The Cautionary Tale of a Gingerbread Town

It was a day like all the others before it in Gingerbread Town. The gumdrops glistened in the sunshine, the candycanes sparkled, and the icing held firm and beautiful.

Everything was delectably perfect.. that was, until IT came.   At first, IT appeared friendly and although the townsfolk had never seen the likes of IT, they thought they may make a new friend.

Then the screaming began and the town burst into a firey panic as the townsfolk realized IT's true reason for visiting.

When it appeared that nothing could be worse, a new development sprang up and wreaked absolute havoc. 
 

The townsfolk cried and prayed in fear as the two monsters made comments such as "yum yum" and "Ooh, I like this candy."  This destruction made the tornado of 1993 seem like a day in the park in comparison. 

The two monsters let loose a hunger on the town that was never matched before.  They ate the roofs like they were mere cookies and sucked down the chimneys like candy.

When the monsters finally rushed off with tall milks in their giant hands, the damage was catastrophic.  The whole shaken town gathered together to re-organize and heal.  They decided their new tactic..  From hence forward, acceptable town building materials would include lima beans, brussels sprouts, and jalapeno peppers. 

Brunch With Santa and Great Friends

We felt so lucky to be invited to a brunch with Santa today with our dear friends, Jennifer, her cute kiddos, and her thoughtful parents. We all feasted and then got to meet and chat with Santa. The girls also had the opportunity to stuff and take home little stockings and grab a balloon creation on the way out. Jennifer is one of my oldest friends whom I actually grew up with in Southern California. Funny that we reconnected later in life in Nashville and that Natalie and Noelle are each only a few months apart from her two boys. After the brunch, we went to Jennifer's parents' beautiful home and the kids all decorated their own gingerbread house. What a perfect day!

Gingerbread House Decorating

Yesterday, we were given the great opportunity to participate in Cheekwood's gingerbread house decorating event.  Thanks to her very generous and thoughtful cousin Lindsey, Noelle received the event as a Christmas gift this year and it may just be Noelle's best Christmas gift too!  After we arrived, these beautifully boxed gingerbread houses were brought out and we quickly dove into decorating.  Natalie had so much fun deciding what candies go where on the roof and walls along with Momma.  Noelle and Dada were the landscapers around the house although Noelle may have eaten more candies than she actually placed!  Instead of eating the house after we were done (Natalie's first idea), the girls split the door and ate that.  Yum!  It was a very special treat for everyone and  I loved how it was all the fun parts of gingerbread houses with none of the work (getting those silly walls to stay up with the roof in place like I struggled with last year)!  Thanks again to the whole Weis family in New York for your sweet gift (pun intended!)  The house will now make for a beautiful decoration in our home this year. 

The Mini Nutcracker

Chris and I took the girls to the Mini Nutcracker tonight.  This is the regular production of The Nutcracker but people can bring their young children and not feel ostracized.  It was at Harpeth Hall School which is an elite private school in Nashville.  What an amazing time!  This will definitely have to become an annual tradition for us.  Natalie had seen the Nutcracker show in Los Angeles for the first time last year and has loved it ever since.  This was Noelle's first production.  Every time a new dancer came out, Noelle exclaimed "this is my favorite part too!"  At the end, she said "I want to see it again!"  Very cute.  We got mice cookies at intermission and afterwards, Natalie got her picture with Clara and with some mice.  Chris and I both were amazed at the quality of the dancing and the production.  They only charge $6 per adult and $4 per child.  What a tremendous opportunity to expose our girls to the arts! 

Family Radnor Lake Trip

Another beautiful day at Radnor Lake with the family. The girls walked around the whole lake. We saw some deer galloping in a large group over the trail and leaping over fallen trees.