Gifts from Great Uncle Jules and Great Aunt Doris

Before I start posting photos of the winter storm, I want to put a few pictures up of Savannah reading to the stuffed animals she and Julius received yesterday from their Great Uncle Jules (short for Julius) and Great Aunt Doris.
Our Julius is named after his Great Uncle Jules (and Great-grandfather Julius) so I think he feels a special connection to our little fella.
Savannah thinks every package that comes to the house is for her and I was happy to open it for her as she got very excited.
It didn't take her long to show them how things work in the Fitzgerald house... every dolly and stuffed animal needs a story to get him or her through the day.

Let it snow, let it snow...

Mother Nature decided she wanted to give us an early Christmas gift tonight and is sending in the snow...and I'm not talking a little, but a lot.
The local weatherman predicted we'll get between 16 and 24 inches of snow in the next 24 hours... a scary amount for a Georgia girl who thinks seeing a dusting is a big deal!
Pat, who has to work on Saturday, is staying at a motel room near his office so that he doesn't have to travel in snow tomorrow. It was my idea and his boss said the company would pay for it so they could be certain he would be able to work... he's even called in one of the employees and told him to take off so he could get his furlough day in this week!
Pat thanked me tonight because he realized getting home would have taken hours and getting into the office tomorrow would probably have been impossible. Although I miss having him here tonight and playing with the children tomorrow, I don't have to worry about him being on the roads while people are trying to get home.
I promise to dress up the kids and let them get out in the snow tomorrow for a few pictures (and maybe even sneak out in the early morning and get a few pictures from our front door.
I know it will be beautiful, but it certainly means we'll be stuck up on the hill for a few days and won't be able to see family before the holidays.

Savannah's Gingerbread House...

Savannah and I built our first gingerbread house this year from a kit I bought at the World Market. I actually built the house and did a little of the roof work and Savannah finished it up with her own unique touch.
As you can see, Savannah ate a few decorations as she went along.
Here are a few pictures from our adventure...

Freelancing Mama...

I've finally finished all of the freelance work for the newspaper and luckily it was more than enough to pay for all of the Christmas gifts I bought and "Santa" for the children. It's been a hectic three weeks, but it's worth it if we can put some money into the coffers that covers those extra expenses.
I got a chance to write about several great people who spend their time giving back to others. It reminds me that it doesn't matter what you do, but it's important to give back when you can.
I think my freelancing budget is tapped out this month as I've written eight stories and had almost 500 miles of mileage... so I'm not sure if I'll be doing any more stories until after the New Year.
I'm just thankful I was able to do all I got to do!

My early Christmas gift...

For a while now, I've been asking Pat for a new camera that would allow me to take pictures of the children at a speed that will move with them. A few days ago he surprised me with my early Christmas gift... a new Canon Rebel.
He gave it to me early so I could be practicing for next week when the Jolly Man comes to see the kiddies. We're going down to Mom and Dad's house in Virginia Beach and I'm hoping to get lots of great shots of paper flying and Julius climbing in and out of the boxes!
This is a powerful camera and I'm still learning all of its functions... so please bear with me as I practice on my children and place many of those pictures on here.
These pictures were taken at a nearby home that is ALL decorated for the holidays.
P.S. The picture of Savannah with the sticky mouth is after she ate cinnamon twists... as you can see she loved them.

Too cute...

Savannah and I went into Kroger yesterday and I gave her my change to put into the Salvation Army's collection can. The bell ringer was an older gentleman who looked like he was "ringing the bell" as part of holiday charity and not because he needed the money.
Anyway, Savannah walked up and put the change in one coin at a time... and when she was done she looked up at the man as if to say "What are you going to do with my money?"
When the man looked down at her and said "Merry Christmas!" she looked up and said "Merry Christmas" as she ran into the front doors of the store.
IT was adorable and made everyone that was around us say how cute she was!

Our Julius...

I couldn't add pictures without a few of the most special little guy in my world.
Julius, who will be 10 months old next week, is already taking a few steps on his own.
Each day he amazes me with his ability to do things at such a young age.
Here are a few pictures...