Feeding Spot

Here's a short video of Jack and Cannon hanging out with Spot and feeding her.  And in case you're wondering,

1. Yes, she loves peanut brittle.  It's her favorite.  Well, that and cheetos.

2.  There really is no smell on earth that compares to the wet dog scent of a sweaty, little boy with a little pig scent mixed in for good measure. 

3.  Who knew Sam worried so much about nutrition?  Yes, that's him telling Jack that his pig "is not going to be strong because he eats too much junk food."  This from the little boy who should be on Little Debbie's payroll.

The Picture

We stepped it up this year.  In addition to the traditional letter from Santa left by the plate of eaten cookies, the boys were surprised with a special picture.  Santa told them Mr. Christmas took it for them.  The boys just about lost their marbles when they saw Santa standing in our living room.  And I'm just thankful that Sam didn't realize the presents under the tree were ones we opened before Santa came.  Note to self: take the picture after all the gifts are opened and cleared out from under the tree next year.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  Once again, Santa was very good to our little ones. 

Will's gifts...tractors, books, buckets, magnets, a book bag and a bunny rabbit.

Sam's gifts...guns, boots, cowboy and Indian gear, camera, magic kit and a movie.

Jack's gifts...guns, boots, cowboy and Indian gear, camera, McDonald's cash register and a movie.

Gifts to share...outdoor garden tools, gas station, grill, mailbox...

and a grocery store.

Here they come!  Taking it all in...

Will's expression when he sees all his tractors is priceless.  He is amazed.

He wasted no time trying out his new equipment.

Sam learning how to work the chainsaw...

Taking a few pictures in the grocery store...

Safety first...

(Sam was trying to be funny in this picture.  I think this is a keeper and will likely be used as blackmail for years to come.)

Let your light shine, baby...

Going through their stockings...

(That's my joy baby.  Yes, he's that happy over a notebook.)

Finally, Will has his very own big boy riding toy.  He was thrilled.

So was his big brother...

Sam and Jack each had one specific request for Christmas.  Sam wanted a dog and Jack wanted a pig.  It's the only thing they asked for.  We made no mention of either and just waited to see how they would react.  We expected them to be disappointed and even thought Sam would pout over not waking up to find his dog waiting for him. We were pleasantly surprised to see that they were very happy and thankful for all the other gifts they received. We even asked them if were upset that they didn't get everything they asked for.  They both told us that they had really wanted a dog and a pig, but they were happy with all the toys Santa brought them.  After exploring all their inside toys, Jody went outside to bring the puppy in.  He had her under his shirt and Sam's reaction when he saw his Daddy's sweatshirt moving was priceless.

The moment he saw her was so special and something I hope to never forget.  I don't know that I've ever seen him happier.  When he reached out to hold her and realized this was real and she was his, his eyes welled up with tears. And when his eyes filled with tears, so did ours.

Meet Sayler.  Sam chose to name her after the first dog Jody and I had.  She was a chocolate lab and died before Sam was born.  He has heard Jody talk about her and he knew she was always Jody's favorite dog.  We were both surprised that Sam even remembered her name and think it is so sweet that he named his puppy after her.

Sayler decided to show off her barking skills to Will.  He was not amused.

Jack was so sweet to Sam and so genuinely happy for him to get his puppy.  There was no jealousy and no mention of the pig that Jack had asked for.  Jody asked again if the boys had gotten everything they'd asked for and Jack sweetly said, "Yeah, Daddy.  I got everything I wanted except for my pig."  Jody pulled two collars out of his pocket and asked why in the world Santa would have left two collars.  We went out to the garage to see if Santa left anything else that needed that collar.  He climbed in the back of the truck to look into the large plastic bin that we found sitting in the garage.

And then he saw her.  And he tried hard to contain his smile.

Meet Spot, who is named after the other pig, Spot, that Jack fell in love with over a year ago.  What happened to that Spot?  As Sam likes to tell everyone, "his Daddy got hungry and made her into bacon."  Rest assured, the new Spot will die of only old age or natural causes.  Jack has already devised a plan to find a Daddy Pig so they can have babies and he can sell the babies to his Daddy.  And because every company needs a name he announced that his company is to be called "The Jack Johnson Pig Company."

Will was amazed by the pig and runs around yelling, "Pig! Pig!" 

I'm just thankful he hasn't asked Jody to bring his favorite chicken up from the barn.  With a puppy and a pig currently living in our garage, the only thing missing is a chicken, right?

Christmas Eve

We enjoyed a quiet evening at home tonight.  Since we celebrated Christmas at Mama and Daddy's last night, we had nowhere to be tonight and it was actually pretty wonderful.  We had plenty to keep us busy with trying to get the house clean, preparing for Christmas morning breakfast and anticipating Santa's arrival.  Jody took the boys over to Mema Willa's for a visit while I ran out for  groceries.  Jody was less than amused when he saw the fifteen pounds of sausage I bought for my breakfast casseroles.  Why?  Because we have 400 pounds of sausage in the freezers at the barn.  I totally forgot we had fresh pork and spent a small fortune on Jimmy Dean. If I had done the same with beef or eggs, he probably would have divorced me.  

The boys returned home and after baths, we baked cookies for Santa.  The boys insisted on leaving Santa white and chocolate milk, just in case he like both.  Jack was in charge of putting out food for the reindeer and added a bowl of water in case they were thirsty.

Every year I order the boys matching pajamas for Christmas Eve.  I waited too late this year and when I finally went to place my order, their sizes weren't available.  Target didn't have anything that matched in all their sizes and I was desparate when I finally accepted that this year my boys would be sporting Walmart pajamas on Christmas Eve. After two trips to the store I despise, I gave up on finding Will's size and instead bought two pair of size 4-5.  Hence, the rolled up look he's wearing so well.

Matching pajamas are a must for the annual "Christmas Eve Tree Picture."  Matching pajamas and a lack of cooperation.

Lack of cooperation turns leads to a stern warning from their Daddy to "Stand up straight and smile.  Now!"

My little men in their little men matching pajamas from the local Walmart.  Priceless.

The sugar high from the cookies and the sheer anticipation of the jolly one left these three ridiculously hyper.  We wished Mr. Christmas a safe trip back to the North Pole and tried to get the boys to settle down.  They avoided sleep like champions and their eyes didn't close until well after eleven and it may have been the result of an elaborate story about "the time Santa tried to come to some little boys' house and found them awake and didn't come back."  I'm not sure if it was exhaustion or the fear of missing Santa that finally made them go to sleep, but if I had to bet I'd say the latter.  My boys...proving once again that fear goes a long way around here.

The Eve of Christmas Eve

We celebrated Christmas at Nana and JP's tonight because Rebecca and Chris are lighting the advent candle for the Christmas Eve service at church tomorrow night. Here they are in all their glory...the seven, age seven and under.

The two sweetest four year old's I know, waiting patiently to open gifts.

Saucy Dingle, enjoying her first Christmas at Nana and JP's, ripping into one of her gifts.

Will was excited to tear into his gifts.

However, he was unamused by the shirt inside the first gift he opened.  He got a long pep talk about smiling and being grateful on the way home after showing us his I don't want a stinkin' shirt attitude.

He redeemed himself by being overjoyed when he spotted a John Deere box.

More tractors sent my boy straight into Christmas bliss.

Landry and Jack were exited for their turn.

Jack  proudly showed off his new "cowboy shirt."

Landry got what every girl needs...new baby dolls and a new princess dress.  And not just any princess dress.  A dress that lights up.  Your welcome, Allyson.  I hope she wears it everywhere.

Sam and Cannon were next and they both gave us their best I am in kindergarten now and I am way too cool to act excited about opening presents routine.

Nana fed their addiction by giving them both an Angry Birds board game. I'm looking for an Angry Birds Anonymous Meeting in our area.

Jody really wanted to get Cade something "special."  His idea of something special?  An animal trap.  And now I can officially cross "Shop for and purchase a live animal trap" off my bucket list.

And let it be known, the "Take'm Alive" is the "Cadillac of wild animal traps" according to the friendly Agri-Supply employee who spent a good ten minutes educating me on the "ins and outs" of trapping animals.  The only thing that could make my experience better?  Rigging up a camera to watch Allyson or Corey when it's time to open the trap door and let the living animal out of the trap.  Here's to hoping that at least once an animal runs out of the trap only to change his mind and do a u-turn back in the direction of the cage.

We enjoyed dinner together and the kids ran and played until bedtime.  Tonight was just the beginning to a weekend full of fun celebrations.  Christmas weekend has officially begun.