Leading up to the first Christmas

I am so thankful to have a job that allows me two weeks of stay-at-home-mommyhood during the holidays.  I have so enjoyed my time with Anderson and Richard and I truly cannot believe how fast the time flies!  Our break started off with a lot of time with friends and family, which was very enjoyable.  Anderson absolutely loved the Christmas tree and is going to be very disappointed when every place we go doesn't have a lit tree in their lobbies.  He also thought that he was responsible for opening (and taste-testing) all the gifts under our tree.  It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

We were fortunate enough to be invited to the Hohman cousin dinner so that everyone could meet Anderson.  We went to a restaurant called Simply Thai.  Richard went in with a negative attitude towards the food as they did not serve cheeseburgers, chicken tenders, or spaghetti and decided that he was not going to eat.  As the night wore on, I suppose he got hungry or felt as though he needed some adventure in his life and ordered Pad Thai and friend rice.  The result...true love.  He is itching to eat there again and feels that this is something he has truly been missing his whole life.  Anderson didn't get to enjoy the food, but he did enjoy getting to know some of his cousins!

The following Friday, Dec. 23, we went to the Whitley's house for a Christmas Eve Eve high school reunion brunch.  We had a lot of fun catching up and comparing stories.  It is so funny how little, and how much, everyone has changed.  The company and the food were both wonderful!  Anderson made some new friends and, of course, loved seeing his dear friend Chase again!

Unfortunately, on Christmas Eve morning, the Parrott family woke up to 3 inches of water in the basement.  That's right, our sump pump stopped working and a good majority of our belongings that were being stored in the basement have found their way to the garbage can.  Luckily, Richard and Tommy jumped into action and were able to get the situation under control before it got too out of hand.  Anderson was none the wiser.  He just thought it was great that Grandma and Grandpa came to visit him.

Overall, the break started off pretty well, and we are thankful that it was just a sump pump problem in the basement.  We are so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends!