aunt Nae gave Lucy some cute clothes, a talking tea set, and a play telephone. However, I think Lucy's favorite gift from Aunt Nae was the pajama pants that she bought for Michael. Lucy sat there in her car seat (Who knows why she decided to drag that out?) and wrapped up in the pajama pants all afternoon!

Mamaw gave Lucy some new pajamas which Lucy wrapped around her neck and walked around "wearing." Mamaw also gave her a musical radio which plays "Farmer in the Dell." Uncle Lattie gave her some play clothes and a talking cookie jar. Jennie gave her some fun new books. Uncle David gave her some play clothes, some fun food, and her favorite movie, "Shrek." (We have no idea why she loves this movie, but she will sit and watch it whenever it is on and laughs along with it. Anytime we need something to distract her or keep her occupied for a while, that movie always does the trick!)

Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time together. Lucy did well, despite the change in routine, the many people, and all the excitement. She only got fussy towards the end of the evening as people were leaving. Below is Lucy sitting on Poppa's lap, looking at the calendar she gave them.

It didn't take long after everyone left for Lucy to be ready to go to bed. She played with her fun food for a little while longer (Her favorite food is the ice cream!) and then she pushed her baby and stroller into her room. We got her pj's on, brushed her teeth, watched a little bit of Shrek and then Lucy was ready to go to bed. . . all by 7:00 PM!!


Hopefully Lucy will recover from all of today's excitement and be ready for round two of Christmas with Gramma, Pappy, Aunt Lauren, and Uncle Joe on Monday! :)

Lucy at MRLEC

We took Lucy to MRLEC (Mills River Life Enrichment Center) today. This is a group for seniors that meets every Thursday for a program and a meal. It's done through our church but is an outreach to the entire community. Lucy goes with her Daddy from time to time and occasionally (when I don't have school!) I am invited along as well.

When we got there today, Lucy walked right in and took off towards the kitchen. . .she knew she would find friends in there. She loved on those working in the kitchen for a bit and then we went out to the table. Several of the ladies who went on the PrimeTimer trip to Junaluska enjoyed telling the "Poor Baby" story about Lucy during lunch. (A story for another time - it's a cute one I'll tell later!) Lucy sat at the table with her food and then pulled out a book and one by one, people came by and visited with her. There were several people that we knew from church but also several that I didn't know. As they came by, they talked with her and she showed them pictures of the animals in her book. She laughed and grinned and waved and blew kisses and had a fun time all around. But what touched my heart the most was the joy on the faces of those seniors who visited with her.

As a young mom, it is easy to take for granted the daily smiles, hugs, kisses, and laughter of an 18 month old. The joy that fills my home is overflowing from this beautiful little girl who (most of the time!) is a happy child. I am blessed to wake up every morning to hear the sounds of Lucy babbling to her stuffed pig and bunny blanket. I get to see her enormous grin and giggles as she greets her Daddy when we get home in the afternoon. I get to be the recipient of those sweet, bedtime hugs and watch her sleeping face as she dreams the dreams of an innocent child who doesn't yet know that life is not always easy. But there are those who no longer have those moments. There are those whose children are grown up and moved away, who may not have grandchildren or may not get to see them on a regular basis. There are those who are lonely, especially during this Christmas season.

I guess the point of this rambling blog, is that I am thankful for the joys that Lucy brings to my life and I don't want to take them for granted. But more than that, I am thankful that I am able to share the joy that my child can bring with others. And as Lucy grows, I hope she will begin to understand the impact that a smile, a laugh, a hug - really, just the gift of spending time with someone - can have on a person. I am thankful that those at MRLEC allow her to come and that they welcome her and love on her and I want her to grow up learning how to return that love and joy to others.

So, thanks for letting me share those slightly disjointed thoughts. . . as I have been reflecting on the Advent Season, LOVE and JOY have been topics dear to my heart. Those (as well as PEACE and HOPE) are qualities I want my child to grasp, to take to heart, to fill herself with. . . .Thank you Lord, for the blessing of being Lucy's Mom. Please make me worthy of helping her grow to understand that You came down to earth to bring us these gifts and that we must show these gifts to others. Amen.

(By the way, these pictures are scanned from photos taken at MRLEC so they may not be the best quality!)

Christmas Decorations

Nothing too exciting today. . . after all, it's a Wednesday night! This was a busy one, with Cherub Choir, followed by a makeup handbell rehearsal, and then a (surprisingly!) long Chancel Choir rehearsal. So here are a few photos from around the house. . . I played with the editing software on the computer with these.




Lucy went to see Santa this afternoon. Last year, her picture was all smiles - this year was a different story. The moment I went to get her out of her stroller, I felt her little body stiffen up and as we walked over to Santa, she clung to me like she never has before. We sat there for a little bit, but she was having no part of visiting with Santa. He gave her a candy cane as we were leaving, which endeared him enough to her to warrant a wave goodbye.

This evening we had some pictures taken at church. . .hopefully, I will have those in the next few days to show you. :)