Seven Christmas Parties and a partridge in a pear tree

I have to admit that I was not looking forward to the holidays this year. The calendar looked a little too wild, and among all the Christmas parties, I didn't see any room for Christmas joy. Every December is a bit of a scheduling issue because of course we want to have special celebrations with all three sets of our parents, plus grandparents and other special traditions. This year got a bit more difficult because for SBAK, I was responsible for hosting five Christmas parties. It just so happened that all of these celebrations fell on different days--amazing, really. But as crazy as this month has been, I have enjoyed it so much and have realized how blessed I am to be surrounded by family and friends and to actually get paid for stuffing stockings for little kids and spending time with other SB families.

Our first party, the first Friday in December, was the Lexington SBAK party at GattiTown. Don't tell anybody, but I think this was my favorite SBAK party because it was so much fun and the least amount of work. :)

Nate was reunited with his buddy Nathaniel.

This was the beginning of the month, so Santa hadn't had time to bulk up on cookies and such yet. He was looking a little on the skinny side.

Georgia is just at the beginning of her "afraid of Santa" phase that will probably last for the next two years.

We were supposed to go to southeastern Kentucky the next day for another SBAK holiday party, but had to cancel it due to lack of RSVPs and weather. I was disappointed about that, but I sure did enjoy the rest. That Sunday I took the kids to the SBAK "Decorate your own Gingerbread House" event--I didn't even have to work! I just enjoyed it. In fact, Nate did most of the decorating with the chef, and I just took pictures and helped Georgia snack on candy.

The next weekend I hosted two SBAK parties in Louisville--one for adults on Fridayand one for children on Saturday. It was A LOT of work, but both were fun parties and very successful. I love it when everyone leaves saying, "This was so much fun!" Unfortunately, I have no pictures of me and the kids from these parties. But here are a couple pictures of other people. :)

Then on Sunday of that second weekend, we went to Indiana to celebrate Christmas with Papaw and Grandma and family. The kids had a blast and got lots of presents.

Unfortunately on the way home, we got stuck in a snow storm, and there was a bad wreck that had us stopped for two hours. Brian and Sunny were stuck right in front of us. A two hour trip took us five hours! But thankfully we got home safely.

That brings us to this past weekend. On Friday was our last SBAK holiday party in Bowling Green. I think it was this day that I decided that I was silly for being stressed about planning these parties. It's a joy to make the preparations and spend time with these families.

My kids got a lot of Santa's lap time this December.

Okay, this is where it started getting really crazy! We got home from Bowling Green around midnight Friday, and at noon on Saturday we left for a 4 hour trip to Martin County! But I was so excited to get to spend Christmas with my Granny and Papal and aunts and uncles and cousins. Last year when we decided we were going to spend Christmas at home, that meant missing my Granny's Christmas Eve celebration that I had been to every year of my life. This year, they moved it to the Saturday before so we could come. Awww and Yay!

Nate was so busy playing ball that I don't have any pictures of him. But check out Georgia in her Christmas gown! My mom found this for her and says it is exactly like the one she had for me when I was Georgia's age. What a cutie!

We spent the night, and the next day headed back to Louisville for Christmas with Memaw, GrandBob, Brian, Sunny and Koko! Janie kept asking if we were exhausted, but really we were fine and having a great time! Sunny made an excellent dinner, and every now and then I find myself wondering if they still have leftovers. :)

Haha, she does not look thrilled in this picture to be getting clothes, but she actually loved them and carried each little outfit over to me to show me.

Then commenced the flipping upside down. Be forewarned: If Nate asks to sit in your lap, he's going to want to flip backwards. And he's going to want to do it for the next hour. And then Georgia is going to want to as well.

Georgia is getting friendlier and doesn't always have to be on my hip! Progress!

So instead of being as stressful as I thought, this month has been filled with so many blessings and so much fun. Every day Nate asks which Christmas party we're going to today. :) When we get in the car, he says we're going on a "credible adventure" or having a "tastical day."

And after all the busyness, my shopping is done, and we get to just stay at home this week and next week. Nate is out of school, I have a relaxed schedule at work, and we have nowhere to go. My parents are coming this Friday to spend Christmas with us, and we're so looking forward to this family time.

One damper on our season is that we have lost our nanny Alisa. :( Luckily it happened at a time when I could arrange my work schedule to be at home, and we have some good prospects for new childcare, which will need to be decided by January 3rd. We are certain that all this is happening for the best and that God will open another door for us. Please pray that we'll find someone we trust.

So this was a whole lot of Christmas-ness, and our family wishes you a Christmas full of joy and love!