Emma Taylor's Chorus Concert

Tuesday morning was ET's chorus and band concert.  They all did a really good job!

She and her friend KK before the concert.

How pretty they looked in their chorus dresses.

She also found out recently that she made the archery team!  It will be interesting to see them compete.  She has her own pink bow and loves to shoot.  Her school has had a very good archery team in the past years and I'm sure she will be an asset to them!

We are heading to Columbus to have lunch with friends Danny and Diane.  Hope you all have a very happy weekend!

Peter's Pottery

Three of my friends and I went to Southaven on Sunday afternoon to Peter Woods' open house.  Peter is the founder and owner of Peter's Pottery.  For those of you who aren't from the area, Peter makes beautiful and functional pottery.

He has opened his house for the past four years as a fundraiser to Wings Breast Cancer Foundation.  His sister passed away from breast cancer and this open house is a tribute to her. 

His house is big and beautiful, around 4,000 square feet, and in a lovely neighborhood of equally beautiful homes!

A welcoming entrance.

I went with friends Jane, Nancy and Betty.  We had to have our picture taken with Peter, of course!  Nancy used to sell Peter's in her booth at Joyful Creations and she and Peter are good friends.

The staircase welcomes you as you enter.

A great view of the entry from the stair landing.

And also a beautiful view of the living room from the other side of the landing.

Wine was served in the living room.

Fruit, chicken salad, shrimp cocktail and little tarts were served in the kitchen area, much of it served in Peter's Pottery.

The dining room.

Our tickets were put into a drawing for this Peter's nativity set.  How I would have loved to win it.  I'm still waiting for the call!

The keeping area.

It was a gorgeous day and we elected to take our food outside and sit by the pool.

There's a cute little pool house with lots of Peter's Pottery in it.  Even the pendent lights are Peter's!

It doubles as a guest house with a Murphy bed in the big piece of furniture.

There was a Christmas tree in absolutely every room except the bathrooms, each one different but beautiful.

What a fun day!

I've been gone every day this week so today I hope to actually get some presents under the tree and finish decorating!  I know you are all very busy as well.  Christmas is just two weeks away!

Flying

Doug's nephew, Mark, came to visit on Saturday and spent the night with us.  He brought his remote controlled airplane with him.  We took it to Veterans Park and he showed us how it worked. 

He's giving Cameron a lesson on the controls.

It was neat to see it flying.

Amazing how Mark could land it on the water.

It was such a beautiful day and the lake was so calm. 

We laughed at Mark giving Emma Taylor bunny ears!

We had a nice visit with Mark.  We don't get to see him often enough!

Cotton Plant

Heather and I took the kids to Cotton Plant on Friday night.  Cotton Plant is the name of the little town and there's not much there...except at Christmas time!

In early December every inflatable imaginable shows up in a huge field and thousands of people come to see them.  It's totally free, though donations are accepted.  It's well set up with pathways lined with Christmas lights.

It was a cool but beautiful night.

The kids absolutely loved it!  So fun!

Cameron asked Jesus into his heart yesterday and met with the children's director at church.  He will go forward on Sunday and will be baptized soon.  We are so proud of him and it's the most important decision he will ever make!  Please keep him in your prayers!

Thanks for your prayers yesterday.  Hopefully Heather can now move on!

Elf on the Shelf

I do not understand how parents bought into this Elf on the Shelf thing, but all the kids want one.

Cameron has wanted one for a while but I told him that was up to his dad.  He told one of his good friends at school that he didn't have one and his friend felt sorry for him.  This friend's mom went out and bought one for Cameron.  I ran into her at Walmart on Friday and she told me she was going to leave it on our front porch. 

So I found it Friday afternoon.

Cameron was so excited when he came home from school and found this package from Santa.  I wish I could have captured his face the moment he saw it because I don't think I've ever seen him more excited!

 

 

He named his elf Timmy.  It's up to Ben to move him around day to day.  Cameron told me this morning that Timmy had already climbed up their Christmas tree!

We really could use your prayers today.  Going to court as part of Heather's divorce thing.  We are so anxious to get this thing behind us!!

Visiting Santa

We took the kids to see Santa at the mall after school yesterday.  This may be the last year they are willing to sit on his lap.  The years of dressing them in cute Christmas outfits is over as you can see!

They got some individual time with Santa so they could make their wishes known.  Cameron said he asked for a house, among other things.

Santa gave them reindeer ears, though Emma Taylor opted not to wear hers!

We stopped for cookies afterwards.

Then a little shopping.

Happy December!

The countdown is on until Christmas!  Yikes!  Heather and I did a little shopping yesterday on a very rainy day.  We're making progress!

Cameron helped me decorate the house and tree right after church on Sunday.  He didn't even change clothes because he was so excited to get started!

First he set up the Nativity set.

All the grands love to set it up and rearrange it every time they come over.

Then the tree.

Then the North Pole Village.

It took us all afternoon! 

Emma Taylor and Harrison came over last night and they were not happy that we had not waited for them to help decorate!  They did a little rearranging though and I'm sure they'll rearrange again the next time they come over!