Mr. Resourceful

Andrew loves Sunday school/Bible class. Always has. In fact, Aidan and Andrew have never had any type of separation anxiety--unlike their older brother who often cried when I left him until the day I made him sit in the adult class for the entire time. T.J. quickly decided the grown ups were boring and he never gave me any more trouble.

Worship was a whole different story with Andrew. You would honestly think we were asking him to sit on molten lava or something. Our services usually run long, so that makes it tough.  He was constantly moving around and once he found his voice, used it often to express his impatience. We tried any number of toys, books, and activities to keep him occupied, and while he had his good days, we could never figure out a long-term solution.

Turns out Andrew found it for himself. One morning recently he grabbed his Cat in the Hat bag and told me he was going to sit with his friends!  Um, okay.....
He squeezed himself between all the pretty high school girls a few rows in front of us, and we just sat back to see how this was going to go.  He was great.  I heard the whole sermon, and it was great.  {{insert Hallelujah chorus here}} Aidan was great.  Not having to share us with his brother was a win win for him.  Andrew only got up to go to the restroom, and then promptly returned to his seat.  Now Andrew sits with his friends for each worship service! BIG THANK YOUS go to Liz, Kelli, and Abby for being so sweet and always sharing their pew with him. 

That's Andrew standing on the pew to the left of Kelli during the closing song.  Just a few minutes before he had his arm across her shoulders--I really hate I missed that shot.

My sweet boy thinks he's so grown; the sad thing is, he will be before I'm ready. Trust me.

That's a wrap

This is my third (and final) post for Christmas 2011....I promise!  Since we had travelled beforehand, we were home for Christmas eve/day--just the five of us.  Here's a few pics....

decorating cookies

frosting was Aidan's favorite part

Andrew dug the sprinkles

yep, Santa's gonna love them!

setting them out for Santa--that's Aidan donning his hat

carrots too, of course

finally, after 23 years we found hangers that allows us to hang the filled stockings!

each of the boys got a Big Al pillow pet

Aidan was first one up and checking it out

The best $7 toy there is! ;)

T.J. did great for dad and got him a Trent Richardson jersey

pooped

T.J. got into the moon dough action too

Woody...of course

Aidan's foray into photography--I love the expression

Andrew's photography

A Shrektacular holiday in the Music City

Growing up in the Nashville area, I had many opportunities to visit Opryland Hotel and even stay there for several conventions.  My friends and I (and later on, Tom and I) would enjoy walking around the ginormous atriums, indoor waterfall, and beautiful lobbies; it was fun and FREE.  While the convention center has grown exponentially in the twenty years since I graduated high school and moved away, they've always been known for their Christmas decorations.  It's always amazing.

A week before Christmas, we decided to go spend a couple of days in a condo very close to the hotel.  My family lives about an hour away so they were to come over and we'd exchange gifts and all of us would go to Opryland, see all the Christmas lights, and take in a free show featuring Shrek and friends.

The hotel was packed (and we were there on a Monday), and seating was very limited.  I had to stand Andrew up on a chair, have one arm around him to keep him steady, while taking pics (which is why I got none of him actually watching the show-no biggie).  My boys got to see the show despite the cramped conditions--I made sure of that--despite one gentleman's grinchy attitude.  It was impossible to be in such an atmosphere and not be filled with the Christmas spirit, even for him.  :)  I mean, at one point, it was SNOWING in the hotel!!!  **MAGICAL**  
I really hope to make this an annual tradition, and take in even more of the sites and activities.

Gingerbread man

Kung Fu Panda

Why I actually thought I could photograph the snow coming down, I have no idea, but I was so excited, I wanted to try!

Penguins from Madagascar

Shrek and Fiona

Puss 'n Boots!

My boys

Tom and the boys

My dad and Karen

My mom 

Walking behind the waterfall

Boat ride--Tom and I went one year for our anniversary--hopefully next time we can take the boys

A s'more shack--they sell the goods.....

...you toast the marshmallows and assemble!  Fun idea!

Some pics with the family.....

Andrew looks like a teenager....ha ha!

Aidan is trying to get everyone in on singing Christmas carols....slow at first, but everyone finally joined in!
"The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear!"

No holiday is complete without T.J. playing his guitar

My sister with her cupcake book

My dad's ready for spring cleaning his cars--who am I kidding?  He's not waiting that long.

Tom's Alabama snowman