White Christmas 2010

Boys, what a wonderful Christmas!!  For the first time since something like the 1870's, we had measurable snowfall in North GA this Christmas.  Got to put up a picture, because it's very likely that you boys will never see another one.  But that was just only part of the fun!!  We had a great Christmas!!  We did all of our traditional stuff...each of you boys got a new ornament for the tree with your name and the year on it....these are some of your mommy's most treasured things...of course we had Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble, Dino, and Hoppy on our tree as well....some of MY favorite things!!  We made a plate of cookies and milk for Santa, and as always, we went out in the backyard and put out some carrots and potatoes for the reindeer.  We woke up early on Christmas morning and came downstairs as a family to see what Santa had brought, and boy, he did not disappoint us this year!!  I hope that you boys realize how very fortunate that you are to be able to have the things that we do....but above all the things....I hope that you realize how fortunate that we are to be able to spend each and every day together as a family.  I know that as you grow up, you will hear stories of families that break up, and you will even have friends that have split families, but just know that mommy and daddy work as hard as we possibly can to make our family "work"...and I pray that is a gift that we can "give" you boys every Christmas for the rest of our lives.

Anyway, back to Santa Claus....He brought Jay an XBOX along with a couple of games.  Cody got a Wii game and a new toolbox.  And Riley pretty much had a "Matt Ryan Christmas".  He got a new jersey from Santa and a big fathead for his wall from Yaya.

After we saw what Santa brought us, we had breakfast and then got ready and went over to Grammy and Grampy's house to have Christmas with all of your cousins.  While we were there it started snowing!!  It was so pretty to watch the snow fall on Chrismas!  Then we came home and had dinner with Yaya and PawPaw.  Then the next night Papa, Miss Annette, Taylor, Joshua, and Zach came over for dinner.  What a wonderful Christmas we had to be able to spend it with everyone that we love.  Again, I can't tell you boys how very lucky you are to be able to spend not just Christmas, but everyday surrounded by people that love you!  I know that I am not going to take it for granted, and I pray that you don't either.  Your mommy and I love you boys more than anything else in the world, and just seeing your faces on Christmas mornings are the very best gifts that you could ever give to us.  I will always remember these Christmas' when you boys are little.  When you are a parent, there is just nothing better than seeing your children when they are happy...and I pray that you look back on Christmas' like this one and say that you boys were truly happy today.  I love you boys....love Daddy

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Jay's Christmas Party

Jay had his class Christmas party today.  Their 5th grade class put on a play, and of course, Jay was cast as Santa Claus.  Jay is always the first to volunteer for any kind of acting role.  He always stays "in character" no matter what role that he is playing.  Mommy and Yaya got to go watch Jay perform, and they both said that he was excellent in his role as Santa.

Idi - our little Ugandan son

Over a year ago, we made the decision as a family to "adopt" a little boy from Uganda.  What this "adoption" consists of is we give $25 per month to Helping Hands Ministry, and in return, we got to choose a child that this money goes to.  Helping Hands serves the less fortunate all over the world, but our church, Chestnut Mountain, has partnered with them to build churches in Uganda.  We chose to sponsor a little boy....surprise, surprise.  His name is Idi Makoma, and he is 10 years old.  We get to "communicate" with him a couple of times per year.  We get to send him letters and pictures, and about once per year we can send a backpack full of stuff (toys, hygeine items, books, etc) to him via Helping Hands.  In return, he sends us pictures of himself as well as letters.  Many of the kids in his country do not have food, clothes, mattresses....much less anything else.  Thousands of kids die in Uganda each year due to Malaria because they do not have mosquito nets to sleep under to keep them safe at night.  Our $25 provides these items to Idi.  It is really such a small price to pay to help protect the children of the world.  The boys love to get Idi's letters and pictures...they even refer to him as their brother.  I pray that this gives you boys some perspective as to how fortunate we are to live here where we don't have to worry so much about our survival, and I hope it teaches you a lesson to always reach out to help those in need.  That is what God commands us to do.