Since Chad is out of town, Clayton and I decided to spend a few days with his Gram and Papa(my mom and dad). On Tuesday evening we went to the best Mexican restaurant in the world. Pancho Villa. They have this dish called the ACP. It's rice, melted cheese, sauteed onions, and chicken all mixed together. So very good. I digress. After Panco we had to make a pit stop at Walmart. I was the last one out of the store, and when I made it to the car this is how I found my son. 
............The mice will most definitely play.
Chad's out of town this week on a men's retreat(deer hunting). So, that means Clayton and I have the manor to ourselves. Whatsoever shall we do?
Hum (think, think, think, think)
We could shop, stay up late(me, not Clayton, and those of you that know me know that's not going to happen), go to bed early(that's more like it), watch chick flicks, shop, eat a salad from Zaxby's. The possibilities are absolutely endless. Time can only tell what the two of us wild children will get into.
Most likely not a lot. Clayton in bed by 9pm, and Mommy soon to follow, just because I can. In all honesty I do miss the husby already. I know, I'm a softy. He's my best bud and definitely the most calm half of this relationship. Have a great "retreat" Chad. See ya soon.
XOXO
Christmas was great for our family. The Christmas festivities began for us on Tuesday evening and have continued until just about an hour ago. It's been a great, and busy week. Just because I know you care I plan to go through each day event by event. Don't you feel special.
Tuesday evening, Chad, Clayton, and I went to the Tanglewood Festival of lights with the seniors from our church. Not high school seniors, the senior adults. Besides Clayton, I was the youngest person on the bus. It's a very interesting seat to fill. Anyway, I digress. Clayton of course loved the lights and giggled at each light display as we passed them. After Tanglewood, we had to go to Walmart and get a few last minute things for various meals for the next few days. 10:30pm is a great and recommended time to go to Walmart.
Wednesday morning began with brunch at my mother's parents. The food was fantastic. I love breakfast casserole. After brunch we came home for a nap (Clayton and his mommy both napped). Since Christmas Eve was on a Wednesday, we had church a little earlier than usual. Then I had to split paths with my boys. Chad and Clayton went to Chad's Grandmother's house for their Christmas celebration. I, being the wonderful older sister that I am, went to Jesse's church to play the piano for their Christmas communion service. It was a great service, and his church is awesome. They had the prettiest Christmas tree I have ever seen in a church. I met up with my boys a little later and listened to some Christmas music on the guitar performed by Chad's uncle.
Thursday morning we had our very first Christmas with Clayton right here in our home. We didn't get up too early, which was great. We all opened presents and played with our new toys(well, we all played with Clayton's toys). After Christmas at our house we went to Chad's parents house and had Christmas there, and we had a really tasty breakfast. More toys. And, Chad's sister is a whiz(think kid, not cheese) on the computer. She made Chad a really cool DVD of Clayton's pictures from his birth until now, and set it to a Phillips, Craig, and Dean song. It was AWESOME in every way. Tears, tears, tears. After Chad's parents we stopped in at his other Grandmother's house for a few minutes and had breakfast again. Yeah, why they call it breakfast at noon, I'm really not sure. It works though. After that was nap time. Everybody in the Carswell manor took(and needed) a nap. Lastly, but certainly not least we went to my parent's house and had Christmas there. As always anything we do at Mom and Dad's house is a blast. It gets loud in a nano-second, and yesterday was no exception. Clayton came home with so many toys, I think we could open a Toys R Us in our living room. Chad and I racked up too with some neat electronic goodies.
Friday evening(Ipromise this is the last one) we went to Christmas dinner at my other Grandparents. The Grands as I affectionately call them. I love going there, because something crazy always happens. This year was no exception. We get so loud and goofy in a manner of minutes. It's great.
I'm tired.
So, that was our crazy Christmas. It's so busy, but we have a lot of family that loves us dearly. It's great. Now I'm going to bed to rest up for next year.
It's almost Christmas. It's so close now. I can't wait. I absolutely love Christmas and being able to get together with family. My family is so great. We're just loud and goofy, but we all love each other so much. Nobody seems to get offeneded when we pick at each other, and make fun of one another.
Last night we had a little mini pre-Christmas celebration at Mom and Dad's house. Just the seven of us. We hung out and ate sliders, fudge, mini pecan pies, and the best cheese dip in the world. Wow, I sometimes can't believe how big our little family is starting to get. I can't wait until there are even more of us. We really should have been Italian, the way that we eat and get so loud together. It doesn't take long for the decible level to reach max power.
So I think today is the last day with minimal craziness of this week. Tonight, Chad, Clayton, and I(well maybe just Chad and I) are going to decorate a few more Gingerbread men and women. Tomorrow evening the three of us are going to Tanglewood(a light display sorta near us) with a group of the seniors in our church. That should be a lot of fun. Wednesday is of course Christmas Eve. We have brunch at my mom's parent's house, then Christmas Eve service at our church, then I have to go play piano at Jesse's church for their Christmas eve service, then we will head to Chad's mom's mom's house for their Christmas get together.
Thursday is the big day. Christmas at our own house in the morning, and then to Chad's parents mid morning, then to my Dad's parent's house for lunch, then a nap(hopefully) for Clayton, and then we will go back to Mom and Dad's house for our real Christmas dinner. More junk food. Have a great Christmas.
I do have a date tonight with my hubby. I'm excited. I hope he is too. But, Chad is so nonchalant about most things that you would never know if he was excited or not. We haven't decided what we are going to do. I want to go shopping. OF COURSE. Shopping is always on the top of my to do list. And, Chad has me nothing for Christmas, so maybe I could go and pick out what I want, and get to bring it home and keep it tonight. I think that's a great idea.
Or, we could go to dinner and a movie. The possibilities are endless, but I still prefer shopping. I'm completely ready for Christmas as far as gifts are concerned, so I don't have to worry about that expense any more. What do you think we should do?
The two most handsome men in the world. Just ask either one of them and they will tell you. Chad always says that he is the most handsome man, and that Clayton is second. I can't decide, I think they are both the most handsome.
My grandmother, Clayton's great-grandmother bought him this little suit for Christmas. And doesn't he look like a big boy in it. And, wow he really looks like Chad. Sometimes it just hits me how much he looks like his Daddy.
How cute can you get? Well, I must go and rescue my son's arm from the dog's water dish, or rescue the dog's water dish from my son's arm.
Ok, let my preface this by saying that I'm not angry, in a bad mood, upset, needing any extra medication. I just don't like some things and I was rolling them around in my mind, and thought I would share.
* Pickles (YUCK)
* The song "Christmas Shoes" (who thought this song was a good idea? They should be put away, and put them out of my misery. If you agree with this, head over to Stuff Christians Like. Hilarious.)
* Waiting(I have absolutely no patience)
* Blogonese / Textanese (for those of you who don't speak Nikki, those words refer to special words or initials used just for blogging or texting. I don't like them, I know they save time, but I just get confused by all of that stuff)
* Rude people
* Chewy Food(it's a texture thing)
* Cold weather / snow / ice / sleet
* Repeating myself
* Repeating myself
* The TV / Car radio being loud (seriously people get a hearing aid and save the rest of us)
* Crushed bread
* Hot drinks
* Doing laundry again and again and again and again and again and again
* Stupid questions or answers
Ok, maybe I really am a cranky person. I didn't think I was before now, but I really think I need counseling. Chad's been sort of trained to deal with people like me. Maybe he can help out a little. I hope the Lord has a special reward for those of you that have to deal with me on a daily basis. You certainly deserve it.
I tried to put all the pics in one post, but apparently Blogger and my laptop are smarter than I am and it didn't exactly work. Here are pics of the gingerbread men and women(yes, we gave equal time to the ginger ladies). I baked them, and Chad decorated them. Aren't they great?
And yes, the first picture really does say Merry Christmas in gingerbread and frosting. Who would have thought such a thing was possible.
Earlier this evening Chad and I hosted a Christmas Party for the youth at our church. It really was a blast, we ate junk food, played games, sang carols, and ate more junk food. We wanted the kids to have a really good time and to be able to eat like pigs without anyone telling them they shouldn't eat this, or they should eat that. So, we had junk food only. Nothing healthy at all. It was great. 
As I have afore mentioned on this blog, we love football. All kinds of football. We unfortunately don't have time to go see High School games, but we kind of keep up with the teams in our area. However, we do keep up with College ball and of course the NFL.
On Saturday our beloved Alabama Crimson Tide battled the Florida Gators for the SEC Championship. The Tide fell to the Gators, but it was a great game. And, Bama played well. The Gators are a great team this year and they earned their win. And of course, there's always next year. Nick Saban seems to be a great coach with a lot of great leadership skills. And, there's always next year. Go Tide!!!
Then on Monday. The Carolina Panthers trampled the Buccaneers 38-23. Awesome game. Carolina played very well. And now, they are 1st place in the NFC South. Yippee.
And as a side note I really don't care for Jon Gruden. He just seems like an angry man. He's totally different that Tony Dungy, the previous coach at Tampa Bay. That's just my opinion.
More importantly than football, this weekend Chad was ordained as a minister. His service was on Saturday. It was a great service. The preachers that were in attendance did a great job at all of their respcetive roles. I am very proud of Chad and all that he does for our family. He has completed his BA, and is currently working on his MDV. Love Ya babe.
I feel like all of our weekends are drop dead run busy. So this one was no different. The exception lies in the fact that we went to the Dixie Stampede Christmas show on Saturday. That of course took up the whole day. The kids at church had earned their trip to the show by doing different things around the church. They seemed to have a great time. I know I did, but then again who doesn't like to eat with their hands.
Sunday was the same crazy that most Sundays are. It's just a full exciting day for us no matter how you slice it. Sunday morning the youth at our church were privileged to have a Youth Sunday. The oldest youth, and the young adults taught all of the Sunday School classes, the youth choir sang, and we had a special guest preacher. It was a great service. It's really cool to see the kids serving and doing the things the adults usually get to do.
Sunday evening we had a candlelight communion. It was a great way to have communion. Everyone took communion by families. It was very reverant, respectful, and holy. I personally enjoyed it very much.
Also, Chad and I got most of our Christmas shopping done this weekend. Both in stores and online. I love to shop. I don't know any other way to say it but I love to shop.
Have a great day everybody. It's almost Christmas.
