Don’t Swallow Your Gum

I'm not going to comment much on this one!  But yeah, don't swallow your gum.  It was somewhat of a mishmash sort of day, with work thrown in and a few other small events.  Here's Maddie getting to one of her advent calendars this morning...

And here's me standing behind the headless scarecrow that's still in the garage. 

The pumpkin head is behind me against the wall there.  I think it might be time to move it downstairs now!  One thing that is looking nice in the living room is our amaryllis.  It has bloomed now, just in time for our Christmas visitors.

Here's a closer look at the bloom.  All four of them are brilliant red, and a Christmas season tradition.  This one came up very fast compared to previous years!

We had taekwondo practice tonight - Team Edge practice.  Maddie skipped Free Chapel Youth to attend, as there is about a week and a half until practice.  The entire family was there - Uncle George, Maddie's cousin Brandon, Mom, Nana and myself.  We watched with other parents through the windows as the kids perfected their efforts.  Maddie is looking fantastic with the bo staff!

Afterwards, we all squeezed in the large truck Uncle George brought, and we went over to Texas Roadhouse for a large feast!  It was a nice little gathering together, and the food and service were perfect.  I love the little trees they put up there for some reason.  I think it's just that we've been coming there at Christmas time each year and those little traditions begin to take on more meaning.  Anyway, we got home after that, and there wasn't too much time for much else.  Maddie and I went upstairs to continue reading "Hogfather," which you can see here below.  

Maddie took a picture from above, literally standing on the bed.  She lines up all these plush friends to hear the night's story, and as you can see, it's quite an entourage still.  We read for a bit, and after that it was time for some sleep.  We said our prayers, and not long after that, everyone was all fast asleep.