Thanks, Santa

Dear Santa,

Thank you for saying just the right things yesterday when my boys and I visited you at the mall. Even though Miles talked non-stop in the line, boldly announcing to all within earshot that he was asking you for a Nintendo DS for Christmas, he froze once he finally got to sit on your lap and blurted out that he wanted a "toy robot". Huh? Never heard anything about a robot until that moment. Oops.

And Reed, who clearly does not believe in you, was trying to be very cool and stay with me while Miles made up things to ask you for. But you didn't take "no" for an answer and Reed ended up on your lap, confidently asking for his own DS.

I'm writing to thank you for your answer to them. You said it was awfully close to Christmas, and if you couldn't find those presents, would it be o.k. with them if you left a few surprises? Well, yes! Yes, it would be! Thanks for bailing me out, Santa. You rock.

Love,
Reed and Miles' mom

Christmas Tour of Homes

Welcome to our home! If by some small chance you aren't here by way of BooMama, then let me explain what this open house is all about. BooMama is hosting, for the second year, a virtual tour of bloggers' homes, all decked out for Christmas. I wasn't blogging last year at this time, but I enjoyed peeking into the beautiful homes of many of her blogging friends. So, this year, I'm welcoming you into my home. This first picture is the snowman wreath on my front door. He's the first one who will greet you when you come to the door. My friend, Syndi gave him to me a couple of years ago and I think he's cute, with his hat, mittens and scarf. Come on in!

Next is my dining room... you might guess that I really like snowmen! You will fiind them all over my home this time of year. This is a picture of my buffet with some of my collection of cute snowmen. This red wall of crosses in my dining room is also one of my favorite things in our home. The framed print directly below the largest cross in the middle says "Wise Men Still Adore Him"... love that one, too. The snowman picture frames have photos of our boys thru the years at Christmastime, and one of Jay and me from last Christmas.

Finally, we come into the family room and you'll see the Christmas tree. I have a smaller one with white lights in the dining room, but this one has colored lights. Jay and I agreed when we first got married that we would alternate lights, from colored to white every other year. My family always had white lights, his family always had multi-colored, so we thought we'd compromise and make it the best of both worlds. We've been married 12 years and this tree has always had multi-colored... oh well, the kids love it, and it does look pretty when it's all lit up, even though you can't see any lights in this picture! There is a mix of many different ornaments on this tree. Lots of snowmen, of course! One of my favorites is our newest addition to the tree. It is a beautiful sketch of our church building, on a pewter ornament. This is our last Christmas in our current building, as we are building a new church and should be in it by Spring of '08. We have so many good memories of the "old" building, and I love that we'll always have this special ornament to hang on our tree and remember with.

Well, our tour has come to an end... hope you'll stop by BooMama's and tour some other homes as well. Merry Christmas, everyone!