The Lawrence Family: December 2011

The Aggravator

I pretty much think I have the best husband in the world, but he is the BIGGEST AGGRAVATOR I know! I'm so stinkin' proud of myself because I've finally managed to catch it on video so all of you can witness the torment Zoe and I go through! Ha! I'm really just kidding about the torment because he is absolutely hysterical, but he's still the biggest aggravator I know! Love you, Mark!

Karaoke

Completely as an after thought, I decided to order Zoe a karaoke machine. I mean, the kid walks around and sings ALL THE TIME. Well, I have to be honest and admit that I got the machine for a steal! It originally cost $80.00 and I ended up getting it for $30.00 on Amazon! Woo Hoo! Anyway, Zoe hasn't stopped singing on that thing since she opened it! To say that we made a great purchase would be an understatement! Check out my budding performer:

Christmas 2011

Each year I always say that I'm going to scale things way back and not buy so much stuff, but then I end up breaking my own rule and doing just the opposite! I will say that I did scale things back quite a bit, but there were still a lot of presents to open! It was so nice this year because Zoe really slowed down and actually appreciated each gift that was opened. You can tell she is getting to be so big! Where has the time gone?!?

You know me, I always have to shoot a video on Christmas morning:

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, there is nothing I enjoy more than being with my family and attending church. I find myself soaking up the church service and really reflecting on what this Christmas season is truly about. It isn't about the presents, etc., but about the birth of Jesus. What makes it even better? Celebrating Jesus and looking over and seeing this......

This little girl was singing her heart out and it brought tears to my eyes. I'm so thankful that she's becoming old enough to really appreciate what this Christmas season is all about.

Gingerbread Cookies

Normally, Zoe and I always put together a gingerbread house on Christmas Eve; however, our house this year was a big fat failure! I always say every year that I'm going to buy a prebuilt house to decorate, but I end up being a cheapskate and buying you have to assemble yourself. Well, it finally bit me in the butt this year! The whole house fell apart and half of it broke! Ugh! Luckily, I still had some gingerbread cookies so Zoe and I decided to just decorate those! Whew! I will say that they turned out pretty darn cute......

Shannon's Ladies Social

My great friend Shannon Ivie (Dane's mom for those of you who've read my Blog for any length of time) had a Ladies Christmas Social at her house on December 22, 2011. It was beyond wonderful to get together with the ladies (kids were included and ran around like crazy) and get to unwind in the craziness that surrounds the Christmas season! We all tend to get so busy that it's nice to be able to slow down and enjoy great food, drinks and great friends! The get together started at 6:00 p.m. and I actually called Mark to pick me and Zoe up at 10:00. When he got there, Shannon's husband had gotten home and we were all socializing so much that we didn't get home until after 1:00 a.m.! OMG! I have to say that it was one heck of a great time! If there is someone who knows how to do a get together the right way, it's Shannon Ivie! Thank you, Shannon!

Cookies with Nathan & Caleb

Since Zoe has started Kindergarten, we've learned that there are several people that live in our subdivision, even some from Zoe's class! Zoe has a classmate named Nathan Graves who literally lives five houses down from us! How exciting is that?!? Nathan's mom, Theresa, invited us down on Wednesday to make cookies with Nathan and his little brother Caleb. It was so nice to be able to walk down the street to go someplace and the kids had a blast!