Scenes from Christmas 2016

It’s so hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone this year! I seems to arrive before we know it and it’s over before we can blink. This year I was determined to slow down and really enjoy the season and I accomplished that, taking time off and not getting into the hustle and bustle of busyness. It was a peaceful week before Christmas and our family enjoyed a wonderful day together on Christmas day.

Lauren and her family arrived a week before Christmas, so we also had fun times with them during the week leading up to the big day. Parker is almost 3 years old now, so it was so fun to see Christmas through her eyes and see her experience the joy of Christmas from a child’s eyes. Christmas really is more fun with kids around and these 2 little ones made it extra special.

I went with them one day during the week to Stone Mountain for their Christmas experience.  It was a chilly day so we all bundled up to brave the cold. Parker was excited for our big adventure.

Stone Mountain was all decorated for the Christmas season and Christmas carols were playing all around the park.

They do Snow Mountain every year too, which is a snow slide that the whole family can enjoy. We opted not to do this part, but it was fun watching them go down the slide in big inner tubes.  Stone Mountain is a magnificent place with the famous carving on the side of this big granite mountain.

Parker got to give Rudolf a big hug and get their picture made with him.

We all jumped in to take a family pic of our outing at Stone Mountain.  Parker had a blast!  Baby Iris was sick, so she stayed home with mom out of the cold.  She was feeling better before they left to go home, but my sister and Lauren seemed to have gotten it by the end of the week.

Sweet baby Iris is growing a lot and is 8 months old now. She’s a sweet and smiley baby and loves to be held. She’s a mama’s baby for sure and has the cutest smiles for all of us.

We had several days of mild temps, which meant time outdoors enjoying the sunshine. I bought Parker that cute little outfit for Christmas and it has an adorable jacket to go with it.

Lauren and Baby Iris enjoyed being outside too.  Iris loves to be outside and just look at everything that’s going on.

On Christmas day, we gathered at my sister’s house for a day of family fun, which always includes plenty of eating. It was about 70 degrees here yesterday and so we took advantage of that and went outside for awhile, enjoying the sunshine and mild temps. Parker loves being outside and we played hide and go seek with her for awhile, one of her favorite games.

We took some photos during the day and this was before we opened presents.  My sister makes a nice breakfast for us on Christmas day and it was delicious, with fruit cups, cinnamon rolls, egg and sausage casserole and cheese grits along with coffee.  Great way to start the day!

These 2 little girls make it so much fun and it will continue to be fun with them around.  Parker was just getting the hang of Santa and Christmas this year and she loved it. Unwrapping presents is her fave and she likes to help everyone else unwrap their presents too.

Photos with Nana in front of the tree.  Mom loves being a great grandmother to these 2 precious girls.

Parker with her pink velociraptor, a present she specifically asked for. Somewhere she has seen dinosaurs and this one in particular, so that’s what she asked for when Lauren asked her what she wanted for Christmas.  Lauren searched and found one on Etsy, which is too funny. Who would think you could actually find this, but yes, it is out there! That’s mom and Bruce’s mom in the background.  We make opening presents a production and it took a couple of hours for everyone to open presents. Of course, Parker got the most.

Dad got a new pair of garden shoes that he was examining closely.  I’m sure he will love these since he is constantly going out to the garden. Dad has been dealing with some back issues the last few months, but he seems to be doing better, so we hope he will rally even more when spring comes and he can start his garden again.  He loves that garden and no doubt will be out there planting again this year.  Mom has told him no more planting in the NC mountain garden, so he is going to stick to only one this year.  That should be better for both of them.

Mom got Parker this big doll which walks and she thought that was so much fun.

Parker helping Papa Bruce try on his new hats.

And Mark came over in the afternoon to spend some time with my family and as always, Parker loves it when Mark is around.  She was playing coffee maker with her cute little coffee machine.  The 3 of us played hide and go seek outside with her and she had a blast.

I spent time with Mark’s family on Christmas Eve and his daughters on Christmas night and it was so nice to enjoy this family time with both our families.

It was such a wonderful Christmas again this year.  Another year to be thankful for and to enjoy our family time together.  It seems to fly by way too fast, but we will see them all again before too long.  I imagine we will be going down to New Orleans again before spring.

I also hope that all of you out there reading had a wonderful Christmas season too!  I so appreciate you taking the time to stop by and see what we are up to here in Georgia.  May the rest of the year and the New Year be a blessed time for all of you!

 

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