MC n' HNY

Whew...I can't believe the holidays are over. It's 2009, which means that all of the groups, organization and companies that have big goals to reach by 2010 better get their act together, huh? There's been no mention of any resolutions around our home this year. Even if there were, blogging about them probably wouldn't be the best option. Anyway, Happy New Year to everyone who reads. We hope you have a blessed 2009.

Christmas was so much fun for us. John's family was in town and my parents came on Christmas Day. John was also home more than usual on the days before and after Christmas. We tried to take advantage of this rare opportunity, so we went to Savannah. Going to Savannah has become one of our favorite things to do. We don't exactly do much when we go other than walk around the squares, eat at cheap restaurants and take fun pictures. But we like it, and so do the boys.

Look, folks!!! It's Paula Deen!!!! We experienced a Christmas miracle of sorts, at least for parents of 1 and 3 year old boys. We walked passed a restaurant, asked them how long the wait would be and they said, "Wait? There's no wait! Common' in!" Hallelujah!!! Triple hallelujas for the restaurant being The Lady and Sons, which is Paula's restaurant. It was yum. Finn proved that he is like his Mama in more than just the physical appearance category. He chowed on the collard greens like they were going out of style.

On the 23rd, we packed up and had a family slumber party at John's parents. Jack had the pleasant surprise of meeting Santa, who stopped in to "see if Jack was behaving." Jack was jumping up and down when he realized who was at the door. He quickly ran to get his reindeer antlers because he knew Santa would be pleased. And he was. He brought Jack the "white race car" (Speed Racer) that he had anticipated. Finn also scored big this year. Per the usual, I got wrapped up in the moment and didn't get any good pictures of the kids and their loot.

This was Christmas Eve morning with John's family. He and his mom and sister, Jackie, posed for a quick shot.

We went to the Christmas Eve service at our church that evening. It was so cool. Candlelight, Christmas music, people wearing red sweaters even though it's hot outside, everyone sitting with their random relatives from out of town, coming together to celebrate why Christmas is the mother of all big deals, to learn about the greatest gift ever given. The gift you don't have to wait to get, or save money to buy and is recession-proof.

On the day after Christmas, we went back to Savannah for some more exploring fun. We found a really cool gas station, a huge playground, and a cupcake store. The boys were upset to leave both the cupcake store and playground, so we're unsure which was their favorite.

2008 will go down in the Ussery annals as the year of firearms. My parents gave John an over under (never even knew what that was before 2 weeks ago) and his parents got Jeffrey one as well. We're both the type of people that when we get something new we have to try it out. That is a difficult thing to hide when you buy a new coat and live in Bluffton, especially when it's 80 degrees on Christmas Day. Anyway, John gave the gun a whirl a few times over the holidays. Jackie was really good at shooting clays. Jack did okay the first time, but we chalked it up to his poor vision and inability to hold the weight of it. (THAT WAS A JOKE. JACK DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THERE IS A GUN AND FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH HE THINKS ALL GUNS SHOOT WATER.)


Step aside, Annie! Check out Mama Uss with her shotgun!!!! YEEEHAW!!!! I would tell you to be fearful of your life, but it appears that being not 100% terrible at some other sports does not mean that you're a good shot.

Jack rocked in the holidays with a new do. This was by far the most pleasant trip to the salon we've ever had. Jack sat there and let them cut his hair, clippers, razors and all. I wish I had a picture of the amazing mohawk they left him with. He looked like a little Travis Barker sans the full body tattoos.

If Finn did have a resolution, I hope it would be to master eating with utensils. He does amazingly well for the start...then when he's done with the food, he moves on to art time. He's the canvas for sure.

On New Year's Eve we celebrated with an impromptu dinner with the Dentons and Norrises. The kids were maniacs and were dancing and playing all over the house. It was so much fun. They're all little buddies.

After everyone left and we put Finn to bed, we had some bonding time with Jack. We didn't really know how to celebrate with a 3 year old on New Year's Eve, so we threw in some bubba teeth, snapped a photo and called it a night.


Did anyone happen to catch the airing of all the daredevil insanities on New Year's Eve? John and I were too sad to watch Dick Clark so we flipped around only to find multiple channels of people doing seriously scary things! Isn't there a better way to ring in the new year than trying to back flip a pick up truck? Wait. Yes, there is. It's to jump a dirt bike onto a 100 ft. structure that only has a 40ft. long landing and then basically free fall back off the structure, breaking and lacerating your hand in front of a gazillion people. We couldn't stop watching as crazy as it was. It made our bubba teeth stunt look amazingly normal.

Happy New Year, blog readers!!!!