Twas the day after Christmas...

Well, where to start...let's just say this hasn't been the Christmas vacation I had hoped for, but it was definitely memorable! My time off of work got started a day earlier than planned because Owen came down with 101 degree fever last Tuesday night. He quickly bounced back, so we were still able to go to McComb for Griffin Christmas as planned. We loaded everyone into the car and headed on down the road. Once we got to McComb, we were greeted with 70-something degree weather and beautiful sunny skies, something Nashville had not seen in quite a while. Our first order of business, as usual, was to go check on the cows and horses on the mule!



After we were sure all the animals were okay, we went to the hay field and the blind pony patch to pick up gumballs and hickory nuts to make Christmas ornaments! We came back home to find Pop relaxing in his "ejector chair"--he is recovering from knee replacement surgery. Owen had a blast all weekend raising and lowering the chair, sometimes with us in it! Owen and Pop read The Night Before Christmas together--the same pop-up copy that we Griffin kids read for years and years.


That night, we went to eat at a delicious new restaurant in McComb called the Caboose. Owen was very well-behaved, which was a relief, and we ran into my piano teacher, Mrs. Brady, which was a wonderful surprise! After our yummy meal, we piled into Gran and Pop's car and drove to Tylertown for the Christmas lights. Owen would have hung out the car window if we would have let him. He was very interested in all the different displays--Noah's ark, various sports, penguins, the 12 days of Christmas, model cars, and of course Santa and Mrs. Claus. After we returned home, we decorated the tree with tinsel, popcorn, cranberries, and our hickory nut and gumball ornaments. I think we were all proud of the results!


On Saturday morning, we woke up and had Christmas together. Owen enjoyed all of his gifts, but I think his favorite thing is Spider Spud, a Mr. Potato Head dressed up like Spiderman. Gran and I got out and about a little bit while Owen took his nap. Once Owen woke up from his nap, my friend Genny and her beautiful little girl Aivia came by for a visit. This was Genny's first time to meet Owen, and my first time to meet Aivia. We were so excited to both be in McComb at the same time!


Later Saturday evening, while we were eating a delicious vegetarian dinner (thanks, Gran!), I started feeling feverish. I went to bed early and woke up on Sunday morning feeling worse than I have felt in a long, long time. We quickly loaded up and hit the road to Nashville. I had ups and downs throughout the day, but by the time we reached Nashville, I knew I needed to go to the doctor. We found a minute clinic near our house that was still open, and I was diagnosed with viral pharyngitis. The doctor told me it would get better in a few days and all I could really do is just treat the symptoms. Bummer! Sunday was Gwyn's birthday, so I was extremely disappointed to miss seeing her on her birthday, but I knew the best place for me was in the bed!

Monday morning when we woke up, we discovered that our heater was blowing out cold air. Mind you, the wind chill on Monday was, oh, about 10 degrees. One of my very generous co-workers came over Monday evening and again Tuesday morning to help us figure out what was going on. We soon realized we needed to call in the big guns. So by Tuesday evening, we had heat again! But let me assure you, those 2 days we didn't have heat were spent all huddled up in our master bedroom around the space heater. We ate all of our meals that way and we all slept together too...which would explain why, by Tuesday, I was feeling much better, but Richie had caught my pharyngitis! Argh!!!

Richie had to do deliveries on Christmas Eve, so Owen and I spent the day together preparing for Santa to come. We baked some cookies just for Santa and put them in a safe place until later that night.



Christmas Eve evening, our friends Craig and Martina (or as Owen calls them, Greg and Tina) hosted us at their house for a Christmas fiesta. Richie was feeling better, so we spent the evening with some great friends and some excellent food! We played a new game called Mafia, and Owen peacefully looked on and ate nuts with Craig as we played. (I should mention that Craig is one of Owen's favorite fellas in the world. Big time!)


We came home from the Hamlins and began our Christmas Eve ritual of Christas pajamas, pictures by the cookies and milk, and Christmas books before bed. As Owen and I walked down the hall to his room, he called back to Richie, "Don't eat those cookies, Daddy! Those are for Santa!" He crawled into his bed and then decided he could hear Santa Claus outside. He jumped out of his bed and ran to the window to look out. He quickly got back in bed so that Santa would come to our house, and, amazingly, he fell right to sleep!



Christmas morning, Owen woke up at his usual 7:30. He wanted to see if Santa came, and for some reason ran straight to the kitchen, then the dining room, then back to the kitchen. Once he finally caught sight of his presents in the living room, he made a mad dash for his goodies. Watching him open gifts was hilarious and heart-warming. He must have been a very good boy this year because Santa brought him lots of fun stuff....



and we still had a gift from a certain aunt left to open...


I don't exactly know where the Hulk will wind up, but Owen was thrilled to open that one up! Later on, Jeremy, Gwyn, and Tom came over for lasagne and lounging around. Owen had fun showing off all of his new toys and somehow wound up not taking a nap...shocker! That night, we watched Home Alone, which evoked one of the most amazing and unforgettable reactions I have ever seen from my child, a reaction that left Gwyn and I both in tears, something I could not even begin to describe. Luckily, Tom was right there to bring Owen back to reality and we all thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the night.

So while our broken heater and viral pharyngitis tried very hard to ruin our holidays, it just was not to be. Richie and I feel so blessed to have such a beautiful, amazing boy, and holidays with him fill our hearts with love and gratitude. We are looking forward to seeing Gi Gi, Granddad, and Uncle Jon next week. Merry Christmas, indeed!

The sweet smell of Christmas

Christmas is almost here, and the excitement is definitely building at our house! A couple of weeks ago, we decorated our tree, put candles in the windows, hung our red berry wreath on the front door, and set out all of our favorite Christmas books. Our usual bedtime favorites have been replaced with The Night Before Christmas and The Sweet Smell of Christmas (my absolute favorite holiday book of all time, ever ever ever ever. ever.) I'm slowly working my way through our Christmas list and trying to sneak presents into the house before Owen sees them. So far, so good! We will be making a quick trip to McComb next weekend. Aunt Mimi won't be there, so we're pretty bummed about that, but there is a lot to look forward to down there. Owen has loved riding around to look at Christmas lights, and Tylertown (a small town about 15 minutes east of McComb) has a really fun display in the park every year. We took Owen 2 years ago, but he was very squirmy and not too interested in all the lights. I think this year will be a different story! Gi Gi, Granddad and Uncle Jon are tentatively planning a trip to Nashville right after Christmas, so we are excited to get to see them too! Owen asks about his aunts and uncles a lot, so I know he has missed seeing them, especially after all the fun we had on his birthday.

Two weeks after Owen's birthday, we hosted a Thanksgiving pot luck with several of our friends who were away from their families. I can honestly say, it was one of the best days ever. We ate soooo much good food and just relaxed and played for hours and hours. The weather was absolutely perfect--partly cloudy and almost 60 degrees. After lunch, the big boys went into the front yard to play tag football, and the little boys (Owen and Liam) followed them outside for chase (thanks to Maggie for being a good sport and letting Owen chase her mercilessly!), coloring, and sidewalk chalk. As the evening wore on, Owen's need for some sleep (eek, no nap!) became apparent, and he went to bed. The grown ups played Apples to Apples and our new favorite pasttime Wii Fit (thanks Minor!) until the casseroles, desserts, and football caught up with everyone and we called it a night. Although we missed seeing our parents and siblings, we were so thankful to be able to spend the day with so many wonderful friends!

Have I mentioned lately how much we love this magnolia tree?

I'll try to be better about updating throughout the holidays. I am only working 5 more days from now until the end of the year, so hopefully I can use some of that free time being a better blogger. :)