Merry Christmas!

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Puppies at 4 weeks!

Here are pictures of Rafe and the puppies. They are really getting bigger and Rafe is so good with them!

What a weekend!

We had a spectacular weekend. It all started Friday morning when Rafe woke up and said, "Mommy, I want to go talk to Santa Claus!" Of course I did not argue since this was the first time Rafe has EVER said that. I usually have to drag him to the mall and even bribe him with a small treat. (how sad is that??) Luckily the mall was not too crowded and we did not have to wait long to see St. Nick. Rafe was precious talking to him. Of course after we got home he thought of so many things he did not tell Santa. Thank goodness Fle is around. Rafe talks to Fle A LOT to make sure Santa does not forget anything!!

Friday night we went to downtown Greer to the tree lighting ceremony. It is gorgeous at the new city park. We enjoyed listening to the carolers, drinking hot chocolate and once again seeing Santa Claus. This was a really fun evening.

Saturday was a really busy day. Rafe had a blast at Hudson's birthday party that morning. The kids were able to get inside a real fire truck, jump on a fire truck inflatable and ride tricycles and play inside the church gym. Rafe absolutely had a ball. Needless to say he was extremely tired after the party, but he still had a long day ahead of him.

After the party we went to the Peace Center to see "A Christmas Story". This is one of our favorite movies and Rafe was really looking forward to the play. Unfortunately the play was a little lengthy and Rafe actually asked to leave after about 2 hours. Cory, of course, did not argue. Before I could gather up all of our coats Rafe and Cory were out the door. When we got outside Rafe said, "That was good!" Sure, I could tell. I don't think Rafe, or Cory for that matter, will be visiting the Peace Center anytime soon.

As if Saturday was not busy enough, Sunday proved to be just as busy. After church and a quick nap we headed back downtown for the Greer Christmas parade. Boy have we missed it. The Greer parade is totally different from any parade in Charleston. Only in Greer do you have drag racers and tractors in the parade. We all loved every minute of it. I am not sure exactly how many pieces of candy Rafe ate. All I know is that his fire hat was full of candy wrappers. Every time he got a piece of candy it was in his mouth before I could turn around. It's great to be a child!

Sunday night we went to another birthday party at our church. This birthday party was for baby Jesus. Rafe asked me in the car if Jesus was going to be there!! It was a lot of fun. The children had crowns and place mats to color, stories to listen to, and pizza and cake. Thank you, Leigh for having such a wonderful party. It was great to be a part of . It helped to remind us of the true meaning of Christmas.

We have definitely kicked off the holiday season at the White house. I am sure I will have many more exciting adventures to blog about. This is shaping up to be our best Christmas yet. Every day is so much fun with Rafe!

Happy Birthday, Gram!

Happy Birthday, Gram! We love you!

Rafe's Homemade Gingerbread House 2008

I think he did a GREAT job!

So Many Reasons to be Thankful!

The Thanksgiving weekend came and went in a hurry, but we had so much fun! Our Thanksgiving feast this year was at our house and it was fabulous. (Thanks Gram for bringing all the food!! It was delicious) Rafe's cousins came to play and he enjoyed taking them on a tour of our new house. Sorry I don't have many pictures. Between setting the table and chasing a 4 year old, there was not much time for photo shoots.

On Friday, (after shopping all morning with Gram while Rafe and Daddy had father/son time!) Rafe, Gram and I went to see Disney on Ice. Rafe LOVED it. Of course his favorite part was Peter Pan and the gigantic crocodile that ate Captain Hook. This was such a treat for us! When we left Rafe said, "I want to go back to Disney World!" Don't we all.

Saturday afternoon we went to pick out our Christmas tree. It was really cold and rainy outside, but we were still determined to look at several places before deciding on our tree. After the third stop of putting on coats, hats and gloves and hurrying to look at trees because we were freezing, Rafe said, "Let's just go to Lowes! That's where we always go!" Well, we followed his directions and Rafe found our perfect tree in about 5 seconds. Next year we will just start off there!

Yesterday was Rafe's Christmas program at church. He looked so handsome in his robe. Rafe did a wonderful job and sang every word. (all while picking his fingers, crossing his arms, doing his infamous "Hulk" face and rubbing his nose!) The funniest part was when the Christmas play was over Rafe rolled his eyes completely out of his head and let out a BIG sigh. It was priceless. I think all the children felt the same way! I was so proud of Rafe and so glad we are back in Greer and involved in such a great church. Rafe was so excited to have his grandparents there to watch him.

We are thankful...

Today was a special treat for me. I had the pleasure of staying with Rafe at school all day. I helped the children get ready for their Thanksgiving feast. It was really nice of the school to do this for the kids and teachers. They had so much to eat: turkey, "turkey" cheese, green beans, corn, biscuits, mashed potatoes, fruit salad and muffins. Rafe's class dressed up as Pilgrims and William's class dressed up as Indians. They were adorable!

I am VERY thankful for Rafe's school, teacher and friends. It has truly been a blessing to us.

The Glazing Pot

Friday Rafe went to The Glazing Pot with his good friend, Nolan. He absolutely LOVED it. Rafe loves to paint and had a HARD time choosing which ornament he wanted to decorate. We did end up painting two. I am sure we will be going back very soon to paint something else!! I was impressed with his creations and cannot wait to hang them on our Christmas tree. Thank you Nolan and Amy for inviting us. We had a great time!

Rafe's new love!

Rafe has been busy with a new adventure: my dad's dog, Kate, had puppies two weeks ago! Rafe is such a good care-taker. He is so gentle with them and always holds them exactly the way he should. Luckily Kate loves Rafe and does not mind him messing with her "babies". It is only a matter of time before they will be big enough to run around and chase him. In the meantime he is content to just hold them and love on them. Every time he sees the puppies he says, "Mommy, aren't they just SO CUTE!"

He's Back!

What an exciting morning we had yesterday. Our elf, Fle, is back with us from the North Pole! We were all so excited to see him. Rafe opened up the refrigerator to get his yogurt and Fle was sitting on the box. Rafe immediately closed the refrigerator and said, "Umm, there's an elf in there!"

Fle is a welcomed addition to our family for several reasons. One, it means Christmas is just around the corner. It also means that Santa Claus will know EVERYTHING Rafe does between now and Christmas. Every night Fle flies back to the North Pole and reports to Santa Claus. He plays with his elf friends and then comes back to our house before we get out of bed the next morning! Fle only has one rule. You CANNOT touch him. If you do his magic spell will be broken. This is hard for Rafe sometimes, but the thought of Fle not coming back is all worth it. It is a race at our house to see who can find Fle first thing every morning. I wonder where he will be today??

Welcome back, Fle. We have missed you!!