Parties! Presents! and PawPaws! Oh my!

We have certainly had a Merry Christmas this year.  Cora is at a very fun age and has been able to really enjoy some aspects of Christmas.  She's attended several parties, one of which being the youth party held at our house.  This one was especially fun for her as Daddy's white elephant prize was a "kitty kitty" that she went crazy over. (Daddy, not so much, but noone would steal it from him after they saw how much Cora loved it.)  Cheeseballs--cheetoh's type--were also a new thing for her at the party and her body was a little orange for a few days afterward, proving how much she loved them. 

 

Presents--an entirely new experience this year.  Last year, Cora wasn't even sitting up yet at Christmas and seemed to be in a daze from staring at the Christmas tree lights.  This year, she was crazy about presents and was pretty good about keeping her fingers off the tree.  I know, it was an amazing accomplishment on our part!  HA!  Gift bags seemed to be easier for her to tear into--pulling tissue paper out and throwing it over her shoulder seemed to be a very fun game.  Who cares what was underneath it all?  She was also able to rip paper off some packages if someone started it for her.  And the look on her face and "Oooohhhs"  that accompanied her new discoveries were priceless.  Favorite present for Cora?  I would guess her bounce and spin Zebra.  Its also one of my faves to watch her play on. 

 

Finally, Cora spent plenty of time playing with both her PawPaws --PawPaw Brown and Grandpa Meadors.  Christmas Eve and Day were spent visiting the Brown side of the family, eating lots of good food and watching Cora play with new presents and try on new dresses.  I have a feeling she doesn't want to be a model--she wasn't too fond of her wardrobe changes.  My folks and brother came down on Wednesday and stayed til Saturday.  More games with Cora, way too many more presents from people who we rarely get to see but love to spoil our Cora, and more good food. 

It certainly has been a wonderful Christmas.  Here's looking to a Happy New Year!

Mrs.Brown is at the liquor store and her van blew up!

That was word around school the day of our fire. A school bus had passed and Geron motioned them down to relay word to the school that we were stranded. We were parked in a liquor store parking lot which was located at a VERY VERY busy intersection. Lots of children had seen us out in the cold as they rode to school that morning. In fact, that's how my good friend, Laurie, received word of our accident. A student had told her that I was at the liquor store and my van had blown up.

Meanwhile, a good samaritan had driven up in a large SUV, and allowed Cora and I to wait in its warm cab while he remained outside talking to Geron. He'd offered to take us anywhere we needed to go, but I knew my in-laws were on the way, so we decided to wait. And, he let us stay in the vehicle as long as we needed. Within minutes, Laurie showed up and parked her car in front of the store, not in a space--but keep in mind, neither were the van, SUV, FIRE ENGINE, nor my in-laws' van (they'd shown up just after Laurie) parked in one. As Laurie loaded Cora and I into her car, the owner of the liqour store whose lot we occupied came out and asked Laurie to repark her car properly in a space. She was going to hurt his buisness. I don't know what kind of buisness he thought he'd get with the van-shaped inferno and FIRE TRUCK in his lot, but Laurie's small car was certainly going to cost him some sales--GIVE ME A BREAK!

Anyway, we are thankful for God's protection and provision in this time. I am certainly thankful for the good soul who offered us a warm place to wait from the cold, for my friend Laurie who showed up right away and took Cora and me home. For my in-laws who have helped us numerous times and waited with Geron for the tow truck that day, For the children at school who gave me such huge hugs on Friday when I returned to work, telling me they were so glad I was okay. And for my young, hispanic, second grade friend who said "I'm glad you were able to get your baby's things out of the van. That would have cost you a lot of money to have to buy new stuff." I couldn't believe such a young mind understood a problem such as that. Church family who said they were so thankful we were all safe and noone was hurt--friends even willing to loan us their vehicle until we can find another. None of this is about people being nice. GOD HAS BEEN GOOD TO US. He uses those who are willing to bring about his good work. And for this I am thankful.

toast

yesterday in the middle of our morning drive the van started smoking...

i pulled over and turned the motor off and it got worse...

i realized sometime shortly later that our van was on fire...

we all got out ok and are fine...

but the van is bad...real bad....it's toast


here's the pics