A White (Day After) Christmas!

We were all delighted to wake up the day after Christmas to SNOW!!! We have been playing outside... we had a snowball fight, made a snowman, made a snow dog, rode bikes in the snow, and made snow angels. Since then... we have been inside by the fire... drinking hot chocolate... and watching movies. What a wonderful day!

Our real snow dogs have been playing, too....

Merry Christmas!

We have been fortunate to be able to celebrate Christmas with most of our family! (But I do miss my sister and her family!) That means a lot of celebrating!!!

Cousins... The kids w/Grant & Sage

Peeking under the tree at Nana and Papaw's house...

Opening gifts with Grandmama & Granddaddy...
Ready for the Christmas Eve service at church...

so thankful that God gave us the greatest gift of all, his son, Jesus.

On Christmas morning, at 6:40 am... Jacob came running in our room saying "Santa brought presents... I wasn't on the naughty list!" There was some concern as he has been aggravating his sisters on purpose (I know, poor boy has 3 older sisters... what else is he supposed to do?) But... Santa did notice that and left him a little note....

Opening Santa gifts... the kids get three gifts each from Santa... to remind them of the three gifts Jesus received from the wise men. There was a lot of excitement!

And a gift to us... from Jessica! This is one of my favorite gifts EVER. It is from her heart... I had NO idea she was doing this. The only thing she asked me for was a poster board... and she asked everyone what their favorite shape was. She made us each a card and wrote about the shape we chose...

James chose a circle, she wrote:

"Dear Dad,

When I asked you what your favorite shape was, you said that it was a circle. I decided that you loved me and the rest of the family endlessly, like the circle. A circle never ends. It just keeps going round and round. That is the way your love is! I love you like a circle, too!"

I chose a star, she wrote:

"Dear Mom,

When I asked you what your favorite shape was, you said that it was a star. I decided that you loved me and the rest of the family like shining stars. I love you like a shining star, too!"

Jaycie chose a diamond, she wrote:

"Dear Jaycie,

When I asked you what your favorite shape was, you said that it was a diamond. I decided that you loved four things most, like four points on a diamond. I decided they were God, family, friends, and animals. I love you and the others I listed like a diamond, too!"

She also wrote similar cards for the twins. This gift is perfect... and priceless... I am so thankful for the person she is!!!

Merry Christmas!!!! This week we will see Grandma Geri, and Dad & Ann!!!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

We have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Christmas! We had a wonderful time with our friends cheering NC State on to victory over UNC!! Then we headed to the Lights at the Zoo to start our Christmas season! We all had a blast... I met Stephen and Elise in college and it is always so nice to be able to see them and their boys!

Stephen, Anson, and Ethan with James and the kids

Ethan & Jaycie now (above)... and then (below... AWWW!)

Jess made it to the top of the rock wall... and the Palm Tree!

The kids also spent a lot of time preparing for the Christmas Play at church. They have been practicing since September and it turned out absolutely wonderful! They did "Back to the Manger"... Jessica introduced the play... Jaycie sang a duet... Jamie was an angel... and Jacob was a shepherd. But... Jacob followed the wrong star and sat in my lap during the play! The play really reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas!

Matthew is just too cute... he came out during the 70,s song!

Jamie & Jacob also did a Christmas Program at preschool. They had lines to recite and they did such a great job! Jamie: "N is for Noel, we all sing on earth." Jacob: "O is for the oxen, the first to adore him." We are thankful for all their teachers... they do such a wonderful job!

And, of course, we had to visit Santa! Jacob is always a character... when Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas, he said "I want a remote control airplane... do you know how to make that?" This was the first year Jamie would talk to Santa... she was so proud of herself!
And... as always... there were many sweet treats to prepare! Colin and Anderson joined us in making graham cracker gingerbread houses. They enjoyed putting together their own creation... and they REALLY enjoyed eating it!

The way they act when not being bribed... ha ha!
And finally... Raymond is ready, too!

Thanksgiving!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving at home this year! Jamie & Jacob were pilgrims in their Thanksgiving Program... and they each made a special turkey. Mom & Jim came to visit for Thanksgiving and we had a huge dinner with all the trimmings. I was able to do some Christmas shopping... online! All the great Thanksgiving deals... free shipping... NO crowds or lines... and sleeping in on Black Friday! The kids also decorated the Christmas tree... I couldn't pull out the ornaments fast enough for all 4 kids! We definitely have a lot to be thankful for!

A Note From Jaycie

Jaycie has been leaving us notes lately and they always make me laugh... here is the note from today (I would have taken a picture, but it was written on a paper towel in pink ink):

To: Mom

From: Jaycie

Jaycie did the kitchen all by herself.

With NO help AT ALL!

So don't give Dad all the credit.

P.S. I scrubbed the counter, too!

It's Fall, Y'all!

I ♥ FALL!!! It is my favorite season... I love the fair, pumpkins, mums, cooler weather, fall colors, changing leaves... and all the fun family things to do together!! Our trip to the fair was great... it was the first event like this where we did not have to take a stroller! The kids walked all day... and no one complained! The three younger ones loved the slide... and Jessica's favorite was the zipper.

Jess & James on the zipper!

The twins have really enjoyed soccer... and we are very thankful that the weather this season has been absolutely beautiful! We are so proud of how hard they have worked!

Score, Jamie!

Score, Jacob!

It wouldn't be complete without a trip to the pumpkin patch in search of the perfect pumpkins! Jamie & Jacob's preschool class had a field trip... I had a great time with all of the Friendly Frogs!

Once we found the perfect pumpkins... we had a night of fun carving with friends! We are so thankful for our friendship! This was a couple of weeks before Halloween... so we tried keeping the pumpkins in the refrigerator until Halloween... and it worked!

David, Jacob, & James... we missed Drew that night!
Jennifer & Sheri

Jacob, Jaycie, Jessica, Allie, Marianna, & Jamie

Crazy hair... a fun contest they had one Wednesday night at our church. The girls really got into it... and it seems like I did hair all afternoon in preparation! When we got to church, a friend added the color.

Jessica & Jessica... sweet friends!
The 5th/6th grade girls went all out!

We spent an afternoon carving pumpkins and eating pumpkin seeds. Jessica made a boxer again this year that looked just like Baron and Jaycie made a cat on a broom stick. The dogs were VERY curious!

Jessica spent a lot of time working on her pumpkin...

and she did it almost completely by herself!

The finished product!

Time to Trick-or-Treat... we walked with our neighbors Velma, Shaggy, & Scooby-Doo! Of course we came back to enjoy our first pot of chili for the season (our tradition!) and marshmallows over the fire pit!

We had a sorceress, Hermoine Granger,

Optimus Prime, and Pumpkin Spice Princess
All the kids ready to go!

Jacob sporting the Shaggy wig!
Happy Fall!!!