Christmas in Dixie!

Whoosh!!  Can it be Christmas already?  Oh what a busy month it has been.  Somehow we lost a week from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  Where did it go?  I only know that yesterday it was December 1st and today it is December 24.  And Santa is coming to town!!!

On my way to school in the morning, if I detoured by way of  the town square, I got to enjoy the Christmas lights.  That made going to work a joy since I LOVE Christmas lights!!

 

 

 

 Often I arrive at school just as the sun is coming up.  I enjoy watching the sky changing colors.   

The halls have been decked for weeks with Christmas  cheer!

 

 

Teachers are so creative!  I love this stable door! 

 

 

 

And this snowman door!!

 

 

Kindergarten teachers made sweatshirts for all their little ones!!

 

 

 Flags were flying in the halls.  How blessed we are that we are still able to express the true meaning of Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 



"Elves" were hanging upside down from the ceiling! Just another typical day at an elementary school!! 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, on the home front, Big A was being surprised by JR and Papa G with a trip to the "big city" to choose his birthday/Christmas present.  What could it be?  Big A was clueless and had no idea where they were taking him!!  Oh, I love surprises!!

 

Smiles, smiles, smiles!!

 

 

Unfortunately, Santa was also coming to town at the John Deere dealership the same day as Big A's trip to the "big city".  Since it is tradition to see Santa at John Deere, Meme T, Pooh, Bob, Wee Bob and I stayed in town to visit Santa and catch up on some Christmas shopping. 

 "Okay Santa, I get the message.  I promise I will be good, eat my vegetables, and take my nap!!  Now can I please eat my lollipop?" ("P.S.  Santa, we might have to negotiate after Christmas on some of those promises I made!")

 

 

 "Now this is more like it - time to eat!!  Do you like my cap? The John Deere man gave it to me so "me and dad" can look alike."

 

 

 

 

 

 "Oh man, I can feel the stress draining from me already!"

"Yep, nothing like chicken to restore my faith in Santa!"

 

After refueling our bodies we headed out to do some shopping! We looked, and looked, and looked some more.  Before long we were all getting tired. And just a little bit cranky!

 

 



"What happened to Santa Dad?  Did someone put him in the drier?"

Pooh taking a break! Wonder what she's dreaming of??

 

 

 

 Meme T wishing all the Christmas shopping was over and done with!!

 "Okay guys, I promised Santa to take my nap!!  So lets do this nap thing the right way.  First you unroll a rug............

 

 

 

 ..........then you put the fuzzy side up and climb on top!  Are you watching Santa?"

Meanwhile, in the "big city", Big A is overwhelmed when he learns that he is getting a new four-wheeler!  So many choices.....

 

 

 

 





 "Hmmm,  I like the red one, and the green one, but........

 .....this camouflage one just screams my name!!!"

 

Now here it is Christmas Eve and the house elves are scrambling to get all the presents wrapped and the food prepared.  How do you do this every year Santa and keep your apple cheeks and your "ho, ho, ho"? 

 

A blessed Merry Christmas to all!!

 

DeeDee

Where Did November Go?

Where did November go?  It seems like it was just a blur of activity.  The day before, the day before Thanksgiving JR had to be at the hospital for "post-op" stuff.  I took a day off from school to prepare some holiday dishes and to go with JR to the hospital.  After all the "post-op" stuff was completed,we left the hospital and headed out on the mountain to watch Big A play basketball.  I was happy just knowing JR did not have to be at the hospital until mid morning Wednesday since snow and icy roads were predicted to hamper travel before sunrise.   I was also happy that Big A's game was a home game and we did not have to travel 50 miles!

 Big A is the tall one in the green directly across from #24 in the white. Big A is the tall, good looking one!!!  Take notice of the sign in the middle of the bleachers on the upper end.  It says "Pray for Austin".  He is a teen that was involved in a very bad accident.   Scripture is quoted on the other signs.  I love living in the South where it is still not against the law to pray in schools!!  Well, maybe it is but people around here do it anyway!!

 

 

 That's Big A making a free throw!!  Two points!!!  Oh, my heart cannot take all the excitement!! Thump, thump, thump!!

Here's Wee Bob wearing Bob's hat trying to share a bit of Doctor Pepper with JR.  Mmmmm...good!!  JR cut a hole in the bottle cap so Dr. Pepper would not be sprayed from one end of the gym to the other.  He is so creative!! (I almost freaked out when JR took out his pocket knife and started carving.  I am pretty sure knives of any kind are not allowed on school property.  Gosh, I could see me telling the surgeon that JR was in jail and surgery would have to be postponed!!)

 

 

 

 "Drink up Pappy....There's lots more at the concession stand!  And M & M's, and popcorn, and chips, and pizza!!"

 

 

The next day, all went well during surgery and before we knew it we were back home preparing for Thanksgiving!  JR thought he would feel well enough to have the family at the house so that's what we did. 

 

I had planned on taking a family picture to adorn our Christmas Card.  Let's just say that was not meant to be!!  Bob was recovering from a sinus infection,  JR was drowsy from surgery, and Wee Bob was cutting four teeth!! Not books, or trucks, or food, or drink was going to still this little turkey.   I gave it my all but it was just not going to happen.  So, with the chips down I declared defeat and brought out the I-Pad.  Ahhhhhh... Peace and quiet!!

 

Meme T and the Little Turkey. 

 

 

Meme T, Pooh, and the Little Turkey!! Yep, the I-Pad did the trick!!

Pooh and the Little Turkey.  The Little Turkey is getting pretty good on that thing!!!

   Too cute not to include!!

 Big A and the Little Turkey. Still going strong on the I-Pad!!  Who needs teething gel????

"I promise you Big A if you let me hold it I won't drop it!!  I promise.  My turn, my turn!!!"

 Bob, Pooh, and the Little Turkey taking a bite out of a toy!!  Salt anyone? Wee Bob had to be grabbed around the middle to make him be still!!! 

JR, DeeDee, and the Little Turkey - being a little turkey!!  Quick!  Get me the I-Pad!

 



While I was trying to take and send a family picture, family back home sent me one.  Oh the wonders of smart phones!! 

 

We really had a wonderful day together.  So what if I had dreamed of taking pictures of the food and everyone sitting around the table.  That did not happen!  So what if I had dreamed of taking a picture of all of us surrounding a tractor with Wee Bob as the driver.  That did not happen!  So what if I had dreamed of everyone saying what they were most thankful for this past year.   That did not happen!!  It is amazing the havoc one little turkey can make on a Thanksgiving Dinner!  Would we trade him for a ham? 

NO WAY!!! 

 

Blessings to you and yours!

DD

A Little Basketball Competition!

We are well into the basketball season here in the south.  Big A is playing on his regular 8th Grade Team as well as with the Junior Varsity Team.  He is one busy guy!  I think Meme T and family eat, drink and sleep basketball.....when they get to sleep!!  On the days Big A is not practicing he has a game or some other related activity.  JR and I try to attend home games and those that are not to far away.  Last weekend we traveled to an away game that was about a seventy minute drive -- over the mountain and through a valley along a little winding road.  This drive is not for the fainthearted!!  Going over to the game we were on the inside of the mountain, which was not so bad as long as JR kept his eyes on the road.  The opposite side of the road was a sheer drop off  -  no guard rail - and no shoulder to lean on!  If you met with misfortune and left the black top, you could plunge hundreds of feet down the ravine to who knows where!!  Vanishing without a trace!!  So, being the "brave" person that I am, I refused to travel home in the dark along that suicide highway.  Fortunately, most parties agreed and we came back a different route that allowed us to keep down our dinner!!  I get dizzy still thinking about that road - the perfect setting for an Alfred Hitchcock movie!! 

Back to basketball, below are various pictures from some of Big A's basketball games - ENJOY11

Here's the starting line-up.  That's Big A up front - #33 - the tallest one!  That's JR with the cap on talking to someone in a cowboy hat.

Big A is moving out on to the court.  He's a blur!!

Oops - have to stop and say "hi" to "Wee Bob"!  Wee Bob will call Big A's name during the game and point his cute little fingers at him.  Go Big A!! (That's Papa T holding Wee Bob - I think Meme T was selling snacks at the concession stand.)

When things get a bit slow, Wee Bob will take a break and drink JR's "Dew". That is "Pooh" to the left with a dab of red hair (she decided to try something different and I have to say she succeeded) and "Bob" to the right in the black.  I think the hand you see up close is JR's. His hands are very photogenic!!

 Wee Bob is checking out the "chicks" - "Would you like to share my juice pretty girl??"

There's Meme T!!  She didn't have to work in the concession stand during this game. Hooray!!

That's Big A jumping to make a basket.  2 Seconds on the clock -  Shoot! Shoot!  Shoot!

(I had to revert to Facebook since I missed taking this picture - It's hard to yell and click at the same time!)

 During this game Wee Bob is enjoying a candy pacifier while he sits with Bob.  (Candy pacifiers are very, very, very, very messy!  Now wonder who bought that for him??) Wee Bob is pretending not to be checking out that pretty little redhead to the left of him!!  But he sure did a lot of eyeballing when he didn't think we were watching!!

 

 

When the games begin to get long, the pretty little girls all leave, or Big A has been benched, there is always JR's lap to sit in and snacks to nibble on!! Oh, the sweet life of a toddler!!

 

 

Now you know why so many evenings are spent at Big A's basketball games.  Good people, good food, good drink, and good fun!!  So what if I am bleary eyed at work the next day..... So what if I have trouble keeping awake at my computer ...... So what if I don't hear the alarm clock......So what if I want to crawl into a ball and sleep.....So what if I am going deaf from all the screaming....So what if I am tempted to call in sick......(I didn't really say that did I?)..............?????

 

THE GAME MUST GO ON !!!!!!

 

See you all soon.....

Love,

Dee Dee

 

The Happy Faces of Halloween!

Halloween came and went in a blur of changing leaves and costumes.  It was a week-long event at school and the cooler weather with "frost on the pumpkin" definitely set the stage.  As I looked out my classroom window I felt a stir of Halloween anticipation........

If I could only have figured out a good reason to "play hooky"!

 



 Some trees in town were ablaze with color.....

While other trees were almost there...

(I liked the patriotic flagpole and mailbox!!)

 

 

 



 Meanwhile, our halls at school were decked out with flags and .....

 

 

PUMPKINS!!!  (These were carried in from the bus after Kindergarten visited the Pumpkin Patch.  Aren't they cute?  Makes you just want to squeeze them!)

 

 



Monday was "Rocking 50's Day".  Or was it "Rocking 60's Day".  Whatever it was, we had period music blasting over the intercom system as the children came to school that morning.  Did you ever try to keep over a hundred young children quiet in the hall - before the first bell signals them to go to their classroom - with music blaring and teachers and kids dressed in "retro" clothing?  I tell you honestly, it is not a job for the fainthearted!!!!

 

 



  I was amazed at the creativity on the part of the teachers, parents, and students. Maybe pink poodle skirts will come back in style!!

 

 

 TUESDAY WAS PICTURE DAY AND EVERYONE WORE THEIR FINEST CLOTHING.  I  DO NOT DO PICTURES -  IF I CAN HELP IT - UNLESS I AM BRIBED!! I AM GETTING GOOD AT HIDING ON PICTURE DAY!

 

WEDNESDAY WAS "RED RIBBON" DAY AND EVERYONE WORE -- WELL RED OF COURSE!!

 

FINALLY, IT WAS THURSDAY AND HALLOWEEN!!  THE WEATHER PEOPLE HAD PREDICTED LOTS OF RAIN FOR HALLOWEEN NIGHT AND SOME TOWNS AND CHURCHES CHANGED THEIR FUN DAY TO WEDNESDAY EVENING.  BUT.......AS OFTEN HAPPENS.......THE RAIN HELD OFF UNTIL LATE THURSDAY NIGHT SO MOST ACTIVITIES WENT ON AS PLANNED.  Hooray!!

 

 

 We had "Super-Hero" teachers at school.....

 

 

 

 "Witches" took over PE that day........

 

 

 The "Duck Dynasty" folks were everywhere........

 Wee Bob was the "littlest Super-Hero".  (Yep, I had to resort to Facebook again..)

 

 

 Wee Bob, Pooh, and Bob as the "Super-Hero Family".  (Thank you Pooh for the picture!!)
Uh, have you all been underground in your hideout to long?  Your eyes look weird!
(Question of the day....Can a "Super-Hero Family" wash windows and rake leaves faster than a speeding bullet?   If so, I want to hire you!!)

 

 Even the dog "Duke" was dressed up!  Poor Duke, he had to resort to being a pumpkin!!

 

 



I found this picture on line but thought it was worth sharing.  Triplets dressed up as a "banana split".  Love it!!

 

So that was Halloween the South of nowhere.  We did not have any "trick or treaters" because we live so far off the road and have three "mean" dogs to contend with.  Not to mention cows in the fields and a few harmless looking bulls! 

 

A belated "BOO"!

Dee Dee