Secret Santa!

JACKSON & JACOB

Yesterday was a very long, but very fun day! The biggest part of the day was spent w/Mark and I taking the Secret Santa pics at Jackson's school. Now, I must tell you, that we do the pictures very different than they ever did in the past. In the past, they have simply taken "polaroid" pics and that was that. Simple yet it got the job done. When they first asked me last year (this is our 2nd yr. taking the Santa pics) if I would be interested in taking the pics (the yearbook person is the one who usually does and I was the yearbook person) - I said I was definately interested, but there was NO WAY I was taking "polaroid" pics! LOLOLOLOL! They soon realized just how "into" pictures Cissalynn was!!! A polaroid pic just wouldn't do for me! LOL!!! :) Sooooo, we load up all of our picture necessities such as backdrops, tripods, lighting and decorations. We go over to the school on Friday evening and set up only to be back at the school Sat. morn (by 7:00 am) to be ready to take pics by 8:00 when Secret Santa starts! I was a bit more anxious this year than last and I'm not sure why! I just get like that. Once things get started it is fine. I just get anxious leading up to it. This year like last year was a big success and lots of fun! Everyone seems to like the pictures and I have fun taking them. It is truly my calling in life (besides being a mom)! :)) Soooooo, after the pics are done and we help clean everything up (which, btw, is a BIG JOB), Mark and I come home and do a little cleaning. Then, we treat ourselves to Olive Garden for dinner and had a real nice time. Oh, I forgot an important little detail! lol!!! My mom was babysitting my kids for us!!!!! WooHoo!!!! Mark and I never go out to eat by ourselves!!!!!! It is a rare occasion and a special treat for us!!!! THANK YOU, MOM & DAD for watching our boys!!!!!! We truly appreciate it!!!!!!!!!!!! Sooooo, we go to Olive Garden (which, btw, my brother works there so we requested him) and had a nice dinner. But, the neatest part of all was sitting in the booth talking and waiting for our food and.........................our nephew from Circleville walks by!!!!!! We haven't seen him since Sept. so it was sooooooo cool to run into him! He was w/some school kids who had gone to some seminar and were eating out on their way home. Who would think he would be at the same place as us at the same time!!!!! Too Funny!!!!!!! :)) I have to tell you, tho, that we ran into this same nephew and his brother and stepdad last year at Kings Island!!!!!!! We were there w/some friends and they were there w/their baseball team! Neither of us knew the other were going!!!! Everyone I was w/went to ride a rollercoaster and I waited (holding all the stuff 'cause I was a little sick). Anyway, I am sitting there enjoying being a people watcher and I suddenly think, "that looks like my nephew in that group of boys!" I think, "it can't be" so I just sit there, but as he starts to walk past I think, "OMG, it IS my nephew!!!" Soooo, of course, I stop them and say hello!!!!!! But, it was soooo funny! And it also makes the Olive Garden "run in" even more funny, too!!!! :)

Soooo, that is my Saturday in a nutshell. We picked the kids up after dinner and looked at some Christmas lights and then came home! It ended up being a real nice day!!!! I have to end my blog today w/some words that will already be familiar to some (Carleta). I wrote the newsletter for the preschool this month and this is a little sample of it!

"Take a moment to sit quietly and say a prayer for all the good things in your life! Amongst all the chaos in our lives there is so much goodness! God wants the best for each of us!"

Have a good week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :))