::Christmassy things::

Yesterday we did a few "Christmassy" things.

We adopted an angel this year (from the Salvation Army). It's been really kind of fun. The kids have enjoyed it too. We picked a 10-year-old girl who wanted Barbie dolls for Christmas. We got her a warm winter coat, some clothes, and a couple of Barbie dolls along with some outfits for them. I hope she likes her stuff and has a fun Christmas.

We delivered it yesterday...

There were a couple of tough things about this deal. 1, How do you explain why she needs help because she might not get any presents for Christmas when your kids all believe in Santa?? And 2, I wish we could've felt a little more connected to the girl or the family we helped. We just dropped it off, and the Salvation Army said "thanks" and "God bless," and that was it! Maybe that's a selfish gratification thing, but I think Sub-for-Santa might be what we do next year-just because that way we know who the stuff is going to, and we can connect the gifts with a family of actual people instead of just a number.

We're so glad we did it though :)

Our other "Christmassy" thing yesterday was going to see Santa! We do it every year, and it's usually pretty hard (somebody's crying, somebody's cold, somebody's tired of waiting, etc), but we still go back the next year. It wasn't as cold this year as last, but really wet and slushy. Chloe had a rough go. Her feet were cold and wet (soaked through her boots) and she got hit in the face with an icy snowball that some other kids were throwing around. Poor girl. She was trying not to cry before she saw Santa.

They had some hot chocolate.

Portie wasn't too shy, but he wouldn't really talk to Santa. He pointed at me when Santa asked him a question, and I had to answer :) I told him Port wants a remote control Buzz.

Coop, well, still not a fan of Santa. He told da-da through his cries "mah all done, da-da!"

Chloe, of course, was just fine. She told Santa she wants a guitar for Christmas.

And that was our night.

In other news...

We LOST Bubb's "beeky" at Matt's basketball game last night! We were pretty worried about how he'd sleep and considered going to the store to get more for him, but we didn't. We were hoping he'd lose it at some point, and we'd just say that was it for the binky (because neither one of us has the heart to take it away from him), but when it comes down to it, that's easier said than done! He did fine though. He slept great last night and didn't cry for it or anything, and so far today, he hasn't even mentioned it. Hopefully we're done with the "beeky han." Keep your fingers crossed!!

::Chloe's bad day::

"...that's how boys are at this age, baby. They just DUMB!"

-Claire Huxtable

Okay, so it wasn't a bad DAY, it was more of a bad bus ride home. I picked her up from the bus stop yesterday, and as soon as she saw me, her little face dropped, she tilted her head to the side, looked down, walked slower, took heavy steps, and got in the car.

I asked her what happened, and she told me about how she got 5 "wows" in a row-a thing her teacher does when they do a great job on their class work. She writes "wow" on the papers, and if you get 5 in a row, you get to pick a prize. This was her second time to get 5 "wows." She picked a little plastic slinky. She said she was letting a little girl on the bus try it, and when she was handing it back to Chloe this (way cute) little boy who was in her class last year, took it and broke it! She pulled a broken slinky out of her pocket.

She was heartbroken.

When we got home, she threw the slinky in the trash and threw herself on the couch and sobbed (and I mean really sobbed!). I felt so bad for her, and was trying not to laugh at the same time. I told her about how boys are just like that, and nobody knows why. When they like you, they do dumb, mean things to you like pull out your hairbows, throw your papers and crayons on the floor, scribble on your class work, tell you to tell your mom they like you and then tell you the next day that they lied and they don't like you (all of which has happened to her), etc.

The two little brothers kept hugging her and telling her that that boy was dumb. And Bubb kept saying "whatda mannuh, kiss?" Poor girl, but at least she's got two little boys at home who are sweet to her (most of the time).

::helloooooo snow!::

It's {unofficially} winter!!!

We've had LOTS of snow in the last couple of weeks! We had 2 major storms each giving us about 8 inches. The first storm was pretty major. The news was announcing business and school closures, Matt's work sent out a big email telling everybody to go home, and they asked people working later shifts not to come in at all! It was a big one!

So our grass is completely covered, so is the driveway, and our mailbox (almost)! It's pretty exciting. Chloe built a snowman-and a pretty good one, I thought! Port likes to see how deep he can get into it, and Bubb just kind of watches and likes to scoop it up in cups. He calls it "no." And when I ask him if it's 'nowin', he'll say yeah, and that it's "Bubba 'nowin'" or kiss or Porter "'nowin'." Matt still loves to plow it with his 4 wheeler (and so does J). Me on the other hand, I only like it if we're home or if Matt's the one driving. I'm still not a good driver in the snow. I blame that on a Texas upbringing (how long can I use that excuse??).

It snowed most of the morning today and we're supposed to get snow again on Friday and Sunday. Man! Of all the winters NOT to be able to go snowboarding!