Christmas w/ Family and Friends

After our day of spending time with my family that night we went and spent time at the Hewitt's for their Christmas party. It was great fun we had wonderful food, laughter, great friends, did a Christmas swap we got $10 gift card to Bronco's and Carolina koozie and some mulling spices. It was a great time all around and thank you Kim & Scott for having us all over. To see more and Kim side check out her blog

Kim & Lisa


Eric, Scott & Donnie hiding out while they are eating.


The teen boys guarding the food


Eric opening his gift


On Christmas Eve we go to Eric's mom for dinner. This year we missed having Susan and the kids there they were all home sick, it wasn't the same w/out them. We had enough food for at least 2 more families to come but that just means left overs for Eric. We swap gifts this is our Santa place we got our lugguage for our cruise and money.

Tyler with his Ben 10 stuff


Pappa and Gigi w/ our kids


Gigi took this picture.. Not sure what angle she was going for


After Santa elf went shopping for stocking stuffers and went home and made a cake Myself, Eric and Tyler went with the Darwin's to Ginger mom & dad for our annual Christmas Eve breakfast dinner. They have been super sweet to us and I just adore her family. About 3 or 4 years ago I think I made a comment once we are done at Eric's mom at lunch we are done with family. She gets to together with her parents and just does breakfast dinner and invited us and year after year they still invite us and I have learn you don't tell Marge Waters no..lol... They make the best breakfast real biscuts, country ham, grits and yest I have tired the red eye gravy it was good, eggs, bacon just the whole works. The Darwins/Waters family are wonderful..

Tim, Ginger, Caroline & Jake Darwin..
If Caroline gets her way and she marries Tyler me and Ginger won't have to make them decided where to have Christmas since we are spend Christmas Eve together we can just take turns and have them to come to our houses for Christmas Eve breakfast..



Ginger and her sweet mamma and wonderful cook daddy.



Her mom got us all "Find The Pickle" supposely you hid it on the tree on Christmas Eve and then in the morning whoever finds it gets an extra present...


Christmas night we hit our last friends gathering and went to the Hewitts for leftovers. They share what they had left over from Christmas with Scott family and we took our leftovers we had. After dinner we exchange gifts the boys got Hollister t-shirts that say Sweet, Tyler got Mexican Train cause Kim knows how much he loves that game and well she went above and beyond with mine and Eric's gift she got us tickets to see Rodney Carrington with them and them Monday's in January. It was discuss and since I am trying to not to do so much so we can save for a cruise I told them Eric and I were not going so instead she brought our tickets so we can. I am excited I think Rodney is funny and it is 2 days after my birthday.

The oil was part of Ryan's gag gift from Zack and we got Zack some Modern Warfare sleep pants which I think he liked..lol






We had a wonderful Christmas with our family and friends!!!!!!!!

Christmas w/ my family

This was far the best in several years for gatherings at Christmas. I have not really spend Christmas with my whole family in many, many, many years and this year I went to my aunts in Piedmont to see cousins, their kids, aunts and uncles and I left there feeling sad and bless all at once. Sad cause I missed sooooo many of those gathering, I see my boys with my cousins kids and think about they are some what close in age and live nearly close enough that they could have all grown up together and share stories of growing up something that I feel bad for my kids for cause they really won't have memories of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparent like I do. They will have other memories but not family ones. But I feel blessed that we have a 2nd chance to make memories and we get to spend time with my family. The boys have a chance to get know my family and their 2nd cousins and they are still somewhat young enough that they can go from here.. My cousin Rita took her daddy's old home movies and Costco and had them put on DVD and we watch that and seeing my uncle Doyle, Jim and Mamma and Pappa in those videos brought back a sense of sweet memories of each one of these people from Doyle asking picking on me asking if I have plug the sun when I got up in the morning to asking me why my neck was so red, must be cause I was I redneck. I loved going on to the Chastin and spending time with them. My uncle Jim his pipes and his distinguish look he always reminded me of a dad from Leave It To Beaver. Then my wonderful sweetest grandparent John & Ethel Yates words can't explain the love they had for all of us. Papa would take us for walks and scare the dogs off with his cane, he would give us a $1 for chewing gum (this was when you could get it for .25 cents), his little jig he would do sometimes, Mamma and her banana pudding, "delaw", rings and necklace that she would let me play with when sitting on the couch together, Price Is Right, lunch at mamma and papa was a 12pm and if you were late well get in the back of the line, her doll beds made out of baskets. There are so many memories on Beattie St.. Then the memories of Daytona Beach 1st week of August that we would go. This was when you could go to Sea World and Disney World in a day, some restaurant we had to cross over a long bridge to get too and we got sherbet for dessert, Rita and her pageants and getting stung by a jellyfish. Andy and his stories and laughter I think GOd was right on when he called him to preach. Greg and the Yates boys talking about Monty Python sometimes there talks went right over my head. Johnny holding onto me as we were on the Swamp Fox at the beach so I would not fall out, him and Evelyn living in the apartment in Mauldin, the stories of him, Lisa & Lynn alot involved somebody laughing so hard they peed on theirselves. Of course Karen our summers we spend together for a week at her house for VBS and her our sandwiches w/ potato chips then we would go over to mamma and papa and spend the night and me, Karen and Mamma would all sleep together on her pulled out couch and how could I forget Ahchi Foxichi the monster that lived the closet. My aunts, Johnnie Ruth, Katheryn and Susan the example they have set before me of Godly Christian woman and their sweet quite, submissive wife's they were and are to their husbands they were some wonderful examples. Yes, I have many happy memories and I treasure each of them... I pray that 2010 will bring more family time together and new memories will be made. I have always love my cousin Rita and always thought the world of her and I believe that if distant was not the case we might would have stayed more connected. Her and John has raise 4 great young adults and she gave me the best advice that day.."I talk to much" not in general (sure some will say yes to that) but with my kids and I got what she was saying and took it to heart cause she too got the same advice from her mother. See these are the things I am glad to have back in my life... I thank my sisters Lisa and Lynn for making me come around the family and for inviting me. Whatever difference are there with any family members it is not worth losing a great group that came from the John & Ethel. So, yes this family gathering was a well blessed and cherish time. I can't wait until the next one...

My uncle Wallace, my daddy, cousin/Godfather Al, his beautiful daughter that just graduated w/ CJ Spillers Elizabeth and my mom


Tyler took this picture of most of us but not all.


Some of the Chastin/Shealy kids- James Shealy, Amy Chastin, Patrick Chastin and Melody Shealy- some great kids.


My cutie Tyler w/ my beautiful niece Olivia. They hit it off the 1st time he met her.


Funny, just another memory hit me was at the Chastin was all the golf balls and Eric took the kids across the street to the golf course to find some and I think there a couple in my car still rolling around... I do hate I didn't take more pictures next time I will..

Christmas Performances

In one week we had 3 performances to go to for the boys to show us their singing and playing skills I have no idea who they get it from.

Our first performance was Ryan playing with our youth band Ready To Rise at Christmas with a Mission at the church. It was a great night of hearing people share about the missions trips they went on durning the year and what it meant to them, Kim & Michael Lord singing some great all time favorite Christmas songs and seeing all our Pastors do the Elf dance what a site seeing some of them getting down..lol.. Then Ready Rise help end the night and this group of young adults can play Carol Of Bells wonderful and since it was not a night of worship per say the boys really let loose on that song and then all the others that they were just about what this season is all about. It was a great night and I would love to have the DVD.. I do wish I had taken my camera but oh course Ryan doesn't tell me alot of what they doing when performing so I was not prepare..

Ryan in the burgany shirt playing bass


Jessie putting on a show durning Carol Of Bells


Ready TO Rise


Next up was our Flyin Nijina Turtle night sing for us. Tyler was in the children choir and then did a Christmas Shop Around the Corner the kids were great with the singing, the ones that had lines did a wonderful job, the adults were great, a BIG thank you goes out to Joye Hall and her group for all the time they put in with the kids and with all the props and customes. It was an awesome night...

Tyler the Flyin Nijina Turtle along w/ some of the 12 days of Christmas..



I love to watch his face when he is singing..lol




Our children choir and durning the performance



A couple of days later all in one day we had a school concerts. Started off with Tyler Christmas on Candy Cane Lane at school. We was a tree and had a small speaking part. After the concert we went back to his room to make candy houses.

The 1st graders- he is a the top on the left and his future wife that he says is on the bottom left at the end.


His big debut speaking part as a tree


Not only can Daddy build houses he can build Candy houses too and Gigi came to see all about it. The finish product



We left Tyler at school and Mr & Mrs. Santa went to Greenville to enjoy a day of shopping and having lunch together. That night we went to Stephen Dorman Singers Christmas Concert. I must say the boy cleans up pretty handsome.. They were all great.





One other thing we had this month was Tyler Breakfast w/ Santa. The school has breakfast for the kids and their family, they have crafts to do and they get to go and see Santa.. For some reason Tyler wasn't to much sitting on Santa lap but he was ok going and telling him what he would like...