Santa Came! Santa Came!

Pictures from Christmas morning....






We have one child to open gifts, and look at the mess! I can't imagine the mess of 3 or 4 kids! Goodness!!!!



There was some playing with the KungZhu (sp???) pets after gifts were opened...




And then of course, some lounging. All the while, still watching "A Christmas Story."


Gage LOVES his recliner that we got for him from Garden Ridge. He uses it all the time, and it's just the perfect size!!!

Now what has been left out? The fact that Gage woke up in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve coughing, coughing, coughing, with fever. The gift opening was frequently interrupted with Gage's coughing. And...the Nerf Stampede---requires size D batteries. And though I stocked us up on AA & AAA batteries on Christmas Eve, I failed to buy 6 size D batteries. So, a Christmas morning run to CVS (in town...) was in order. Thank you, CVS Workers for being there for us on Christmas morning! Cough syrup & batteries were desperately needed!

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve This Year....

Hubby cooked us a very yummy standing rib roast, which was DELICIOUS. After that, Gage was ready to spread the reindeer food he made at school. He couldn't wait to scatter it out in the yard to attract the reindeer....




He was also excited about Santa's milk & cookies...


Gage & I were *VERY* excited about the "A Christmas Story" marathon on television. We watched the movie twice that evening...and then Gage fell asleep....

Donations Honoring Doye!

Okay, I am not soliciting donations for my mom! That's not what this post is about. I'm posting to say, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to my dear friend, Jessica!



An excerpt from Jessica's email, after having her long hair cut off:
"I am donating it to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program in honor of your mom."

What is the Pantene Beutiful Lengths Program?
Pantene Beautiful Lengths is a program that encourages women and men to grow, cut, and donate their hair to make real hair wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.

We don't yet know if mom will have to have chemo, but it is certainly something that she may be facing.

From the website:
"A real-hair wig allows a woman to look in the mirror and at least see a familiar face while she fights to regain a sense of normalcy in her life."

"...each wig requires at least six ponytails to make."

"As Pantene Beautiful Lengths wigs are created, they are distributed for free through select American Cancer Society wig banks across the country. Women facing cancer can find out about the availability of a Pantene Beautiful Lengths wig by calling the American Cancer Society at 1-877-227-1596."

My mom just cried & felt so loved & honored that Jess would do this in her name. We appreciate it a million times over! Thank you, Jess.

UPDATED: Christmas Decor!

We had many, many, many decorations here at the Casa de Lainey-Paney!

Talked to Mom the other night. She didn't get to see our house for Christmas this year, so just for Mamasita, here are some of our decoration pictures! {per her request} I know that I already posted this...but it's updated with some lovelies that my son made & gave to us. Hello....the most priceless gifts of all!

The pantry-door art gallery....






The window near the entry way...which I have to say---didn't photograph well.
Oh well.


In Gage's room....


Even our fish, Teddy, is getting a little decor (near the bowl)...


In the kitchen....









The staircase...




And...the TREE!!!!!! Hubby always picks a rather LARGE tree, so it's hard to get it all fully photographed the way I wanted...but that's okay.
We LOVE our tree!!!

One of the ornaments on the tree (one of the many!)... look very closely!!!


Some wonderful hand-made goodies, made by Gage....




Hubby & Gage decorated this gingerbread house. We LOVE it!






And SOMEONE is ready for Christmas!
Who's ready for Christmas!????


And then we just had fun being super-silly for the camera...



I had the best of intentions for doing MORE decorating around here...putting another tree up in the playroom upstairs....That didn't happen. And Christmas is right around the corner. I think there are quite a few holiday decorations that just haven't made it out of their boxes this year. And you know what? That's okay.

MIA ???

Well, sorry I haven't blogged lately like a good little blogger should.

I'll be posting about Christmas soon.
Recap:
Ran errands on Christmas Eve day. Not super fun.
Had a nice dinner with Hubby & Gage that night.
Had Christmas morning at our house.
Hubby's mom & stepdad came over.
Then my dad, his wife, her sister, my grandmother, Allen, & Baby Chris came over.
Brunch here. Mistletoe Mimosas were a must & enjoyed by most everyone.
Later in the day, left & went to Mom's house.
Didn't feel well. Gage was coughing. My throat was hurting.
Next day: Happy Birthday to my mom, and big Christmas celebration at her house.
Yes, she's HOME for Christmas!!! Yay!
Came home Sunday night.
Gage's illness got worse.
Sunday night: coughing until he gagged & puked. Good times.
Monday: had to call in to work to take Gage to the doctor.

...and then Tuesday happened. (Went to work, no biggie...)

So, I've been a bit too busy to blog.
Haven't been sleeping well for the past several nights.
Up at 4am yesterday...
Woke up at 3am today, and got out of bed at 3:29 when I just couldn't lay there anymore.

Waiting to hear on mom's pathology.

That's about all of our activities in a nutshell.
I'll hopefully post Christmas pictures soon!
:)
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!!!

Merry Christmas!

Our Little Yellow Belt!

December brought something else into the Casa de Lainey-Paney, thanks to some VERY hard work by our little guy, Gage.
You guessed it from the title: A YELLOW BELT!

Pics from Gage's testing & Gage getting his new belt after remembering a form that has about 23 different steps to it {...but hey, who's bragging about their kid? Certainly not MOI!}....







Way to go, sweetie. Mommy & Daddy are SOOOOOOO proud of you!
YOU did that. Not me. Not Daddy. Not anybody else. YOU did that.