With Thanksgiving at the tail end of November this year, we launched straight from celebrating with my family in Rock Hill to the Christmas parade that same weekend! And from there everything just snowballed...which feels like an out of place expression, considering the warm weather we've been having! Anyway, December flew by in a blur of sports games, parties, concerts, and fun. Having some time at home has been so wonderful! I had forgotten what it was like to be able to catch up on stuff around the house, watch a movie, read a book, play a game with the kids. So nice!! Here are pictures from the last month...
Girls' walk after Thanksgiving lunch. Even got the new Moore puppy Sammy in there. :)
Love when they play like this.
Boys' trip to Top Golf. They loved it!
Meanwhile, the girls walked to downtown Waxhaw for lunch and a little shopping.
Sunday was Gray's mile race to lead off the Hillsborough Christmas parade and he was excited to be in it with his good buddies Will and Peter. He was less excited to find that he couldn't beat his old mile time just be being older and showing up. Hmmm.
Julia and her bud Emery being silly while waiting for the parade to start.
Allie had a great seat for the parade in Nanny's lap.
Allie is going through a very social phase...she loves her friends at school and plays with a variety of kids. She also has been making friends at other events while our backs are turned and has loved seeing a lot of her cousins during this season.
Jeannie and Mama came up to see White Christmas at DPAC. We saw Gray's frisbee game, then had a fun dinner and browsing at Parker & Otis, then headed off to the show.
We had to take a little piece of Grandmama with us...we all wore some of her clip-on Christmas earrings. She did love White Christmas and the movie has always been a staple in our family.
The next day, I subbed and the Grands enjoyed Wooden Nickel lunch with Matt and Allie.
That night we split up for Julia's holiday concert and Joshua's basketball game. I love the school concert. So well done and always so fun to see friends sing the solos...this time, the Musser girls and a few others.
The trifecta of concerts this week-- White Christmas, Cameron Park Holiday Concert, and then Behold the Lamb with my China Mama friends and their husbands. What a great show, powerful songs, and amazing musicians. Really fun night.
The next day we squeezed in getting a Christmas tree. Some members were a little grumpy.
Joshua got to have a little Christmas gathering with a few friends. Gingerbread house making, which the girls turned into this whole storyline of their friends and a graveyard. ??? Then they watched Elf. Sweet little group!
And to finish up a crazy eventful week, we had our annual Rise Against Hunger meal packing event, which we love to do this time of year. This year was Allie's first time being old enough to come and she loved it. She was so proud to help seal the bags and deliver them to the next station.
The boys had two games a week during December so we were always at one game or another. Nice to find friends at some of them, particularly to entertain the girls!
I continued to sub every Thursday and Friday and Matt continued to pass the time with Allie, sometimes at the Wooden Nickel, a favorite for them both, and here joined by Pa.
Kids' Night Out has been a little sporadic this year, as we have had many families become more assimilated into the community and therefore more busy with their own lives. We did want to try a Christmas celebration though, and I'm glad we did, regardless of what we decide for the future. Great to catch up with some of our favorites.
Following the annual shadow play at church, Gray got to have a group of friends over to watch a Christmas movie...
---and Julia had a few friends over to do the same. Fun and easy night!
And here we are back at basketball and here Allie is finding a new friend again! The mom said she asked if she could sit with them and then said, "I'm 4 years old and I can chew gum." Meanwhile we were glued to the court, because Joshua doesn't play often and we don't want to miss a move.
The last week of school, I got to spend lots of time at Cameron Park. First, I helped my friend with the Angel Tree present distribution, which is another of the traditions I love so much. Then I subbed there for the first time and ended up getting to go down to Julia's class during her market day, where they were "selling" their creations from their business at their desk. She made the cutest tiny playdoh foods, but had mostly sold out by the time I got there. Market Day was crazy controlled chaos as the whole 4th grade crowded into one or two classrooms to buy or sell. Then on Friday, I got to help in Julia's class and it was so calm, as I just taught a few small groups how to make giant snowflakes. Fun! After all the school hopping I've done this fall, it was so nice to be back where I am most comfortable. I'm hoping a job will open up there for next year, but it's probably wishful thinking.
And here we are back at basketball! Joshua's team hasn't been successful thus far, but I think he is enjoying it and learning a lot...and not just about basketball. 8th grade year has seen a lot of changes in him as he is figuring out who he is. I am thankful for every moment I see the old sweetness and his many good qualities shine through and I pray God will keep working in him. Time at home together with the 6 of us can bring out a lot of angst in all of us, but also a lot of bonding that we don't normally get. So happy we have another week home to enjoy the break!
