Pure Joy

Here is Payton's new train in action!

Christmas Chaos

It was such a fun Christmas morning with all of the Heckmans & Likens here to celebrate in the fun. The Christmas music was playing, the mimosas were flowing, the food was never-ending, and the repeated chorus of "Is my turn to open another present?!?" was heard over and over again. I guess you can't blame a 3-year old when he sees tons of presents sitting before him knowing that each one could contain a magical gift.

And magical gifts they were! He got so many wonderful gifts including his first real electric train (thanks Grandma & Grandpa Heckman!!!), and the cutest Lionel railroad crossing coin bank. And we got a Wii!! It's SO much fun and Payton loves to play with it too. No doubt he'll be kicking our behinds on the games real soon.

Here are some pics from the fun day...

Christmas Morning

Here it is, 6:43 a.m. on Christmas morning. My little 3 year old tucked tightly in bed sleeping like an angel and I sit here with such great anticipation that I can't sleep. My loving husband's alarm clock went off at 5:45 a.m. and since then I've been awake wondering what this morning will look like once the chaos begins. Right now it's so quiet and peaceful. The tree is decorated so beautifully with perfectly wrapped gifts underneath. There are no torn paper scraps hiding under the couches, no crumbs, drips or spills from the Christmas buffet, no one trying to talk over each other - or over loud toys... just quiet peacefulness. I'm soaking it up and taking a few moments to think back to what it must have been like over a thousand years ago when God sent his son to be born on earth. To become human. To experience pain. What must it have been like when he saw Mary & Joseph hold him and look into his eyes for the first time... knowing that only a short lifespan awaited him. Knowing that he would die a painful death on the cross for our sins. I just cannot imagine.

When I look back on all of the exciting, meaninful, wonderful moments I've experienced in my life, the birth of my son ranks only second to marrying the love of my life. So on this special day when we recognize Jesus' birth, I hope that we will all take a moment to think about the power of a baby being born. How it is such a miracle. How much God loves us to give us His son to be born as a human. It is truly a wonderous day.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Wild Wonderland at Zoo

We went with some friends to the zoo's "Wild Wonderland" event the other night. It was very chilly that evening (especially when we went on the skyride!!). But Payton had a ball and has discovered that he really enjoys rollercoasters (gets that from his Daddy). They also had decorated windows like the ones in NYC, as well as real live reindeers! Here are some pics from the evening...

Budding photographer

Yesterday afternoon we walked up to the little Village area by our house - kind of as a Christmas present to Rohy since he doesn't get to go up there that often, but LOVES it. Anyhow, I was taking a few pictures of Payton & Brian running around the fountain and Payton asked if he could take a picture. Of course, being a digital camera, I didn't mind if he took a hundred pictures because I knew I could easily delete them. But he actually took several really good photos (and a few with our heads cut off, but who doesn't do that??). I've put them below in a slideshow, and I think you'll be impressed...

Thank you!!!

Just wanted to post some "live" footage of Payton playing with his new Christmas train. Thank you so much Uncle Dave, Aunt Kara, Alex & Zachary!!!

Some Christmas Fun

This Christmas season has been really special with Payton. He is at the perfect age to experience the true awe and wonder that comes with the season. On one hand, he totally gets the true meaning behind Christmas and talks about baby Jesus and the manger... in fact, last night at a Christmas party, he asked me why the manger was called a "manger" and not a "stable" since there were animals in it. I love the mind of a 3-year old!

On the other hand, he is totally enthralled with the lights, decorations, Christmas trees, Santa, elves, every single Christmas TV show and movie, and all of the treats that come along with this time of year.

We've been bouncing from one Christmas event to the next, and loving every minute of it! Last week we went with our friends Rachel & Lilly to see the Victorian Christmas Stroll at the University of Tampa. The kids enjoyed looking at all of the different trees, but just couldn't understand why they couldn't touch anything. Here are a couple of pics...

Then on Saturday night, our community had its annual "Santa parade." One of our friends had a block party in their driveway and all the kids had a ball playing until the "Big Guy" arrived on top of a firetruck. Payton wasn't too thrilled with all the chaos that came along with the sirens and mass children running amok. But overall, he had a good time. Here are some pics...

Boys will be boys

I just had to post this photo from last weekend when we went to Orlando to surpise my mother for her birthday. After breakfast on Saturday Paca (my dad) had to take Payton to their favorite store...

Clearly, I'm still learning...

Okay, so it didn't occur to me last night when I was filming the beautiful light show at the new Wiregrass Mall that I was filming it sideways. So, turn your computer on its side if you'd like to view this stunning video...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I'll admit that in Florida it can be difficult getting into the Christmas spirit when the weather is still hovering in the upper 70's. But last night was different.

It was a crisp 60 degrees when we headed up to the new Wiregrass Mall up in Brandon with our good friends, the Bunkleys. Most of the mall is outdoors, with a giant center courtyard where they have a nightly Christmas lightshow (see previous blog).

As we were walking amongst the hundreds of other shoppers all bundled in their jackets and scarves, with Christmas music playing over the AP system... it really felt like Christmastime. Even better, there was a little "kids town" where the kids could run through different houses and there was a real "mini train" that the kids could ride. We even got a great surprise when we ran into our other friends, the Bravos!

It was a great night and definitely put me in the mood for the season. It's a good thing too, as we have 4 Christmas parties this weekend! Okay, I'm off to make some Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Hot Chocolate! Enjoy the photos from last night...

Riding the streetcar

My friend Jen introduced us to the streetcar down in Channelside last week. It's probably as close as Payton will ever get to riding a real train here in Tampa, so he was thrilled to go on a little adventure with his friends Max & Quinn. Here are some pics...

Christmas Carolling via Computer

Since we can't come carolling to your door, we hope you enjoy this little ditty via "blog-land." Merry Christmas!

We are Thankful

It seems almost impossible to flip through the morning paper without reading some really depressing headlines about the economy or the fighting and wars going on in other countries. With all of this bad news out there, we realize now more than ever the things that we are truly grateful for.

This Thanksgiving we spent the day with the Heckmans in Bradenton. Not only was it a wonderful day spent with lots of family, there was also tons of great food! Of course, what would Thanksgiving be without a little football? Brian and Payton threw around the football on the golf course, and then Payton played more football with his second-cousin Heather. In the end, we all left totally stuffed and ready for a good nap!

Thanks so much for all the hard work that went into the meal Mom & Dad - we had a great time.