"Doctor" Alyssa

Alyssa says she does NOT want to be a doctor, she wants to be first an astronaut then a police woman. However, for Christmas she asked the two Santas we talked to for a "tethascope." Believing in the magic of Christmas helped her receive THREE! Here she is with her new dress up doctor outfit and one of her tethascopes. Thanks for your wonderful influence Poppy and Uncle Brad - keep your fingers crossed!

Complete outfit, except for shoes!

Getting the tethascope into position . . .

Want me to check your heart?

Who knows what the future or Halloween may bring . . .

Too Much Christmas!

Here are some more photos of Christmas 2008. As my grandmother, Mrs. Gennie, used to say we definitely had "too much Christmas!" We traveled this year and had 3 Christmases but we all feel it was one of our BEST Christmases ever. We want to thank our families for all they did to make this Christmas so special. I think I finally understand "too much Christmas!"

Christmas III

We arrived in Irmo, SC at Clay, Lisa and Miller's for Christmas III about 1:30 p.m. I regret that this is the only photo I took but it shows Granny, or "Santa" and Lisa who cleaned house and set this beautiful table while having 2 or 3 Christmases with her family in between our visit. We heated the food that was carried on the sleigh, opened presents while everything warmed up and then had a wonderful meal. We had almost as many desserts as we had meat and veggies but we were so stuffed, dessert came later. I wish I had photos of the t-shirt dividing game, but it too was captured on video, as were most of the highlights of our visit in Irmo. I think the photographer was a little tired! Definitely too much Christmas!

Christmas II

We arrived in Morganton, NC at Eya and Poppy's for Christmas II on Saturday afternoon the 20th and stayed until Thursday, Christmas Day. On Tuesday, we ventured up to Jonas Ridge, about a thirty minute trip, so Alyssa could experience snow and tubing. Seeing the excitement on her face as we raced downhill in our tubes was one of my BEST Christmas presents ever! Alyssa was my little sleep magnet in Morganton. No matter where I slept, she was snuggled up right beside me. It was sweet but made for several nights of poor sleeping for me. We had lots of home cookin' and checked out a few restaurants. Our BEST meal was on Christmas Eve after the candlelight service when we had a special treat - LOBSTER! We had to wake Alyssa up at 8:30 Christmas morning to open presents. Alyssa had asked 2 Santas for "tethascopes" and she received 3 stethoscopes at Eya and Poppy's. We had chocolate cake for breakfast (thanks Kathy!) and had the sleigh loaded up again by 10:30 on our way back south for Christmas III. Definitely too much Christmas!

Eya, chief cook and finest hostess around, chatting with her prey - "Is it me, or is it HOT in here?!?"

A family photo session after church - Alyssa refused to pose with us, so here she is with the junior Ellisons, Brad, Holt, AA and Alyssa, kids?!?

Add Eya and Poppy and Alyssa making a face!

A pre-supper shot of my favorite Christmas Decoration of Eya's - glass Christmas trees, candles and snow - so sparkly!

Poppy after opening hedge trimmers - he actually looks pretty excited about this! Eya works him pretty hard in his retirement!

Alison reading "the book" the one we can't even talk about without crying. Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury, mother of 6, who dedicates it as "a treasure for anyone who has ever loved a child." My favorite lines: "Silly, scattered images will represent your past. I keep on taking pictures, never quite sure of your lasts . . ." Get it, a MUST read, you won't regret it!

Alyssa and Holt opening their Doctor dress up clothes. Alyssa later said to me, "Poppy wants everyone to be a doctor, we gotta keep our eye on him!" At this Christmas, even after receiving 3 stethoscopes, Alyssa does not want to be a doctor, she wants to be an astronaut. And we're OFF . . .

Christmas I

Christmas I was held in Saluda, SC, hosted by Nana and Vuvva (in his Merry Christmas Y'all shirt). We had a nice family supper then opened presents. Since we were spending the night, Alyssa stayed up WAY past her bedtime singing and dancing to songs on the computer with Nancy and Jeffrey. We slept well, had breakfast then helped Vuvva pick pecans. I wish I had photos of us picking pecans but this was better captured on video, which I will probably never be able to figure out how to blog. After working soooooo hard, we packed the sleigh and headed north. Thank you Nana and Vuvva for letting us stay with you! The hospitality was wonderful and being able to break up our trip added to our enjoyment of the entire holiday adventure. Definitely too much Christmas!

Vuvva and Drew discussing genealogy.

Lisa and Miller opening a gift.

Alyssa and Miller opening presents.

Alyssa in front of her 3 baby dolls.

Alyssa's First Snow

Drew has been on a quest for about a year for snow so that Alyssa can experience it. On Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 at Jonas Ridge, NC we found it, even if it was man-made. This is Alyssa's first step onto snow as she was getting out of the Highlander (can't miss any of those first steps, right!?!).

We went tubing and had an absolute BLAST! But Alyssa enjoyed the pile of snow in the parking lot almost as much as tubing. Here she is giving a big thumbs up for the white stuff.

Throwing a snowball at Dada.

Drew and Alyssa in their tubes. We will always remember Alyssa's first snow experience!

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