December -- before the trip to California

I decided to blog about December in two posts.  This post is about our life before we let for California.


Work Christmas Party🌲

We started off the month by attending one of the best Christmas parties ever!  It was hosted by Nathan's work, and it was for families.

They had food, dancing, a photo booth, games / crafts for the kids, a candy car for kids, a hot chocolate table for the kids (an some adults), etc.  It was a total blast, and Hannah did not want to go home.  She kept asking "can we go to another party like that?"

Tooth Fairy✨

Hannah had a big month with the tooth fairy.

She lost one tooth on Wednesday December 6th.

It was really funny because her lone central baby tooth looked more like a snaggle tooth.

And then two days later she lost a second tooth on Friday December 8th!

Hannah's birthday🍰

Hannah had a birthday this month.  She wanted to go to Cheesecake Factory because she wanted to eat the Funfetti Cheesecake (not my picture).

She also enjoyed eating some french fries, and opening her presents!  (The lighting wasn't too great in the Cheesecake Factory, so we didn't get many pictures).  She got Gel Pens, two games (Guess Who? and Mancala), a dolphin necklace, a beautiful green church dress, and a good bundle of Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer merchandise (coloring books, stickers, pencils, erasers, a mug, etc).

Snow🌨

We got some snow, and of course, everything around here got cancelled.

Danny's Visit🚚
With the snow, and cancellation of things, brought an unexpected and very welcome visitor!

Danny was in the area making a delivery, and since some of the factories shut down due to the snow, he got to hang out with us for the weekend!

Bananas🍌

So, I do not like bananas, but they are a healthy snack to eat on the go.  I decided to force myself to eat at least one a day (and thank you Danny for the encouragement!  If you can do it, then I can do it).

Oh boy, here's one to try.😬

Blah.😩

Service project🎖
Our ward had a service project to help box food for local veterans.  It was and honor to help serve these men and women who have served our Country.

Jasper

Jasper hung out at our house in some fun spots this month.

Hannah really liked that he "wore" the Alabama football helmet ornament (the #16 represents how many championships we've one.  Hopefully, we will get another one soon.)  And, it appears Jasper had a date too.

Tinsel trail and Christmas lights🎄

We headed out to the annual Tinsel Trail this year.  Local businesses and organizations decorate trees for the season.

Then we went and looked at Christmas lights in a fun neighborhood.  This house had quite a bit of blow ups.

Decorations at work🌿

There were some local garden clubs that came in and decorated the place I work (which is an old historic home).  All the greenery they used were freshly picked (except the Christmas tree due to fire regulations).  It smelled AMAZING!

Miscellaneous

Hannah made a plate at school for a Christmas decoration.

Hannah had one of her friends over to play with.  Let's just say that her friend learned all about our Elf on the Shelf (Jasper).  Hannah read her friend the book about how the elf comes to your home, you can't touch him, but you can talk to him.

This girl still loves gymnastics, and can get up pretty high on the rope!  Way to go kiddo.

Someone stole Daddy's phone and wanted to take a picture (with the owner in the background🙈).

Check out this journal entry that Hannah wrote.  It made my heart skip a few beats.💕

And now, I need to journal about our California trip!✈


Funfetti picture courtesy of Today Show

News in November

Well, we don't really have much news that would make headlines.  But here is what happened during the month of November with our family.

Nose Surgery👃

November started off with some cuts.  Nathan had a benign carcinoma removed on his nose.  They took a piece of skin from his ear and grafted it on his nose.

He had to leave these bandages on his nose and ear for a week before he could take them off and replace them with band aids.

YWIE

Our Young Women had their Young Women in Excellence program this month.  Our theme was "Oh the places you'll go!"  We asked the girls to wear "Dr. Seuss church dress."

Here was my outfit.

And here were our decorations that the girls came up with.  One of their mom's did the cake.

And here are my awesome girls!

We gave them socks for a gift (see the socks I'm wearing in the picture of my "outfit"), and we used this poem for the socks.

Thanksgiving Lunch🍞🍴

Hannah had a Thanksgiving lunch at school that Nathan got to attend.

Thanksgiving

So this year we headed to Pikes again.  It was fun, as usual.

We watched the Dog show on Thanksgiving.  I LOVE watching the Dog show.

This is the dog I wanted to win, but he got 2nd place.

The day after Thanksgiving, Jasper (our Elf) showed up.  Hannah was excited to see him.  He's a fun addition to our family this time of year.

This was something that warmed my heart: Hannah decided to read her scriptures and say her prayers ALL by herself one night.  I love how mature and independent she is becoming.

While we were there, we took some pictures (thank you Jen!).  

And someone had so much fun at the Pikes that she fell asleep on our way home.

Football Game🏈

Nathan and I got to go to a game this month.  Alabama football games are awesome and A LOT of fun!

Odds and Ends

I saw this orange car around town one day.  I couldn't help but think "who would do all this stuff to a car?"

One of the board members where I work brought me flowers from their house.  They smelled divine!

Check out Hannah flexing her muscle:

Hannah saw her Ophthalmologist this month.

She had to get her eyes dialed, and did not like it at all.

One thing I love about the south is their decorations.  My favorites are the Magnolia Wreaths (made out of Magnolia leaves).

Since mid-August, we had a friend living with us as she was getting ready to go on her mission.  She got her mission call this month, and we were so excited for her!

She's going to Frankfurt, Germany and reports to the MTC December 20th!