It's the New Year!

It feels so good to be back home! Boys are out playing and finally getting to play on their swing set for the first time (thanks to all of the rain we have had!) Christmas is down and things are semi-organized. Dinner is in the crock-pot, so I am taking a few minutes to catch up on things. Good day? I'd say so! We all had a wonderful time in Louisiana last week. I can't say we did too much besides celebrate Christmas a few times, but it was great. The boys got to spend quality time with all of the grandparents and a few aunts. They played hard and I worked hard keeping the mess cleaned up after them! :) Guess that's the way it goes when you have lots of new toys to play with. I, personally, had a great Christmas. I didn't really ask for anything this year because I seem to have all I need right now, but got everything I would have asked for!! Worked out just perfectly. So with that, I say "thank-you!" Thank you to all that love us for who we are and give unconditionally. We love you and thank you so very much.

Now that it's all over, I can't help but think how fast March will be here. It seems that January and February is filled already with a conference in Atlanta, interview dinner, Success School, registering for Pre-K3 ;(, and so the list goes on. But March brings a vacation for Mark and a new nephew, so we are all pretty excited about that!

While our life seems to be going great except for the normal life that gets in the way, there are several others that could really use some extra prayer right now. I guess I would call them my friends even though we really aren't, but Rebekah and Garrett Thompson had to say good-bye to a sweet little 22 week old girl last week. All were praying for a miracle that she'd be born healthy, but God had other plans for her and them. This hit me so hard last week when I saw the news on facebook. I had no words and don't even know what I would do if I were in those shoes. So praying is what I am doing and I ask that you will too as they grief during this time. There are several other couples that have mis-carried recently (I'm choosing not to share their names) so remember these unspoken as well. I love the song that God will let us bend, but not break! Sometimes it's hard to see that, but oh so true.

Love to all and I hope that this new year brings you joy, peace, health, and so much more than you ever dreamed!
 

Merry Christmas!

What a sweet weekend we have had! Pops came to visit and the boys couldn't get enough of him. Thankfully he was here to help Mark put together Santa Sunday. It has rained ever since. The boys were excited for Santa, but like I've said before they don't fully understand. Bently said this morning, "Santa should have woken me up!" and then when he saw Anderson, he asked, "Did the reindeer wake you up?" He then said that Santa said, "Reindeer you need to be quiet so you don't wake the boys!" Hmmm imagination juices were flowing this morning! These are a few pictures that I had on my phone from the past few days.

Merry Christmas to you all and I pray that you have a blessed day with family today. Our family consists of the four of us, but we are happy, healthy, and thankful! Happy Birthday to Jesus!!

Handsome little reindeer!

Sweet dreams next to Pops!

Riding Pops' horse!

My heart and soul x's 2!

Sharing one of Santa's cookies before heading to bed.

Stocking fun! 

Santa Came...

My funny little reindeer!

Wherever You Are, No Matter How Far...Come Back to the Heart of Christmas!

I'm not sure if it's just me or if all of you feel there is more sadness happening around Christmas time this year. All of which have been accidents and tragic for all involved. This breaks my heart for the families involved. I can't help but think of presents that may be under the tree that won't get opened by that person, traditions that won't be the same with out that certain someone, and just not being able to hug and love daily. It's just sad. I love this song and I hope you will hear something that makes you enjoy your Christmas a little bit more this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASJktrBObrI

We had yet another cookie swap and pajama party last Saturday night. The boys had a blast and we had great food! When I think of cookie swap, I think of several different cookies that can be frozen and taken out when you need them. Needless to say, I was wrong. You come home with a few dozen cookies that have to be eaten THEN or they go bad. Not good for a waistline on top of all of the other holiday food!! ;) Thankfully, but not really, I got sick Sunday and haven't been able to taste a thing, so I wasn't even tempted this go around! Then I shared with the boys' teachers Tuesday to get out of the
house!

Anderson & Lacy

Bently & Liam

Lacy, Anderson, Bently, Liam, and Ezra watching the Elf movie!

Not much has happened this week with me sick. The boys have gotten away with everything because I have not felt like arguing or disciplining and Mark has come home late and that's the last thing he wants to do. So yes, my house looks like a zoo, a whole container of cookies were eaten in one setting (Anderson) and baths were skipped 2 nights, BUT they/we survived. Now I'm praying they don't get anything right before Christmas.

We are excited that Pops and MaC are coming for a visit this weekend. The boys have been waiting on them to come and have several things they want to do and show them. One of which is eating fish! Bently thinks you can only get fish at the beach! ;) Mark and I are hoping they watch the boys for a few hours while we take care of a project and hope they the two of us can tackle it! Pictures to come Christmas of just what this is. Merry Christmas and have a wonderful weekend. For those of you traveling, be careful...we will be all day next Thursday!

Just a snapshot of two cute boys!

All of our practice and talking is finally clicking. Bently made several "B's" on his color sheet Monday and I was SO proud of him!

Love to all

Kids say the ...

Our days are filled with lots of conversations even more now that Anderson is really talking. His sentences really amaze me at this age. I guess because he has an older brother and I took his paci earlier, he is talking so much. Anyway, I thought I would share some of the phrases that have been said recently that make me laugh!

Bently:
"I am all cowboyed up." Hmmm, not real sure where this came from!
"Come here little red head boy."
"Raise your hand if you are a homeboy." Straight from the mouth of his Daddy!
"I need to go call the neighbor. Be quiet while I call the neighbor!"

Anderson:
"Bubba need a pank." Bubba needs a spanking!
"Mom, come." Just the words I HATE hearing in the middle of the night!

I'm sure there are more, but I haven't taken the time to write them down as they say them.

It's only Wednesday of this week and I seriously think I am losing my mind! Monday I washed and dried a load of clothes before I remember that I didn't add detergent to the washer! Today I texted Mark asking about some of our plates. All of the dishes were clean and the plates were no where to be found. I just knew someone had "taken" our plates. As crazy as that sounds! :) He quickly reminded me that they are on the buffet right in front of my eyes!!!

Just a little Christmas cheer!

While Mark was on call this weekend, we made these cute and yummy cookies.  Anderson was eating the chocolate chips faster than I could get him to put on his cookie! :) Bently really took his time and designed his just as he wanted. Fun Sunday afternoon..

One morning I came down the stairs to find this...the boys had their bears and animals at the movies. To my surprise, they were more still at the pretend movies than the real one! This made me happy because I can remember playing on stairs like this with my best friend when I was younger. We played school though and had all of our students lined up!

A few scarves that I have made for birthday and Christmas gifts. I've really tried to enjoy this season more this year and make more gifts rather than buying. I have been praying for this season that more people would take the time to see the real Christmas and make the most of it rather than wish it was over. In the past,  I've always been sad when the last present was opened because I knew everything was over. So I am looking forward to this year. We will celebrate just the 4 of us Christmas morning. We are hosting a Christmas Eve dinner for friends here that will be alone as well. I look forward to the laughs and stories that will come of that night. Then the boys and I will go back to Louisiana to extend the holiday cheer! We've really been working on the reason for Christmas with Bently and he can tell bits and pieces of the story. It makes my heart happy! They know of Santa (how can you not) but don't understand the concept that he brings gifts and I like it that way!!

Playing with snow at school Tuesday! This boy LOVES going to school.

Have a fun rest of the week. I am headed to a scarf and cookie swap tonight, so I get to get out of the house, YAY!!!

All I Want for Christmas...

December. Christmas. Peppermint. Jesus. Lights. Trees. Carols. Hot Cocoa. Fun. Memories. Santa Hat.  Busy. Scarves. Hats. Coats. Well I guess all of that would be true if we lived up North somewhere, so for us only half of those come to mind! It is so fun living in a new city and joining in on all that they have to offer. Friday we thought we would join Mark at a FAMILY interview dinner, but learned quick that our boys were not cut out for their home!! So we left him and went to Chick-fil-a and played until the dinner was over. I can say that I have never been on a date there on a Friday night, but we were not the only one! Saturday we went to a Christmas parade (not special and made me think I was in New Orleans for a moment!) Later that night we had Mark's Christmas party at the Chair's home. It was fun and a very nice home. I never intend to have one quite that large, but would love to have some of character that it had. They had a whole room with leather, stadium seating and a huge tv for football games or so I assumed. A beautifully landscaped backyard and gorgeous kitchen! Sunday, Anderson ran a fever all day, so we were lazy until that evening when we met friends for dinner, and then went to Lights of the South. Today I took the boys to Edventure in Columbia. I had bought a groupon for a membership that I needed to activate before the end of the month. They had the BEST time and slept all the way home! It is similar to Sci-port in Shreveport, but offers a ton more for their age.

The boys are currently outside playing with play-dough while I update! They are really excited about Christmas. Bently has been learning the story of Christmas at school. I occasionally will hear them singing "Jingle Bell Rock!" Bently would like a green horse for Christmas along with a puppy and an extra see-saw for his friends to play on...sorry to say, but he may be a tad disappointed come Christmas morning. ;) Mark started back at MCG today after spoiling us to early hours while at the prison last month. He is busy (or should be) studying for a test in January.  This week is full of several long call days, so I am happy I have taken up knitting to help pass the time!

Here are a few pictures of the fun that we've been having. I am so tired at night as I am sure most of you reading are too! I hope this week and holiday season finds you well. Our Christmas cards will go out this week and we'd love to receive yours! Our new address is 702 Muscadine Court Martinez, GA 30907

All of our love

Chick-fil-a date night!

Headed to Lights of the South

Edventure - milking the cow 

My 2 firemen

Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!

Deciding which tree...

They found the one they wanted!

Loaded and ready to take home!

Precious helpers

Just right!

LOVE ;)

Not a fan this year!

Hayride through the lights