Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Twas the Night before Christmas when all through our house,

all the kids were a-stirring as loud as ten grouse.

The stockings were placed by the tree with care

in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The boys were dressed like Shepherds

for the Church children's pageant

Retelling the story of Jesus' sweet birth.

We drove through the park

with thousands of lights we did see...

That reminded us how Jesus was born and died for me!

We settled in for the night

with great plans don't you see...

to Wish a Merry Christmas

to you, from me!

Santa

Today was our day to visit Santa!

We drove across town to our favorite Santa and he wasn't there.

Fortunately, another good Santa was there in his place.

We didn't have to wait too long either, which was a pleasant surprise!

There were lots of animatronic bears to watch while we waited in line.

They danced and skated in circles!

Kayode loved it! He couldn't wait to see Santa!

Ayodele and Sade wrote letters to Santa and Mrs. Claus the other day

and they actually wrote back.

Kayode was disappointed that there wasn't a letter for him.

I asked him if he wrote a letter to Santa and he informed me,

"Mom... I don't know how to write!"

Needless to say, I helped him write a letter yesterday,

and we're still waiting for a reply.

Kayode still wanted to tell Santa in person what was on his wish list this year!

Derek, Sade, Ayodele and Kayode all gathered around Santa so I could take a picture!

Derek was distracted by a cute girl walking by!

Ayodele had the opportunity to talk to Santa by himself for a minute.

Santa told him he'd bring him something special!

Kayode got to sit on his lap a little longer than the others.

Merry Christmas &

Ho!Ho!Ho!

I'm ready!

My Christmas greetings have been sent either by mail or email...

and the packages have been delivered...

My Christmas gifts are all wrapped...

Can you believe it... Before Christmas Eve!?!

My baking is mostly done...

I only have to bake one more batch of Spritz to take with us to AZ

and, of course, Fudge (Mmmmm)!

I love to bake, so I may decide to make some

Christmas Tree sandwich cookies too, who knows!

The only thing left to do is go see Santa!

This is last year's Santa picture...

they all wore their outfits that Dele had brought back from Nigeria.

Now we can sit back, relax and remember the REAL meaning of Christmas!

God sent His son for us!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Fun in the SNOW!

Snow... AGAIN!!!

Can you believe two days of SNOW in Sin City?

Schools have already been closed for tomorrow, too!

School has not been closed due to snow in the 8 years we've been here and

I don't know if it's ever closed due to snow!

Ayodele didn't have school today due to conferences,

(he's doing very well by-the-way!)

so we went to the Library and the Dollar Store.

When we came out of the dollar store around 10am, it was SNOWING!

It was pretty wet, but it was coming down hard!

When we got home the boys wanted to run around

and try to catch snow flakes on their tongues!

Derek went to a friend's house after school to play in the snow with BIG kids

since it wasn't sticking at our house yet... then...

Around 2pm the snow actually started to stick to the ground!

So... coats and gloves back on and out we went!

It was so beautiful..

.

Ayodele built himself a tiny stash of snow so he could throw snowballs at me

and Kayode made a snowball and said, "I got you covered, Mom!" (How sweet!)

Shortly after Sade got home from school, I decided to take the kids to the park...

We drove to Desert Breeze Park where they have big hills for

Sledding and MORE snow!!!

The kids played, tried to sled down the hills

(we didn't have proper sledding supplies...IE. SLED!),

had a snowball fight and of course, made SNOW ANGELS!

Sade made her angel just before we got into the car so she

wouldn't be wet the whole time!

She didn't remember ever having made a Snow Angel!

Kayode wasn't so sure about laying down in the snow...

he was so cold by the time we were done!

But, he did make his very First Snow Angel!!!

Ayodele made three or four snow angels while we were at the park!

Every few steps, he'd lay back down and make another one!

We had a great time at the park!

It was so cool to hear the "crunch" of snow under our feet

and to watch the kids have so much fun in such "weird" circumstances!

Have you ever seen Snow on Palm Trees?

Maybe there is hope for a White Christmas after all!?!

Our little baker...

Kayode and I made yummy Spritz today! Kayode even did most of the work...he's such a good helper! He mixed the margarine and sugar... added and stirred the egg yolks too. He even continued stirring while I added the vanilla and flour! The mix finally got a too hard for him to stir, so I finished and put the mix into the press. Kayode insisted on pressing out the trees and he did a very good job! He finished the cookies off by sprinkling them with red and green sprinkles!

We couldn't wait to eat them right when they came out of the oven...

they practically melted in our mouths!

Good job, Kayode!

Snow in Vegas!

Kayode is so excited about the snow!

Kayode and I with snow in our hair... Proof that it does snow in Vegas!

Believe it or not, it is SNOWING in Las Vegas... Big, flaky, white snow!!!

Kayode and I went outside to dump the trash and the snow was a-falling!

(Mixed with rain, of course!)

As I write, the flakes are getting smaller ~ but they are still there! I can't tell if it's getting colder outside or there's just more rain than snow in the mix.

Kayode is so excited... he keeps going outside to see if it's sticking to the ground yet!

Who knows... we're supposed to be cold with chances of moisture for the next three days... maybe we'll get enough for a snowman!

** UPDATE**

Currently... 11:51am... there is NO rain in the snow!!
We've got Big, flaky, white snow coming down on us!

Kayode is trying to catch as much as he can on his tongue before it goes away! He's loving this snow! Still waiting for it to stick, though!

Seussical

Tonight was the opening night of

Seussical,

the musical at Sade's school.

This is how we spent the afternoon communicating... via white board! Sade stayed home from school yesterday with a stuffy nose and today came home with a sore throat! We wrapped up her throat, made her drink hot apple juice and communicate without talking!

(For her, this was the ultimate challenge!)

We got to the school 10 minutes before the doors were supposed to open, but they'd already been opened and all of the "good seats" were taken! We turned in our tickets and found the best seat possible!

The boys were such troopers waiting 40 minutes for the show to start! The theatre has flip-up desk tops, so that entertained Ayodele & Kayode most of the time! Derek, of course, had his phone, so he spent the time texting his friends without being bothered about whether or not he should be doing homework or "something!"

Sade played Mayzie La Bird... the obnoxious, flamboyant, selfish bird. She did a great job! We are so proud of her! I didn't take the video camera tonight as I am going three times in all. I wanted to be able to sit back and enjoy the show as well as figure out where I was going to switch tapes since the show is longer than our 60 minute tapes... I just couldn't resist recording Sade's songs with my camera, though... I hope you enjoy as much as we did! (Don't forget to stop the Christmas music on the side-bar before you play any of the following videos...)

Video #1: Amazing Mayzie

Video #2: How Lucky You Are

Video #3: Mayzie at Palm Beach/ Mayzie at the Circus/ Amazing Horton

Encore! Encore!

We love you, Sade! We're so proud of you!

Who knew my kids can dance?

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

*Make sure you turn off the music on the sidebar before you play this video! They are definitely too cute!

Our Nativity

Kayode and I put up our Nativity the other day. He was so excited when he found Baby Jesus and the Angel. He wanted to make sure and place them just so. I love this set... it's by Fisher Price and the kids can play with it and not hurt it! I always wanted to change our Nativity growing up, but it was made of ceramic and we didn't want it to get broken, so we weren't allowed to play with it. With this Nativity, the kids can retell the story time and time again...

Then I wonder... What would it have been like to have been Jesus' mother? I can't fathom what Mary must have gone through! Did she truly understand the magnitude of what she was doing?... That she would be the one who brought our Savior into the world? Raising children is challenging enough, but I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like to raise the world's one true "Super Hero."

How lucky we are to live in a country where we can worship Him freely! I thank God for our gifts and blessings of family, friendship, food & water, clothing, our health and so much more! This song, "Mary, Did you Know?" is one of my favorites. We're singing it next weekend at our Church Cantata. It is truly beautiful, and makes me wonder... did she really know the extent of His importance to the World?

Welcome Christmas!

Isn't spending time together and having fun one of the greatest parts of Christmas? Dele brought home this huge box yesterday to which I instantly took a great disliking to! I knew it was for the boys to play in, but it's so big and our house is so small! But Dele convinced me to keep it for a while anyway... then the light bulb went on! Wouldn't it be fun to paint it together and make it into a Christmas House? One complete with a tree, wreath, lights and Christmas Welcome?


Dele got the paints and paint brushes out for Kayode and I and the painting began! How fun! Kayode and I painted the whole house. While Dele and Kayode were off picking up Ayodele from school, I added the tree and spray painted the light strands... When Ayodele got home from school the two boys painted the lights, alternating red and green (-ish). We finished the house off by adding a wreath and Kayode wanted the door painted blue (-ish).

The boys love their house! When I mentioned painting the box, Kayode said, "No Way! You're not ruining my house!" But by the time he was painting on the last of the lights, he turned to me and said, "You were right, mom! This house is AWESOME!"

Here is their front door (painted blue) and the wreath... Ayodele wanted the house to say, "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!" I think it looks great! :) Dele was playing in it this morning before school.

Here is the tree... I noticed it's just kind of floating in mid-air... but that's okay... just pretend there's snow up to the bottom of it! :) Kayode is in the house now... Dele and I added a light to the inside of the box today so now they can see what they're doing!

The boys can now "Welcome Christmas" in their new home and have somewhere special to play!

Believe

One of my all time favorite books is The Polar Express. I was pleasantly surprised when they created and released such a wonderful movie! Through belief in Santa and the "first gift" of Christmas I am reminded of our Savior, Jesus who was the ultimate "first gift!" I hope that my children never stop hearing the ringing of the bells or lose their faith in Christ Jesus!

We've already watched the movie 2 or 3 times since Thanksgiving and it continues to be a favorite! Unfortunately our copy seems to be scratched, so Dele purchased a new copy... in 3-D! I was wrapping Christmas gifts in my bedroom and came out for something to drink, and this is what I found! They were too cute sitting there on the floor with their 3-D glasses on!

My Grown-Up Christmas List

This time of year is so special! There are so many things to be thankful for as well as things to pray for! The kids are making their Christmas wish lists and Santa is checking his twice!

On top of Derek's list are clothes from CCS, an online skateboarding shop and an ipod;

Sade's hoping for new clothes as well in the form of gift cards since she's so particular about her clothing, and an ipod;

Ayodele can't wait to find Bakugan under the tree;

and Kayode is anxious to see if someone surprises him with a Fisher Price Bat Cave.

Of course, wouldn't it be fun to find a Wii or other fun games under the tree, too? Who knows...

I haven't sat down to write out a wish list in a long time, but there are many things I am wishing for this Christmas! Here are a few of the things on my list. I wish that:

1. my friend Jenny will recover from her illness and be able to go home to her family very soon

2. my brother will find the right pathway for his success

3. my husband will find a job in Washington so we can move back "home"

4. Derek will continue working hard on his school work

5. Sade will stay healthy through the winter

6. Ayodele will continue to do well in school

7. Kayode will continue to be as curious as he is

8. my grandpa will enjoy being close to my dad...he's 92. :)

9. my grandma will stay active and healthy

10. my great aunt (94 years old) will be happy and healthy

11. I will get my teaching license renewed

12. my friends and family stay healthy and be prosperous!

13. our new President and his family will be safe and be able to turn our country around.

These are just a few of the things I wish for... I also pray that 2009 will be a year of changes and success for all! Merry Christmas!