We hung the Christmas tree lights on Friday, but we didn't have time to decorate the Christmas tree until this afternoon. Jane Gray and Charlie were so excited (almost as excited as they were to see Thomas the Elf the night before)! It was fun telling them about the ornaments and reminiscing about past Christmases. We also gave them their 2009 ornaments. After we decorated the tree, we baked Christmas cookies and took our family Christmas card picture. 
We spent Friday night in Yazoo City with Pop and Sherrie. Pop, Uncle Will, and Daddy woke up early Saturday morning to duck hunt in Louise. They had a great hunt, killing 15 or so birds. We ate a delicious lunch of beef tenderloin (a tradition Mommy helped start - she loves steak!) with all of the fixings. After lunch, Jane Gray and Mommy took turns holding Baby Anna Fair. We also played a bunch outside. Pop took the kids on a boat ride, and then Daddy took them deer hunting. We had a great time in Yazoo City!
The day after Thanksgiving, we braved the cold and traveled to Florence to pick out our Christmas tree. We met Nana, Grandpa, and Ella there. The little girls were so cute posing by the wooden angel! The big kids picked out the perfect tree! After Daddy and Charlie cut it down, we went for a hayride around the farm. Then, we loaded up the tree and headed home to decorate it.
We started our Thanksgiving Day celebration at our church's Thanksgiving Day service. After church, we headed to Nana and Grandpa's for breakfast and to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. As soon as Santa arrived, we sat down for Thanksgiving lunch. Everything was delicious! After lunch, we burned off our calories catching leaves, a Barbour family tradition. It was a great day!
Nana, Stacy, and I took the kids to see Santa. Meg and Ella were not impressed! Meg finally settled down and sat in Santa's lap, but Ella did not want anything to do with Santa. She screamed every time we put her on Santa's lap!
We spent Thanksgiving week with Uncle Tony, Aunt Stacy, and Ella. Meg and Ella were inseparable! They were very sweet to each other, hugging a lot and sharing their toys. The highlight of the week, other than Nana and Grandpa's yummy cooking, was a trip to the mall to see Santa Claus. We also squeezed in a dinner at Cock of the Walk, Uncle Tony's favorite.
We had so much fun at the Ole Miss-LSU game, especially with Ole Miss winning such a close game! Jane Gray was a great cheerleader, cheering on the team, and Meg could not have been more well-behaved. Charlie had fun, too, watching the DirectTV blimp and the big CBS cameras flying all over the sky; he was so amazed that he made Mommy take pictures of them. We sat with the Hurst girls and snacked on the typical popcorn, coke, and cotton candy. In between snacks, Charlie actually fell asleep in Mommy's lap. We couldn't believe it - the exciting game must have worn him out!
The children celebrated Thanksgiving this week at their schools. Charlie's class dressed up on Wednesday, and Jane Gray's class dressed up today. Jane Gray and Mommy made her dress - we tea-dyed one of Daddy's old T-shirts, added fringe, and Jane Gray decorated it with drawings of an Indian princess, teepee, turkey, feathers, and a campfire. She looked so cute!
Aunt Nicki had to run an errand this morning, so we got to hang out with Laurie. Charlie and Meg were both so excited to have her over to our house. They ate lots of Cheerios, played hard, danced (Meg is dancing in the top picture), and hugged and hugged some more! 
Mommy went on a walk this afternoon with Meg and the Lone Wolf, the cutest Indian on the block!
We spent Sunday afternoon playing at Louise. Jane Gray showed Meg around, even pointing out some deer tracks to her. Charlie caught lots of ladybugs and found some huge spiders! Before we headed home, we made a pitstop in Yazoo City for oreos and to look for a Christmas tree.