Our little Elf wishes you a Merry Christmas

For Unto Us, A Child Is Born

I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas, spending time with your families and loved ones. I also hope amidst the hustle and bustle that we can all slow down to reflect upon our many blessings and the true meaning of Christmas. I saw this picture today entitled "Kissing the Face of God" and wanted to share. I pray that we all have time to reflect on the reason that we celebrate - the birth of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. This year is the first time that I can truly understand the overwhelming love that Mary felt for her baby boy and the myriad of emotions she must have felt when she learned that He was THE sacrificial lamb. May your minds and hearts be full of joy and peace as you celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Tall and Proud

Conner has started pulling up over the past couple of weeks. One of his favorite things is pulling up on our bar stools and pushing them around the kitchen. He is exploring our house every day, which is neat to watch. Today he figured out that he can pull up on an open drawer in our bedroom or bathroom and start digging to find new treasures!
He also loves the Christmas tree lights and of course the ornaments. I put a few soft ornaments and jingle bells on the bottom so he can pull them off and play. It is so adorable to see him crawl over and pull a jingle bell down and start ringing it. I cannot help but to think of the little girl in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" who says "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings." I have decided that children are the best reminder of the true wonder and magic of Christmas. It is so neat to get to enjoy things from that perspective again!

Santa Baby

The annual Ross Bridge lighting of the tree was held last Friday night. It was such a nice event for our neighborhood children and Santa even stopped by on his sleigh for a visit. Conner had his first opportunity to sit on Santa's lap. Zack and I were much more excited by this than he was!

It was reallly close to Conner's bedtime and he was about to fall asleep in the line waiting to see Santa. We were able to get one good picture before he got comfy in Santa's lap and decided to recline. After all, he is quite padded being so jolly and all! The picture from Santa's elves was hilarious with Conner all laid back in Santa's lap. Here is our version when he was in the process of getting cozy.

Gram and Pops took Conner to visit Santa again in Columbus on Sunday. His cousins Madeline and Mary Bishop joined him there. Unfortunately, they were unable to get a good picture with Mary Bishop as she was not fond of Santa or Mrs Claus. Gram said that Madeline was such a big help with Conner. I believe that we have found a babysitter in Columbus! Conner had such a great time with Gram and Pops and enjoyed his trip to Columbus.

With Thankful Hearts

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

Colossians 3:15

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday traveling around Mississippi. We were able to spend time with both of our families and are so very thankful for each one of them!! I love this time of year as we reflect on all of our many blessings. We have truly had an amazing year and give God the glory for all that He has done in our lives.

We started our trip by heading to my parents house on Wednesday afternoon. We enjoyed Thanksgiving lunch with Gram, Pops, Ben, Blair and sweet Mary Bishop. Conner loves his cousin, but I am not sure that she likes him as much. He might scare her a little with his constant attempts to steal her pacifier and crawl on top of her.

We went out to Zack's family cabin on Thanksgiving afternoon and spent the rest of the day with the Bennetts. Conner was excited to see his cousins Turner and Elizabeth again. It was neat to actually watch the two little ones start to notice one another and play with each other's toys.

On Friday, we headed to Oxford for the Ole Miss/State game... I am not sure that you could really call it a game! Nana (Zack's mom) drove over to keep Conner while Zack and I went to the game and Grove. We enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal with Zack's mom, Tyler, Amy, and Baylor on Friday night.

Saturday, we went back out to the cabin to finally meet Conner's cousin Tripp! He was such a handsome little boy and they had lots of fun. I can already tell that they are going to keep us on our toes when they get together at Darden. Elizabeth is going to have to keep them straight!

We then stopped in New Albany and joined Zack's dad & Julie for the Carter family Thanksgiving lunch. And, yes, for those of you counting, that makes FOUR thanksgiving meals. I am not sure, but we might win a prize for most calories consumed in three days. Conner even tried sweet potato casserole and carrot souffle!! We had a wonderful trip and look forward to the rest of the holidays.