Advent Calendar Countdown: Dec 23rd

It was another whirlwind of a day for the Jones household! We started our morning with a trip to the post office to order Easton's passport. Easton and I are hoping to go see our friends Amy & Sophie in Germany, so we wanted to be prepared and ensure that the passport arrives in time. We then had breakfast at Batson's Galley in Surf City. We had every intention of heading to Danville today to begin our holiday trip ..... the did not happen as planned. By the time we got everything *somewhat* ready to go, it was already 2pm which would put us in Danville too late. So instead we got some projects completed around the house, ran a few errands and ate out AGAIN, this time at Sawmill Grill in Hampstead. Wow, two meals out in one day, that's a Christmas present in itself to not have to cook :-)

When we got home from errands we gave Easton his gift - we saved the best for last (or worst, depending on how you look at it). The last time we were visiting in Virginia my Mom let me try out her new sewing machine to make "Jingles the Christmas Mouse." It turned out alright considering my lack of sewing skills ... this was the first thing I've ever sewn (other than a button). So I am calling this the "best" gift since it was made by me and was a labor of love. Easton didn't seem to mind the crooked seams, here is is meeting "Jingles" for the first time:

Easton seems to like Jingles!

Awe - giving Jingles a kiss

Um....don't Easton the mouse, Easton! :-)

Not the best pic, but you can see Jingles clearly in this one --- WOW, someone needs to wash those fingerprints off of the fireplace! :-)