Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Sorry to disappoint, but it will be a few more days until the Christmas pictures are posted. Laura and the girls went to Ohio to see family and they have the camera with them. We had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family and were very blessed with some wonderful presents. We are so lucky to have family close by that we can spend time with.
We hope that all of you had a great Christmas and that 2009 is even better!

The Christmas Season has officially begun!

Here are some pictures from this past weekend. It was a busy weekend with Delainey decorating miniature gingerbread men (thanks Aunt Katie!), Christmas party Friday night, dinner with the Allens on Saturday night, Delainey went to the Nutcracker with her grandmothers on Sunday and dinner with the Olivers Sunday night. The busy Christmas season has begun!

The Disco Elves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Dirty Santa Swap

We combined our Bible Study group and our Bunco group (as if we played Bunco any longer) to exchange (steal) gifts in a "Dirty Santa Swap" this year. I hope I speak for everyone when I say we had a fantastic time!!! I'm sure you will recognize some fellow bloggers on here and the ones you don't recognize we will get addicted soon (some of them facebook so I know they are familiar with addiciton!). Anyway, thank you Dara for a lovely evening and thank you ladies for being good friends. I've said it before and I'll say it again...y'all are the best! Love you, Laura

We were tagged!

One is Not So Lonely tagged us and we must share six quirky holiday things about us.

1. Stephen refuses to allow Laura or the girls to open ANY presents before Christmas morning. I was never allowed too and I want to carry that same tradition on with my family.
2. Stephen is addicted to the holiday classics "The Christmas Story" and "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. Laura cannot stand either of these movies and this becomes a Christmas problem every year! How can you not love these movies?
3. Every year my parents have thrown a Christmas Eve party for all of their close friends since most of them were transplants. Mom decided last year to continue on this tradition and we still look forward to having this special time with friends and family. It is crazy how when this tradition started we were all kids and now we bring our own kids.
4. Laura was desperate to have a place to have our stockings hung this year. So thankfully Pie came over and built us a mantle. Now the stockings are hung by the chimney with care. The crazy thing is after he put up the mantle, we discovered the bricks that make the mantle are at an angle.
5. Every year we celebrate Christmas with Laura's family just a few days before Christmas. This is tough for me to digest because of quirk #1, but I have caved and joined in the festivities. The funny thing is that Pie refers to this celebration as The Winter Solstice. Don't ask any questions and don't try to understand it. Resistance is futile!
6. 2008 will be the first year we celebrate Christmas at our new house. Last year we were temporarily living with at my parents house and woke up Christmas morning there. I know Delainey and Jac are excited to have Santa come down our chimney!

Birthday Celebration

In honor of Laura's 30th birthday several of her friends (to many to thank!) threw her a party. Everyone and their spouses and children came over and we had a great time. We grilled some burgers and hot dogs and had all the fixins. I know Laura appreciated everyone coming over here and we all had a blast.

The Big 3-0 is here!!!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife. Today she is 30, but she doesn't look a day over 29. Just kidding baby! I could not ask for a better wife or mother to my children. I hope she keeps me around to celebrate the next 30 years and beyond.

Laura, you are my best friend and you deserve the best. Here is to an awesome birthday! Love ya babe!

34-14!

The score says it all ladies and gentlemen! Laura and I had the priviledge to go to Clemson on Saturday for the USC-Clemson game and since Jac is still somewhat attached to her Mommy, she came along for the ride. We had a good time and Katie and Brian gave us some tickets to the West Zone, which worked out great. Laura and Jac spent most of the game inside the heat and let Daddy sit out in the cold. It was all worth it though!

Missing Poppie

Dec. 2nd is a special and sad day for The Columbia Fam. Last year on Dec. 2nd, my Dad (Poppie to Delainey) lost his long battle with cancer. The holidays have been emotional for me this year and I really can't believe it has been one year. My Dad was a special guy and not a day goes by that I don't miss the guy. I still have his numbers and e-mail address in my Blackberry because I am just not ready to get rid of them yet.

Dad went out of his way to welcome his two daughter-in-laws into the family and always gave them a hard time just like he did his two sons. The apple of his eye was Delainey and I know he would have been overwhelmed with happiness if he had been around to welcome Jac. Anyone that knew my Dad loved him. I wish everyone could have known my Dad.

He fought a long and courageous battle against cancer and I couldn't have been more proud of him. I know it is selfish to still want to have him here and I know that he is no longer in pain, but damnit I miss him!

Love you Dad!

Isn't it supposed to be to cold for snakes?!?!

So imagine my astonishment when I looked out the window Friday afternoon and saw Buddy (aka The Snake Killer) with what I thought was a piece of rope hanging out of his mouth. Then it dawned on me that this was no rope. Out the backdoor I flew and grabbed the hoe, which stays by the back door since the first snake incident, and then chased Buddy around until he gave up his bounty. After that, use your imagination of what happened from the pictures above.

If anyone knows what kind of snake it is, let me know. I hope this is the last one we find for awhile.

A Visit from Guam!

So Brian and Katie came over for a visit last night and we had a blast. Brian and Katie live in Guam and we have not seen them for over a year and it was good to catch up with them along with Emily, and some of Brian's college friends and their wives. We ate a lot of pizza, drank a lot of beer, Firefly, and wine, and had a good time chatting and listening to music. As you can see from the pictures, Emily and Laura even decided to start dancing at one point. We were having so much fun that Jac refused to go to sleep for the longest time, personally I think she was just enjoying being the center of attention.

We hope we don't have to wait as long to see Brian and Katie again!

The Christmas Story

So The Christmas Story is one of my favorite movies of all time. I look forward to the all day marathons on TBS over the holiday season. Laura cannot stand the movie! Anyway, she gets ready to take Jac out today and imagine the first thing that pops to my head when I see her in this outfit...Doesn't she look like the little brother? "I can't put my arms down!"

Jac Meets Tickle Me Elmo

This weekend while doing some Christmas shopping we discovered that Jac loves toys that move and talk. So as soon as we got home, we went and found Delainey's tickle me Elmo in her toy pile and let Jac go to town. She loved it!

The Girls

So Jac has a new name...the Queen of double ear infections. This girl is working on getting over her 3rd double ear infection in as many months. The bad thing is, she never runs a fever and the only way we know something is wrong is that she will have a really bad night of being up and down.

Delainey also has a new title...the Queen of crazy! Since Daddy was in home in bed for two days straight with probably the flu and was eating in bed off a tray, she had to eat off a tray too. It didn't matter that she was sitting at the table!

Alumni Reception

Last week Laura and I attended the College of Business and Behavioral Science Alumni Reception. We had a good time talking to some fellow Tigers as well as meeting the Dean and Associate Dean.

I really like the first picture.

New Best Friends

Dog and Beth

So Laura and I were invited to an adult Halloween party this year and Laura struggled with a couples costume idea. Suddenly one day at work, I got the call and the decision had been made! We are going as Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife Beth. See the results below!

Beth discussing revoking a bond with the trainee

Dog and Beth

We are coming to get you brothas and sistas!

Beth and The Twister

The two Beths

What's better than the two Dogs?

Dwight, Angela, and Napoleon

All the girls!

Best costume of the night, Mr. Operation!