Kaylyn's Christmas Goodies

This year Kaylyn was really excited to bring home all of the goodies that she made in her class at school.  She doesn't typically get too excited so I knew they must be good!  When she brought them home, I could not believe all of the stuff that they made and I think I was just as happy as she was.  I love her being at the age to do fun things and make memories that I get to keep!

Her cute Santa bag to carry everything in...

She put a picture of her and her fish (from her Joe Bud field trip) in a frame :) 

Crazy girl! 

Story about Santa... 

Orange & Blue Mouse Ornament 

I had to get a picture of Ashton :)  She stood in amazement as Kaylyn pulled each item out of the bag. 

Kaylyn's wonderful teacher Ms. Andrews and her mother baked each student their own tree cake to decorate.  Ms. Andrews' mother also crocheted each student a little goodie (the isn't the first that Kaylyn has brought home) that was really cute. 

Cards for Trey and I and Ashton 

Kaylyn made this for Ashton.  It's a puppy that she hand painted :)  We put it on Ashton's shelf so that she can keep it forever. 

This is a candle that she made.  It is a house, a cross, Ashton and herself. 

Kaylyn was so excited and you can see why!  I think this was the best year by far for Christmas goodies! 



Christmas Lights & Santa Claus

This past Friday we decided to take the girls to see the Christmas lights at Dorothy B. Oven Park.  We had already driven through once before, but this time we were going to walk through so that they could see them better and we could take some pictures.  By now, you know my picture taking skills could be better, but here are some of the ones we were able to get.

Kaylyn...always posing :)

 

My Girls

Ashton wasn't so happy on the train, but Kaylyn was determined to get a picture!

Just us girls...not real sure what was going on in the second picture.

I love how HAPPY Ashton is with her sister! 

Daddy & his girls! 

On Saturday, it was time to see Santa, or at least for Ashton.  Kaylyn decided that she was too big for Santa this year.  Most of you either got a text with a cute picture of Ashton and Santa or saw it on Facebook.  What you didn't see were the pictures leading up to the one good one that we were able to get.  She was definitely not very excited about sitting in some old man's lap with strange clothes and hair on his face.

The one good one that we were able to get.

All done...

Family Pictures - 2011

I have some catching up to do, so here it goes...

I'm sure many of you know how difficult it is to get a man to agree with taking pictures...in our family, it definitely doesn't happen often.  Trey knows however that I always need a good family picture for Christmas cards, so he agrees once a year!  This year was kind of last minute, but we turned to our friend Courtney who thankfully worked us in a few weeks ago and took some wonderful pictures.  Below are a few of my favorites...

I LOVE how both of the girls have their noses scrunched up!

I adore this picture!  It is an absolute representation of how much they love each other!!!



Prayer Request

If you read my posts, then you know one of the things that I am thankful for is the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at SPUMC.  I do not know all of the women in the group, however I feel as though we all have a connection just by being in the same room with each other...we are all MOMS. 

This post is not a light hearted one, but one that is deeply needed.  For the past few days, I have been comsumed with thoughts of a fellow mom, Erin Petscher.  Erin is 32, a wife and mom to two little girls and was just diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.  The cancer has spread to her lungs and spine and she is going to start chemotherapy tomorrow.  I cannot even begin to imagine what she and her family are going through and it absolutely breaks my heart to think about it (earlier today, I couldn't hold it in any longer & had a crying session in the Target parking lot with Trey, Kaylyn & Ashton in the car).

I know that currently there is nothing that Erin needs, with the exception of prayer!  I have been following her blog, http://erin-fightingbreastcancer.blogspot.com/, and one of her posts is a prayer request, 50 States.  She is trying to get at least 5 people in each state to pray for her.  I am just one person, but if everyone that reads my blog would commit to praying for Erin and her family, it would be wonderful.  I know that there are a few people that do not live in Florida, but other states (CA, AL, MI, CO, MA, etc.) that read this and it would help with the request to have at least 5 people in each state praying.  If you will pray for Erin, please comment here so that I can let her know or you can follow her blog using the link above and comment on the 50 States post on her page. 

Thank you for helping with this request!

I am THANKFUL!

On this Thanksgiving Day, my life could not be better!  I have so many things to be thankful for and so many memories that I cherish.  Below (and in no particular order) are 30 things that I am THANKFUL for:

1. I am thankful for Jesus and his presence in my life!
2. I am thankful for Trey.  He is loving, understanding, dependable, hardworking and the BEST husband and daddy that I could ask for.
3. I am thankful for my daughters.  They both bring me so much joy and because of them I strive to be the best wife, mom & woman that they can look up to.
4. I am thankful for my mom and dad.  They have both made me the person I am today.
5. I am thankful for my Granny, Papa & Granddaddy Casey.  Even though they are in heaven, I cherish the memories that I made with them.  They are the BEST grandparents that any kid could ever have and if I (many, many, many years from now) am half as good at it as they were, my grand kids will adore me like I did them.
6. I am thankful for the men and women that fight for our freedom!!!
7. I am thankful for my flat iron.  Without it, my hair would always be a mess :)
8. I am thankful for my great friends...near & far.  I'm not one with a ton of "best friends", but the ones that I have are all that I need!  They are wonderful people and I am lucky to have them in my life.
9. I am thankful for my mommy friends (they are also included in #7, but definitely need their own recognition)!  I used to laugh when people talked about having "play dates" for their kids, but boy do I get it now!  I cherish the times that Ashton gets to play with her friends and I get to talk to mine.
10. I am thankful for MOPS at SPUMC.  They welcomed me & ALL of the kids with a more the merrier approach and I am truly grateful!
11. I am thankful for my daughter's grandparents.  Nana, Papa, Grandma & Boppa are the best grandparents (other than my own...see #5) that I could have ever asked for.  Kaylyn & Ashton are two very lucky girls.
12. I am thankful for First American.  Without working there, I would have never met Trey or some of the great friends that I have now.
13. I am thankful for story time at the library on Wednesday mornings.  It makes Ashton soooo happy and since she is happy, I am happy :)
14. I am thankful for healthy kids!  I have a cousin with a little boy that is blind and another cousin who's son was diagnosed with leukemia at age 4 (he is now cancer free)...my girls getting a cold every once in a while is nothing compared to the heartache they have been through as parents! 
15. I am thankful for food!  If you know me, you know I LOVE food!!!  As Camala likes to say, I always ask "what's for dinner" before committing ;)
16. I am thankful for Ashton's blanket that she LOVES.  Without it, there would never be naps or bedtime.
17. I am thankful for my iPhone.  What did I ever do without it?!
18. I am thankful for ALL of my nieces and nephews.  I am probably the proudest Aunt in the world!
19. I am thankful for being able to stay at home with my girls (& now...Kellan and Kolby).  It was always my dream to be a stay at home mom and Trey made that dream come true!
20. I am thankful for my in laws.  Paul & Viza and the rest of their family welcomed Kaylyn & I from day one and we are blessed to have them in our lives.
21. I am thankful for sweet tea, fried pork chops, cheese grits and catfish!  Yes, I'm from the country!
22. I am thankful for small towns.  I may not live in Sneads anymore, but you always remember where you came from.  Everyone knows everyone and people always wave and say hi with a smile on their face.
23. I am thankful for my brother and sister-in-law!  They have trusted me with their precious babies & I couldn't be happier (see #18).  Their chunky little faces make me smile :)!!!
24. I am thankful for contacts and glasses.  I wish I didn't have to wear either, but without them, this crazy world would just be a blur.
25. I am thankful for pictures.  They may not all be printed, but I have them and that is all that matters.  I will cherish them forever as they capture memories that I never want to forget.
26. I am thankful that Kaylyn got to know her Great Granddaddy Casey before he died.  I love when she starts off a sentence with "do you remember when Granddaddy Casey...".  He LOVED his "Prissy" so much and she LOVED him too!
27. I am thankful for my home!  It's where my heart is!
28. I am thankful for the friendships I made from working at Champion Chevrolet.  These friendships are ones that will last a lifetime.
29. I am thankful for my Silver jeans.  They're just my favorite!
30. I am thankful for all of the little things in life!  Like having a husband who makes sure I have mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving and that makes rockets that fly with the kids on his day off, for the sound of Kaylyn and Ashton laughing at each other and for the smile on their little faces when they see their mommy!  

Happy Thanksgiving!

One week down...

I've looked forward to this week for many months now, both with excitement and nervousness!  Now that it is over, I can say that it went PERFECT!  I said a little prayer Monday morning before my feet ever hit the floor & I can honestly say that the Lord must have been watching over me.  My week with Ashton and the twins (& Kaylyn in the afternoons) was surprisingly easy.  I'm no fool, so I'm counting on days that are harder than others & even a few where I will probably want to pull my hair out, but so far, so good :)

My days were filled with lots of feedings (bottles for the babies and real people food for Ashton), tons of  diaper changes & me playing with Ashton.  Thankfully Kellan & Kolby are wonderful babies and made it really easy.  They never cry (until I take Kellan's bottle away to burp him) and they are the sweetest little things ever.  A really BIG accomplishment for me this week was getting to story time with all 3 of the little ones on Wednesday & I even made it to my MOPS meeting on Thursday.  They are both things that I want to continue to be able to do, so I figured that I better learn how to make it happen!

I don't know how to explain it, but I really feel as though Ashton has grown up in a matter of 5 days.  I wish I had pics to show it, but by day two, she was already trying to burp the babies.  I sit on the floor to feed them & she walks between my legs and pats them on the back while I do the same.  It is the cutest thing and you can tell she is so PROUD to help!  She also picked up very quickly rocking one in the car seat while I buckle the other.  I'm not sure why she started doing it, but once I put one of the babies in the car seat, she rocks him while I put the other one in.  She is definitely very curious when it comes to them and doesn't let much pass by her :) 

I didn't have much time to take pictures (I will get better), but below are a few that were snapped throughout the week.

Kolby sleeping...

Kellan sleeping...

All of the little ones going to get big sister/cousin Kaylyn from school... 

Kaylyn was so excited for me to pick her up!  She couldn't wait to get home :) 

Tuesday night gymnastics... 

Going to story time... 

Ashton waking up HAPPY from a nap! 

Picture time before the boys left (Kolby was sleeping) on Friday!