Babies' First Bowl Game / New Year's Eve

I am so far behind in blogging that I will never, ever be able to catch up. This makes me so sad. There are so many things the boys did or said in the last six months (not to mention a trip to Disney World and our first semester of homeschooling) that are gone with the wind, all because I didn't have/take the time to write them down, so rather than continue to bury my head in the sands of defeat, I'm just going to pick up right now ... well, with a few days ago when the boys and I went to watch the Cats win the Belk Bowl!

As soon as I found out that Kentucky would be playing in Charlotte, tickets to the Belk Bowl rose to the top of my Christmas list. Jeremy had to work and couldn't make the trip, but "Greenville Pop" (also known as "MaymePop," as opposed to "NanaPop," who lives here in Canton) was up for the drive. We arrived early enough to grant Jones's request of driving all the way to the top of the relatively-empty parking garage; Freddie was thrilled to show off his new closet-full of Nike gear, and I was just happy to have seats on the shady side of the stadium (an added bonus to avoiding the blinding sun is the perfect lighting in these photos!). It was a GREAT day for football - sixty degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

Also, mercifully, the boys have reached an age where they're a breeze to take to ballgames - it's been this way for the last and a half year or so. Gone are the days of them asking when it'll be over before it's even started. They no longer require a million trips to the bathroom or concession stand. Jones almost never needs his noise-cancelling headphones anymore. As I've said so many times, the bigger the boys get, the better. I love the fun we're able to have now that they're mature enough to handle it. I also love that my boys get excited about my Cats. We won a thriller, almost at the buzzer. Given the way Lynn Bowden won us the game, this one will live in UK lore for decades to come, so I'm so glad the boys and I were able to be a part of it!

Oh, and an eleven year old girl from Charlotte sang the National Anthem. She did an AMAZING job. As she sang, Jones turned to me, his hand over his chest, and said, "She's gonna wake up the bears in Canton!" That was, perhaps, his highest form of praise. Because the game had a noon kick-off, we were able to be home early enough to join Jeremy for a New Year's dinner at the Blue Rooster. From there, we did our traditional countdown with King Julian (thanks, Netflix!), and the boys were in their beds by 8:30. Jeremy and I followed not long after. We always assume the ball is gonna drop whether or not we're up to see it happen.

Here's hoping 2020 is as good to us as 2019 was!

I am OBSESSED with Freddie's
Nike obsession. I think his passion
is absolutely awesome, and I love seeing
his personality take its wonderful shape.

Oh, Happy Day!

As we usually do, we spent New Year's Day at the Pressleys' house, celebrating the New Year, Freddie's birthday, and, today, A WILDCAT IN OVER PENN STATE IN THE CITRUS BOWL. Only slightly more unbelievable to me than the fact that my BABY will wake up a five year old on January 2nd is the fact that UK WON THE CITRUS BOWL.

We had the traditional New Year's meal - ham, collards, cornbread, and, Freddie's favorite, "chocolate beans" (black eyed peas). That was followed up with birthday cake and explosion of Double Bubble from the Spider-Man piñata that Freddie'd requested for the occasion, having heard Jones talk so much about them since his "Christmas Around the World" unit at HCA.

Between opening presents and popping the piñata, the boys had a ball playing outside with Ellery and Evan. It was a great kick off to what I hope will be another great year for my blue eyed boy.

"Santa! I KNOW HIM!"

Today, we went to see Santa Claus ... not just ANY Santa Claus, "OUR Santa Claus," as Freddie refers to the Smokey Mountain Santa. We showed up at the Lowe's in Waynesville about 10 a.m., and Santa saw the boys walking up, so he walked up to them first. "Look at how you've grown," he told them.

When they sat down for their visit, the boys made the requests they've been planning to make for a while now. Jones asked for a Captain America alarm clock, and Freddie asked for a Nike jogging suit. Santa said he'd do what he could, and the boys walked away convinced they were on the Nice List, as opposed to the Naughty List (which, they say, Greenville Pop is on).

I guess time will tell!
_____

Side note: for posterity's sake, I also want to record what their Christmas wishes have been for each of the years they've been cognizant of actually asking for something, which started the year Jones turned four.

2016: Jones - Stinky the Garbage Truck / Freddie - puzzles
2017: Jones - a trolley / Freddie - a Batman watch
2018: Jones - a Captain America alarm clock / Freddie - a Nike jogging suit

HCA Thanksgiving Tasting Party

Today, I had the distinct honor of serving at the Thanksgiving "Tasting Party" hosted by the HCA Preschool. Mrs. Burke had the AWESOME idea of having platesful of little bites of different fruits for the kids to sample. Before the party, she read to them from Genesis and talked to them about how God had made the fruits on Day Three of Creation. She then talked about what an imaginative Creator God is. It was absolutely awesome to hear her teaching them about God's creativity. Equally as awesome was hearing her describe to them the role of God's providence in guiding the Pilgrims.

I so enjoyed getting to be in Freddie's classroom, and I was so proud of Freddie for obeying Mrs. Burke and being unphased by my being there. If we don't return to HCA next year, it will be because God led us to homeschool as providentially as He led the Pilgrims to the New World. It will NOT be because we aren't absolutely and completely thrilled with the high level of Christian instruction the boys are getting at HCA. 

This Thanksgiving week, that's one of the things for which I am most grateful!