Tis the Season

I love this time of the year. I am trying my best to soak it all up and create memories.



Our sneaky little elf is back. Everett has decided to name him Bobby. 

A new advent calendar. My mom gifted us with this. So cute and a great way to teach the children about Christ's birth. 

A new Christmas tree for our playroom-taken with the fireworks setting on our camera. We have our "formal" tree upstairs in the living room and this is our "fun" tree. I love the colored lights and the hodge podge of ornaments it is decorated with. The children love it too and have been surprisingly good about not touching. 

I am working on filling our calendar with one fun Christmas activity each week this month. More to come!

Silly and Sassy



This is sassy.

This is silly.

And I have a feeling that when they get together one day they are going to be trouble! 

I really enjoyed my time with these two this morning while Everett was at preschool. Of course it was a joyful reunion upon Ev's return.

Giving Thanks

Our tree is full. And so are our hearts. We had a great Thanksgiving. We traveled down to Athens, Georgia to spend it with Eric's family. 

Before that however Eric and I were able to sneak away for a bit to visit the Biltmore Estate. It was decorated for Christmas and so pretty. I thank my mom for taking care of the babies so we could have a day date. 

The babies did great on the car ride down to Athens. I was so proud of them and happy we made it there in peace. 

Hampton and Everett ate and ate. 

Everett and I made these cute name plates for the children. 

The best we could get with Gigi and all the boys. 

Playing with cousins. 

And now we are ready for Christmas!



Family Day with the Burkes

Last Saturday our friends the Burke family came to visit us. Between our 2 families, there were 6 children 3 and under. It was wild. What is funny is that earlier in our lives (back in our Louisville days), when we first became friends, there was no children between us. Now there are 6! We always have so much fun when we get together. We enjoyed playing, decorating Christmas cookies, watching movies, visiting the arboretum, eating white chicken chili, making smores in the fireplace, and just chatting and catching up.

A very sprinkled cookie. 

Hampton at the arboretum. 

The boys loved playing in the leaves. 

Wyatt and Everett just being boys!

All the boys: Silas, Wyatt, Everett, and Hampton. 

We look forward to seeing the Burkes again!

Breaking the Rules

Eric and I have been trying to be more intentional about spending one-on-one time with the children. So last Friday evening I had to pick up a few groceries at Wal-Mart and I took Everett along. It was already 6:30pm at this point, but I figured we could be back by bedtime. Well afterward Everett said he wanted to go to Target. He much prefers Target over Wal-Mart (so do I). It was already 7pm at this point. Bedtime is at 7:30, but we were having some special time together, so I went with it. There was a chill in the air and it was already dark. We had so much fun at Target. I let him direct where we went. We looked at the toys, the big televisions, browsed the shoes (I even found a new pair!). We giggled. Cookie from Starbucks? Sure! 

Try on sunglasses? Sure!

I am embarrassed to say, we may even had made up a song about stinky poo. Just trying to cater to him being a boy. I love these moments of spontaneity with the children. Staying up past bedtime to watch a movie. Having ice-cream for dinner. Breaking the rules. It happens every now and then and I love the response it creates as if to say, "Are you serious!?! This is great!"

When Daddy Comes Home

This past week Eric has been away on a business trip. We miss him so much when he is gone! It is always a joyful reunion upon his return. In fact, I got little miss all dressed up for the occasion. Her shirt said, "I love Daddy." The big boys were pretty happy to see him too.

The Past Few Days in Pictures

We've had a busy few days. Here is a hodge podge of happenings......

Everett has been busy with Thanksgiving festivities at preschool. He came home in this Indian hat today. His teacher names each of the children with an Indian name. Everett's is "Little Turtle." I'm thinking it has something to do with him hiding in his shell at times. 

There is a new lady of the house and her name is Eleanor. The boys just love this sweet girl. They have different ways of showing their love though. Hampton is a little bit of a bull. He has a tendency to hit her and squeeze her a bit too tight. It's all out of love though.  

She actually flinches a bit when he gets near. They'll be chums soon enough though. 

Everett is definitely more gentle. He gives her sweet kisses. She smiles and coos at him. No matter though,the big boys love Eleanor and she is becoming more and more aware of them.

Walking with the three. I am trying to lose this baby weight so when I go walking with all 3 children, this is how we have to do it. I certainly get a workout!

Looking forward to having friends over this weekend and of course, Thanksgiving next week. I love the holidays!