Questions on Christmas Eve about Santa

There are always tons of questions on Christmas Eve about Santa and what ifs. Here are some of the few from Mallory and Taylor Grace:
-What if Santa comes and we aren't asleep?
-What if I have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night?
-Does Santa ever bring the wrong presents?
-Does Santa ever change your name to the naughty list if "I" have already seen that it was on the good list? (Mallory) I said no, and she said, "Well what if you were bad"?
-How does Santa know when we are asleep?
-What about the people who are up late working? When does Santa come to their house?
-What time can I get up to see what Santa brought me?
-What if I get sick during the night?
-Taylor Grace said, "Mallory get a glass to put the milk in because sometimes you can hear it jingle if he hits it."
Oh the sweet things that children think about and say. Oh how I wish they would stay innocent forever.

Cooking on the Mallory and Taylor Grace Show

The girls love to help me cook. I baked sugar cookies and then let the girls decorate them. They had a ball. They were really creative too. Mallory loves to pretend that she is on a cooking show. She will say, "and today we are in the kitchen with Beth and Taylor Grace making cookies". It is really cute. She calls Rachel Ray Ella Ray, which is my mom's neighbor and Paula Dean, Paula Deana.

Making Ornaments with the Hamels

We started a tradition last year making something with the Hamels, Maddie and Nathan, for the children's grandparents for Christmas from them. This year we got together to fill glass ornaments with "snow" and then decorated them with stickers. The kids had fun. Nathan really went to town decorating his. It was wild while they were here. Two neighbors stopped in, John came home to go running, the kids were running around, Erin and I were trying to get lunch ready, etc... Oh, the fun of the hussle and bussle.

Last Day of School for 2009

Today we get out of school for 2 weeks for Christmas. I am so excited to be able to spend time with the family. I am really sappy lately. I don't know if it is the Christmas music that moves me so, the birth of Jesus and what God gave to us when he sent Jesus, the thought of my children growing up, missing time with family, or knowing that our life is so good that I am afraid that something bad could be around the corner. I am so thankful for all that I have. I just want to take these next two weeks that we are off and spend it doing things with my family and cherishing every moment that I have with them. My Christmas wish would be that the children get along with each other, that my family stays healthy, that Lorrie continues to be cancer free, that my family knows and feels that I love them, that Mallory will also find Jesus as her Lord and Savior, and that we find a church family that we fill at home in.

Pajama Day/Polar Express

Today Mallory got to wear her pajamas to school. She told this dramatic story to my mom about getting to sleep in her pajamas and then just waking up and going to school in the same thing that she slept in. Well, it didn't actually happen the way she had planned because the pajamas she wanted to wear were WAY too little. It burst her bubble but the ones that she ended up wearing were SOOOO cute. She got ready quickly and the morning went smoothly. When I am normally going out the door, I am calling to Mallory to come on. But to my surprise, when I went in the den ready to go, she was sitting quietly on the couch with her book bag on and ready to go. When we got in the car ready to go to school I complimented the girls on how well they did this morning. Taylor Grace said, "Yeah, we didn't aggravate each other". She then said "I decided that now that I am older, that I want to get along with my sister." Mallory then said, "Yeah, I want to have a good Christmas". She said, "If we don't argue, we will have a good Christmas break." It was nice to have a smooth morning!

Taylor Grace's Birthday

We celebrated Taylor Grace's birthday tonight with the family. She was so sweet and grateful! Her big present this year was a REAL birthstone ring. She loved it, but didn't get to wear it because the stone is loose. When opening presents she truly showed GREAT appreciation for what she got. She is growing up. It is hard to believe that it has been 10 years since she was born. Time flies and makes me so sad. She wanted to stay up until 8:14 which was the time she was born. She watched the clock and then we hugged. I told her how proud I was of her, so smart, beautiful, thoughtful, sweet, and a Christian. She just hugged me tight and looked teary eyed. It was a special moment shared between us. She then said thanks mom!!!

A "Whacky" Christmas

Taylor Grace performed at school tonight using Boom Whackers. Her class had to read the music to the Christmas carol, Oh Come All Ye Faithful and whack their boom whackers to the music. Taylor Grace had the A note. They did really good. Their music teacher, Mr. Cole, even said how great their class did.

What Taylor Grace thinks about Santa

We went to see the lights in Stadford Park tonight as a family. It was great! The while neighborhood decorates and has a competition for the best decorated and the public viewing it get to vote. We picked a traditional beautifully decorated house, which happens to be one of my friends, but truly believe that it was beautiful. We also voted for one that had a real Santa in a sleigh

I just over heard a phone conversation that Taylor Grace was having with her friend Sarah Parsons about Santa. They were discussing all the things that they believe is real about Santa.

Taylor Grace said that one time when she was 8 years old she had to go to the bathroom, so she ran really fast. Once she got back in bed, she said she couldn't go to sleep. While she was trying to go to sleep she was looking out the window and "all of a sudden" saw some red lights. "You know like the ones that reindeer have on the end of their nose". Then she went into another story about last year Santa left a note for her and Mallory and it had black finger prints on it. She said that she compared the finger prints to her mom's and dad's and they weren't the same. Then she went outside and saw really big foot prints that lead to her front door. She said that her chimney was locked and Santa was magical since he could get in the front door while it was locked. So sweet to know that even though she is 10 she still believes in the magic of Christmas!

A Video Message From SANTA!!

A friend of mine sent me this GREAT website that you can create a message from Santa. It is so believable even Taylor Grace at 10 believed it. It is www.portablenorthpole.tv It was so neat to see the both of them watching it. Mallory dropped her jaw when Santa showed her picture in this Naughty and Nice book. She asked, "Can Santa see me when he is talking to me on this video?". She has talked about it non-stop. Taylor Grace was amazed by it too. She just watched intently and smiled really big. Oh how I wish their innocence would last forever!!!

I broke my FOOT !

I was determined to get the Christmas decorations down out of the attic before going back to school after Thanksgiving Break. John had tons of leaves to rake in the yard, so it was Me doing it by myself. (mistake #1) I was in the attic going through boxes getting my favorite items down one by one instead of the big boxes that were harder to manage. I have my brand new big wooden reindeer that I got at the end of the season last year in my hand. I was walking down the attic ladder front ways (mistake #2) and lost my balance and went tumbling down the steps. I landed on my foot and new immediately that I had broken it. Thanks to Casey L. working at the Orthopedic Doctor was able to get me in first thing Monday morning. Now I have a BIG BLACK BOOT that I am sporting with all of my cute Christmas outfits. Oh, and the worse part is that it is my right foot, which means that if I drive with that lovely boot on, I am not covered by insurance. BUT I know that God was watching out for me because it could have been A LOT WORSE!!!

LOTS going on at the Pearson House!

I haven't updated in about a week, but that is not to say that nothing has been going on. First of all, this was REPORT CARD week for the girls. They both did VERY well. Taylor Grace made Principal Scholar, which she worked very hard to get, and Mallory did great on her's too. She doesn't have letter grades. K-3 grades on standards. I am so very proud of both of them.

John built our first fire in the fire pit for this winter. We all sat outside and had some good family time around the fire on Friday night. I love days when things are laid back and we can all just relax and "smell the roses".

Then, poor John woke up this morning all stopped up, the head that is! He hasn't felt good all day, but I got him some FREE nose spray at Rite Aide that has pepper in it and he said that it opened him up BIG time. Who knows if it is allergies or a cold. Whatever it is, I hope he feels better soon and especially before this weekend since we are going to the mountains with friends. In between naps, he took the dinning room seats off the chairs so that I could recover them. You read right, I was able to recover the dinning room chairs by myself. Well, I say by myself... I cut the material from tracing one of the pre-existing material from one chair and then I hope to have John or Grampa John help me get them stapled. They are turning out so pretty. It makes me feel so proud to have done something so domestic!

Now everyone is quite and asleep getting ready to start a new week.

Sensitive Taylor Grace

Taylor Grace had a friend over today that she said doesn't have many friends. The conversation about how the play date went started after supper. She and Mallory were eating some lemon bars that the little girl brought from home to share with us. Taylor Grace said that the little girl always brings things when she goes somewhere to be nice because she doesn't have very many friends and is trying hard to make friends. She then told me about the little girl buying TG and another little girl popcorn at the school fair, but didn't have enough money to buy some for herself. Taylor Grace started tearing up and so did Mallory when she was talking about how sweet this little girl was. We talked about being friends with everyone and to think how they would feel if they didn't have many friends. Taylor Grace said that she was going to "talk up" her friend so that more people would be the little girl's friend. The little girl is a sweet little girl, she is just a little different than most because she is really smart. The rest of the evening, I could tell that TG was thinking about it because she would add more to the story and later told me thanks for giving her tips on being friends with everyone. It is conversations like tonight that make me realize that her heart is in the right place.

Halloween

We started the evening off not sure if we would get to take the girls Trick-or-Treating because it was really raining hard. We went over to the Dibrell's to eat dinner. While we were there, the rain stopped and we were able to all pile into the back of Phil's truck and take the kids to Heathwood. They had a blast. They all ran all over the neighborhood while we followed them around in the truck. Taylor Grace was a "Sassy Witch" which is so out of her character, but that is what she wanted to be. Mallory was a "Fairy" which is totally her personality! They both were cute and enjoyed wearing make-up. Taylor Grace looked so grown up with make-up on. I guess next year will be here last year to Trick-or-treat. So sad to think how fast they are growing up.

Crazy Hair Day

Today was Crazy Hair Day at Richmond Drive and Taylor Grace and Mallory wanted to spray paint their hair. This was a big deal for TG that she was doing this. It is hard to tell, but it was sprayed red on her ponytail. Mallory wanted her whole head done. I just woke up and sprayed my hair. Yes it looks like this most days when I wake up.

To Smart to take drugs

Today, was dress like a nerd day at school for Red Ribbon week. Mallory ONLY wanted to wear high waters and tuck her shirt in because her teacher gave that suggestions. Taylor Grace on the other hand thought the whole Nerd Day was a "bad idea" and that she didn't like it at all. She looked in the mirror with her high waters on and her shirt tucked in her pants and said, "I look UGLY!!!" She wanted to come to my room before school because she was embarrased. Once she got to school, she saw that everyone else was dressed up and some REALLY dressed up and she got into it a little more by pulling up her socks. She did look dorky! Her teacher gave everyone that dressed up a free ice cream, so that made it all worth while. Tomorrow is dress in Red day, and she has RED from head to toe, even her nails are painted red. I think NOW she is getting into the spirit.

Izzy's Painting, by Taylor Grace

Here is the latest art work that Taylor Grace did in her art lessons she takes from Roseanne Koellner. They were to do Pet Portraits. We don't have a pet now, unless you count 2 frogs she got from her class science project, so she painted Lulu and Casey's dog Izzy. Izzy is a funny dog and loves to lick people, which is cute that TG painted her picture with her tongue out. She took a picture I had of Izzy and used it to look at while painting. I think that it turned out GREAT!!

WE DID IT!!!

What an amazing weekend I had!!! Andrea Berry and I walked 40 miles in the Avon Breast Cancer Walk. We walked 27.2 miles the first day and 13.1 the second day. Notice the 27.2 was suppose to be a Marathon(26.2) but we somehow got off the course with about 50 other people and walked an extra mile. It was a HUGE accomplishment both mentally and physically. We have blisters from the down pores of rain the first 18 miles and VERY sore legs! Waking up this morning and walking a Half Marathon was the hardest part. I felt like I looked like an old woman walking. We walked a total of 15 hours the whole weekend!! Poor Andrea had 8 blisters on her feet and even though she could barely walk the last day, I never heard her complain. She has an amazing attitude!!! Thanks Andrea for a GREAT weekend. It was really neat to have John and the girls at the finish line cheering us on today. They all had on pink! Taylor Grace came running up to me and hugged me and just stood there and wouldn't let me go! She was really proud of me and asked was it really hard???
We met some amazing people with some amazing stories that magnified the meaning of the whole weekend. I started this journey because of Lorrie...There aren't any walks for Colon Cancer but if they can find a cure for Breast Cancer then that will lead to a cure for ALL cancers. She was there to surprise me at the end of the first day with my parents. That was really special to have them there cheering us on and telling us how proud they were of us. I will forever remember walking mile 5 on the second day and talking to a lady she was on Team HOPE! She said that in 2007 she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and had a mascectomy and went through chemo and just last week had a CT scan and found out that it was back and had moved to her pelvic. She choaked up, I choaked up and I said well... I am doing this for YOU!!! I saw her at the end when she finished and she was crying (she was walking with her husband and friend) and I gave her a big hug and said I would be praying for her!! This is why Cancer STINKS and we have to find a CURE! Wow, stories like that really put life into perspective!

Also, here are the flowers my daddy sent me to school because he was proud of me for what I did for Breast Cancer. He later told me that he got tears in his eyes when he saw us coming towards the end of the first day.

The House next door Sold!

Well I found out today that the house next door sold and our new neighbors Dr. Ray and Susan Dockery will be moving in Nov. 23. Dr. Dockery was a professor of mine at Winthrop and they also went to Oakland Baptist when we were there. They will make great neighbors and are a lot of fun. It will be nice having some activity next door. They are going to remodel the kitchen and bathrooms and then add on a porch and patio. I can't wait to see what all they do.

Yummy Yummy To my Tummy

I am so proud of the meal I made tonight. I saw it on Pillsbury.com and it was a Club/Stromboli sandwich. You take refrigerated Pillsbury french dough and roll out on a greased cookie sheet. Spread 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese on it then put 2 oz. thin sliced deli turkey, and 2 oz. thin sliced deli ham. Then I put 1/2 lb. of bacon on it (it called for 1 lb.). Then roll it long side up and seal the edges. Cook it for 23-28 minutes on 350 degrees. YUMMY!!! Mallory always says she doesn't like something if she hasn't ever tried it before and we always tell her to try it. Well she DID like it and so did the rest of the family. It was so easy and fast which makes it a winner in my book.
We were cleaning up dinner and Taylor Grace was talking ugly to Mallory and I told her to STOP and she rolled her eyes. I didn't see it, but Mallory told me about it and Taylor Grace said "I did not"! Who knows if she did, but Mallory then said, "You better not tell a lie because Mommy has eyes in the back of her head!!" Ha!Ha! She got that from last week we were at John's parent eating dinner and I saw that she was behind me and she tried to scare me. She didn't and she wondered why and I said, "I have eyes in the back of my head." She questioned it and I said to Granny Danny to tell her what all Mom's have and Granny Danny told her eyes in the back of their heads. I didn't think another thing about it, but evidently she remembered it.
Well after that was said, Taylor Grace said "No she doesn't", they argued whether I did or didn't and finally TG said her reasoning was because "Mr. Cole, music teacher at school, let her in on a secret and told her that none of the teachers had eyes in the back of their heads, and since Mommy is a teacher at Richmond Drive then that means that she doesn't". So cute. I just let them talk it out and I think that they both believe that they are right. I didn't confirm or disclaim it.

Oct.18,2009

Today was a day of putting away the spring/summer clothes in exchange for the fall/winter clothes. I started in Taylor Grace's room with many tears because I was giving Mallory all of her clothes and she wasn't going to have anything to wear. Much to her surprise, she had clothes that she could still wear from last year and I had bought her new clothes from Old Navy. Then I move to Mallory's tornado room and do the same thing. The only difference is that the clothes that she has outgrown are going to a little girls from Haiti that doesn't have any clothes that goes to our school. Mallory was asking all sorts of questions about her. "Does she have toys, pajamas, shoes, etc..." We have lots to give to her and I know that she will be thrilled to wear them and Mallory will be thrilled to see her wearing them. Mallory is my picky dresser. She doesn't want me picking her clothes out and she wants them to look dressy/fancy/pretty. She doesn't like jeans except one capri pair that she can't wear anymore since it is getting too cold. She mostly wants to wear dresses. Taylor Grace on the other hand wants me to pick her clothes out everyday and sometimes asks me to pick out her style... which is jeans and a cool shirt or athletic pants with a shirt. She does like to dress up, but only on the weekends.

Usually this process is a long, messy, painful one, but today went better since I tackled one child at a time.