No Santa?!

      "You're not going to do Santa with your child? What's wrong with you? Your poor baby is going to miss out!" No, I am not going to do Santa with my children. Ryan and I decided during Christmas 2009, while I was pregnant with Rylee, we would not do Santa at Christmas with our children. Of course, I am going to tell her the story of Saint Nicholas, and allow her to watch cute little Christmas movies and such that include Santa, but we are not going to do the whole pretending that gifts come from the north pole deal.

       "Why not?" We just don't feel it's right for our family. We feel that most of the time children, and adults for that matter, miss the point of Christmas. Even though it is not Jesus's actual birthday, it is the day of the year we have designated to celebrate his birth. We want to try to keep the focus on that as much as possible. Of course, we are going to give our babies lots of gifts, but our gifts can never match the gift that was given all those years ago in Bethlehem. We also don't want to lie to her and have her develop a sense of mistrust. If she can't believe us about Santa, can she believe us when we tell er about Jesus Christ and about God? She's never seen them either... I just don't want to give her a reason to doubt. I also don't want her to feel like she can ever do anything to earn or lose God's love. The whole Naughty and Nice list thing throws me off. No one can ever be "good" enough to earn their way into heaven. It's by grace alone. If she asks about Santa, I'm going to tell her the truth, and stress to her why it's important not to hurt anyone's feelings by telling them what she knows.

       "Isn't she going to be missing out?" Absolutely not! She still gets PLENTY of gifts. We have our own family traditions to make the Christmas season special. We make a birthday cake for Jesus. We pick out gifts for needy children. We talk about the miracle of Jesus's birth. We spend tons of time with all the people we love. Christmas is such an amazing time of year, why do we need a fictional character to make it better? For our family, it is a great time of year without him. We have friends and family who do celebrate Christmas using Santa, and that's fine. That's their choice for their family. Their kids enjoy it, and it's all well and good, but it is just not a part of Christmas for our family, and that's okay, too.

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

       This Thanksgiving was Rylee's best yet. Last year we went to Georgia for the holiday, and Rylee was really sick with a viral infection that eventually turned into bronchitis, so she didnt have a very good Thanksgiving. The year before that was Rylee's first Thanksgiving, and she was just too young to really enjoy it: she was only 5 months old. This year she really enjoyed all the family time, even if she didnt enjoy the meal. Notice her shirt says, "Eat Pizza?" Haha!

     We headed over to Granny and Paw Paw's house for a fabulous Thanksgiving feast with Ryan's family. It was really great to have everyone together. Rylee, Austin, and Jenna played together while lunch was getting ready, and then we all ate until we were STUFFED. It was great. After lunch, some people had to leave to celebrate the holiday with other relatives, but the reat of us just sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed each other's company. It was a wonderful day.

     This family has grown so much recently, and it's true what they say: "The more, the merrier!" I love this family so much! I could not have married into a better bunch of folks! ;)

Thankful Thursday Week 4

     I am extremely thankful for my amazing husband, Ryan. I could never express all the reasons I am thankful to have him by my side everyday, but I will list a few.

      He is the best part of me. When we started dating, we were both 18, just kids, we have grown up together. Through that growing process, we rubbed off on one another quite a bit. I can honestly say that having him in my life has made me who I am today. I wouldn't be the wife I am, the mother I am, or the teacher I am without his influence on me. He has mellowed me out quite a bit, even though I can still be a bit high strung-ha!

      He makes me smile, and even more than that, he makes me laugh. I am so happy when we are together. We still act like giant kids most of the time, and there's an innocence in that type of fun, that makes my soul happy.

     He takes care of me and Rylee more than he even knows. He does things for us that not every husband or father does. He goes beyond what is expected of him and does things to make things easier for me. Even when he was workign full time, he still took immaculate care of Rylee in the mornings while I was at school, did the laundry, and usually even did things to help keep the apartment clean. He teaches Rylee so much, that one would think he was the one with a background in education. He is such an amazing father and husband, and I am truly thankful for him every single day.

Thanksgiving in Middle TN

      Yesterday we traveled to Decherd, TN to celebrate Thanksgiving with my parents. It was a perfect day. We left Ripley around 7 and arrived around 11. The kids played for a while and we had a fabulous Thanksgiving lunch at noon. We all got incredibly stuffed. My mom's a great cook! :)

     After lunch, the kids played until around 2, then my dad had to head to work. After he headed to work, we took the kids to Adventure Mountain, a big park near my parents' home. The park had tons of different equipment for the kids to play on. They had a blast. They all cried when it was time to leave.

     We got back to the house around 5 and ate pie and watched football until around 7 and then we put the kids in their pj's, loaded them into their car seats, and headed back home. Rylee and I slept the whole way home, so poor Ryan had to drive in silence, but we made it home safely. It was a great way to start of my Thanksgiving Break!

Thankful Thursday Week 3

      I am completely and totally thankful that I have amazing in-laws. We don't always see perfectly eye to eye, but they have always been there for Ryan, Rylee, and I.

      If it wasn't for Ryan's parents and grandparents, I wouldn't have be able to finish school on schedule after having Rylee. They are so sweet with my little love. I love all of his family so much. There is so much laughter and personality when we all get together. It makes my heart feel so full.

Thankful Thursday Weeks 1 & 2

       Since it's November, I thought I'd do a weekly rundown of what I'm thankful for. Last Thursday, was the first of November, so I'm going to make up for it, by writing about 2 things I'm thankful for this week! :)

      I am so very thankful for my Rylee Love. She had a doctor's appointment yesterday for a physical and a flu shot. She was 27.2 lbs and 36 inches tall. I cannot believe how fast my "baby" is growing up. She is so smart and so sweet. She lights up my world in such an indescribable way. I am so blessed to be her mommy. Most of all, I am thankful that she is happy and healthy. Nothing is guaranteed in this crazy world, but so far, her life has been relatively problem-free, and that is the greatest blessing. I try to never take it for granted that my child is healthy because I know there are so many parents in this world that are not that fortunate. I know that the original sin, the fall of man, led to all illnesses and pain, but it is so hard to understand why innocent children suffer and die. I wish Adam and Eve would've had a crystal ball to see what pain they would cause with just one taste.

     I am also thankful for what I have. I was thinking the other day after a particularly hard day at work, "I don't make enough to deal with this." That got me thinking, what is enough? My bills are paid, I have a roof over my head, there is food on my table every night, I have clothes on my back, my daughter has more clothes and shoes than I do, and more toys than she could play with in a week. What is enough? I have enough. I have much more than enough. I am thankful for what I have. Even though this economy is hard, and Ryan still has been unable to find work, we have enough. I am so incredibly thankful for that. Even if we didn't have enough, we have family who love and support us and would never let us starve, that is more than enough. Even if we didn't have any of that, we have a God who promises an eternal life of joy and praise after this temporary life is through. That is more than enough. Material things don't matter so much, but I am thankful for what I have.

Halloween 2012

      This is has been Rylee's (and my) best Halloween by far. I love the age she is right now. Everything is so exciting, and she can do so many things this year that she couldn't last year. We really celebrated this year. We started on Saturday by attending 2 trunk-or-treats, and then last night we went trick-or-treating just to a few family members.

       Rylee had and absolute blast at the trunk-or-treats on Saturday! She LOVED the bouncy houses, and is still talking about them. She has been jumping on her bed pretending to be in a bouncy house. It just amazes me that last Halloween, she couldn't even walk, and this year she's jumping in bouncy houses! She also got tons of candy, went on a hayride, and got her face painted again. I would say the night was a success. She cried and cried when it was time to leave. She didn't want to go home, she wanted to stay and bounce forever!

     Yesterday, when I got off work we headed to Liz and Brandon's to begin our night of trick-or-treating. We let the kids play together for a little bit while Kade's Meme and Liz's neighbor, Kala made stops to see the kids and drop off goodies. Then we exchanged goody bags that we made for the kids. They got absolutely spoiled!

      Next we headed to Granny and Pawpaw's to trick-or-treat. We ran into Matt, Amber, and baby Jenna over there. They had the cutest idea for her first Halloween. She was a lobster and they were the chefs, and they carried her around in a pot! It was beyond adorable!

      Next we headed to Nonna and Granddaddy's for the grand finale to our night. They gave the kids a mini hayride. They rode around for a while, but Rylee and Kaden were being a little timid about it, so at first I rode with them, then Liz rode with them, then finally Mary rode with the kids. While it was Mary's turn to be the chaperon, and lever got knocked loose and the wagon dumped Mary, the hay, and all three kids right out! Luckily, no one was hurt at all and, now, it's just a funny story to tell! :) Both Liz and I agree that we are glad it happened during Mary's turn-haha!

      After the hayride ended so drastically, we went inside and had pizza together, then the kids got even more presents. Did I mention they are SPOILED?!

     Holidays are fun when you are little, but nothing compares to enjoying holidays as a parent of a young child! These are the best years of my life! I love making memories with my little love, and I can't wait to see what the rest of this holiday season has in store!