Wintertime

What have we been doing this winter? Well, let's see.......

Making homemade biscuits and playing with the leftover dough.

Adding a few sprinkles to make it more interesting.

Wyatt's little hands

Anna Lea's little hands

Pulling all the luggage and sleeping bags out to play with, or take a break in

Making our own vanilla for baking (SO EASY! Hope I never have to buy it again!)

Everyone got to make their own afterschool trail mix snack

Driving trucks and trains over pieces of tape, taped to the living room floor

Having a real-life sleepover with our cousin, Eveley who came for a visit

Just to name a few.

Our Christmas Celebration

Found Goldfish in our stockings

The only thing Wyatt asked Santa for this year...a TRACTOR!

Anna Lea's dress up clothes

still loving it

Layla's "Belle" dress

Beautiful Snow White

Layla getting ready to use her Easy Bake Oven for the first time

Oops...I found another "Snow White" sneaking around

"Snow White" and her new kitty at Gram and Poppy's

Wyatt "rocking out" with his new guitar...he was cracking us up jumping around with this thing from Aunt Jeannie and Uncle David! He says, "I'm a Star Rock!"

Thanksgiving Trip and Christmas Advent Calendar

Our family traveled to my Mom and Dad's in Clarksville, TN for Thanksgiving this year. We enjoyed a DELICIOUS, traditional, Thanksgiving meal (including my favorite - sweet potato casserole!) and spending quality time with "grandma" and "grandpa". We also traveled to Bowling Green, Ky to see my dad's extended family, including my grandmother. We had a great time. The kids especially enjoyed Grandpa's miniature farm wich includes several goats, a bull, turkeys, chickens, and a cat or two.

Grandpa and kids

Wyatt

Layla and Anna Lea on the haybales

This Christmas season, I was motivated and inspired to try an Advent calendar for our children. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible, yet something that they would look foward to each morning. Almost all of the ideas that went into the envelopes were traditions that we would have done any way (like ice sugar cookies) but, doing it this way adds anticipation, and makes us more intentional in celebrating the days leading up to our Saviour's birth! Below is a picture of what I came up with that is working well for us this year. The first day we decorated our Christmas tree. Today we enjoyed cups of hot chocolate. On Sunday, we dressed up for church and tried for a family photo in wich everyone is smiling....with little luck.

Our "Advent Calendar" (made using envelopes clothes-pinned to a little rope)


Family Photos:)

Layla

Anna Lea

Wyatt

The Happy Little Family

(Many thanks to our photographer who managed to capture the stairs, cluttered with clothes in the background;)

Another thing I added to the calendar was making a birdhouse with Daddy. Rob, was not too thrilled with my awesome idea at first, but came through (as those of you who know him well, knew he would) with a perfectly cut, perfectly aligned, perfectly squared, solid-as-a-rock, birdhouse!

Couldn't resist posting this pic of Wyatt working in his cute lizard undies and socks!

The finished product!

Leaves and a little Chocolate Pie

Over the past couple of weeks I have fallen into the "holiday spirit" and have started baking and planning an Advent calendar for the kids. I love the holidays and all of the traditions and anticipation that it brings. This past week I baked a pecan pie and a chocolate pie. By the second day, there were only two pieces of the chocolate pie left. As I was vacuuming that day, I kept glancing in checking on Wyatt and Anna Lea, but in between glances, they happened upon the chocolate pie........

I truly do not understand why my children feel the need to "go the extra mile" when getting into something. They are not satisfied to merely nibble on the delicious food that they have found, but instead feel the need to baptize themselves it as well. Oh, well. I guess they figure if your gonna go, go all out!? A philosophy they continue to live out as they grow.

On a happier note..... we have a lot of trees around our house, and Rob did some leaf-blowing this past weekend. I grabbed my camera and captured a few memories.

my little "angels"

Fast becoming one of our November traditions is my Grandma Wilma's famous pumpkin roll recipe she has passed down to us. And it is GOOD!

Meeting Little Beau

This past weekend Oscar, Katie, and Little Beau came for a visit. We enjoyed spending time with them and getting to know one of the kid's newest cousins.

I had Layla be my photographer for the evening, and she did a really good job! She took all of the pictures below except for the one she is in.

Gram and Beau

Rob and I (don't look at my hair, it was strugglin' that day)

Poppy, Anna Lea, Freddy, and Freddy

Kate and Oscar

Layla trying to not be in a picture (wonder who she got that from?)

Wyatt

Layla and Beau

Mimi and Beau