Eli and Tiger and Bear, OH MY!

What a busy couple of days it has been! We started the holiday weekend by making cookies. We never got around to icing them, but they were still a yummy treat. Then we went caroling on Friday night in LR. Got up Sat morning and headed to Monticello for some yummy food, good company and a few presents. We caroled on Sat night. Sat night was Christmas Eve for the James family. They have tradtions that happen on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas Day. They have always been kind enough to rearrange when we celebrate so we are able to do Christmas with both families. They have been caroling on Christmas Eve for about 30 years now!! Eli was a little bit frustrated the first night after the first couple of houses, but once he got the hang of it, he really enjoyed it. He would dance and run around while we sang. He even got to go in one house and play with their son and his dinosaur as we sang. What a treat! While we were caroling on Sat night, Eli got a big surprise, heck, it was a surprise to all of us. We got to a house and some how ended up caroling inside instead of on the porch. Little did we know what was just inside the door. Apparently their daughter, all of their kids are our age, anyway, she put her name in a drawing hoping for a new tv. When she got the call from the drugstore, she was sure she had won it. She answered her phone anticipating the announcement that she was the new owner of a tv, but instead they informed her she was the proud new owner of a .......................................LIFE SIZE TEDDY BEAR! Do you see where this is going?? They had the enormous bear tucked next to the tree behind presents. When Eli spotted it he was so fascinated by it. He didn't throw a fit wanting it, he just kept telling me "I want da beear, mommy. I want ta take it wit me" I'm not kidding when I say it is about my height and bigger than me! So, the family realizes how much Eli likes this bear and they get it out from behind the presents and set it in the floor in front of him. He immediately hugs it and sits in it's lap. It was precious. Long story short, the bear ended up in our van that night and then in Eli's bed. Little did we know what surprise we would have in the morning. We awoke to find that Granpa had got Eli a life sized tiger. The joke quickly became that all we needed was a lion.........get it? Lions and tigers and bears, Oh MY! Good times. We decided you are only a kid once, so why not! They are both pretty darn cool. The tiger is freakishly realistic, but still very cool. So, off of that story, we finished up LOTS of food in Monticello and headed home. We were greeted by Gramma Gari, who is in town all week! We got to take a break from present for the first half of Christmas Eve and then last night we headed to "the country" (as my brothers and I have always called it cause it seemed so far away as a child) to see my dad's side of the family and get a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Whew, I'm tired just recapping our past couple of days! :) But it's not over yet. We have Christmas with Nana, Big Daddy, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Pammy the Great, her friend Ken, Mema and her friend Carl this morning. Then we will close the holiday celebrations with Gramma Gari, Aunt Tarah, Uncle Elliott, Aunt Lee Ann, and Uncle Taylor tomorrow. Lots more good food and company!!!! Well, that's all for now. Here are a few pictures from the past couple of days. I haven't taken as many as I would have liked to :( Merry Christmas to you all. May we all be able to wade through all the "stuff" in this time of year and remember our Lord Jesus Christ. What an awesome, untoppable gift He was and is and will always be. God bless and guide you all! We'll be back with more pictures soon.