Grey's First Christmas

First set of wheels

The next day's aftermath

Set of wheels number two

The Family

Standing on a box

Loves the glow worm!

Need me to fix anything?

We had a crazy busy Christmas going from grandparents' to parents' and back again and so forth. It's taken us a few days to recover! But the tree is down, the toys un-packaged (oh my, what a pain!) and we are trying to decide where to put all these toys! It did not take Grey long to learn that there were toys behind that wrapping paper! He was great, even though he did not feel well and actually ran a fever some Christmas Eve. Overall it was a great first Christmas!

Visit with Santa

We took Greyson to see Santa Friday afternoon. After being told by Santa and the picture girl that "11 months old, he won't cry", I was feeling pretty optimistic. He cried. As soon as Kevin sat him in Santa's lap and walked away Grey started crying. Kevin tried to sit beside him, but it didn't work. I got 2 pictures of a crying baby with my camera before I had to go sit with him, too. With both of us there he calmed down and we were able to take a family picture with Santa. I don't have the crying pictures on my computer, and this is a scanned copy of our family picture and it's not that clear but it works. (Isn't Santa psycho looking?! We are going to try to find a new Santa and try again.)

What Christmas is all About

Kent Bush: ‘That’s what Christmas is all about’

---

Loading multimedia...

By Kent Bush

GateHouse News Service

Posted Dec 09, 2008 @ 12:08 PM

---

While I was enjoying my son's Christmas play at church this weekend, I was reminded of "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

Both scripts remind the viewer that commercialism is not the true meaning of Christmas. But as Miss Kansas Emily Deaver grinned and sang using a gaggle of toddlers as a back-up band, I was also reminded of a famous line from the Charles Schultz production that debuted 43 years ago today.

"Stop the music. We're going to do this play and we're going to do it right."

I could hear Charlie Brown's famous words when I watched some toddlers cry out for their mothers, some wiggle off the stage and others shake their tiny jingle bells to the tune.

Charlie Brown had to restore order by bringing an end to the freelance dancing of the cast of cartoon characters during "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

When you put toddlers and preschoolers in front of a crowd, there is no restoring order. All you can do is control the chaos.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" is still drawing large television audiences and I think there are several reasons.

First, there is the great jazz piano soundtrack. Without Linus' jazzy piano chops, the animated cast would have no framework within which to display their funky dance moves.

Once this Christmas special hits the screen, the tunes are tattooed on your brain. Good luck removing them from your memory banks.

The second reason the special is still popular today is the authenticity. Who can't relate to getting a Christmas program together, watching a neighbor cross the bounds of common sense when it comes to decorating their home or spending far too much money on the commercial aspect of the season?

Snoopy's award winning home décor is used as an example of going to far. However, it seems tame compared to many people I know today.

But the third and most likely reason the show maintains its popularity after more than four decades is its message.

Charlie Brown was frustrated with his young cast as they fought over parts and decorations. He found himself wondering aloud, "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!"

Linus quietly says he knows and steps to the center of the stage where a spotlight falls on him as he begins to quote the Christmas story from the King James Version of the Book of Luke.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.' That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

Obviously, network executives 43 years ago were more than a little concerned about how direct the message was. They believed viewers would be offended by recitations of passages from the Bible. Schultz disagreed and he was willing to pull the program before he removed the message or watered it down.

"If we don't tell the true meaning of Christmas, who will?" he said.

Apparently viewers 43 years ago - and even as recently as Monday night - managed not to be offended by the idea that Christmas is about more than Santa Claus, red-nosed reindeer and shiny aluminum trees.

Every church, school or community group preparing a Christmas musical can learn from this special. If you stay true to the message, the program's success if far more likely.

Whether the program features wooly little lambs, Miss Kansas singing with toddlers, a full orchestra performing Handel's Messiah, or a group of animated kids with a great jazz pianist, the reason for the season remains the same.

Augusta Gazette

Just for the record...

A stomach virus kicks morning sickness's butt hands down. Kevin and I are both feeling awful today. It's almost four and the only thing I've had to eat today are a few animal crackers and peanut butter, and I'm not entirely sure those are going to last much longer. At least Greyson is safely away from the germs at my parent's house. He'll probably just spend the night there. And we'll stay here and try to stay out of the bathroom.....

Christmas Picture Attempts

I have been trying to get a good picture of Greyson for our Christmas card, but taking a good picture of him has become very difficult. He is not still at all, he wants to put the ornaments in his mouth, or he wants to crawl over and climb on top of me when he sees me in the floor trying to snap a picture. At least our photo sessions are pretty much the only time he bothers the tree (except for the Clemson football ornament he is holding in the picture above, he picked that one out himself and he loves playing with it, Go Tigers!). Otherwise he is happy to empty out a box of ornaments we don't use. He takes them out of the box, plays with them and bangs them, then cleans up by putting them all back into the box. The whole take out/ put in routine is big in our house right now. He loves it. He also loves walking around pushing things or holding our hand. And he is trying to talk so bad, I swear he can say "quack, quack" when he sees his ducks in the bathtub. He also says mama, dada, and byebye. He's a mess. A completely spoiled rotten little mess!

I am finally starting to feel better. I haven't had to have crackers before getting out of bed in about two weeks now. I do still have trouble eating sometimes, but no where near like before. And I just finished my class this week, so maybe things will settle down and I'll have time to breathe a little, and start planning for this new little one who will be here in 6 short months!!