Christmas 2008

I know it has been a long time since my last post! This was not my intention and I am going to try to blog more. The girls were SO excited about Christmas this year. Brinley was in the Christmas program at church and I am pretty sure she would LOVE to be an actress or singer one day! We picked 2 girls from the Angel Tree that were their ages & they LOVED buying things for someone who needed it even if they didn't get to meet them! We saw Santa a couple of times early in the month & told him a few things they wanted, but never got the "actual" picture this year. (thank you extreme mall lines!) They could not wait for this morning to see what they got & they also were about to wet their pants for us to open our presents as well! Their ages this year were perfect. They have enjoyed every minute of it! We also have talked several times about the Reason for the Season and while they may not be able to fully grasp that concept, at least they know that Christmas is not just another day & not just about presents, lights, trees & Santa. I hope everyone else has had a Blessed and Merry Christmas! I am attaching a few of the pictures from last night & today. I am also attaching a video from last night that is well worth the watch! making white chocolate pretzels that they left for Santa... opening a Christmas Eve present... the "loot" Brinley with her American Girl, Ruthie Braelyn playing with her Leapster on the girls new Barbie vanity

ENJOY!

Thankful...

Try, try & try again. I have tried to post to blogger 2 times in the last week, we'll see if the 3rd time is a charm.

The girls & I & the dog made it in town yesterday for the holiday. I am happy to be here & ready to get down to business, the food business that is...haha. We have a busy day today. James' plane just made it here safely and we are about to be off to the races (3 houses to be exact! yikes!). I just wanted to say how thankful I am for our family & our friends. I am especially grateful for my husband & our two beautiful daughters. They mean the world to me. I hope everyone has a Wonderful Thanksgiving! This song just popped in my head...

Count Your Blessings, Count Them One by One,
Count Your Blessings, See What God Has Done...

Anyone remember that?? Have a great holiday!


old pic of us, but I still love it...

Belated Halloween AND Happy 6th Birthday Brinley!!

I never got around to posting Halloween pics, so here are a few of those...


in Halloween dresses...

give it up for HANNAH MONTANA!!


sweet little Abby Cadabby (sesame street)


Pappaw & Mimi ready to trick or treat (don't you love the background view??)





Brinley turned 6 on Friday!! Happy Birthday to my "baby"!! I volunteered in her class that day and ate lunch with her. That evening she had her birthday party at a pottery studio. She had a great time!

beautiful baby Brinley...

she has grown so fast!

always cheesin' for the camera...

sitting in the birthday chair at school

school lunch with the neighbors, Logan & Harlee

most of the group at the party

the pink guitar cupcakes

blowing out SIX candles!!

one of her HM presents

some more HM presents!

the outfit she wanted to wear!! (wait 'til you see the "Pretty Woman" boots!)

a few of her guests...

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY BRINLEY NICOLE!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Locks of Love

Well she begged and pleaded and begged some more! Brinley has been asking for months, if not close to a year, to cut her hair and donate it to Locks of Love. I tried to talk her out of it at first because her hair is beautiful long, but she would not let up. Then the "rule" or "goal" I set was that we would wait until after starting Kindergarten & taking school pictures. I did not pay close enough attention in psychology class because that did not work either. She has reminded me for months & on the morning of her school pictures, she reminded me yet again. How can we argue with her for wanting to donate to a child in need?? So a few weeks later, I made an appointment & today...we did it!! I almost cried after the first snip! I know, I know, it will grow back. She LOVES it and I think she looks absolutely adorable! For those that watch the show, when she saw her completed look, she said, "I look like Cara and Maddie on Jon & Kate plus 8!" Daddy is still not so sure about it, but I am glad she likes it and did it for a good cause! Here are before and after pics...


we tried to dry it straight one night to see the true length


that is ALOT of hair!


a little bit excited!!


check out her face...LOL


the 1st cut!!



don't let her fool you, she wouldn't sit still, this was a RARE moment!


wow


this makes me want to cry, she is beautiful!


some little girl will get all of this beautiful hair!


rockin' out to rockband before bedtime


on the way up to bed with Braelyn and Jonas

Opposites Attract

I know it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post & I am sure there are several topics I could post about today, but I chose this because it is just cute!

Taffy, our basset hound, and Jonas, our kitty, have become best friends! They liked each other a little bit as they first started getting acquainted, but now they have had a little over a month of getting to know each other. It is crazy to watch the 2 of them play together all day long! Sure they get a little too rough with each other sometimes, but they continue to chase each other and have a good time. Taffy will put her mouth around Jonas' whole head, while Jonas will nip & claw at Taffy's ears & mouth! These are some pictures I took of them playing, although it is hard to get good shots because they are constantly rolling around!




Jonas looks like a deer in headlights!



I know this is blurry, but Taffy looks like she is laughing! Too funny!



you bite me, I bite you...

Happy 3rd Birthday Braelyn!

Surely it cannot have been 3 whole years since my baby girl was born! Oh my goodness where does the time go?? Three years ago today I had been in the hospital for almost 5 days waiting to find out if unborn baby Braelyn was going to be okay. I went into early labor at 33.3 weeks & they put a hault to her entrance for a few days to give her the steroids for her lungs to finish developing. Once they determined that everything looked good, they took me off of the meds & let Braelyn Alexis make her grand entrance! At 6 weeks early & weighing in at 5 lbs. 13 oz., she would have been a big full term baby like her sister! She still looked so tiny to us! After a brief 5 day stay in the NICU, Braelyn was able to come home. She has been such a blessing to our family and she is loved SO much! Brinley loves Braelyn (most of the time) and it is funny how the girls have such different personalities. We love them both very much and are very thankful for both of them!! Happy 3rd Birthday Braelyn!! Here are a few pics from her day & a short video...



yesterday she wore her "birthday princess" shirt and James took her to breakfast & I took her to Starbucks for her whipped cream in a cup! (notice what they wrote on her cup!)