That Bloomin' Elf!

This morning, our elf was "in bloom," with another creative surprise.  Next to him was a watering can, and the Shrek Chia Pet we tried out once upon a time.  I think it may be time to try out Shrek once again, and give him hair once more.  Mommy found the seeds, so I think we'll give it a try!  In the meantime, this little guy seems to be blooming nicely.

Here's Madison, after school today.  We dropped by Home Depot on the way home in order to get some stacks of wood for the fire.  Madison cannot resist the call of these stand-up things that you put your head through in order to pose for a picture.  Home Depot had two of them, and we couldn't stop ourselves from posting a picture here either.  So here it is, a snapshot of Madison as an elf in a VW van.

The guy down the road from us now finally has wood, which is ironic because the moment he put it out there is all kinds of rain.  The wood is soaked.  Nonetheless, that's our favorite place to go grab some stacks of wood, and it's right down the road from us - so we'll be back to get that soon enough.  We'll have to, because the weather is about to get really chilly here.  A glance at the forecast shows us visiting temperatures in the 20's rather soon.  While that is normal for winter, it's quite a sudden shift for us.

Madison had her enrichment class today after school, that themed art class that has been going on the last four weeks.  She's loved it, creating a reindeer that we're interested in seeing very soon.  She really likes this art class.

Madison did her piano some more, practicing for that recital which is getting closer - it's Friday.  The weather is dry outside, finally, although a bit windy in the afternoon.  All that stopped though, just in time, for our annual Lake Lanier Islands service outside.  The church has an event where we sing Christmas songs and Pastor speaks a brief message related to Christmas.  Afterwards, families are invited to go out and see the lights at Lake Lanier Islands.  We haven't seen them in years.  Last year, we saw Callaway Gardens, and then a great light display down near Satellite Beach.  I'm not sure where we're going this year.  We didn't see anything tonight, because Mommy and Madison stayed home.  The reason?  School!  Madison has to get up at 6:00 am each morning, and with all that's going on, it's just best that she gets a good night's rest for her health, and of course her grades too.  We're pretty strict about bedtimes.  So Daddy was there helping out, serving, directing traffic, carrying hot chocolate cups, helping folks cross the street and so forth.  Yes, it got colder tonight.  But it was sweet, and just a wonderful time for everyone.  We're especially grateful the rain stopped long enough for us to have our event.  Lots of people showed up, and it was a good time for everyone.

Madison went to bed on time tonight, as we mentioned above.  But she was very insistent that Mommy not miss the television event scheduled for tonight.  It was another live musical performance, "Hairspray."  Mommy said it turned out really good.  Daddy got home to see the tail end of it, and of course that one song is stuck in my head now.  Which is better than the "Tinselmania" song from the children's play the other day.

But before Madison went to sleep tonight, something happened:  she lost another tooth.  Yeah, you read that right.  She lost another tooth.  Can you believe it?  She's losing them fast now!  So we'll have another unique night here, one with a mischievous elf at work, and one with a visiting Tooth Fairy.  Stay tuned to see what happens there!