Our Christmas Day

Rouxdolph (not a misspelling) must have an infrared nose and Papa Noel must have GPS and an air boat, because sure as the world is round, there were presents from Santa under the tree Christmas morning! We've lived in a different house every year now for five years and Santa has found each one of those houses. The kids must be on the nice list! ;)

Travis and I delight in watching the kids find the treasures in their stockings and open the gifts "Santa" picked out especially for them. Santa must have brought the perfect presents this year, because they're all still being played with!

Madalynn got a Hannah Montana (stage name) doll and a Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana as herself) doll from Santa. She got some really cute clothes, a Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus CD, a clock radio/CD player and pink boots!

Justis got a Spiderman football and the game Battleship from Santa. He also got clothes and shoes, as well as a closet organizer.

Dawson got a spider man football and a Batman action figure with a motorcyle. He got clothes and shoes and shares the closet organizer with his brother.

Jillian got new clothes from Santa as well as a little dolly. Jillian was the first to recognize which stocking was hers because of the dolly sticking out of the top. She picked up the dolly and insisted on using a pajama shirt (also in her stocking) as a blanket. Uncle Seth ever-so-patiently helped Jillian wrap and re wrap her baby in that silly pajama shirt. Thank you, Seth!

We grown-ups got to open presents on Christmas morning as well. The most personal present given had to be the "Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells" Christmas lights Seth and Rebecca gave Travis. Real shotgun shells (empty) were fashioned into strings of Christmas lights! The gift that drew the most underwhelming response was the trendy sweater gifted to Scott by Travis and I. The brown, blue and orange striped sweater was given to him to wear in the family picture we took the next morning. Not only was Scott unsure whether the sweater was his style, we made him wear it for family pictures. Scott looked very nice in the sweater, but we know compliments might not be enough incentive for him to wear it ever again. Thanks for being a good sport, Scott! ;) All of the other presents were fantastic as well. My favorite is the PF Chang gift certificate Travis gave Holly and I. Can anyone say date night?!

Tickfaw State Park was our Christmas afternoon destination for fun. We ALL played with the kids on the playground equipment, took a swamp walk, then hit the parking lot to play with the boys' new Spiderman footballs.

Scott, Travis, Seth and Holly ended the evening with a round of Spades then hit the sack. All of the rest of us had already turned in for the night.

We had a blessed Christmas!

Oak Alley Plantation

We toured Oak Alley Plantation, in rural Vacherie, LA, with Travis's family on Christmas Eve. Oak Alley is on the westbank of the Mississippi River, meaning we had to cross the Mississippi to get there.

Ladies dressed in plantation garb, complete with ruffly hoop skirts and a "Hi, y'all!" greeted us for our thirty-minute guided tour of the plantation at precisely at three thirty.

The massive nearly 300-year-old oak trees lining the walk and framing the front of the plantation are exactly why the plantation is called Oak Alley plantation. Our guide educated us on the trees before stepping into the home. The twenty-eight evenly-spaced live oak trees, planted in two rows leading from the home to the Mississippi River, were planted in the early 1700s by an unknown settler before the land was purchased for use as a plantation.

The antebellum (a term meaning pre-Civil War) plantation home was beautiful! The Frenchman whom bought the plantation land from his brother-in-law commissioned an architect to build the plantation home. I'm sure the architect's timeless details and excellent planning are a big reason the home was able to be easily restored.

Much of the oral tour I didn't hear. Jillian didn't want to have any part of being held during the tour (but she obviously had to be held to protect the historic home and antiques) and Travis had to take the two boys potty during the very beginning of the tour! Jillian was held against her will by both Travis and I (we passed her back and forth) until we got upstairs and thought we were safe to let her roam supervised just a bit in the hallway. Silly us!

I thought we were going to be the new owners of a very old picture that was hanging just at Jillian's height behind our tour hostess. Jillian charged right up behind the hostess as she was talking about the history of the people in the portraits and smacked both hands right on the glass of the closest picture frame. Aunt Holly was standing nearest Jillian and immediately scooped her up to prevent further disaster. I'm glad Holly was there to get her. I was on the other side of the hostess not within Jillian's reach and almost fainted when she decided to charge the picture! All my mind could see were the dollar signs of how much it would take to pay for a picture like that. Thanks, Holly!

The landscape architecture was just as impressive as the architecture of the home. A formal boxwood garden and a symmetrical series of sidewalk and plantings made the back of the home just as spectacular as the front. The huge, wrap-around porch with columns was breathtaking and to framed the beautiful views from the inside of the house as well as inviting us from the outside in. I definitely want to go back in the late spring/early summer, when everything is in bloom.

A large gift shop, 19th Century bed and breakfast cottages, wedding and banquet facilities as well as a restaurant easily makes Oak Alley a place one could enjoy the whole-day or even overnight.

Air Mail from Kansas: The Davis' and Lenkers!

Santa air mailed us a Christmas gift this year, Travis's family! Travis's parents, Scott and Cheryl Davis; his sister, Holly Davis; and Seth (brother-in-law) and Rebecca (Travis's sister) Lenker all flew from Kansas to Louisiana to visit us for a few days.

All our house windows were open and fans were circulating the muggy, seventy some degree air through our house in an attempt to keep us cool Saturday, December 22 when we got a call from Travis's sister Holly. A blizzard had hit Wichita.

American Airlines completely cancelled the remaining flights of the day and even the major highways were closed. The five of Travis's family whose flight was cancelled had to rent a car to get just 20 miles across Wichita to their home. The bravest of their driving friends didn't want to risk getting out in THIS blizzard.

Holly, being the savvy seasoned traveller she is, immediately booked the next flights out she could find, one that would put them in New Orleans at 11:00 p.m. the next night.

We greeted weary (but smiling) travelers at the airport Sunday just before midnight! Travis, the kids and I had all driven the "Davis taxis" down to pick them up. Sleep becomes second priority when aunts, uncle, grandma and grandpa are around, so the kids enjoyed talking to them during the forty-minute ride back to Ponchatoula. We all got to sleep around 2:00 a.m. that night and slept in a bit Christmas Eve day!

Christmas Eve morning was laid back, but the afternoon was jam-packed full of going, going, going! We got up and slowly got around in the morning and then ate lunch at home. Oak Alley Plantation was our next scheduled stop, so we got in the car and headed down highway 22 to make it just in time for the last scheduled guided plantation tour of the afternoon. The Davis taxis then motored around trying to find a place to eat Christmas Eve. An open restaurant is hard to come by Christmas Eve, so we settled for McDonalds then got back in the taxis for our last scheduled stop for the night, the Christmas Eve bonfires on the Mississippi River levee. (Read the previous blog for more info. about the bonfires.)

Happy, smiling kids and sleepy-looking, yawning adults met in the living room early Christmas morning to see what Papa Noel (Santa) brought. Opening presents was fun for everyone. We all sat down to eat a Christmas ham for lunch, then headed to Tickfaw State Park. A swamp walk, a romp on the playground equipment and playing pass with the boys' new footballs kept us busy at the park. Leftovers, a few games of battleship and a hand of cards finished off the night before we all went to bed exhausted.

Smelling fresh, looking carefully groomed and sporting our color-coordinated shirts, we all piled in the car at 10:00 a.m. the day after Christmas to go have family pictures taken at Portrait Innovations in Baton Rouge. We smiled pretty for the camera and survived the time it took to get a picture of EVERYONE looking at the camera and smiling. We drove to New Orleans and toured the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas before dropping off our guests off at the airport and saying our goodbyes.

I'm sure Travis's family is still recuperating from the fun trip, as are we! We had a fantastic time sharing our first Christmas in Louisiana with Travis's family. We love you all!

Part II: Bonfires and Fireworks, A Cajun Christmas Eve

Stalled in traffic and trying to make it to Rodney's bonfire before the lighting of the fires at seven o'clock, there I was (with a painfully full bladder) piloting the minivan with half of Travis's family, with Travis five cars ahead of us with the other half of his family.

I gave Travis a ring on his cell phone. "Travis, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know." he said, trying to think of something quick.

"By the way, I REALLY have to go to the bathroom," I said with urgency.

"You're gonna have to pull over and find a tree or something," he said laughing, but in complete seriousness.

"No! I can't do that! People are all over the place, Travis. There's no place for me to go!"

"Well, wait then, but it's obvious we won't be moving anytime soon."

"Alright, bye." I said and hung up the phone.

Suddenly, we saw a flame shoot into the air.

"Wow!" I said. "They just lit one of the bonfires! So much for being there BEFORE they started lighting them."

Orange and yellow flames began exploding one by one from the bonfires, licking the the sky as smoke billowed up. The clear, black night was the perfect backdrop for the flames and the glittering sparks from the fireworks shattering above the fires. Fires (and cars) were lined up further than our eyes could see! I even forgot I had to go to the bathroom for a moment.

My ringing cell phone focused my attention back to the fact we were in the car, not at the bonfire, and that I still had to find a bathroom!

"Why don't we just pull over, park and walk so we can see them up close?" Travis suggested.

"Okay, I'm pulling over here."

I pulled into the nearest "parking lot," and discreetly did what I had to do to take my mind off my bladder with the watchful eyes of the family as lookouts. We were then all ready to get an up-close look at the fires.

Cameras in hand and coats on to keep toasty in the "cold" weather (upper forties), we all climbed to the top of the levee to see the fires up close.

Warmth from the fires and the smiles from the locals made us feel welcomed to take a first-hand peek into the bonfire tradition. Marveling at the uniformity of the tepee-shaped bonfires built with logs, we walked along the top of the levee looking at the fires, receiving "Merry Christmas!" from the locals and enjoying fellowship as a family.

We never did find Rodney's fire, but we thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and cheer that the Mississippi River bonfires on the levee brought to our Christmas Eve.

Travis and I plan on getting the kids and ourselves to the bonfires EARLY next year, and maybe even packing a picnic supper and some hot chocolate to enjoy beforehand. Oh, and we'll make sure we have the diaper bag!

Bonfires and Fireworks, A Cajun Christmas Eve

We got a true Christmas Eve treat last night. We were blessed to "experience" the spectacular sight of hundreds of bonfires lit simultaneously along the Mississippi River levee!

Many friendly locals and men from Travis's work have all encouraged us to attend the Christmas Eve bonfires, because it's something, they said, we have to see for ourselves to appreciate. They also told us to get there early, bring our patience because the traffic slows to a stop/crawl, and to be ready at promptly 7:00, as that's when the fires are lit.

Travis's coworker, Rodney, graciously invited us to his family's bonfire on the levee, gave us very specific shortcut directions and even told us the best place to park.

We planned our evening around the lighting of the bonfires. We toured the Oak Alley Plantation at 3:30 p.m., and then grabbed a bite to eat at McDonalds (the only place quick and open we could find).

Ready for our adventure, we headed out to our vehicles at 6:00, with plenty of time to make the short drive and find Rodney's bonfire before traffic got bad. I went to the van to get the diaper bag and change Jillian's stinky pants before going further, and the diaper bag wasn't there! Travis and I somehow overlooked putting the diaper bag in the car.

Thank goodness for Winn Dixie (the supermarket)! I ran in, grabbed a bag of diapers, and got into the "20 or fewer items" lane. Twenty minutes later and five shoppers with more than twenty items, I checked out, ran to the car and changed Jillian.

We were off. The Travis and Jae 500, with Travis in the lead.

Five minutes later, at 6:45, we found ourselves behind HUNDREDS of stopped cars, less than a mile from "our" bonfire, but totally at a loss for how to get there through the traffic. We were moving about five feet per minute and I REALLY had to go to the bathroom, to boot. We were in a pickle!....

Tune in tomorrow for THE REST OF THE STORY... HE!HE!

A Present from Justis

Madalynn and Justis worked fevereshly to create "Christmas presents" for Travis and I the other day. Simple, heartfelt presents are the best ones.

Justis brought his to me. Wrapped in toilet paper that had been stapled in envelope fashion, was his note. I opened it. Before me were two solid lines of what appeared to be letters written in lime green marker on the page:

momilictocisyo
bforbedtim

Putting on my handwriting deciphering hat, I quickly began cracking the "code."

mom i lic to cis yo
bfor bed tim

"Mom I like to kiss you
before bed time!"

His little heart was written on the paper for me to read! The fact that he had taken so much effort to piece out these words for me (he copies words and reads, but has never written what he's thinking) was special, too. A better gift than I could have ever asked for!

I lic to give yo bed tim cisses, too, Justis! :)

The Annual Christmas Card and Picture

"Don't touch your brother, Justis. Get your fingers out of your nose, Dawson. Madalynn, we're not taking supermodel pictures, cut the posing!" "Dawson, don't touch Jillian, she gets fussy when you touch her. Everybody smile and say 'Christmas'!"

Sound familiar? Taking the annual Christmas letter photograph is always a challenge. The struggle is worth it in the end, though. Touching and hilarious pictures always come out of the photo shoot. The one that makes it onto the Christmas card is never perfect, but we wouldn't be celebrating Christmas if we were perfect, right?!

Jillian just wouldn't have her siblings touching her for pictures, Madalynn was doing some strange sideways look with her hair all on one side, Justis had a genuine smile the whole time, and Dawson couldn't stop touching his face. I finally caught them all between poses and intentional clowning around to snap a picture.

The cards should, hopefully, be in the mail tomorrow. Nothing like cutting it close. :)

The above pictures are my favorites resulting from the photo shoot.

Bosco Claus

Hip replacement surgery doesn't stop Santa from mailing his letter out to my children for Christmas!

My uncle Lonnie (we call him Bosco)is our "secret Santa!" While my sister Laci and I were children, we received a mysterious letter from Santa that was delivered to our house around Christmas time every year. Now the mysterious letter from Santa shows up in my mailbox, addressed to Madalynn, Justis, Dawson and Jillian! Despite having hip replacement surgery only weeks ago, Uncle Bosco made sure the kids got their letter from Santa again this year!

The kids' surprise letter from Santa came in the mail Wednesday. Seeing the envelope instantly brought a smile to my face and brought back fond memories of how Laci and I would try to figure out how Santa did it.

Nosy Madalynn was the first to spy the picture from Santa Claus on the front of the envelope while I was pulling the mail from the mailbox through the car window.

"Mom! Who is that letter for?"

"Hmmm. Let's see," I said making a big deal out of it so the other three (sitting in their car seats in the back of the van) would hear as well. I held up the envelope before opening it so the kids could see the picture of Santa and their names on the front.

"It says," I announced, "A letter from Santa. To, Madalynn, Justis, Dawson and Jillian. Personal."

Their eyes got big as they held their breath waiting for me to open the envelope.

"So, are you going to open it and read it to us, mom?!" Justis said with mounting anticipation in his voice.

"Listen carefully," I said.

I read the letter out loud to the children twice. The first time I think they were still wondering how in the world Santa knew they had moved to Louisiana. The second time, they took to heart what Santa had to say to them. Smiles spread across their faces as they shuffled out of the van silently when I was finished reading. They were trying to guess what Santa would bring them.

Thanks, Uncle Bosco, for the wonderful memories you made with the letters "Santa" sent Laci and I AND for passing the fun on to the children. We love you!

A Toast with Wine Glasses and Bubbly!

The holiday champagne/wine glasses were set out, along with a finger food feast Saturday, December 2nd, for the whole family, children included! (Before you contact our local social service office to come investigate, read the blog.)

Four holiday wine glasses with the word "Noel" written on the stems were gifted to us from our friends Justin and Gi a few years ago. Travis and I aren't wine or champagne drinkers, but such beautiful glasses could not sit unused. We invented a reason to use them every year and, coincidentally, a new Davis holiday tradition was born!

Festive holiday snacking foods are so much fun, in my opinion. A delicious cheese ball recipe, wassail, peanut butter fudge, peanut brittle, summer sausage/cheese/crackers and Christmas holly are a few of the foods Mom used to fix my family.

Our tradition, the "finger foods meal," the kids fondly call it, began when we lived in Hutchinson during the 2005 Christmas season. I was in the mood for something festive, but simple to serve the night we were set to decorate the tree. The "Noel" wine glasses needed to be put to use as well. I fixed finger foods like I'd remembered growing up and made some mock champagne (apple juice and 7-Up) to drink. Madalynn was three that year, Justis two, and Dawson was too little to remember. The special meal was almost more fun than decorating the tree for us all!

Tree decorating day was approaching in 2006, when Madalynn repeatedly reminded me that it was time to get out the fancy glasses! The same recipes were made and, of course, mock champagne was served in the "Noel" glasses. The kids enjoyed the meal so much, they requested and encore for Christmas Eve, so we shared mock champagne with Travis's family, who was celebrating Christmas in Hugoton with us that year.

Bacon-wrapped little smokies, a cheese ball, stuffed mushrooms, chex mix, olives were washed down with the traditional mock champagne this year. Yum. The kids giggled as they raised their glasses for a toast celebrating Jesus's birth and the blessing of being together as a family.

Visions of Sugarplums Danced in Jillian's Head

Party at Jillians "crib"!

Jillian was nestled all snug in her bed among her stuffed animals last night when I made my final rounds before going to bed myself.

Madalynn, apparently in an attempt to put a lid on the fussing Jillian was doing, kept adding the stuffed animals to Jillian's crib, until she could find no more to throw in! Daddy being home after five days on the road was too much for Jillian. She didn't want to go to sleep when she knew Daddy was in the other room.

Travis and I just thought she finally gave up the tantrum and went to sleep on her own. I later realized she had the help of several, apparently soothing, fuzzy Friends!

Frosty the NO! Man

Justis and Madalynn stood on stage for their first church Christmas musical practice tonight as Miss Danielle and Mr. Mark enthusiastically told them all about their big scene.

Choreography to the song "Frosty the Snowman" was their opportunity to shine, and all the kids eagerly listened while Miss Danielle blocked out the scene.

"And then," Miss Danielle said, with a dramatic pause and big eyes, "Frosty is going to come out in a BIG costume and you'll get to dance with him!" She went on about how much fun it was going to be.

Dawson, Jillian and I were part of the small crowd there watching the rehearsal.

Face pale, Justis suddenly looked panicked. Danielle was still talking, and Justis slid to the back of the crowd and put his head down.

Danielle noticed Justis hanging back and tried to gently coax him back into the dance formation.

"Justis, don't you want to come practice dancing so you can dance with Frosty when he comes?"

Puckering his lips and trying to hold it back, Justis finally burst out in tears.

Danielle is such a compassionate woman, and I am so thankful for the graceful way she handled the situation. She picked Justis up, cradling him in her arms and quietly whispered in his ear as I stood to come up and get him.

"I'm so sorry, she said, I didn't mean to push him."

I quietly explained that Justis was terrified of people in large costumes.

An expression of horror revealed his uneasiness as he sat down beside me looking back and forth and behind him to make sure "Frosty" would not surprise him with his guard down.

"Justis, It's okay, honey. Frosty is not coming tonight. He's not coming at all tonight. You just relax. You don't have to do the program, and you don't even have to watch when Madalynn performs it."

"Okay," he said, looking relieved as he sunk slowly back in the chair to watch.

Justis was out of his seat dancing with the music by the end of the practice.

"Do you think you might want to do the program now, Justis?" I asked

"NO!" he said firmly.

We left it at that.

The Grinch Who Stole Justis's Composure

One adult to four children in Wal Mart is challenging. One adult with three happy Children and one who's ready to flee the store is enough to drive Mom to the verge of panic!

Tonight was movie night for me and the kids. Travis had to work this evening, so I promised them we'd pick out a new Christmas movie to buy at Wal Mart.

Overwhelmed by the choices, Madalynn, Justis, Dawson and I stood with Jillian in the cart with us, deciding which movie to choose.

The Grinch song had played on the radio during our short drive to Wal Mart, so that's where our focus landed first. Madalynn and I decided to pick it up and check it out.

"I think I'd like the Grinch, Mom," Madalynn said, her mind made up.

"Me, too!" Dawson echoed.

"I've never seen it either. I think it would be fun. I've heard it's pretty funny."

Justis raised himself on his tip toes to get a closer look at the movie. He stared intensely at the cover of the movie. I thought he was just comparing it with the rest of the movie covers, trying to decide which one he wanted, but he sure looked at it a long time.

"Don't you think this one will be fun, Justis?" I asked as I began to put the DVD in the buggy.

"No, I don't want that," he mumbled in a voice barely audible.

"What, Son? Speak up. I can't hear you."

"NO! I DON'T WANT THAT ONE. THE GRINCH IS SCARY AND MEAN!"

"We'll have to pick another one then," I said, putting the DVD back on the rack. "Are you sure you don't want to watch it Justis? He's not supposed to be scary, he's supposed to be funny." I was still looking the other movies over.

I heard, "N-o-o-o-o-o-o!" suddenly come from Justis's mouth, each o-o-o articulated by the funny running dance he does when he's anxious or scared.

I was confused. I started to turn my head to see what was going on and noticed the young man standing next to me looking at Justis just as inquisitively.

Head down, eyes covered and doing the antsy dance, Justis was counting down to sheer panic.

"Okay, okay, Justis. It's okay. We're not getting the movie." I've seen Justis go berserk before and it's not pretty or quiet. I tried to reverse the countdown to meltdown he was on.

"Look, Justis. I put it on the shelf." I must be an idiot, because LOOKING is exactly what made him scared in the first place!

"N-o-o-o-o-o-!" The panic got more intense.

"What about this one?" I grabbed Polar Express and strategically held it up between his eyes and the Grinch movie so he wouldn't look at it again.

Moving his fingers just enough to peek and make sure the view was safe, Justis took a look at the Polar Express cover. The wise people who had stopped to see what the fuss was about and to watch the spectacle, looked quickly away when Justis gazed around to make sure no one had seen his fear.

I quickly pushed the Grinch movie to the back of the display with my free hand, out of Justis's vision completely. I then put Polar Express back on the shelf.

Madalynn and I understand the pride at stake and pretended like nothing had happened. We went on discussing what other movie we would like.

Justis slowly looked up to see if the "scary, mean" Grinch was there one more time, to make sure he was really safe. He let his guard down just a little as we walked to go look at a different display with Christmas movies.

We had a great time watching Santa Claus 2 tonight, and by the time he went to bed the Grinch was the last thing on his mind. I will be avoiding holiday movie displays when Justis is with me from now on.

Blowing a Fuse

I think Travis, our Christmas lights and I all blew a fuse trying to get the tree and the house twinkling this year.

My wonderful husband graciously makes the effort to put up Christmas lights, which is so special to me and the kids. Travis enjoys Christmas just as much as we do!

Travis braved the cold Kansas wind as he put the Christmas lights up last year at our home in Hugoton, KS. Shining brightly, the lights were beautiful...until they mysteriously went dark after Travis plugged them in after only the third day of them being on display!

He fussed with those lights on and off for two weeks, before we finally surrendered to having Christmas lights that didn't light. Worse, the terrible snow and ice we had all through December and a good part of January prevented Travis from being able to take them down until about February!

Determined to have bright Christmas lights that work this year, Travis, got out the ladder and the same Christmas lights last Saturday. He went through each strand, making sure they all worked. Each strand worked, so, in his t-shirt and shorts and in the seventy-five degree weather, he put the lights up.

Dusk came and Travis proudly turned them on. They were beautiful. Simple, white lights can transform a place into "Christmas," with the flip of a switch!

Then they turned off.

I was inside getting our family meal ready and making preparations for decorating the tree when Travis came in.

"Dangit! They did it again! I checked every one of those stupid strands and they worked before I plugged them in! I plug them in and NOW they don't work!"

"I'm sorry, honey," I said, "Don't stress out about it. Life will still go on tonight even if the lights don't work."

"No," he insisted, "I'm going to go out and see what I can do."

One hour later my brilliant husband had the lights shining again. A nifty timer even turns them on at 5:00 p.m. and off at 11:00 p.m. so we don't have to go out and plug and unplug them!

My turn was next, I guess. Stringing the lights and ribbon around the tree is something I always do before allowing the kids to put on the ornaments.

I got out the lights and plugged them in. One strand didn't work, so I tossed it aside. I wound the working lights around the tree and then plugged them in. Only two of the four strands lit up!

Lets just say Travis was a little more patient than I was about the lights not working. I threw them all away after fiddling with them for five minutes and went to Walgreens to get new ones!

The tree was lit and ribboned and ready for the kids' ornaments within thirty minutes.

I got the star out, put it on top, and plugged it in. The star wasn't shining.

"Whatever," I said, tossing the star in the trash, too. No dark star was going to spoil a happy ending to the fun time I had with Travis and the kids decorating!

Madalynn and I took a mini girls shopping trip to Wal Mart the next day and bought a start that worked.

Our house and our tree are shining brightly as I type! Yay for lights!

Mele Kalikimaka

Mele Kalikimaka is the way to say "Merry Christmas" the Hawaiian way, according to the song. The song reminds me of two things, #1 warm weather, and, #2 the Griswold family from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. We can identify with both warm Christmas season weather AND the Griswold family! :)

We took our annual Christmas tree buying trip last Friday. A real tree is put up and decorated at our house yearly, come hell or high water. Thank goodness we don't have an Aunt Edna who'll bring her cat to fry the tree!

The six of us went to Lowe's, bought a tree, and tied it to the top of the minivan in true redneck form. Travis revved up the chainsaw to cut a fresh end on the trunk and we set it up so it would be ready to decorate Saturday evening.

Norma Jeane

Can you guess which celebrity Jillian reminds me of in the first picture? How about Marilyn Monroe? Remember the picture of Marilyn standing over the street grate with her skirt flying up?

Jillian is a natural in front of the camera. She saw me walk into the living room with Travis's digital camera and immediately started grinning so I would snap some pictures of her. Then she toddled over to me afterward so she could look into the viewfinder and see how she turned out!

Garth Looks

Being properly dressed for an occasion is just as important to Dawson as grooming. He wants to look the part. He has to have just the right clothes for what he's doing.

Last night he wanted to be a cowboy. He asked Travis to put on his favorite Chris LeDoux song, "Copenhagen," (don't ask...we've polluted our child's mind), and disappeared to his room.

Sporting a cowboy hat and Travis's work boots, Dawson resurfaced from his room. He spun around the living room playing his air (cowboy) guitar, just like the cowboys do.

Cowboys have horses, too. He mosied on in to the toy room and took a trot on Silver the horse, then came back in to the kitchen to listen to some Garth Brooks.