Ward Family Christmas and Florida

The annual Ward Christmas party was held at Rochelle and Coby's new house.  It was so rustic and spacious. We had a wonderful time.  We only get to see these family members about once a year,  but we always have so much fun.  We enjoy the food, fellowship and games. This year there were so many children and babies running/crawling around everywhere.  Arlee really enjoyed playing with all of the kiddos.

During the Ornament Swap Arlee gained 2 new train ornaments. He was excited about that! 

Sunday after church we headed down to Florida.  My brother wanted to host Christmas this year but it did not work out for the rest of the 

family to come in. 

 So we decided we would and stay until Christmas Eve and have Christmas at our own house. 

We really enjoyed slowing down and watching movies,  playing games,  making a ginger bread house and I even had the joy of playing the piano and singing with my SIL and the girls in Church. 

We sang "What child is this"

 I really miss being a part of their daily lives. 

And to top it off, we went to the 

Bass Pro Shop to see Santa! 

 I thought it would be a sweet treat for my mom to have a picture of all the grandkids with

 "Sana" or "Ho Ho". 

Of course the girls were less than thrilled with the idea,  but after I stood in line by myself for about an hour they decided to be a good sport.  

They are good girls!!

                   Some pictures of our time there....
Arlee was enjoying the Hill tradition of gas station stops and honey buns!

 The first Christmas gift!!..we thought he might enjoy one of his new movies on the long ride.  It was Disney's Planes. He loved it.  Such a cute movie.

                 
   The beginning of the Gingerbread house project!

I wished I had taken more pictures but glad I remembered to take a few!!

               This one may be my favorite. ...lol

Arlee had a fantastic time with his cousins their fish and Eek Eek  (better known as Nibbles the Hamster)
He totally wore himself out and slept almost the entire ride home!!...yay.

Polar Express- The Ride

Oh the magic of Christmas in a child's eyes is so precious. I know the season is not about the gifts,  the lights,  the festivities or the decorations.  I know is about Jesus Christ.  However,  I'm so thankful that He allows us to enjoy life,  the holidays and His birthday. Sometimes,  as adults we get so busy we simply lose the joy and the simplicity of the season.
But children have a way of bringing back the joy and the magic.
When we took Arlee on the Polar Express and watched his excitement and the sheer amazement it was utterly magical. I was the happiest mommy in the world. These pictures and memories will truly be one of my most precious treasures in life.

The moment Arlee heard that choo-choo he was beside himself.  He was excited and shy all at the same time.

                       The Batesville Polar Express

          "All Aboard"....Arlee was helped on board.
                We were soon helped to our seats

        Arlee has his ticket ready for the conductor!

The conductor came by calling for tickets. Arlee reluctantly handed him his golden ticket.  The conductor punched the letter A in it!

 He loved his cookies and hot chocolate. He got tickled when the waiters sang and danced

 He saw the North Pole with Santa and elves.....

Then we were all surprised when Santa came on board and gave each child a bell!

He would not stop jingling that little bell...lol

I would say he was the happiest little boy in all the world!!

Although the ride was amazing, unfortunately with it being their first year (and ours) There were a few kinks that needed to be worked out.  We learned that just because you buy tickets and request to be together and ride at a specific time there are just no guarantees. Dexter and Sarah's  time was changed and we did not get to go together.  There were some families that were separated into different seats,  and that did not sit well with them! 

Luckily,  we did not have to share seats with anyone and there would have been plenty of room for Dexter and Sarah after all.

Once the ride was over we meet back up and took some fun pics.  

We waited for them to load up before we headed home.  About an hour later we learned that their ride never happened.  The train broke down and everything was called off. Oh the broken hearts!

Church parties and the Play

I thought it might be a blessing for our KJ kids to sing Christmas carols at the Nursing home this year.  So,  we loaded up all those hyper, excited, noisy little kiddos and headed out. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids, the residents the parents or me!
It was great and I pray we were a blessing.

The ladies had their annual  Ornament Swap. But this year we added the Ugly Sweater contest to the mix. Knowing I didn't want to pay much for a sweater I wouldn't need I made a run to Goodwill but could not find one,  so I decided to put my creative thinking cap on and look around the store for items to make one.  I left happy happy happy.The end result was goudy, over-the-top and got me first place. .Whoop Whoop!

 There were so many other ladies dressed for success however, they were just not brave enough for a group picture. ..lol

 Jessie,  my Pastor's wife was a worthy competetor but. I took her down!!!!!!

                          My prize for 1st place!

                             A fun, kid free night

And midst all the hustle and bustle we have been preparing for the children's Christmas play.  I was asked to be one of the main character. I didn't mind.  I love that kind of stuff but boy,  where has my memory gone! WHEW...memorizing those lines was a pure challenge! But we all made it through with lots of adlib and lots of laughs and it went off great.

Cotton plant, Ornaments, baking and The Polar Express - part 1

My little family had another amazing busy weekend. On Friday evening Sarah, Dexter the twins, came up for the weekend. So  their sweet family, Jessica  Tanner and us 3 all loaded up and headed to Cotton Plant. But not before we grabbed dinner at Craving Catfish. They have a yummy salad buffet and the best sweet potato casserole  ever. Don't ask me about the catfish,  never tried it. Not really sure why. .lol!
I can tell you all about the strawberry cobbler. I'm not a huge cobbler fan, but this is just simply heaven in your mouth.
After dinner we ventured on to our destination....                                    

Boy was it crowded. A Friday night may not have been the best night to go. But it  was beautiful , festive and filled with holiday spirit. The weather was perfect too.

The next morning I did a quick photo shoot of Jessica and Tanner.  Their pictures turned out fabulous.
 Then it was on to making Christmas ornaments and the Christmas baking.  And of course we had to do it in style.  We have matching Christmas aprons. ..too cute!

 Then we wrapped it up and packed it up and headed off to lunch. We ate at one of our favorites. ...Obys.

After lunch it was time to head to the polar express. But that is another story for another day!