3 days of Christmas

I took a picture of the picture, hence the poor quality.

Hmm, this Christmas countdown is getting challenging for me. The doing isn't hard, it's the reporting that I have a hard time with. Let's see.
On the 10th, I volunteered for 3 hours at Ayden's school because Josh was home to watch the bebes for me (he's on a paid vacation until JANUARY!). Anyway, there was a "Santa's Shop" for the kids to shop for Christmas. Ayden bought me some really nice earrings that I truly like and he got Josh a paper weight with a scorpion inside which Ayden said he can keep in his room, if daddy really wants him to! When I helped the kids shop, it was so sweet watching them try to budget and get something for all of their family members. One kid had $20 and a list of 10 people. It took a lot of work, but he got something for everyone!
On the 11th we checked Ayden out of school early to go get pictures taken with Santa. First we tried Bass Pro Shop, but Santa decided to play a scavenger hunting game with us and he high tailed it to the mall, so we packed the kids back into the van and played secret spies to catch Santa. We made it just in time, because he was about to go eat some lunch right when we found him. He was so sweet to Ayden and Ian. Ayden was mesmerized! Santa saw that Ian was nervous, so he talked with the boys before he held them on his lap. First he told them that they were on his good list, then he asked them what they wanted for Christmas. He won Ian over, which is a big deal, because he is SO SHY. We were very pleased with how the picture turned out. Especially after the Bunny incident. It was also Afton's first picture with Santa! I do this every year to see how they grow each year. Ayden said two sweet things. One: "Santa, isn't Afton adorable?" Two: As we were leaving, "Santa is so nice."That night we took the kids to BREC's Santa roadshow. It's usually outside, but it was cold and rainy, so they had everything set up in the basketball sized gym. The boys had fun jumping in the spacewalk and playing at all of the booths. Santa and Mrs. Claus rode in on a FIRETRUCK. How awesome is that?! The weather didn't stop anyone from having fun.
Today I had a cookie exchange at my friend Maren's house. It was very nice, as usual. She breaks out the china and makes a delicious brunch, and we all bring home WAY TOO MANY cookies!! Then tonight was our church Christmas party. The rain held off just long enough for us to go on our caroling hayride around the LSU lakes and we all had a great time. I ate some delicious gumbo and had fun visiting with everyone. It seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves. Yet again, Robin & Brent threw a great party with their activities posse. So there. I've been festive!