Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Remember Jesus is the reason for the season!

Christmas fun!

The kids and I baked some cookies for Chloe's class Christmas party. We made holiday wreaths and chocolate covered pretzels. (thanks Sara and Beth for the recipes) They were yummy and alot of fun for the kids to decorate. Let me just warn you if you decide to make these..........be prepared to be stepping on sprinkles for days!

Happy Baking!!!!!!!!!!!!

Push over?!?!

It has already been one of those mornings. I have given myself the bad mother of the year award. It is only 9 a.m. and just couldn't listen to Cooper's whinning any more. So, I gave in and let him have the chocolate covered pretzel he has been spying since he woke up.

I must say, It was totally worth it!

We went back to Bethlehem..................

and saw some camel............

and we made some flour...........................

and pet a dove..........................



and smelled some fish.........................

We warmed our hands......................

and saw the live nativity of Jesus' birth.............................

Cooper's favorite part was eating the cookies!

What a great night and a great experience for our kids. Reminding us of the REAL meaning of CHRISTmas!

Oh, to have been an owl in a tree that night.............


"Popper it is good for us to do stuff like this"

"What do you mean Cam"

"You know, having these traditions together of having a fire and stuff, so when you go to heaven I will have this memory"


Thanks dad for making memories with my kids! Love you.

Favorites

Just like Julie Andrews sings in the sound of music,

These are a few of my favorite things.............

necklace on sale for $12.99 this week at Target.

Cutest shoes ever, $6.00 at goodwill.

Bird plate $5.00 Pier 1 Imports. (I hear on clearance for 20% off)




My family.....PRICELESS

Happy Tuesday Ya'll! I'm sounding like a true Georgia Peach!

Girls Night Out

Oz and I are trying to have some one-on-one time with the kids, so Friday night Oz took Campbell to a play-off football game and Chloe and I went to get her hair cut and get a little manicure.

Chloe's cute new haircut. She says she wants her hair short like mama's. I will enjoy the fact she wants to look like me now b/c in a few years it will probably be the furthest thing from her mind.

Chloe got to pick out any color she wanted. I was glad she picked pink instead of the blue and orange one she was debating about. I just bit my tongue and said whatever one you want!

Then we hit Mellow Mushroom for some yummy pizza.

And then of course we did a little shopping. The kids were getting a little tired so Chloe ended up in the basket.

So on the way home from our fun little night our conversation went a little like this........

Mom: Thanks a bunch for having a girls night with me.

Chloe: Thank-you mom, You are the best mom in the whole world.

Mom: How do you know I am the best mom in the whole world?

Chloe: Because I just know.

Mom: Have you ever had another mom?

Chloe: No, but I just know.

Mom: So why do you think I am the best?

Chloe: It is because you have such a sweet heart mom.

Mom: Awe, thanks Chloe. Your are my favorite Chloe bugs ever!

I'm already looking forward to our next little date!

Christmas Cheer?

I have been super busy since we have been back from Indianapolis with unpacking, the never ending pile of laundry, and putting up the Christmas tree and the decorations.

I don't know about you but I remember as a kid the excitment of helping my mom put the ornaments on the tree and thinking how pretty the tree looked. I remember the excitement of when she would pull out all the boxes of Christmas decorations and the transformation throughout our home of Christmas wonderland.

I loved those memories as a kid and so I have these grand ideas of making the same great memories for my own children. Well, I think I failed big time. So I turn on the Christmas music and pull in the tree and all the boxes of ornaments and the kids are so excited to start decorating. I'm excited too, but consumed with how pretty and flowy the tree needs to look. But to my 2 anxious children, they don't care if 2 red ornaments are right next to each other etc... so I feel I start to get cranky, Oz is working on the computer and not really helping us, and Cooper is whining and I'm like....Is this really fun? This is SO not what I planned it to be like. Why do I have to be so anal about how the tree looks? I kept telling myself just let the kids do this and when they go to bed I'll just move around the ornaments. I"m so mad at myself for feeling like this and I know the kids realized it especially b/c Campbell told me I could not help him and Chloe decorate their little tree. Ugh. Maybe next year I will get it right.

So I wondered how did my mom just let us do what we wanted and not care? Well she recently revealed to me her secret....she rearranged the tree after we went to bed! See I come by it naturally.

Here is a picture of our tree.... with the leaning star that will Not sit straight.


I thought I would share a few of my other favorite decorations.................

I fear I get to wrapped up in all the stuff that comes with the holidays....shopping, baking, decorating, Christmas cards, parties etc.....I really want to focus on the real meaning of Christmas, our Saviour's birth.... born to die for me, little ole' me. Thank you Lord for sending your son as a baby to die for my sins, forgive me for focusing on the little things that don't even matter. Help me to focus on you and instill that in my 3 precious children.

Thanksgiving break

We decided at the last minute (since the chiefs lost the playoff game and our fb season came to an end) to travel to Indy and Illinois to visit my parents and my sister and her family for thanksgiving break. Oz and the kids had the entire week off so we decided to head home.

The weekend prior to thanksgiving Oz's brother Steve and his family came to visit for the weekend and watch Oz's football game. We had a great time with them and the cousins had a blast playing.

Trooper,Chloe,Alicia,Cooper

O.K. now sing it with me..........

On the 1st day of thanksgiving break this is what we did....we drove 8hrs to Indianapolis.

On the 2nd day of thanksgiving break this is what we did....we drove to Illinois with Nana Deb.

On the 3rd day of thanksgiving break this is what we did....we went out for pizza with our families.

On the 4th day of thanksgiving break this is what we did.....we celebrated thanksgiving day and stuffed our faces and watched football.

Kara,chloe, and our favorite Jessi

Leann,Jenna,Martha,Mom

On the 5th day of thanksgiving break this is what we did.......SHOPPED ALL DAY!

Me,Jenna,Mom,Aunt Martha, Cuz Jessi

Lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings-a break from all our shopping!

On the 6th day of thanksgiving break this is what we did......we played all day with our cousins and then had to say good-bye. :(

Chloe,Riley,Paige,Cooper,Luke,Campbell

Me and my sis, Jenna

Then when we got back to Indy at Popper and Nanna's house popper made us "poppers famous fried chicken ", homemade popcorn , and then we had a bonfire!

On the 7th day of thanksgiving break this is what we did.....we woke up to SNOW and had to travel back to GA.


What a great time we had with everyone reminiscing and making new memories. Thanks so much Mom and Dad and Mark and Jenna for putting us up for the week. We love you and miss you already! Now it is your turn to come visit us!