Parade Day

One of our many Christmas traditions is attending the annual Summerville Christmas Parade.  Well, this year we mixed it up a little and we were actually IN the parade.  At first, I was a little sad thinking we might miss something or it might not be as fun.  Well, let me just tell you- we had a BLAST and I can not wait to do it again next year!

 Mom and Sharon entered the "shop truck" so we just threw some garland on it and threw some cute kids in the back :-)  

Jr, Ernest and Chase drove and sat up front. Me, Mom, Sharon, Tiff and the rest of the crew sat in back and sang Christmas carols (and Brayton and Kylee screamed Merry Christmas to everyone).

Did I mention it was COLD?!?

And thanks to Aunt Sharon, we had to listen to this most of the ride!

We were in the front of the parade so once we were done we got to park and watch the other 1/2 of it...and we got to see Santa again...woo hoo!!!

Santa Baby

OK, so visiting Santa this year was a little different.  We actually had to stand OUTSIDE in freezing weather for over an hour.  Then, once we got inside, it was another hour.  We didn't mind waiting inside, though..atleast it was warm..and they had plenty for the kids to do.  Brayton was super excited about visitng Santa this year.  He couldn't wait to talk to him and tell him how great he's been doing in school.  He was the Terrific Kid for December, after all. 

Santa was so good to Brayton.  He knew that he liked Nascar, so he had a special gift waiting for him...a race car!!  He also knew that Max (Elf on the Shelf) was living with us...AND he knew that our bestest friends (Julie, Ansley and Ella) moved away.  Santa is awesome!

Brinlee was sleepy and cranky....so she feel asleep.

We waited that long so I was determined to get a picture, even if she was napping! HA!

Atleast she wasn't crying!!

PRICELESS!!!

So worth the 2 hour wait....so well worth it!!!

Trimming the Tree

Trying to catch up with Christmas posts...it's going to take me a while :-)

I always decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving.  I could not wait to get started this year.  Brinlee just LOVED the Christmas Tree this year.  I wasn't sure what to expect with her, but she didn't mess with it at all, I was so proud!  She helped us decorate it and everything. 

Brayton loves to help, too...although he gets bored with it after hanging a few balls.

I love looking at all the ornaments he has made...once Brinlee starts making them I'm going to need a seperate tree for handmade ornaments!

Brinlee also loves posing by the tree.  She'll go sit in front of it and say "cheeeeese."

And the best part of decorating for Christmas....

sitting back with my babies and enjoying it :-)

....and eating home made chex mix!!

Daddy hooked us up with the goodies!!

Happy New Year!!!

I love New Years!  I love new beginnings and all the resolutions and planning and organizing that follows.

There are a few things I hope to accomplish this year...and maybe if I put them on here I will be held accountable, or atleast have a reminder.

 

I have way too many to list, but here are just a few :-)

 

-Get organized! I want to go through closets, the garage, our upstairs that we are using as a storage unit and just trash, trash, trash!  I really want to eliminate the clutter and all the "stuff" we don't need or don't use.

 

-Organize/Print/Back Up all my photos.  I only print what I want to frame, which isn't much.  My wonderful husband bought me an external hard drive to store my photos, but I need a plan B.  I need to find an online site to back up my photos. 

 

-Same as above with home videos.

 

-Spend more one on one time with my awesome husband, he deserves it!

 

-Spend more one on one time with Brayton

 

-Spend more QUALITY time with Brinlee (Kindermusic or a gym class).

 

-Find a Sunday School class to get involved with again.  (Brinlee doesn't like nursery, so that's been hard for me)

 

-Become better with saving and budgeting our money!

 

-Become better with sending cards for no reason and just being more thoughtful

 

-Make atleast one craft a month

 

-Get  into my photography more!

 

-Start sewing

 

-Cook Dinner more and try new recipes

 

-Read my Bible more and try to become and better Christian

 

HAPPY 2010!!!!!!!!!! 

Weeeeeeeeeee just havin' FUN!

this is from November...

Back yard fun couldn't get any better~!  Brayton loves playing in leaves.  Hopefully when he's older this will come in handy when it comes to yard work.  So far, he's on board with helping us out.  The weather has been nice and mild and we have had the best time playing out back.  

And my little firecracker has had the best time playing dress up.  What a great combination...a camo hat, pearls, tu tu and fuzzy brown boots! HA!  She loves going in to my closet and playing with all my hand bags, shoes and jewelry box.

Brayton got these "silly glasses" as a prize for the fund raiser we did last week.  We've had a lot of fun with these, too :-)

Publix FieldTrip

This is from November....

The week before Thanksgiving KC (Brayton's class) went on a field trip to Publix. We held hands and walked there (it's right across the street). It was a cute little trip, I actually learned a few things myself! The purpose of the trip was to buy the ingrediants for Friendship (vegetable soup). The class was broken into small groups and each group got a shopping list.


Later that week, they cooked the friendship soup and had thanksgiving lunch with their friends from another class.

I love Brayton's school and his teachers...that's another thing to add to my long list of things to be thankful for!!!!


 

18 months

Brinlee went for her 18 month well check last week.

I wish I could tell you she's growing like a weed...but she's not. They say not to worry, though..she's just going to be a tiny little thing. She is in the 3% for her size. She's little, but completely healthy and perfect. She put on a little show in the office for Dr. Etoch. She was a handful in there, but I had to laugh. She has the BIGGEST personality. She is fiesty, determined and melts my heart into a million pieces, not a good combo :-) She told me to "be nice" because I took something from her. She has also been saying "no" a lot. She likes to dance, make silly faces, and make her bubba laugh. She also likes to spin round and round in circles. She has been giving the sweetest little hugs lately. She will NOT sit in a high chair and hates to shop. She loves to play outside and swing. She loves her bows and shoes. In fact, before we leave the house she'll wonder around looking for her "baa" (bow). She does more and more each day. I love her so much and have the best time with her.

So Very Thankful

So, I'm a little late with my Thanksgiving post, oh well...you know me, that's how I roll...he! he!

this is as good as it gets with the 4 of us ;-)

I feel so incredibly lucky and blessed. I have so much to be thankful for, I don't even know where to start. I have the most amazing and understanding husband ever. He is my best friend and I don't know what I'd do without him. I have two HEALTHY children that makes my world go 'round...they are my everything! My family is my rock and they are always there for me. I have my health, a warm home, plenty of food to eat and lots of love!! What more could I ask for? Thank you, Jesus for this life you have given to me!!

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalms 107:1

We had the best Thanksgiving yet....laid back and relaxing. It was the first year since Frank and I have been together that we didn't have 3 different places to run off to. Wednesday we had TGiving Dinner with his mom and his brother's family. We also did Christmas with them since we wouldn't be seeing them again for Christmas.

On Thursday, we went to my mom's for dinner. It was nice to be able to take our time and actually visit at both dinners. Frank and I actually snuck off Thursday evening to do a little shopping while the kids stayed with my mom. Then, later that night, the girls in the family had more shopping plans. We thought it'd be a good idea to go shopping that night at midnight!! HA! We left the kids with Ge Ge to have a sleep over and we (me, Tiff and Sharon) went out for a very short shopping trip. We got intimidated by the crazy crowds so went back back to moms for a sleep over. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Tiff and I stayed up for hours telling stories, laughing and scaring each other. Brinlee had her 1st sleepover and night away from Mommy....little did she know I was in the room next to her. I still count it as a sleep over, though :-) Tiff and I got up bright and early and finally accomplished some shopping.

And I am super thankful for these two!

the little girls (Suzi, Haven and Brinlee) were in matching dresses, but of course we didn't get a picture of all 3!

my girl loves to pose

and my boy loves to eat...

We didn't realize it until the next morning, but apparently Santa or one of his elves dropped off a little package for the kids that night! It was wrapped lying on the front porch!!! A new addition ot our family....MAX, The Elf on the Shelf!