christmas highlights

the new bike. all he does is push the pedals backwards...
which means he doesn't go very far. :)
the new scooter. she has graduated to the "2 wheeled scooter" and is very proud!

too bad santa didn't bring them new iPods to go with their new headphones!
how unthoughtful of him.

blowing out the candle for Jesus' birthday.

watch out Bob the Builder...check out these skills!

my fam.

the crazy cousins.

my big fat extended family christmas....and christmas at starbucks

every year since i can remember, my mom's side of the family all get together for christmas eve. we now do it on the weekend before christmas since it got too hard for all of us to make it on christmas eve. anyway, we eat lasagna every year, we talk and laugh and catch up, and all the grandkids exchange gifts and the adults exchange white elephant gifts. i guess i should now say the GREAT-grandkids exchange gifts...b/c i'm one of the grandkids and we are all grown up now! my 87 year old gramma was there last night...she is great-gramma ("GG" is what they call her) to 23 great grandchildren!! here are most of them all together last night! it was a miracle to get this picture!! i love these family times together and am so glad that my kids get this chance to be around all their cousins!


then today we met my in-laws for lunch. they live 2 hours away so we decided to meet them halfway so we could exchange gifts. we ate a yummy lunch at Cracker Barrel and then went to Starbucks to open gifts! r's mom even brought brownies for the birthday boy (r's b-day is tomorrow). we had a nice time visiting with everyone...

ella and her uncle ryan

hallelujah! she got a webkins!! AND a backpack for her webkins puppy!

grandpa and evan trying to fix his reindeer gun...
they make it look like it might be a difficult job!

brothers.

the whole gang at our "starbucks christmas" :)

my new favorite christmas tradition

when i started blogging last year, i came across a few blogs who talked about their "Jesse Tree" during the christmas season. I had no idea what that was but it was rather intriguing. i took the time to read up about it and decided that this was the perfect tradition to start for my own family. the concept of the Jesse Tree is based on Isaiah 11:1, and the prophecy that the Savior would come from "the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." each night we read a story from the Bible and we hang an ornament on the tree that represents the story we just read. the last ornament we hang is on December 25 for the birth of Christ.



for the ornaments, i found the icons here and we use some of their devotions. i printed out the icons, bought round wooden circles from Michaels, used carbon paper to trace them onto the circles, and then ella and i painted them. it was a fun activity for us to do together! on the back side of each ornament, i have written which day it is for and what the icon represents. i also wrote down which scripture we are to read or what page to read from the bible story book.


i came up with my own order for the stories and pieced together the different ones (found from different jesse tree websites) i thought were important to include. i also went here for more ideas... and when we can, we read from "The Big Picture Story Bible". so each night through December, we read the story or scripture, ask a few simple questions to the kids, and pray a simple prayer when we are done. then the kids take turns hanging that ornament on our small tree. so far, the kids have seemed to enjoy it. and what i love about it is that as they grow older and hear these stories each year, they will hopefully (eventually) be able to see how Jesus is woven into each of these stories. God's redemptive plan is revealed all through the Old Testament and they will be learning how this plan ultimately leads us to the coming of Christ and why we celebrate Christmas.

i love this new tradition. if you want more information on the Jesse Tree or how to make your own ornaments, go here, here, here, or here. there are lots of other websites...these were the most helpful to me. you can also go here if you would like to purchase ornaments.

tis the season

our time the past week has been filled with all things christmas. tuesday we had our community group family christmas party. the kids made crafts and exchanged ornaments. lots of fun. on thursday i took the kids to the Pink Pig for the first time. for those of you who are wondering what the heck is the pink pig...well it's been an Atlanta tradition since the mid 1950s. it began as a ride that took you around the infamous Rich's christmas tree. today, they have a new ride and it's in a tent in the parking lot. not quite the same as i remember as a child! but the kids knew no different and thought it was fun. we went with my niece's and nephew and evan was the only one who wouldn't ride it.



next, ella's christmas program at school. they had a lessons & carols type program. she sang "Away in a Manger" and "Silent Night" with her class. there were times when we just chuckled...because they set their own tempo since they sang it a cappella. they all did a great job and it was a sweet time.

saturday ella and i went to the nutcracker with some friends. it was the first time she has seen the whole ballet. one of her little friends from school had a couple small parts. she actually sat through the whole thing in amazement and we talked a lot about our favorite parts later. one of her favorite parts was when the rat king died...she kept saying, "he was just pretend dying, right mommy?"


our kids are in this position at least once a day....because at least once a day (sometimes twice) they watch "Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas" that i recorded from the Disney channel. they LOVE this movie and obviously ask to watch it all the time. i guess i can deem it a holiday tradition in our house now!

i'm definitely getting old.

evan and i were at the mall today trying to get a little christmas shopping done. i told my sister i would go to a certain store to buy a couple gifts for her....she needed a couple t-shirts for my teenage cousins. i won't say what store it is...but it starts with an H and is similar to Abercrombie & Fitch. :)

first problem, there are 2 steps up to get into the store. i had evan in a stroller today with shopping bags hanging from the stroller. he got out, walked up the steps and got back in...only to come to 2 more steps going down into the store. ugh. then, walking around the dark store, i felt very intimidated! it was a little scary finding my way around the crammed together shelves and racks of clothing. and getting a stroller through the dark maze was very challenging! and then i wondered if i was dressed cool enough to be in that store! i'm over 15 years past my teenage prime and i certainly felt it!! there is no way my butt would even attempt to fit in their jeans! so once we got to the register, i could barely hear the guy working there because the music was so freakin loud! i REALLY felt like my parents then...especially when my dad used to call the music i like "a racket!" don't get me wrong, i actually liked the music they were playing...but i don't like it when it's so loud that i can't think straight...or hear what someone is saying! so then i thought i would buy my other cousin a gift card. once i took a glimpse of the photos they had printed on their gift cards, i said no way!! one was of a couple practically making out and the other was of some hot guy with no shirt on. a little too sexy for my 16 yr old cousin!! by this point...i was thinking to myself "i'm so old!!" i know i used to enjoy shopping in stores like that...but those days are long gone!! i know my sister would have freaked out in there! and don't get me started on their marketing....the imagery they use is ridiculous...especially knowing that their audience is so young. ok, enough about said store.

everything under a $1 store

i know of a store where you can get some great deals. the girl who works there is super cute in her home depot apron and pink high heels. she works really hard and loves her store, "toys r us" she calls it. everything is priced under a $1...although they look more expensive since she used the dollar sign instead of the cent sign. you can choose from cups, wrapping paper, combs, beach ball, hair clips, musical toys, books, jewelry and many more items! when you are done shopping, she swipes a credit card for you on her cool purple cash register (what have i taught her!?). good thing this store is in my living room...such easy access and convenience!!

pray pray pray

i must admit...my prayer life stinks. but when i keep hearing about these stories of sick little ones, it takes me to my knees. yesterday we heard of a little 3 yr old boy who was diagnosed with a brain tumor. this family goes to the church we used to attend and we have several mutual friends. joseph had surgery yesterday and they were only able to remove 1/3 of the tumor. please pray for them...their blog is: http://www.prayforjoseph.blogspot.com/

a friend of ours from college has a 5 mo. old son who just had his 2nd heart operation. pray for elliot...http://jabulanijonny.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/heading-back-to.html

and then there's my cousin, josh...who is still enduring and persevering through life with a brain tumor. we got to see him over thanksgiving...it breaks my heart to see this 15 yr old boy now in a wheel chair and hooked up to tubes. but they have seen slow improvements and we know God is at work. please pray for josh. http://prayforjoshua.com/

satan would like nothing more than to see these kinds of things cause unbelief. it does just make me question so many things. why these sweet children? i can only pray that through whatever happens with each of these situations, that He would be glorified somehow and that it would cause us to look to Jesus.

addicted to diapers

well i have not been a good blogger lately...not that there is a lack of things to blog about...just haven't had the energy to do it! potty training evan is one of those things sucking my energy! i started full force a few days ago. the first day, we had 3 semi-successful attempts...he was at least sitting down on his little potty, but most of the pee-pee flew across the floor or all over me. getting him to point "it" down was a challenge the first day! we've had many accidents and a few successes. we're doing a potty chart where he gets to put stickers on his chart...he is one away from getting ice cream. we are trying the timer. i've tried the cheerio in the potty trick but he doesn't want to stand up. we are pretty much attempting anything we can. and many times he just doesn't want to try...he begs me to let him wear a diaper. and believe me, i want to give in!! i'm just as addicted to diapers as he is....it is just sooo much easier! cleaning up messes all day long is not fun. either is running and tripping over things to get to him as fast as i can when i hear him say "mommy!" (in that certain voice which i can interpret as "i'm about to pee all over myself & the floor). anyway, eventually he will get it. and eventually i will be glad that we're doing it. the process is exhausting though. so for any of you who have potty trained boys...i'm open for any tips that you have!

no tears. no cavities.

ella's very first dental appointment went extremely well! i was a bit nervous on the days leading up to the big event. knowing her past fears and struggles with being a bit over dramatic...i was preparing myself for the worst. but it turned out to be the best it could be. she wasn't nervous or scared. she didn't shed a tear. she even smiled and giggled a few times. she basically was mesmorized by the widescreen tv showing "the little mermaid" during the whole cleaning and exam. you would've thought she had never seen tv in her life. the dental hygenist kept asking her questions and i had to nudge her to answer! anyway, the dentist said he was so proud of her and thought she had beautiful teeth. and a good report of no cavities topped off her great first visit to the dentist. we were all so proud of how well she did and couldn't stop telling her. everywhere we went today she wanted to tell people that she went to the dentist and how brave she was...it was so cute.

another party in the books

saturday was evan's "cars" movie birthday party. we had it at a local park and it was a beautiful day. a bit windy...but great fun. evan had lots of his little friends there and his cousins (16 total kids!). and here's what went down:

we made a makeshift racetrack out of cardboard boxes and placed it on a hill. the kids had fun rolling their cars down the track.

i love this picture of Miles...he was fascinated by the balloons. we had to tie them on the grill b/c it was too windy to put them on the tables.

evan and his twin cousins coloring Lightning McQueen.

playing Red Light Green Light...with a twist...they were running backwards like Mater does!

i made a couple of cardboard "cars" and the kids had a relay race....lots of fun!!

singing happy birthday

family picture after the party...we forgot to take one at the park

and i had to include this picture. ella drew evan this picture of Mater for his birthday...so sweet!

happy birthday baby

so now that he is the big THREE...i guess he's no longer my baby. but i sooo want to hang on to any little glimpse of those sweet baby characteristics about him. like him sucking his 2 fingers (still!), wearing cute footed pajamas, and him letting me cradle him like a baby (although his legs hang off the rocker!). my boy is growing up and it seems the years are going by far too quick. for right now, i will just enjoy this wonderful child that God has brought to our family. he brings many smiles to us all. he is adored by many. and we are happy he is ours! we love how funny he is...like when he called his magnets "magazines" tonight and when he said he wanted salad for his birthday dinner. i love that he sings at the top of his lungs and can carry a tune! i love that he can hit a baseball hard...and hit it far! i love that he can't wait til daddy comes home so he can wrestle. i love that after we drop sister off at school, he can't wait for us to pick her up. i love that he likes to dress up like a princess with ella and even wears high heels. i love when he tells us "good job!" and cheers us on. i love when he gives me "nuzzles". i love when he says "loves you, mommy". i love when he runs around outside and acts like a superhero. i love his high pitch giggle. i love his sweet soft cheeks and his big kisses he gives.

we love you, bud! happy 3rd birthday!!

age 2 above and age 3 below. amazing what a year can do!

evan's birthday eve

as i was tucking evan in bed tonight i was telling him that 3 years ago today he was in my tummy. "your tummy?!" he said. he thought that was funny. we talked a little and then he said, "when i turn little, i want to be in daddy's tummy. i want to sleep in dere (there) and get in a little ball."

super cute stuff right there. watch out daddy...maybe his dreams will come true?!

my conversations

once again, i'm sitting down trying to remember the details of the cute conversations that i've had with my kids lately. this one in particular i had with ella is one of the sweetest little talks we've ever had. it went something like this:

Ella: "mommy, am i going to be pregnant someday like you were?"
Me: "i sure hope so...then i would be a grandmother and that would be so fun. but that won't happen til you are much older!"
Ella: "grandmother!? but mommy, that is silly. you are my mommy!"
Me: "yes, but some day when you get to be an adult like mommy, hopefully you will get married and have children of your own. and then your children will be my grandchildren. just like Gramma J is your grandmother and she is my mommy. i know that is hard to understand."

as i was explaining all of this to her...her face gradually started changing and her eyes welled up with tears....she started crying.

Ella: "i want you to be my mommy. I don't want you to be a grandmother!" (through her tears!)
Me: "oh Ella, sweetie, i will always be your mommy. that will never, EVER change!"

at this moment, i felt so loved by her....that one little comment through her saddened face communicated so much love to me! then the conversation went on...

Ella: "i think i know what i want to name my children."
Me: "oh! what names do you have picked out?
Ella: "i like Haley. and Anna."
Me: "So you are going to have 2 girls? how many children do you want?"
Ella: "hmmm....maybe 5?" ...pause...."wait, i don't want to be in the hospital that much!! so maybe just 2."

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we bought Evan some new PJ's...they are one piece footed pajamas and we just oooo'ed and aahhh'ed over how cute he was in them. it made him still look like a baby and i'm not complaining! so when i put him to bed that night we were rocking in the chair and he said "mommy, i look sooo cute in this outfit!" (hearing him say that in his sweet voice was priceless...i loved that he called it his outfit!)

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another conversation with Ella:
Ella: "i'm scared of witches. i'm scared of witches and mommies."
Me: "mommies?" "OH! you mean 'mummies'!?"

i can see how she would put witches and "mommies" in the same category....we can often act like witches! :)

happy halloween!!

introducing our cowboy....


and ballerina....

and some more fall memories...

we got back last night from a fun weekend in the mountains with friends. we had so much fun with all the kids and enjoyed the beautiful NC weather. here's some photos of the good times...

we took a hike to a very pretty waterfall.

the first fish evan has caught. the boy is already in love with fishing. daddy's dream come true!

ella caught her first fish too! she was even brave enough to touch it!

we decorated pumpkin cookies.

and carved our first pumpkin as a family. ella thought the insides were pretty gross.