Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Christmas Celebrations: Take One

The Saturday before Christmas, we celebrated in Lindale with the Matkin side of our family.  We had a packed afternoon with a barbecue lunch, a play, and present opening.
At our Thanksgiving get together, my cousins and I planned a live nativity for the second cousins to perform.  Mary Grace read the Christmas story as the different characters acted it out.  Our young performers and the audience really enjoyed it and next year we have plans to make it a play with speaking parts.

Caroline loves to act and was thrilled to be Mary.  She was so proud of the crib she made.  Abby took her role as angel seriously and made sure to flap her wings gracefully.
 
 After the Christmas story, they sang two songs for us.
 Presents were next on the agenda.  The girls waited patiently for their turn as we watch what everyone opens and go from youngest to oldest.

 Grandmother gave them a new critter school and store.
 Bubba got busy with the scissors.  The kids played with their new toys while the adults played the steal game.

Grandmother gave Brent and me some Dragon stadium seats.  These will be great at the swim meets this summer and we hope to attend more football games as the girls get older.  Abby is testing one out in the pic below.  It was a fun day with the Matkin side and a great way to start the Christmas celebrations!

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Other December Happenings and Snapshots

One day when I was subbing, Little Bubba flew in from California.  He and Nonnie took Caroline on a long bike ride down to the creek.

Pops took off one Wednesday and took Abby lunch and treated Caroline to yogurt after school.

Caroline declared TJ Maxx Home Goods her favorite store after finding this comfy chaise one day.
One day at lunch, Nonnie got this sweet pic of Abby with her dear old friend, Nate.  They have been in class together since their first year at Chapel Hill.
The last dance class in December was Parent Observation Day. I got some short clips of Abby.
Nonnie filled in for me on Caroline's day, as I was subbing.
 
These cool Dr. Seuss statues were installed at Museum School.  Caroline wanted to pose by them on the way to the car.
Little Bubba took off work a few days the week before Christmas and went with Caroline and me to take Abby lunch.  She was having PJ day and was excited to see us.

We roped him into helping us with our peppermint popcorn after lunch.

He was a big help crushing our candy canes.
Caroline also got some help with the Wii.  It was a fun day having him around.

The girls aren't scared of our elf anymore!  After rereading the book and naming her, the magic began.  Here are some pics of where we found her.
Caroline had a great time painting a crib for Baby Jesus one day.  It was a prop for our live nativity we performed at the Matkin Christmas.  More to come on that later!
The girls performed in a Christmas choir concert one Wednesday evening at church. 



Here are a few video clips.  Little Bubba took a lot for me as Brent was on his way back from Chicago.
 
Daddy helped us with our second batch of peppermint popcorn.
After that batch, we were ready to deliver it to the neighbors.

 
Abby and Caroline were busy in the kitchen this month! They also baked Christmas cookies with Nonnie and at home.  

The girls love spending time in the backyard.  One chilly afternoon, they bundled up and went on a worm hunt.  They found an earthworm and Abby quickly instructed Caroline to get it and put it in the bug container.  Caroline had her rubber gardening gloves on and told Abby, "This is no problem.  I learned how to hold worms in museum school."  I love sitting on the bench and listening to their conversations when they play outside.

 
The Sunday afternoon before Christmas, we went down the street for a gingerbread house decorating party at a friend's house.

These friends were the same group we trick or treated with in October.






The next day, Momo, Nonnie and Pops took the girls to a Christmas marionette show at the library.  They took their new bears.
 Elvis sang "Blue Christmas."
 This cactus sang "Feliz Navidad."

 Abby and Caroline said this lady puppet was their favorite.

 They went out for lunch and yogurt after the show.
This is a random pic of an amazing light display in Southlake.  We really enjoyed looking at lights all around town throughout the month of December.  Brent and I both love to load up the girls and listen to Christmas music as we all ride around in our PJs.