little miss

 mommy captured a sweet smile.

daddy got one too.

a child is born!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

christmas time is here...

A few more advent activites to wrap up our calendar. We'll finish tomorrow with baking a birthday cake for Jesus and watching The Nativity Story. 

We'll spend our first Christmas together tomorrow... just our little family. Seems like it's been Christmas all week long though. We just got back from spending several days with the lovelies below. Had a great time. We're very blessed to have so many people that love us.

Merry Christmas!

family day

We spent the entire day together. Cookies in the afternoon. Christmas Train at night.

This year's trip to the Christmas Train is gonna be hard to beat. Perfect weather. No long waits in line. Happy kids.

But what makes it a night I will never forget... I sat next to a certain six year old boy and listened to him pray the prayer asking Jesus into his heart.

Hayes, we could not be more proud of you. What a big decision you made tonight. One that has changed your life forever.

You got up after the prayer and declared, "I'm going to be the best I can be for the rest of my life." Sweet boy.

Looking forward to watching you grow in Christ, buddy. Love you.

How's that for a Christmas present? :)

while we run around this season....

let us not forget, it's because of His love we celebrate.

extracurricular activities

Oh man. Today was full of extracurricular activities... and we'll just leave it at that. :)

And Minnie, thanks for being there today. You're the best!

My Christmas ballerina danced a merry dance...

and the boys ended the night with new yellow belts!

 

what's behind door number eight...

hot chocolate and christmas books

We've really been enjoying our Advent calendar this month.
The kids look forward to opening the little doors each day to see what surprise awaits them.
So far, we've had stickers, candy and some fun activities...

shopping for angel tree kiddos

family date at the movies

making snowflakes and watching  frosty the snowman

bouncing for jesus at bouncy barn :)

beaded candy canes and reading  j is for jesus

Lots more in store for the month as we prepare to celebrate the birthday of a very special guy!

a groom is hard to find

 A conversation between a girl and a boy...

"No one will play wedding with me!"

"I don't want to play wedding!"

"I want someone to play wedding with me."

"I don't want to do the kissing."

"I won't do the kiss. I will just do the regular dancing."

He ain't buyin.

Poor girl needs a sister.

we're going on a leaf hunt...

thankful hearts

embry

my puppy

playing games

mommy & daddy

hayes & ellie

karate

drawing

the airport

our beach house :)

blackwell

swinging

spiderman

ellie

minnie, nana, papaw, grandpa

my brothers

mommy & daddy

jude & jessie

jesus

when we go to the fair

coloring

my jewelry

pictures

seeing g.g.

playing on the i-phone

lipgloss

going to the pedicure

fruit snacks

hayes

legos

a home

food

clothes

mcdonald's

my parents

my lego book

god

birthdays

school

dinosaur museum

kyle

a god who loves and forgives

a wife who loves and forgives

children who are excited to see me every time

the privilege of pursuing a career that i enjoy

I attempted to capture some pictures of things I was thankful for throughout the day today.

  

I am guilty of getting caught up in all of the little things that seem to go wrong and letting those little things cloud a grateful heart. Now more than ever it seems like things are falling apart around us... whether it be something with the house or one of our cars. But ya know what? We have a house and we have two cars.

And they are just things. And things are temporary.

I'm deliberately making more of an effort to stop and remind myself of just how fortunate I am. I belong to a mighty and loving God, a mighty and loving God who has given me this precious little family to share life with. He's given us a safe place to call home, food for our bellies, air conditioning for when it is hot, heat for when it is cold, good health, fabulous friends and family, great schools, a wonderful church.

I'd say that is blessed. And thankful I am.

May you reflect on what is truly important today and take the time to thank God for each and every one.

Happy Thanksgiving!

sidenote: Something that I am not so thankful for is the decision I made to replace the lights on our Christmas tree. Do not, I repeat DO NOT ever think it is a good idea to strip a pre-lit tree of its lights that no longer work. It is a very bad idea and I have the blisters and bruises on my hands to prove it. Run as fast as you can to the nearest store and buy another tree!

can i get an amen on the weather today?

she was glad to get her swing on.

super e is always up for an adventure.

i love the new smile.

and this... well, it reminded me of this....

august 2008

in a cornfield

it makes me happy that art makes him happy.

kansas city getaway

Kyle and I snuck away to Kansas City for a few days. We had a great time... we always do. We did lots of shopping, knocking out most of our Christmas list! Yay! We explored. We ate way too much yummy food. We met up with bloggy friends (Allison, John Michael and Jenna) and high school friends (Nick and Becky).

We visited Jamesport, an Amish community. What an experience that was. We did see buggies, but we saw more cars. :) We followed a map through the countryside. We discovered a dairy where we did some cheese-tasting, stopped at stores with beautiful furniture and loaded up at the cutest little bulk supply store ever. We also made a stop at a bakery, which could have passed for a scene out of a scary movie. No lights, creaky old floors, people watching you in the dark. I quickly lost my appetite for the sweets I bought.

We got some much-needed time for just the two of us. Now we're refreshed and ready to take on the world! Isn't that right , babe? :)

Thanks to all of the grands for taking care of our babes.