It's a Jolly Holiday

Thanksgiving White Elephant Exchange.  I was pretty proud of our gifts.  Some used Scentsy, a Turbie Twist, and ...

...this bad boy.  Who is Cody Simpson?  Who cares?  I got him for $1 at Toys R Us.

Noelle and Ruby made paper plate masterpieces.

Making Gingerbread houses with our friends.

Tempting.

They won't miss a gumdrop or two.

2nd grade sing-a-long.  There's my boy.

A handful of keyboards were donated to the school.  Top kids in Kindergarten and 5th grade were selected to be the first to learn.  Noelle is the smartest Kindergartner, so naturally, she was chosen.  It's not bragging, it's just facts.

This is typically our view of Sam during any performance.  Music and people are good things to hide behind.

Playing in the snow.

Let the present opening commence.

She wanted these toys so badly.  She was tickled that they "talked".

Legos and Legos and more Legos.

Behold.

About a week before Christmas, Sam began fervently asking for a remote control helicopter.  To which we countered that two years prior he got one and it kept breaking and we would exchange and it would break times 30.  But he persisted.  And we said it was too late for Santa to make changes now.  And he wrote a letter to Santa on Christmas Eve begging one last time for a helicopter.  And we sighed and quoted the Rolling Stones, "You can't always get what you want."  Then comes Christmas morning with it's scooter and shelf system and more Legos.  Very last present came from his birth mother.  It came wrapped but I guessed it was more Legos (since she had previously asked and that's what I told her Sam would like).  She had no idea Sam wanted a helicopter.  It was a helicopter.  And oh the joy!  "But if you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need."

Peace out.