Christmas 2007

It has been a wonderful Christmas! I am thankful that we have been blessed with good health and the blessing of family this year. We have had a very relaxed Christmas. On Christmas Eve we went to Romeo's mom's house for finger food dinner. Here Sophie is modeling the new shirt and boots that grandma gave her. She thought she looked very "Hannah Montana" in this outfit.

Reagan is showing off the new purse that Maw Maw Daisy, Romeo's grandmother, gave her. Inside was a surprise gift card to Target.

Romeo caught Maw Maw Daisy under the mistletoe.

I thought this was great picture of Romeo with the girls and his mom.

Here is a picture of Romeo's sister's children, Ashley and Matthew with our girls.

Here the girls are getting ready for Santa's visit. We didn't get very creative with our cookies this year. By the time we got home from Grandma's house, slice and bake was about the best we could do for dear old Santa.

We gave the girls Romeo's cell phone to call us when they got up on Christmas morning because they aren't allowed to come down the stairs because we like to get their reaction on video. One stipulation--they couldn't call before 5:00. Reagan called at 5:00 on the nose. They said they had been waiting since four in the morning.
Here the girls are investigating what Santa brought.

Santa brought three gifts to each of the girls.

This was the big hit item this year. Both the girls chose an American Girl doll. Reagan chose Kit, a historical doll from 1934. Ironically, Kit's story is one of a girl who is 8 years old in 1934, and that was my grandmother's age in 1934.

Sophie chose Nicki, the 2007 doll. She is a modern girl. Anyone surprised?

Both the girls got a complete outfit from Hanna Andersson-my new favorite store. Don't you just love these hot pink clogs?

Here Reagan is looking over one of the extra outfits for her Kit doll.

One big surprise for the girls was found behind the tree after everything had been opened. There was a white box with a gold bow and no name on it. We had the girls open it together. Inside was a piece of paper with pictures of New York and the dates April 5-9, 2008. They both just kind of looked at it a little perplexed. I told Reagan to read the date, and then asked her if that had already occurred. She then realized what was up and shouted, "We're going to New York!" They are so excited! We are putting the trip on the calendar and will start counting down.

Mimi and Poppy joined us at 8:00 for our Christmas morning breakfast. We had a breakfast casserole, cheese grits, and biscuits. Here Mimi and Poppy are with their gift, a pressure washer.

Lily is wondering what all the commotion is about. She's also wishing Reagan would get off her bed. Santa brought Lily some doggy bones which she really appreciated.

Now everyone is on my bed! Get OFF people!

When we finally decide to get out of our pajamas, we go to my parent's house in the late afternoon. We got to Mimi and Poppy's house around 4:00. Mom had a wonderful spread for us to nibble on throughout the evening. Here the girls are tearing into their gifts from my parents.

Mom had towels monogrammed for each of the girls. Now I'll know whose towel is laying on the floor after bath time.

Reagan with her new Hannah Andersson lamb vest.

Mimi even had gifts for Lily.

Mimi and Poppy gave the girls accessories for their new dolls. Sophie got Jackson the horse for Nicki, and Reagan got the iron bed and bedding for Kit.

Pickin & Grinnin

Sunday evening after church we went to Willie Mae and Jim's (friends from church) for a get together. Their son in law is a song writer in Nashville, and he and their daughter were in town. Willie Mae thought it would be fun to get the guitar pickin' guys together for a little "pickin' and a grinnin'". The Kellys were there as well, so we had Ed, Kyle, Michael, Romeo, and Ron with their guitars. It was a lot of fun. While I didn't get any pictures of the guys playing, I did get these cute shots of Will opening his Christmas gift from us. He was so cute snuggling with his new stuffed animals.

Maggiano's and The Pink Pig

Saturday evening, we joined the Huster family at Maggiano's in Buckhead. OH MY!!! What a fantastic dinner. We went family style, four course. We had stuffed mushrooms, Bruschetta, Caesar and Maggiano's salad, Chicken Parmesan, Breaded Tillapia, Baked ziti with sausage, rigatoni, cheesecake, and Apple something. It was fantastic! The girls enjoyed pasta and peppermint ice cream for dessert. After dinner, we took the kids to Lenox to ride the Pink Pig. It was a truly delightful evening. Merry Christmas Huster family. We love you guys.

Sophie fell asleep on the way to the restaurant. I couldn't resist this picture. She'll hate this when she's sixteen.

By the looks of my chipmunk cheeks you'd think this photo was taken after dinner.

The girls finished their dinner before ours really got started good, but they were so well behaved. They entertained themselves with the Christmas gifts they gave one another.

Reagan and Laurel

Reagan, Laurel, Sophie, and Rebecca

Steve and Julia


The Pink Pig-an Atlanta tradition

Can you see the girls' enthusiasm?

The older girls were able to contain their excitement a little better.

The girls with their souvenirs

Christmas Party

Friday evening we hosted a small get together for some of our Cedar Grove friends. The Kings, Hambys, Thompsons, and Wisenbakers joined us for finger foods and fun. The Katos couldn't join us because they were at Disney. We love our children, but this gathering was "adult only". While the girls were downstairs having intellectual conversations about recycling and the harms of plastic, the guys were upstairs being...well... GUYS.









Heather and Jana looking lovely as usual.








David, Romeo, and Chris T.















I don't even want to speculate on what's going on here. :o














Chris K. and Todd

Piano Recital

Our first day of the Christmas break...
Sophie started taking piano lessons about three months ago. Her teacher, Ms. Julia Huster, has been very impressed with how quickly she has picked up on things and how enthusiastic she is about playing. In turn, Sophie has been coming home and sharing that enthusiasm with Reagan. She has been teaching Reagan everything that she has learned in her lessons, so much so that Reagan is playing as well. Ms. Julia set up an opportunity for our girls as well as her two girls, Laurel and Rebecca and her other two students, Hannah and Sarah to go to a local nursing home this morning for a mini-recital/Christmas performance. It was delightful. Sophie played "We Three Kings of Orient Are", and Reagan played "Up on the Housetop". They both did a fantastic job. There were about 15-20 elderly ladies who joined us in the facility's chapel for the "grand concert". It really was fun!

Sophie playing "We Three Kings of Orient Are"

Reagan playing "Up on the Housetop"

The girls were the highlight of their day.

This beautiful lady said that she is almost 91 years old. She told me that she gets up every day and gets all dolled up like this. She said that she is the seamstress for the entire nursing home. I hope that I am as capable and sharp at 91. I told her I had been needing to sew a button on Romeo's pants for a month now.

She said that she had been married for 60 years before her husband passed away a year and a half ago. She said, "I still really miss him." She was sooooooooo sweet!

The Girl's Christmas Happenings

The girls had several fun holiday events the past few days. Last Thursday evening, the third grade put on a play called "Super Claus". Reagan was an elf. She was also the understudy to Mrs. Claus, the lead girl part, so she had to know two different parts. She had several lines in the play, and she executed them in her best elf voice with perfect inflection. She truly did a terrific job. She had a day time performance for the whole school and then a night performance for family and friends. The play was adorable. The lead, Santa, was one of my students. He was superb as well. At the evening performance, the entire left front row was filled with people for Reagan. Thank you Jackie, Coach, Grandma, Aunt Genora, Jason, Becky, Daddy, and Sophie for your support.

Reagan is in the dark blue tunic.

Dark blue tunic on far left

Far left-blue tunic

Friday evening, Sophie had her Gymnastics team party. (Unfortunately, no pictures) Mr. Crickett goes all out for the girls. He had a huge banquet hall totally decked out and hired a D.J. to entertain them. I dropped Sophie off at 7:00, and she was still dancing when I picked her up at 10:00. Romeo took Reagan on a Daddy date to the Thrasher's Game. She ended up sitting on the front row behind the goalie. Saturday morning we were able to see her on NHL Today. It was pretty cool. I on the other hand had the evening to myself. I ate dinner alone at a restaurant in total peace, strolled through stores at Ashley Park, tried on as many clothes as I wanted, and never once heard, "Mom, when are you going to be finished?" Ahhhh-what a relaxing evening. I ran into Gracie and Chris on their "Daddy date".
Here is a link of a picture from the ice in case you can't see on the picture below. http://fans.nhl.com/groups/Frozen_Moments_Archive/snapshots/35847

Reagan's little noggin is to the left of the pole. She had a hat and a yellow coat on.

Saturday, Reagan was invited to go to the Georgia Youth Ballet with her good friend, Carsten. They put on their finest Christmas frock and went early for a behind the scenes look. They were able to talk with the performers backstage before the Nutcracker began. Carsten's Mimi bought Reagan her first nutcracker, a beautiful sequined ornament. Reagan wrote the most beautiful thank you notes to Carsten's mom and Mimi for their generosity. She's such a thoughtful child.

Reagan and Carsten

Reagan and Carsten with "Clara"

While Reagan was at the ballet, Sophie and Romeo went all over town to find Reagan a Christmas gift. This year, both our girls are spending their own money on each other to buy a gift. I'm so proud of them. They both wanted to buy Webkinz for one another, but instead of buying the cheapest one possible at a different store with less variety, they both opted to pay more money at Hallmark to pick out the perfect animal for each other. Last weekend, Reagan emptied out her savings to get Sophie's, and this Saturday, Sophie did the same. They really are good girls if I do say so myself.