Christmas Sunday, December 20th

The kids looked so adorable in their Christmas finery that I had to snap a quick pic before church.

Class Christmas Parties

The kids had their Christmas parties at school on Thursday, December 17th. Roy came and helped with Caleb's party while I helped with Abigail's party. We collected candy and small toys for the treat bags and set up the food that the parents brought. The teachers also had a craft to help the kids work on for Christmas. It was a little wild but the kids all had a great time.
Abigail's class finished watching the "Polar Express" while we were waiting for the pizza to get there.

Abigail and a few of her friends hanging out.

Caleb's class listening for instructions from Miss Walters.

Miss Walters Class
Caleb getting a final hug from Miss Walters, this was her last day of school. She is moving to Florida to get married and work in a music ministry with her new husband. Caleb is really going to miss her.

East Ridge City Council Meeting

Caleb's football team were invited to attend the City Council meeting on Thursday, December 10 in order to be recognized for their achievement this season. The team was given a certificate with each of their names on it and a city holiday was named in their honor. They were so proud of themselves and they get a picture in the paper and a clip on Channel 9.

Caleb and his friend, Brandon

Abigail and her friend Hailey

First Snow of the Winter

This was the sight that we awoke to on Saturday, December 5. The kids woke us up at 4:30 am because it was snowing outside, Roy managed to convince them to go back to bed until 7:30 am. We got bundled up and headed outside to play in the snow. We only last about an hour but we had a good time. We even ganged up on Daddy and got him good!

Christmas Pics at JC Penney

We scheduled our Christmas pictures for the Monday after Thanksgiving. We knew we needed to give them enough time to come back for us to mail them with our Christmas Cards. The kids did very well and the pictures turned out great.
After the pictures were finished we headed to the food court for dinner and carousel rides. It was a nice family night for us.

Cadek Community Orchestra Concert

Roy directs the Cadek Community Orchestra as part of his credit for his Master's degree at UTC. Their fall concert was November 29. The kids, Granddaddy and I went to listen to the concert and watch Daddy conduct. Lydia loves to watch Daddy conduct and she stayed awake for most of the concert. We were so proud!

Thanksgiving In The Ville

It's Thanksgiving Time ... one of my favorite holidays of the year. A time for family and a time to be thankful for the blessings in my life. I can think of so many things that I am thankful for this year: our health, my family, Roy's new job, true friends, a great church ... I could probably go on and on and still never list everything I am thankful for. Another blessing is that we get to head to Thomasville to visit with my family. It is the only holiday of the year that we all get together as a family. Over the years the attendance has waned at the annual dinner at Rabbit Pond Rd but I am thankful for the opportunity to visit with the family that does come.

So Wednesday morning we headed out to begin our journey to Thomasville. The ride always takes a ridiculously long amount of time with five people needing potty breaks at different times. This is another time I am thankful for our van with the dvd player. The kids listen to movies or music in their headphones and Roy and I listen to music on the radio. We got to town in time for dinner at Ruby Tuesdays with Mema, Pepa, Uncle Erik and Faith. This is the start of the family visit for us. The next morning Mom headed to Rabbit Pond Rd to start the turkey and sides while we slept in. I know it is a sacrifice for her to lose so much sleep and we truly appreciate it! After we all woke up, Mema gave the kids some Thanksgiving/Early Christmas presents.

The kids had a blast opening their presents. It was a real treat for them to get presents when the main treat was getting to be together!

Dinner is always a FEAST! The kids sat together and talked and laughed the whole meal through. It was so cute to watch them together. After lingering over the meal, clean-up is a family affair too. The football games are on the tv, the kids are amusing themselves, and there is great conversation in the kitchen. What a day!

We head home and let the kids play in Mema's playroom while we get ready for the movie. Mema and Pepa are in charge of babysitting while Erik, Roy and I head to Gateway Cinema to see "Blindside". What a good movie! Then back to Mema's for more conversations before a decent bedtime. We decided not to get up in the wee hours of the morning for the Black Friday sales so we were able to get some sleep and still head out in the morning for some shopping. We shopped the mall sales and then headed back to Thomasville for dinner at Crawdaddy's. That is always a treat. The weekend went by too quickly and before we knew it Saturday was here. After a lunch at Chick-Fil-A we got in the van and headed back to Chattanooga. It was a great weekend!

East Ridge Christmas Parade

The kids were all three in the Christmas parade this year. The girls were on the cheerleading float and Caleb was on the football float. I walked with the girls float while Roy walked with the boys float. The kids had a good time with their friends and we adults got some exercise! It was a chilly night but altleast the forecasted rain held off.

Roy's Birthday and Thanksgiving with the Dentons

Since we were headed to Thomasville and Allison was headed to see Tommy's family for Thanksgiving, we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving the Saturday before. And since we were going to be having our fill of turkey in a few days we decided to do Mexican. This was also much easier for Grandaddy and I to prepare food in advance and just warm it up when we got home from the Super Bowl. It was a huge hit! Everyone stuffed themselves and visited over lunch.Then it was time for dessert. Granddaddy made a chocolate cake and a cheesecake for Roy's birthday. Everyone sang to Roy and we made him blow out the candles. Usually he gets away with not having to do this since it is usually only our family on his birthday. Then it was gift time which the kids favorite part. Daddy loved his new UGA sweatshirt, cologne and Star Trek DVD.

Even with the Super Bowl loss it was still a good day for the Denton family.

5/6 year old Super Bowl - East Ridge vs East Hamilton

The night before the big game we had a pep rally at the Rec Center. The cheerleaders pumped up the crowd and the players were introduced ... #42 Caleb "the Crusher" Denton.November 21st was the day and Caleb was hoping for a win for his Daddy's birthday. The boys played a good game and gave it their best effort but we were just barely beaten ... 14-6. Everyone was so disappointed but they were very proud of their individual plaques and the large team trophy.

UGA Homecoming

We were so excited to be able to return to Athens for Homecoming again this year. The kids stayed at Grandmomma and Granddaddy's house for the night. We headed to Athens around 1:30 on Friday and arrived in time to go to dinner at Mexicali Grille with Steven and Shannon. We had a great time visiting and spent the night at their house. After getting up at the crack of dawn, we headed to campus for the pre-game run through. I helped out at the registration tables while Roy was rehearsing. I did sneak over and get a few pics and videos of them practicing. Then it was time to head to the Georgia Center for brunch. After a wonderful meal we headed over to Sanford Bridge for the Dawg Walk. Then I shopped around in the bookstore while Roy headed to the field to get ready for the pre-game show. The game was a total blow-out against Tennessee Tech. We headed back to Shannon's for a little more visit time then it was off to Rafferty's for dinner before heading back to Chattanooga. The trip was too short but it was nice to visit with old friends!

Fall Festival at WPBC

Our church sponsors a Fall Festival on October 31st for the children in our church and the community. The kids are allowed to dress-up, just nothing scary, and they have games, refreshments, candy and inflatables for them. Abigail as Cinderella, Caleb as Superman, and Lydia as Sleeping Beauty

Abigail attempting to play ball darts and get a high score, the higher score gets more candy!

Lydia attempting a hole in one so she can win a piece of candy. The sweet little men running this booth felt sorry for her and gave her a piece of candy for her efforts.

Caleb taking his turn at ball darts.

Team Spirit Day at ERES

The school had Team Spirit Day where each child was allowed to wear the t-shirt/jersey from their favorite atheletic team. Abigail chose to wear her East Ridge Pioneer Cheerleading shirt which was fine with us but Caleb almost broke my heart with his selection. FSU!!! His Pepa would be so proud!

Scenic City Cheerleading Exhibition

The league had a cheerleading exhibition where all of the cheerleading squads came and performed for the crowd. Each squad could do a combination of cheers and dances. At the end of the exhibition each cheerleaders name was announced and they received a trophy. The girls had a great time with it.

September to October - Football Days

September and October were pretty much taken up with football for the Denton family. The East Ridge Pioneers had an awesome season and finished the season undefeated. The players were pumped about the possibility about competing in the Super Bowl in November. We had four games left between us and the Super Bowl. The boys had extra practices and worked hard to make sure they were ready. Cheerleading squad

Caleb making a tackle

At each of the home games the cheerleaders made a sign for the players to run through before the game. It was too cute!

Caleb making a tackle.

Up close and personal of Caleb practicing a tackle before the game.