Twelve Highlights from Christmas

I know there were many more, but here are a few fun highlights from our Christmas Eve celebration in Tennessee and then our trip home to Kentucky:

1. Happy Birthday Jesus!

Since we are usually traveling and away from home from Christmas Eve to New Years, this year we decided to leave town a little later and start our very own Christmas morning (okay, it was Christmas Eve morning) tradition of having the boys awaken to gifts under their own tree and a Birthday celebration for Jesus. It was so much fun! As always, Caleb was the first Workman to awaken, and he was so delighted to find balloons all over the living room, a Birthday banner hanging from the ceiling fan, and lots of boxes ready to be torn into, under the tree. Eric and I were both extremely impressed by the patience that the little guy exhibited as we waited for Sethie to awaken on his own, so we could officially get the party started. The wait was not too long and we ushered in the gift opening extravaganza with Daddy reading us all the Christmas story from the gospel of Luke. Then, Eric and I sat back and watched the mayhem unfold. It didn't take long for the living room floor to be covered in a sea of wrapping paper, toys to be everywhere, and for empty boxes to be explored! After breakfast, some play time and a quick tidy-up, it was off to Kentucky!

2. Christmas PJs

Each boy got to open one present on Christmas Eve Eve. And what is the best thing to open right before going to bed? Christmas PJs!!! Biz wore the oh so stylish Lightening McQueen footed jammies, while Seth was gifted with a pair of cozy Tennessee Titans pjs. Both boys could be seen in their respected pjs for the majority of the Christmas festivities and the week that followed.

3. Advent Calendar

This was also the first year that our family has celebrated Advent. The McLaughlins gave us our Christmas gift early this year and it was such a blessed way to prepare for our Birthday celebration for Jesus. First, they gave us an Advent calendar with little pockets on each of the days. Then, they filled each pocket with a piece of a nativity set. It was such a treat each morning for the boys to pull out the surprise piece of the day, place it in the nativity set, and then read scripture about the hope, joy, and preparation of the birth of our Savior. The boys really got into it and anxiously anticipated Christmas Eve, when they would get to pull out the final and most important piece of the nativity, Baby Jesus. It was a great way to illustrate and share the true meaning of Christmas each day with our boys, in a way that they could understand and participate, too.

4. Christmas Eve Service at Flemingsburg Christian Church

Each year our goal is to make it to Flemingsburg by 9 o'clock pm on Christmas Eve so we can attend the Christmas Eve service with Memaw and Pepaw at their church. It is a special service that concludes with communion and then the lights are turned down and each person lights a candle and holds it up to symbolize Jesus being the light and hope of the world. This year, even with the horrible weather, we made it in plenty of time to attend the service. Which was a good thing, since Eric had a part in it this year. He interpreted the song "O Holy Night." But that was not the only thing special about that song. Memaw was a part of the Hand bell choir that performed the song, accompanied by a flutist. I must say that it was truly beautiful!

And as an added bonus, we got to spend Christmas Eve with the Dentons, too! We didn't think we would get to see Uncle Greg, Tammy, Jeana, and Bret until the day after Christmas, but to our surprise, not long after we arrived in Flemingsburg, the Dentons showed up, too.

5. Nerf Guns

Okay, I am not sure how long these guns will last in our house before they are put in time out or permanently removed, but so far, Caleb has done really well with obeying the Nerf gun rules. For Christmas, Unkie Dew gave Biz a Nerf gun and it was very happily received...by Biz! Those little eyes just lit right up when he opened up the gun with actual ammunition (four soft balls). No injuries to little brother or broken items....yet.

Then a few days later, Papaw Larry surprised Caleb with two more Nerf guns. These guns actually shoot soft darts and I think Papaw Larry may have had more fun showing Biz how to shoot them at the door than anyone. We almost left one for Papaw Larry to play with.

6. The Tale of Despereaux

One of Caleb's new favorite treats is going out to the movies. He is at an age now where we can take him and he will sit quietly (for the most part) through an entire movie. And as long as there is popcorn involved, Seth does pretty well, too. The day after Christmas, Memaw and Pepaw treated us all to Despereaux. It was such a cute movie and Caleb told me before we went in, "I really want to see Despereaux, the bravest mouse, movie, but I will be happy with whatever comes on." He is definitely into the whole movie atmosphere. And Seth just likes to keep his hand in the popcorn bucket, even if he is not even eating it.

7. Trains!

As soon as the boys walked into Papaw Larry and Miss Sheila's house, they were greeted with a most wonderful sight...a real moving train! Papaw Larry had set up two circular train tracks with trains moving in opposite directions and the boys went nuts. The boys had to determine how it all worked and Papaw Larry showed them the gears. It didn't take long after that for the trains to derail, but the boys had a lot of fun with it. And to their surprise, the bigger track was part of their Christmas gift. It is now set up in Caleb's room and stays on the track, for the most part. Unless Seth or Caleb ramps it up to high gear and then it flies off the track. They are still trying to figure out a "happy medium" speed.

8. Eating Ice Cream at the Cozy Cone

Eric still hails Granny's house as the most comfortable place on the planet. He says that when you walk through the door, you fall into instant relaxation. I agree. You can't help but sleep soundly there. And it doesn't hurt that mom is an early riser, along with our boys, so we actually get to sleep in late when we are abiding at the Cozy Cone.

The boys love Granny's house, especially when Aunt B is there visiting, too! And getting to eat ice cream there, too, on top of getting fun presents, is just about as good as it gets!

9. Cows and Cowboys

Aunt B and Uncle Bill got the boys cowboy hats for Christmas and you can only imagine how proudly the boys wore their new duds. Sometimes, Seth even wore two or three hats at a time. However, I think the biggest highlight of the whole trip for Seth was waking up to cows every morning. What could be better than opening the window shade in the morning and seeing a bunch of cows staring at you from the field across the street? Nothing, when you are a 21 month old little boy. It took Seth a while to understand that every window did not have a view of the cow pasture and it was twice as hard to explain to my eager little cow enthusiast that sometimes the cows had to go to the barn for "night night" and were not always in the field. Seth was in cow heaven and very much enjoyed making new friends.

10. Tools

This year, Seth actually came away with more tools than Big Brother. His first official tools! Of course, every time Seth opened a box containing tools, Biz quickly exclaimed, "He is going to share that with me." Even the Handy Manny chainsaw that Biz got could not compete with the attraction of "someone else's tools". The work bench just got more interesting!

11. Wall E

Before Christmas, Wall E was just a fun toy that Caleb had played with at his friend, Joshua's house. Now, Wall E is a household name...at least in the Workman home. It is definitely an interesting, albeit different little movie and Caleb is absolutely captivated by it. I think it has a good message, but I don't think it will be one I can sit through again and again. However, Caleb does not have that problem and has already watched it at least 37 times.

12. Building with Uncle Bill

Although Uncle Bill, like me, was under the weather for most of the Christmas holiday, he did start feeling better toward the end and just in time to spend some quality time building with Caleb. Once the Lincoln logs were on the table, there was no stopping the building frenzy that became Uncle Bill and Caleb's log play ground. And no one was allowed to touch or disturb them, as I tried at one point and was informed that, "me and Uncle Bill are being builders now, so we need alone time to build."

A Very Merry Christmas!

Caleb's preschool Christmas program was a couple of weeks ago. Nine children sang their hearts out for parents, grandparents, and siblings. Caleb was very hush hush about the six songs that he would be singing and would only tell me that it was going to be a "special treat." The band of merry voices was led by the wonderful, creative, and ever-so patient, Miss Cindy. She did such a great job with the kiddos and we did, indeed, enjoy a very special Christmas treat!

The highlight of the performance (for the Workmans, at least) came during the class' rendition of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." The children, all donned appropriately in reindeer antlers, sang with all they had in them. Caleb also put on a little show of his own during the performance of this one (and only, thank goodness!) particular song. Below are pics of "the dig" captured on film:

He did at least have the decency to turn away from the crowd (for the most part) while he was taking care of business.

The funniest part of the whole thing, however, was not captured on film (actually part of it is on the video). I was videoing the show, while Eric and Sethie were taking snapshots. As soon as Caleb's finger found his nose, Eric started rapidly shaking his head, "no!" Caleb did not even try to act as if he did not see his dad. He just locked eyes with daddy and slowly shook his head, "yes." Snickering could be heard across the room from parents, who were probably relieved it was not their little one making the spectacle this time. Caleb knew that there was safety in numbers and that the satisfaction of publicly clearing his little nostril, against his daddy's obvious wishes, was worth any repercussions he might have to deal with later. (which, by the way, there weren't any this time. It is the Christmas season, after all.) It was hilarious! Or maybe just disgusting and we just have a warped sense of humor.

Yes, I must say that having boys has definitely "loosened me up" in some ways and somewhat altered my sense of humor! After all, I am outnumbered.

Have a wonderful and Merry Christmas!! May you be blessed as you celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! (Luke 2:1-20) Happy Birthday to our King, who left Heaven's throne to come to earth as a sweet baby and then later died on the cross, so that we could have life. Praise Him!!

An Extra Visitor

Why, yes, there was a stuffed chihuahua present at the birth of our Lord and Savior. Wasn't there? Maybe only at our house.

Birthday Surprise

Eric got me really good this year! He not only pulled off one birthday surprise, but two...in the same day! And here I thought nothing could get past me and my super perceptive senses. After all, I have been a mommy for over four years now, so doesn't that whole "nothing gets by me" skill only get stronger with time and experience. Okay, maybe that only applies with your children and not your husband.

First, I was surprised during the day with a gift straight from the Bluegrass State-my mom and Becky. Woo Hoo!! And with them, not one, but two concrete ice cream cakes from Culvers (yes, Iowa friends, that wonderful restaurant has made its way south to Kentucky and hopefully on its way to Nashville SOON). I was extremely happy and did I mention, surprised to find them in my kitchen at lunch time.

Then on our way home from dinner, Eric just HAD to make a trip by Tim and Shar McLaughlin's house so that they could give me my birthday present. Caleb led me into their dining room to look at their Christmas tree (was he put up to this?) and to my other surprise, there were most of my dearest and closest friends! I have to admit that I was quite overwhelmed in the moment. I am not really good with surprises like that, because I always feel like I have a funny reaction or think that if I had only known, I could have gotten dressed up a little more.

I was pretty speechless. Yeah, me? Hard to believe. I was very overcome with gratitude in that moment. Not to mention, a little relief, since I hadn't really received any birthday wishes from my local friends that day and just thought everyone had gotten busy and forgotten. Then it all made sense. Especially tricky Shar's part in all, since she had only asked me upteen times in the preceding week what we were doing to celebrate my birthday and if they could be included. Obviously she was trying to throw me off the scent and did so. Yes, McLaughlins you will be included in my birthday plans...and in a big way, since you helped with the planning. Sneaky, sneaky!!

And mom forewent the festive evening to take home our sleepy boys and allowed for us to have a kid-free evening. Thanks mom!

Caution: Sappiness ahead! Consider yourself warned!

I am truly grateful for my sweet and sneaky hubby and our family and friends (those who got to share in the surprise and those who didn't, but kept quiet about the whole thing) who helped make my venture INTO my fourth decade (31 now, so no longer skirting the edge of my thirties) very special and sweet. God continues to demonstrate His love for me and often uses my family and friends to do so. I have been truly blessed with a wonderful support system, friends (who are now family) who hold me accountable, from who I learn so much and have such a good time, and walk with me daily through life and my unexpected career choice (that can sometimes be isolating and overwhelming), and love me for some crazy reason. My mom and sister have always been my biggest supporters and loved me through my very unloveable years. All of them! Growing up, all we had were each other and now I know that that was all we needed and so much more than we even deserved! They are beautiful women who love the Lord and blessing others and have these amazing capacities to love. And especially for my hubby and best friend, my gratitude flows. He continues to surprise and amaze me and shows me the meaning of unconditional love daily. I am in awe of the man that he is and the commitment he has to Christ and our marriage. He is also a pretty awesome daddy! Being Eric's wife is my most precious gift and our journey together has been bumpy, blessed, and untradeable (is that word?). I couldn't be happier that he is the man that I will one day, God willing, grow old with, overlooking the lake together. And of course, for my boys I am thankful, and if you have visited this blog at least one time, you know how head over heels crazy I am over those two goofballs!

Here are few shots from my Birthday surprise:

Giving Thanks

It's lunch time and Mommy places Caleb's peanut butter and jelly sandwich and yogurt in front of him.

Mommy: "Caleb, thank Jesus for your food."

Caleb suspiciously eyes the sandwich and even lifts up the corners for inspection.

Caleb: "Is it peanut butter and jelly?"

Mommy: "Yes, Caleb."

Caleb: "Okay, in that case, I am thankful."

Prayer commences and Mommy is left a little confused. Out of the thousands of sandwiches she has served Caleb in his short lifetime, she can count on one hand how many of those were NOT peanut butter and jelly. Mommy wonders from where this sudden skepticism has stemmed, but is glad, nonetheless, that Caleb is thankful for his good ole, tried and true, PB & J.

More Fun in a Box

First Snow

Since Seth was so small last year and didn't actually get to play around in the one and only real snowfall with significant coverage that we had last winter, I consider the snowfall we had this week to be his first actual snow experience. And he loved it! It started snowing in the late afternoon on Thursday and just kept on coming. Eric taught Seth the sign for snow, so every time he passed the front door or window, his little hands would go up in excitement, signing away while his mouth was shouting, "SNOW!"

I was very happy that the snow lingered and we woke up to the ground still covered on Friday morning. In middle Tennessee you just can't take the snow for granted, because although the ground may be significantly covered in an hour's time, it can all be gone within the next hour or so.

Both boys were busting to get out the door to play in the snow. (By the way, getting two boys dressed and ready to play in the snow is quite an event in itself. I was nearly exhausted before we even got out of the door. ) Seth was mostly playing off of Caleb's enthusiasm, since he had never actually been out in the stuff. I guess he figured if something got big brother that excited, then it must be worth his time to check it out, too. It was cute to watch Seth press his little face up against the door and exclaim, "Wook, Momma, wook...Snow!," as he awaited his chance to get out into it.

Of course, the getting dressed effort was worth it, even though Seth would not keep his mittens on. The boys bolted out the door and were instantly enthralled in the wintery fun! Caleb loved eating the snow (of course) and throwing it at me, while Seth was happy running around in it and feeling the crunchiness under his little boots.

I had a difficult time getting the boys to take their eyes off the snow and actually look at the camera, but that is okay. They were having fun and, although Seth was a little shocked that the snow was actually COLD and not as much fun to sit in as he had anticipated, he had a good time experiencing it all for the first time.

"Seriously, Mom?"

"Reindeer ears?"

"Okay, I will humor you...briefly."

No Gorillas Please!!

Each year, since we have been living in Nashville, we take a trip to the Opryland hotel to see all of the Christmas lights! It is such a fun tradition and we usually take it all in the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year, we were a bit delayed in our visit, but continued the tradition the week after Thanksgiving. It was especially fun this year, because Caleb is so into the lights and decorations. So, of course that gets little brother all the more excited! Seth can now spot a Christmas tree from a mile away.

Eric and I thought it would be neat to surprise the boys with a trip to the Rainforest Cafe to start off our festive evening. We had never eaten there before, but stop by to visit the mechanical hippopotamus and snake outside the restaurant every time we are in the Opry Mills mall. In the midst of patting ourselves on the back for thinking up such an exciting treat for the boys, we neglected to thoroughly think the idea through.

Here are some of the questions we should have asked ourselves before our little adventure:

Would a 20-month-old really enjoy eating chicken nuggets surrounded by a bunch of mechanical gorillas? Would said child be totally terrified by the whole experience, hold his little head down, and cling, with all his might, to the closest parent, making it a little difficult for anyone to eat? Would the oh-so adventurous big brother even be scared ("but only a little," he said) of the big elephants in the corner? (Aren't elephants his favorite animal?) Who would have thought the cool rain storm, that occured every 30 minutes, would send Sethie into sheer panic?




No, we did not think of these outcomes...not until it was too late. Caleb did end up thinking that the place was pretty cool. Seth never did really warm up to the whole idea. We had to turn him to where his chair did not face the gorillas. Thank goodness for the balloons that they put on the back of the chairs. That did provide the little guy with some security and enjoyment. We just hope he is not forever traumatized!


















Seth was much more at ease at the Opryland hotel, amid all of the lights and Christmas trees. Both boys had a great time! We went on a Wednesday night, so it was not nearly so crowded, and it gave the boys lots of room to run around in certain areas. And Eric and I were very happy to share a special night together with our boys and see all of the wonder through their sweet little eyes.

See, much happier with his balloon! And away from the gorillas!

Caleb actually took these two shots. Not too shabby for a four-year-old.