"Is it Christmastime yet?"

This Christmas was ONE to remember!
We enjoyed all the events that led up to the BIG DAY!

We started the month of December out by attending a Christmas Parade with Sam and her parents. Case enjoyed seeing the fire engines, bands playing and all the floats. He has been in a parade before, but this was his first spectator parade. It was very cold..but Case had a ball and I think he really enjoyed eating donuts and drinking chocolate milk bundled up under a blanket!!

Then a few weeks later we made Christmas ornaments at church...this was a first for Case and Mommy! Case had so much fun rolling out the dough and using the cookie cutters to make ornaments out of cinnamon and applesauce.(Yes, I know what you are thinking...you can't believe that a concoction like that will make dough for ornaments...I thought the same thing when my friend Angie told me...but equal parts of both of those ingredients really works and they smell great too!!)
Here is a picture of the ornaments Case made with Mommy's help!



I am not really sure how I will ever convince Case that it does not snow every year! The snow we got in January '08 was unexpected...but the snow we got a few weeks ago was a total surprise to me and most of all to Case! It was so wet this time around before it snowed that even though it stuck on the ground...it was slush!! Daddy had to work that day...but Case, Mommy and Nanny Lynna enjoyed ourselves, we made a little snowman, and attempted a big snowman...but Case tackled it before we got it finished. He and I had a snowball fight...which ended in me busting my tail on the ground and him belly laughing at me!! Then he decided he would run and try to slide down the hill on his rear end. We had a great time playing in the snow...but now Case thinks that it snows in Mississippi EVERY Winter!!!

A couple days before Christmas, Case and I spent an afternoon at Zach, Hannah Grace and John Paul's house making Christmas cookies....we had a BLAST rolling dough and playing in the flour and spending time with friends! The kiddos loved sprinkling the cookies with colored sugar and sprinkles...but they lost interest really fast with icing the cookies so Mrs. Amie and I finished the cookies. She and I decided as we were sitting there icing about 4 dozen cookies, that we will have to make this a yearly tradition....but next year we are going to let the kids put colored sugar and sprinkles on ALL the cookies and that way they will be done when they come out of the oven!! :-) I forgot my camera that day...so I will have to wait on Mrs. Amie to send me some to post!! They were yummy...and cute too!!

For the past three years we have done Christmas cards with just Case's picture on them...but this year we decided that we would take family photos for our Christmas card. That was a "fun" and eventful evening. The last family pictures we took were for the front of our adoption profile in March. Case was not very cooperative then...and he still isn't when it comes to taking photos...I hope that it this just a "phase" because it is quite frustrating to his Mommy! :-) There is no way he is camera shy...he has been having his photo taken from his first day home!! :-)
We did get a few good pictures to use for our card...but I bet we took about 50 not so good ones!!





Granddaddy, GramGram and Aunt B came to spend the day with us on Christmas Eve. We had a wonderful time spending the day with them. We ate way too much and of course they added to the spoiling that Case has been receiving ALL month long!! I can't begin to remember all the gifts that family and friends have given him....way more than he needs...believe me when I say that he is one blessed little boy to have SO many people who love him and SPOIL him rotten!!

We exchanged our Christmas presents to each other on Christmas Eve night. Case got more gifts...one in particular was the new Kung Fu Panda movie and after we finished opening presents we put the movie on and about 30 minutes later he was down for the count. We managed to get him in his pj's and put him to bed! He missed out in participating in putting cookies out for Santa. The next morning he woke up about 7am asking to watch cartoons like he does every other morning...he didn't even realize that it was Christmas morning! We finally asked him if he thought maybe Santa came last night...and he said "Lets go look!!" He was SO EXCITED to see his gifts!! Below are a few snapshots from the day....and a video of Case riding his Christmas present from Santa!!


We had a wonderful time enjoying Christmas through Case's eyes this year...there is just something special about seeing the JOY in a child's eyes and heart at Christmas. Reflecting back at all that has transpired in the past month....the most special time of this entire season was sitting on our couch as a family reading Case the Christmas story out of the Bible. He was so amazed to hear about baby Jesus and God's greatest gift to each of us....HIS SON.

Anticipation......

We are anticipating Christmas at our house!

And I think this year we are looking forward to Christmas morning more than ever before!!! Case is EXCITED beyond EXCITED this year!!! This is the first year that we think he actually knows what is going on and his anticipation is exciting to experience!!

We put up on Christmas tree on Saturday after Thanksgiving...and if you know me...that is the earliest I have ever put up a tree!! I usually wait until the week before Christmas, because I procrastinate like that! Well, not this year, Case would not allow procrastination....he wanted his tree up ASAP!

For the past three weeks Case has been asking "How long until Christmas time?" When we tell him how many days he has left to wait his response is always......."That's a L O N G time and it is a hard time to wait!"

Don't you just love it...and when you look at his sweet face, like in this picture...it is a "hard time to wait" even for the grownups!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

He's a Rootin' Tootin' Cowboy!!

When I asked Case what he wanted to be for Halloween he said "A Cowboy"! Then a few days later he wanted to be a Pirate....then he changed his mind and wanted to be a Scarecrow!! Finally, after a few weeks, he came back around and decided he wanted to be "Cowboy Case"!

And so, for this Halloween he was just that...a cowboy!! We went Trick or Treating yesterday evening at a local community college where they have treats in the street for the young kids. Case and Sam had a great time together...they got to go fishing for pumpkins and play ring toss with some coke bottles. They each got a balloon for being cute!! Case even got up the nerve to shake hands with Mr.Sonic Slush!! We laughed when one person asked Case if he was Woody from Toy Story....he quickly told them that he was "Rootin' Tootin' Cowboy Case"!

So here he is....

Pumpkin Patch Time!!!

We spent a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago at the pumpkin patch with our friends Zach & Amie and their CREW (as we like to call the three kiddos under four) Lil Zach, Hannah Grace and John Paul. We had tons of fun eating boiled peanuts, going through the hay maze and getting lost in the corn maze! The kids had a GREAT time together playing in the corn box, climbing up the hay bales, swinging from rope swings and just being KIDS!! Of course Case loved the tractors and farm equipment that he got to see everywhere he looked!! I stuck with tradition and put him on the Case tractor again to get a picture for 2008.

Here are a few pictures...but not nearly all of the ones that were taken on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, as we again made some wonderful memories with Case and some great friends!!

Happy Fall Y'all

Here are a few snapshots of Case in the park with the Fall decorations!!

Fun at the park with friends!!!

The weather has been BEAUTIFUL!! Don't you agree??

We have tried to take advantage of that by spending some time at the park having playdates with some of Case's friends.

We spent one morning with Mrs. Maegan and Baby Nori (as Case calls her) playing at the park. Case loved that Nori could swing in the baby swing while he was swinging on the big boy swing. Mrs. Maegan sure knows how to spoil Case...she brought him a John Deere tractor book that he had to read on the bridge before we left. I think they had lots of fun together...and this is another one of those friendships that I am so happy to watch GROW!!











Then a few days later Mrs. Amie, along with her crew...Zach, Hannah Grace and John Paul joined us for a fun day of playing on the swings, the spinning tire swing and going down the slide!! Case loves spending time playing with this crew...and I think that me and Mrs. Amie enjoy the time together just as much as the kiddos do!!!









We are so thankful that God has chosen to put such wonderful friends with such great kiddos in our lives so that we can share in this journey called life with them!! It is truly a blessing to call them our friends!!

Vacation in the "Big City"

We finally took a vacation this year....it was Case's first "official" vacation. He had a BLAST!! We went to Destin for a few days. Case was really excited to see the "BIG CITY" from our ninth floor condo. That is the first thing he said when we open the blinds to the balcony...."Wow...look at the Big City" He could not get over all the lights in the city at night. I guess when you are used to just seeing the stars at night because it is so dark in the country, it is quite an adjustment to see so many lights at one time! Every evening we tried to watch the sunset, but if we missed it because we were out and about...we still sat on the balcony and watched the busyness of city life!

We did lots of FUN stuff while we were there. We took Case to Fudpucker's to eat...but mainly to see the LIVE alligators!! He love that...he watched people feed them and try to catch them with fishing poles. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed the food...and Case enjoyed the atmosphere!! I guess that is the longest we have ever stayed at a restaurant after eating!! Case got to ride in a go-cart and go fast fast!We took him to The Track and he had lots of FUN riding on the amusement rides and especially the go-carts....Mommy even took him for a spin!! We spent some time at the beach...jelly fishing!! Yep, the jellyfish were everywhere...so I started to make a sandcastle....only to have a little mischievous little boy trample through it!! Case and Daddy tried to catch a jellyfish or two....but I was so happy that they did not succeed at their attempts. We went to the Gulfarium only to find out Case does not have the least bit interest in or desire to watch Dolphins and Sea Lions!! Now, if they would have been riding TRACTORS they might have had a chance....but even though Case did not care for it...it was a fun experience for Mommy and Daddy!!

I guess if I had to name the one thing Case loved the most it would be the pool at our Condo....it was a Lagoon style pool with a kiddie area. Case is a fish when it comes to water so this by far his favorite past time..swimming in the pool. We had a great time visiting the beach...but next year we are going to try to visit somewhere else!! Who knows we might end up in Moline, Illinois at the John Deere Museum!!!! Now that is a vacation I know he would LOVE hands down!!!!!

Just a bunch of sillyness!!!!

Can you put your head through the arm hole in your shirt???

Case can!!!

Last night Case took off his shirt and then somehow figured out how to get his head in the arm hole of his shirt. Laughing hysterically he asked "How do I look?" .... that is when I reached for the camera to show him. His response about himself in the pictures was "Look at that silly goose!!"

He got it right....He is ONE SILLY GOOSE!!!