Bittersweet Christmas

     Wow, only 5 days left in 2010 and I think I am ready to say "Later Gator"!  I believe that the end of this year has been a bit of a sad one for everyone in my family and I think it will be nice to welcome in a new year with new hopes for all of our futures.  As many of you know, my grandmother passed away at the beginning of November very unexpectedly.  As everyone says, the holidays are very difficult after you have lost a loved one, and I believe that everyone in our family can attest to that.  Thankfully, my parents and my Uncle Mike made it home the week before Christmas so that we could have our traditional Christmas celebration at my mother's house.  It was great to be together and the snow helped to make for a fun day for all the family.  It was awesome seeing all the cousins sledding and playing in the snow on Christmas day.  Unfortunately, some time between our celebration with Bryan's family and Christmas morning at our house, I lost my camera so I apologize for having no pictures of our snowy Christmas day.  We found the camera later last night in the back bathroom...don't ask me what it was doing there?

     Christmas Eve was quite sad for Bryan and I since we lost our beloved dog Zurg to a very tragic and unexpected accident.  He was the world's best dog in my opinion and I miss him terribly.  He was a faithful and loving companion to our whole family.  We will miss him forever!  We love you Zurg!

     Usually I am in a rush to take down my Christmas tree and get my house back in order, but for some reason this year I feel the need to hold on to Christmas a bit longer.  It is the light and the coziness that I crave right now and so our tree and our lights and our stockings will stay up a bit longer so we can hold onto the warmth of Christmas!  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!
    

Wilson opening up a gift at Memaw and Deedaa's house.




Michael showing Aunt Adair and Uncle Chris how strong he is.

 

Wilson and Michael with Mozart, Aunt Adair and Uncle Chris.

Wilson pretending to drink Santa's milk and cookies.

Wilson and Michael's first glance at what Santa left for them!

Opening up their stocking stuffers!

One of Daddy's toys from Santa.

Working together to open a gift.

World's Best Dog!  We Miss You Zurg!

Happy Birthday Poppa Claus!

Yesterday we celebrated Poppa's birthday with a little cake and ice cream.  My parents made it home from Florida Saturday evening so we were able to help Poppa celebrate.  We are so happy to have them home and can't wait to spend Christmas with them. 

Happy Birthday to Poppa!

How old are you Poppa?

Michael and Poppa getting silly!

Poppa getting Wilson and Michael all wound up and ready to go home with mom and dad. 

Simply Green hopes to expand | morganton.com

Looks like Bryan made the front page! We are super excited about this and the support we will hopefully be receiving from Burke County!  Check out the link below!

Simply Green hopes to expand morganton.com

Dog Tired

Michael and Zurg snoozing!

As most of you know, we have two dogs now and they live in our house, which is how we prefer it.  Zurg, our lab mix, has become quite comfortable sleeping on our bed at night.  However, he is about 70 pounds now and takes up a lot of room, so he usually gets kicked off sometime during the night.  So now he has decided that he prefers Michael's bed for night snoozing, and some day snoozing too!  Michael likes to sleep with all his stuffed animals and it looks like Zurg fits right in.  Sleep tight!



Our sweet boy, Zurg.  Look at those eyes, how could you not love him!



First Snow

We woke up this morning to a pleasant surprise....SNOW!!!!!  Everyone in the house was so excited!  Wilson and Michael jumped out of bed and proceeded to put on their snowsuits.  I had to bring out a Christmas present early, snowboots, so the boys would be extra cozy in the snow.  Soon they were out in the yard making snow angels, snowmen and throwing snowballs.  Our other little boys, Zurg and Buzz, had lots of fun in the white stuff too!  There is nothing sweeter than to experience the joy and wonder of the first snow with my little men! 

Yeah for Snow!

Suiting up!

Wilson making his first snow angel.

Teamwork!  Wilson and Michael working together to make their first snowman.  Zurg and Buzz were busy wrestling in the snow.

Michael with our snowman.

Wilson and Michael with Super Snowman!

Grove Park Inn

Sunday we headed up to the bitter cold of Asheville for a Cates Family get together. We traveled up with Memaw and Deedaa Cates and met Aunt Adair and Uncle Chris at Neo Cantina (used to be La Paz) for a yummy lunch. I love Asheville. While eating we enjoyed a group of carolers, an English Garland dance, and a fellow performing spinning plate tricks (I am sure their is a proper term for this pasttime but I haven't looked into it to see what it is). After our lunch we headed over to the Grove Park Inn to see the gingerbread houses. It was a beautiful time to be there with the snow swirling around the Inn all afternoon. I think it put us all in the Christmas mood!



Michael getting some tips on spinning plates.





And he did it!  Piece of cake.




Wilson's turn!




Perfect!




Sitting in the chairs by the biggest fireplace ever with Memaw and Deedaa Cates.




Great picture with Memaw and Deedaa and Aunt Adair and Uncle Chris.




Memaw and Deedaa trying to hold the boys back for one more picture.




Sitting in the window at Grove Park Inn.




Kisses!



Gingerbread Houses and Goodbye Kisses

Tonight was the night for the making of our Gingerbread House.  Wilson could hardly wait, however Michael was more interested in the Elf on the Shelf that arrived at our house last night.  Daddy put up the walls and then we took to the decorating.  It was lots of fun with lots of icing and candy eaten by all of us.

Once we finished our house, Memaw and Poppa Claus stopped by to see our Elf and to get one last goodbye hug and kiss from all of us before heading back to Florida tomorrow.  I already miss them and hope they will make it back home soon.  

Bryan putting up the walls while Michael and Wilson look on

 

So focused

Wilson trying to get the candy on just right

Michael trying to push the peppermint through the roof in order to annoy his brother :)

Zurg patiently waiting for one piece of candy to drop

Wilson and Michael with their Gingerbread House



My sweet little guys



Poppa and Memaw Claus with the boys.  Love this picture!

Goodbye kisses to last until they get back home