Pictures of Abby

Michelle was telling me that I don't have enough Abby pictures on here...so here you go - enjoy!

Christmas with the Stuckeys

Christmas is a full week-long event in our family.

Cody & Abby had their Christmas party at school last Thursday and Grandma Carolyn & I were able to join them for a few minutes. I love seeing all of Cody's classmates sitting in their miniature chairs and being so well-behaved. I found out this week that he has a girlfriend "Morgan" who he kissed on the lips! Oh my!



At the office this week, we had some fun (not too different than usual). Scott gave me a "Terri Sue Who" hairdo by using a plastic water bottle and a rubber band. It was pretty neat having a cone head. We just had to get a picture of it.








On Thursday, we had dinner with the Kinneys (see pic of Coleman and her cute smile) before going to see a live Nativity that some fellow Seacoasters had in Belle Hall - it was amazing!

Unfortunately we weren't able to stay for the whole thing. Cody was too excited about the live animals and kept saying "sheep, sheep, goat, goat", which was a little distracting. Clay was doing his best to keep him focused on the show, but Cody couldn't keep quiet. So, I walked him down to the other end and there were some basketball hoops...so of course he started shouting "ball, ball, ball"!




We decided it would just be best to call it a night....so we went home. Kudos to the Pouches for making such a wonderful Nativity production for their neighborhood - there had to be well over a hundred people there watching.



Here are a few more cute Cody pictures...And yes, that's his potty on his head - he calls it a "hat".









Sunday, we went to Lee & Martha Ann's house for an early Christmas get-together. Cody loved his HotWheels cars and Abby got some cool baby chew toys. We actually got a picture of all four of us together and it isn't too bad. (That was one of my Christmas wishes.)

Christmas morning arrives....

We have two very happy kids!

Dream Center kicks off Christmas

In my opinion, the Dream Center in North Charleston is one of the coolest things that our church has done for our neediest community. I really haven't even been involved with it at all, but I did get to see a small glimpse of their impact on the North Charleston Community this past Saturday. People came from all over to receive free toys (gift wrapped and everything) for their children while their kids played outside. There were jump castles, a football game, four square, balloon animals, and fire trucks to climb on...the kids were having a blast!

Inside the Dream Center, people were able to pick out toys for their kids and Seacoast volunteers wrapped them up and some even helped carry the packages home for them.

Outside, there was free hot chocolate and Santa made his way around and visited with the kids. I'm sure those kids have never seen anything like it before. Kids were laughing and smiling and giving people hugs - some of these kids probably have never even been to our church before. Some may have never been to a church period....I'm just glad that our folks could provide this amazing opportunity for the kids to have a little fun and hopefully show them the love of Jesus through their generosity.


The line of people stretched around the building and out to the street. People were carrying bags full of toys home for their kids - many of which would have gone without anything for Christmas if the generous folks had not provided them a little something special to put under the tree. That is what Christmas is all about!




I haven't heard any reports on the number of folks served or the number of toys handed out, but I'm sure it was a lot! I'll try to update this once I get a number. If you have any clothes to donate to the Dream Closet, they are always taking donations - especially winter coats during these cold months.

A Trip to see the Festival of Lights

Nothing says Christmas in the Lowcountry like a trip to James Island County Park to see the lights. It gets better each time and this year was especially nice because it was the first year taking Cody & Abby. We drank hot chocolate and Cody had his first funnel cake....we decided to teach Cody to roast marshmellows next year - teaching him about burning things can wait a little longer!



It was rather cold and Abby was asleep, so she was nice and bundled up in her seat with only her eyes and nose visible from under the blankets. Cody rode in the front seat of the double stroller and loved the view. He called out the names of the shapes that he saw: "fish", "angel", "boat", etc. It was so cute! I think my favorite two were the Cooper River Bridges and the Charleston 9 lights.









We even stood in line to see Santa. Poor Clay was having such a hard time trying to hold Cody still in line for what seemed like 30 minutes or more - which is not easy to do when he has had sugar and it is way past his bed time. Once we finally got up to see Santa, Cody got shy and refused to sit on Santa's lap and clung on tight to my neck. So I got to go in the sleigh with Cody and Santa for the picture - Ho, Ho Ho! Can't wait to do it all again next year! : )

Mackenzie's Birthday Party

Cody went to Mackenzie's Birthday Party this past weekend. We can't believe she is 4 years old already! (I didn't even get a picture of her...bummer!)

Clay spiked Cody's hair and he was the talk of the town. We had people coming up and commenting on how cute he was or they would just ask "is he yours?" I'm not sure if that is just a polite way of saying "what kind of person does that to their son's hair?"

Nonetheless, he did look cute and he had the cool shirt to match. It read: "I'm with the band" ...he's destined to be a drummer! Clay even punked up his hair to match Cody's.


Here are a few pictures from the trip to Chuck E Cheese. Cody played games...well, actually he just liked putting the tokens in the slots and occasionally he would take people's skeeballs when they weren't looking. I got him to ride a motorcycle ride with me...that lasted for about 10 seconds. Oh well, he's not into the games yet, but he loved the pizza and the music....and the big mouse mascot.


Speaking of that, we told Cody that the big mouse was "Mee Muck" (that's Cody-eese for Mickey Mouse). I think he actually believed us...heck, that's a lot cheaper than going to Disney World! We captured his first meeting with Mee Muck (Chuck E Cheese). Cody seemed a little shy but eventually gave him "five". Check out the video.


He ended up having a meltdown (because he had missed his nap) and we had to leave rather quickly. He feel asleep as we were pulling out of the parking lot. All in all, it was a great day!

What I want for Christmas...

Not in any particular order...

• a full night's sleep (ok, maybe this is my number one wish!)
  
• a date with my husband (dinner, dancing, and dessert)


• a good movie at the theater (I don't even remember the last movie I saw at the theater)


• a relaxing massage (ahhh)


• an extra day in the week (a true day of rest!)


• socks (so I don't have to steal Clay's socks)


• a new bathrobe (long and soft)


• a family photo (with all four of us together...eyes open and smiling)


• new stuff for the Children's Ministry at Seacoast (new stage designs, tables, chairs, rugs, updated video games, and more volunteers!)


• to visit my friends & family in Ohio (especially my Grandma)

...and world peace of course!

Seacoast Christmas Gala

What a fun night at the Volunteer Appreciation Christmas Gala!!!!

I can't begin to tell you how much fun it was to see all of our friends and their spouses all decked out for the big event. I got to go with a Super Hottie...check out the tux! : )
It was so nice to see everyone dressed up - especially all of the Kidsocast team members. We normally have to wear our blue Kidscoast shirts on the weekends, so this was a special treat!

They had the red carpet rolled out to greet everyone as they entered the building. People cheered and clapped as we entered - really making us feel special. The food was outstanding - shrimp & grits, carved turkey, great desserts, etc. Yum-O!



















Speaking of desserts, we had to trick Betsy Dross by telling her that we needed her help with the desserts & coffee at the Gala....but really she was winning the Lifetime Achievment Award. (See the picture of "Pastor Greg" presenting the award) We knew she wouldn't come unless we tricked her...sorry Betsy, but did it because we love you!!!! Betsy does so much for Kidscoast and she was my right-hand-woman during VBS over the past few years. I can't begin to list all of the ways she contributes her time & energy to our church. She is a true servant and I am blessed just to have her in my life.



Melissa Pridemore won the award from the Children's Ministry Team. She is an amazing woman who helps us in so many ways. Just this past year, she served in Preschool, Upper & Lower Elementary and served as a Small Group Leader, Worship Leader, Room Leader & Schedule Coordinator. On top of all of that, she is a busy mom and she is very involved in Girl Scouts and the Downs Syndrome Association of the Lowcountry. She is such an inspiration and I wish I can have half of the enthusiasm and energy she has!


I just love this picture of me with Jen Lewey. Look at the woman over Jen's shoulder...I don't know why I find it so funny! : )







And here a a few more pictures of some of the beautiful people I get to spend my weekends with at Seacoast. This was the most fun I've had at church in a long time...I wish we could do this every week!