2007 Christmas through pictures

As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." So enjoy the novella of our 2007 Christmas. Emma and Liam at Papoo and Gigi's house. Emma got this cute pretend banana split in her stocking. She opened it, tried to take a bite, and then said, "It not working." (this is what she says when something doesn't do what she wants it to.) I am convinced that she wanted it to be REAL ice cream. It was pretty cute!

Emma got this stroller from Mama Jean. I am certain this was on her top 5 list of favorite gifts from 2007.

This is a picture from my PawPaw's house. And yes, this is how it looks every year. With 10 grandchildren and a great-grandchild, what else can you expect?

This is Emma at Mommy D and Grandpaw's house. She was much more interested in playing the "finger, finger" (that is what she calls any piano or keyboard) than she was in opening gifts.

Emma and "Schlecky" (Lexie, my little sister) winding down by watching some "Bear Bears" (Care Bears).

Tis the season...

...for lots of parties, school programs, and more parties! Here are some great pictures of the goings-on of the Delaney clan:

1. Emma's school program--very cute. We couldn't really see her well, but another mom told me that she was one of the only children singing. At one time, she even screamed with excitement over the jingle bells. She definitely takes after her Mommy when it comes to being in front of crowds!

2. Our small group party! Here is a picture of me with the girls...I love these ladies!

3. Happy Birthday, Jesus! Party--we had a great time with the Kinneys and the Pages as we celebrated Jesus' birthday!
4. Home Groups Celebration--Home groups are home small groups for the 3rd-5th graders at our church. We call them home groups as to not confuse them with the small groups we have on weekends. We decided to go to ride go karts on quite possibly the coldest day EVER! :)

5. The Seahorses' Class Party--What's more fun than a group of two-year-olds on a playground in the middle of December? I can think of a lot of things, really...but the party was still lots of fun!

And to think--we still have four stops to make for Christmas. What an exhausting time! But when you're spending it with people whom you love and care about, do you even notice?

Thursday Thirteen (a day late)

13 Highs and Lows since I last blogged

1. I had an awesome "girls' weekend" with some ladies from church as we went to Atlanta to check out a Children's Ministry event (high).
2. I came back to turn in my notice that I will be leaving my position at Seacoast at the end of January (high/low, depending on when you ask me).
3. I had a great Thanksgiving with my family, and made sweet potato souffle for the first time (high).
4. I did not get to spend a lot of time with my dad's family (low).
5. We decorated our house for Christmas (high).
6. Dan started his new job and absolutely loves it (high).
7. We finished most of our Christmas shopping (high).
8. None of it is wrapped yet (low).
9. And now we are really broke (low).
10. But Dan makes a lot more at his new job, so hopefully we'll be able to recuperate some of that (high).
11. We have been watching Christmas movies--they always put me in a good mood (high).
12. My uncle died last week. It is so hard to see your family go through such a deep tragedy and want nothing more than to be able to take the pain away from them (low...really low).
13. The whole situation has made me realize what I feel like God has been telling me for a few weeks--that is what Christmas is all about. It's about God having such intense love for us and compassion on us that He would give us the gift of His Son. I was reminded that while we all like to think of the sweet first Christmas with the angels, the shepherds, and the wise men, that it was really about God coming to fight the very real and very powerful satan--who wants nothing more than to get a hold of our hearts and minds. But God loves us and wants the best for us and gave us the best gift that He could have given us.