Celebration in the Oaks

With only six months or so left in New Orleans, the rush is on to do everything we have thought of doing in the two and a half years that we've lived here. Thursday night some friends joined us to check out the amazing Christmas lights in City Park. We all had a wonderful time, but the kids were especially thrilled with everything!

We visited Storyland.

Played in Alice's house...
Listened to the Cajun Night Before Christmas...

Watched the trains wind through a miniature version of New Orleans...

Met Mr. Bingle (Hunter thought he was taking a bath)...

Climbed on a fire truck...

Hannah played with the pigs...

which meant Hunter had to play with the pigs...

Considered visiting Hansel and Gretel's house but opted out...

Took a tour of the space shuttle...

Stood in awe at the abundance of lights...

and called it a night!

Christmas Program 2008

The three and four year old classes held a Christmas program on Monday. Hunter stayed on stage for the first few songs. Then, he left to find me and Pete; he gave me a kiss and said he wanted to stay with us, but we were able to coax him back on stage without any tears! This was quite an accomplishment since the last two years he has left in tears. I guess he really is growing up:(

Hunter's class entering the sanctuary.

Taking it all in!

Jingle Bells

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Mary Had a Little Lamb

As you can tell from the video, all this performing wears on a boy! Anyone see any family resemblances here??? just curious:)

Let It SNOW!

The snow started falling about 8:20 this morning and lasted almost two hours! We had such a fun time watching it. Hunter LOVED playing in the snow. Hannah wasn't quite so excited about being wet and cold but she endured it for a few minutes. The dog wouldn't even step outside. Both kids want to play in the snow again tomorrow. Since snow in New Orleans is a very rare occurrence, I'm pretty sure we won't be playing in the snow tomorrow!

Hunter was fascinated with his footprints!

They had to check on their house.

Round two for Hannah. We had to change her clothes and start over. She really didn't care for the snow too much!

Hunter had a ball scraping the snow off his fort. He kept saying what a mess the snow had made.

Lots of Catching Up to Do...

With any luck the computer and I will spend some quality time together in the next few days. Until then, here are a few pics of the munchkins from today!

Big Girl

Hannah has been potty training intermittently over the last few months. She uses the potty when it suits her fancy and she avoids it when she's not in the mood - much like the rest of her life. Today, she decided she was wearing her big girl panties to school. Not wanting to squelch any intrinsic motivation, I jumped on board with her idea.

So, off to school she went in her big girl undies. She had a GREAT day - no accidents to report. Part of me is sad to acknowledge how big she really is; however, the financial benefit to no more diapers is a huge perk!

Hopefully, we'll have another great big girl day tomorrow!

Election Day

I didn't realize until last night how much I have actually been dreading Election Day. I'm not really sure why but I have, and here it is regardless! In a way it's kind of like going to the dentist, which has a whole new meaning for me as of late:). I received the following "predictions" as an email the other day and thought it appropriate and worth sharing.

Top Ten Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election:

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-annointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

Happy Voting!!

Trunk-or-Treat

We had a fun yet slightly dramatic Halloween evening at church. Prior to leaving, Hannah decided she didn't want to be a princess anymore; she wanted to be Abby Cadabby instead. She threw a Hannah-style tantrum but eventually agreed to wear the princess dress. She was perfectly content once dressed and out the door.

The kids loved visiting the different trunks and picking out special treats.
Mr. Bob's giant tiger was the ultimate delight for Hunter and Hannah. So much so that when we pulled into the parking lot on Sunday for church Hunter said, "Maybe Mr. Bob will have his tiger there!" I tried to explain that the tiger had gone home, but Hunter was insistent that just MAYBE Mr. Bob would have that tiger. Sadly enough, no tiger on Sunday morning:(

Hannah wanted to sample every piece of candy that went in her bag. Luckily, my kids don't really like candy so we were able to get rid of lots of things quickly! The kids are happiest with their pretzels and goldfish in the Halloween decorated bags!

One grumpy Mr. Incredible. Hunter wanted no part of the games inside. Even though he had already visited every car in the parking lot, he wanted to go back for more:) He pouted through the entire cake walk.

Hannah relishing in her stash!