Winding Down December 2013

Stroker took the car and truck to be cleaned on Thursday, December 26. He cannot sit still when he has a day off work. I do enjoy a nice shiny car with a clean interior though. Stroker drove Brooke over to Old Navy so that she could pick out a gift for her friend. I'm sure that Brooke had to make hasty decisions, because shopping is not something you want to do with Stroker.

By Friday, December 27th, Brooke was asking to go to sleepovers again. She spent the night with Treasure so that they could exchange gifts and hang out.  I cooked at home for a change.

We woke up Saturday morning, December 28, to the sound of someone pecking on the front door. By the time we got up and got our eyes focused, we seen daddy and Phyllis pulling away. I called him and told them to come back so they spent about an hour visiting with us. Uuugghh...of all the days to sleep in. I didn't want daddy to think I was still sleeping teenage hours.
I got a call from Brooke Saturday asking if Treasure could spend the night at our house.  So, they  came home from Treasure's and had a sleepover at our's. The girls were wanting Zaxby wings so I got a party platter of 40 for dinner and we all cleaned them up.

Sunday, December 29th was church service and back home so that Stroker could prep for his big test tomorrow. He laughed at the instructions because the information packet stated "stay close to toilet facilities".

He whined most of the day as he insisted that he was going to cancel and this whole thing was stupid, but he somehow made it through the day. 

 Or maybe I just couldn't hear him whining once the Metamucil went into effect. 

Monday morning, December 30, we were up by 5:30 heading over for the test. Today should be the easy part. I could tell Stroker was nervous about the IV but we got through that too. When they wheeled him back to the holding room after the test, he was full of giggles. He could not stop laughing for over ten minutes. The nurse told me that the medicine can make you giggly and boy was she right.

I took him straight to Cracker Barrel when we left the hospital at 8:30 and he cleaned his plate. We spent the rest of the day at home and I took down Christmas decorations. He constantly reminded me that he was not supposed to drive for twenty four hours. I think he was afraid that I would want to load up and take a trip or something.

On Tuesday, December 31st, we spent another day at home. Stroker got out of the bed cranky and by midday neither of us were speaking. It was peaceful after that. I've come to realize that part of a happy marriage is enjoying the silent treatment. I get tickled at the stupid stuff that gets arguments started in marriages. It doesn't bother me that we fuss because that is part of the beauty of bonding in holy matrimony. Today went wrong when I said "I'm running out to the bank, do you want me to pick you up something to eat while I am out?"  He replied "where are you going?" I said "anywhere you want".  His final statement was "I Don't Know Where You Are Going". 

Never mind.

Anywho...Here is to winding down 2013 quietly.

Happy New Year. 

Christmas 2013

These days, we get to sleep in on Christmas morning. That is because Santa doesn't stop at the Hayes house anymore. Last year, Brookelynn informed me that she no longer believes in Santa and you know what that means. He took us off his route.
We got up around 7:30 and went to the living room to open the gifts from each other. Everybody was really happy with their gifts even if Santa did pass us by.

 Everybody started out with curiosity

 Devin began opening his gifts with that solemn expression. 

 Brooke couldn't stand the curiosity any longer...she had to get one of hers open too.

 Devin said he liked those $40 markers, but there were still no smiles.

 Another item from his list...

 He found lots of goodies in his stocking.

 The aftermath

 Brookelynn had several goodies in her stocking too.

 Stroker usually guesses his gifts, but not this year. He had no idea about the Wahl clippers that he opened.

 This one totally had him stumped. He shook it and listened to it but still couldn't guess.

 SURPRISE...It's a new sun-visor for your truck. 

 Brookelynn was so thoughtfull, she had made gifts for each of us.  Here is my coffee cup.

 Brookelynn also made me a "chip-n-dip bowl". I think it's for personal use. I just don't see this one holding enough to host a party. :-)

 She sure knows what I like. She got me a can of Coke that she decorated...thanks Brooke.

And that concludes images of some of our Christmas gifts.

Don't let all of the early morning frowny faces fool ya. Everyone was well pleased with their gifts.

 I even seen Devin laying everything out on his bed when I passed by his room afterwords. 

Brookelynn baked her birthday cake for Jesus again.

By noon, we were at Mildred's feasting on a spectacular Christmas dinner. There was ham, turkey, dressing, gravy, scalloped potatos, green beans, corn, turnip greens, broccoli salad, mac-n-cheese, sweet potatos, deviled eggs, rolls, chicken and dumplings and too many desserts.  You can only imagine how good it tasted.

We lounged at Mildred's all day until 7:00. We went to the movies to see Walking with Dinosaurs and it was about as slow paced as the actual migration. Get a large coke if you go to see it because your gonna need the extra caffeine.

Christmas Eve 2013

Brookelynn had a hair appointment Monday to get her hair straightened. It's not often that we do that, but oh well...it's the holidays.
We celebrated Christmas at moms on Tuesday, December 24...Christmas Eve.
We all arrived around 3 pm and munched around on finger foods while the kids constantly asked when they get to open their gifts. By 4:30 we passed all the gifts out and by 4:32 they were all opened. The crowd started dying down soon after.

One day these kids will look back and wish they could spend more time at MaMa's. They will wish that we could have more gatherings and time together. Kaitlin didn't even stay around to watch the kids open gifts this year. Someday, she will realize the valuable time that she lost.  And that's the old lady inside of me speaking so I'm going to just move right along with the photos.

We attended a candlelight service at church at 6:30 (another one of my favorite things).

Christmas at Dad's

We had Christmas Communion at church on Sunday, December 22, and it is one of my favorite things. I remember the first time that we had communion at church, Devin asked me if we had just eat a piece of cardboard after swallowing. He also asked if it was OK to drink the wine. I told him "yes,  it is just grape juice".

I am so glad that I finally got my children in church. I regret not having them there from day one. I regret that I was not there from day one. Mom took me to church as a child and I went to church some with my friends in my teenage years, but I needed to be there every Sunday. Thank goodness that we finally found our way. The devil is constantly at my feet and it's a struggle to keep him under them.

We went to my dads Sunday after church. We had out traditional Christmas gathering there. Stacia and Delano didn't make it because they had plans to be somewhere else at the same time, so I didn't get to giggle and Jett, Dash and Grey that day. The rest of us spent a couple of hours together.

December Dinners

After church on Sunday, December 15, we drove to Alpine, visited with Mildred and ate dinner from a drive thru. It was quite the mundane to say the least.

Monday, December 16, held a much more delectable dinner at Mauricio's Italian Restaurant with five friends from the Board. That finished off my day after taking the kids to school, picking them up from school, taking Brookelynn to an orthodontist appointment.

This Tuesday, December 17, Power Athletics was open for business. I really don't know why they closed last Tuesday...the roads were clear as ever.

I met Darlene for lunch at Cheddar's on Wednesday. That is highly unusual, but it was nice to get to have lunch together without the men or kids. We didn't get a chance to have dinner before church on Wednesday, December 18, so we invited Debi and Sterl to eat with us afterwords. We wound up at IHOP having breakfast for dinner. We talked forever and didn't get back home until after 10 pm.

My day started off well on Thursday morning, December 19th. At 10:30, my phone rang and it was Devin. He told me that his heart was racing and he was scared. Of course, I didn't want to take any chances so I took him to have it checked out. After running EKG's and monitoring him until 3 pm, the doctors felt that it was OK to send him back home.

Although Christmas break had started for the kids on Friday, December 20,  I had 8:30 appointments scheduled for both of them at the dentist. Am I a horrible mother or what?
After the dentist, we went to the barber shop to get Devin a hair cut. Afterwords, the kiddos and I had breakfast at IHOP. Brookelynn had a Christmas cookie party to attend at Libby's at noon, so Devin and I dropped her off. We took Stroker some lunch to work too.
After Libby's party, Brooke had to get ready for a party with her fellow cheerleaders at Annie's house. Brookelynn is the social butterfly of the family. As a matter  of fact, after the cheer Christmas party, she went home with Ella so that they could have a sleepover and exchange gifts.

One good thing about Saturday, December 21 is that we can finally say that our Christmas shopping is complete. I wrapped gifts for what seems like the entire daylight hours today. Of course the daylight hours are the shortest today because it is WINTER SOLSTICE..To me, it's a day to celebrate because after today, the daylight hours will become longer and longer each day. We gain about one minute of daylight each day from tomorrow until June 20.
Today is also Trent's birthday. We joined him, Darlene and Gary for a birthday dinner at Logan's followed by birthday cake at my house.

Christmas Lights and Lists

It was cold outside on Monday, December 9 with a wintery mix predicted. So what do the Hayes do when there is sleet and snow in the forcast?...go out for ice cream of course. :-)
We drove over to sonic, got a round of ice cream cones then drove around judging peoples Christmas light displays.

We woke up Tuesday morning, December 10 to find out that school had been cancelled. Hooray for the first snow day this school year!  Brookelynn's Power Athletic's meeting was cancelled too even though the roads were clear all day.

On Wednesday, December 11, I put a pot roast in the crock pot  and we enjoyed a home cooked meal before church. I dropped off donation to a few angel tree boxes because it saddens me to think that some deserving child might wake up on Christmas morning without a gift to open while my spoiled brats complain if their entire list is not accounted for. I have also been working on some homemade/handmade gifts this Christmas. I made several of these "We Wisk You a Merry Kissmas"

and a few of these movie night buckets

On Thursday, December 12, Brookelynn complained of not feeling well and decided to stay home from the ballgame.

  The kids did manage to get their lists in for Christmas this year. I specified a five gift limit. 

Devin's list was pretty do-able; however, Brookelynn's was a little over the top with the request for an Apple TV.

On Friday, December 13, Devin left out for Memphis with Darlene and Gary. It's kind of a scary thought to think that three of my family members took a five hour trip on Friday the 13th. That just can't be the safest day to drive can it? Thank the Lord they made it safely though. 

Stroker and I visited a the funeral home as my friend Denette lost her father this week. Debi and Sterl were there too. We all went to dinner Friday night. After dinner, we rented The Internship which turned out to be a big dissappointment. Stroker and Brookelynn both fell asleep halfway into the movie.

A movie with those two guys should not be that boring.

To finish up the week, Stroker, Brookelynn and I went to Mt. Juliet Saturday to try to complete our Christmas shopping (and to eat at Red Robin). We left home early that morning and took the detour home through Watertown, Smithville and Sparta. We decided to stop by and visit mom for a while then went for a visit with daddy.  It was a long day and we were running the roads through most of it. Bedtime was welcomed with open arms.

Trans Siberian Orchestra

Today had too many obligations for us to be part of them all.

1. Church (Put God first)
2. Braxton's Birthday party
3.Trans Siberian Orchestra
4. Cheer meet to make spirit throws.
5. Football banquet
6. Faith Fellowship Women s Christmas gathering.

We all made it to number 1.  Darlene and I went to see Trans Siberian Orchestra because I love their Christmas music. Stroker stayed home and made sure that Brooke made it to numbers 4 and 5.

TSO: "Christmas Canon"

Trans Siberian Orchestra: "Christmas Eve Sarajevo"