Pictures with Santa

Saturday morning we got up and dressed and headed to the mall to see Santa. We got there around 9:30 a.m. and got the kids McDonald's, then headed over to the Santa area about 9:50. We wanted to make sure that we were the first in line! Two years ago, we made the horrible mistake of waiting until after nap time (around 2 or 3) to go, and I think every child in Alabama was there too! We waited in line for TWO HOURS to see Santa! Oh yes, two miserable hours! We took turns holding the spot and walking the mall with Daniel. I will NEVER do that again! This past Saturday was much more enjoyable. We only had the 10 minute wait until Santa arrived at 10. The kids both loved him! Caroline really enjoyed walking around the festive Christmas display. I am excited that she will really be able to appreciate the excitement of Christmas this year! Below are some pics from our wait in line. I did not get any of them with Santa because I was behind the camera trying to get sissy to smile. Matt's parents got some on their camera, so I will get them and post later.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone (posted a little late!). I hope that you all feel as blessed as we do this season. Daniel and Caroline are both doing wonderfully. Daniel is quite possibly the smartest kid I know. Seriously. He is able to manipulate numbers in his head quicker than I am! Caroline is trying so hard to communicate. She says ma ma, da da, ba ba (Daniel), bite, hi, bye, me, cat, and likely some others I can't think of right now. Daniel was speaking in complete sentences at 15 months; I think C might be on the same track! They love their little "schools", which has made teaching even more enjoyable for me. I feel so lucky to be working for such a top notch school system.

We are most thankful for our wonderful family and friends. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Matt's mom and dad's house, complete with ham and turkey, dressing, yummy casseroles, and ofcourse DESSERT! After we ate, we drove out to Ross Bridge to see their mini-Whooville. It was adorable! Their Christmas decorations were breathtaking. I was totally inspired to decorate as soon as possible! I am posting a few pictures from the day, including one of sissy WALKING!! I forgot how incredibly cute it is to see a little one just learning how to walk. I love it!

150 Years!

This past weekend we went to Brewton to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of North Brewton Baptist Church, the one in which my dad and Aunt Lawrinda grew up. There was a wonderful singing group, celebration of veteran members, memorials for those from the past who helped build such a firm foundation, and ofcourse the best homecooked spread you can imagine after church! Boy, do I miss "dinner on the grounds" at NBBC! They even had the first full time preacher come and speak. He baptized my dad as a young boy! He was feeble, but had a great personality and seemed to truly treasure being a part of such a special service. My great great grandfather was actually the founding preacher. There is a great deal of our family history built into that church. It will forever represent my grandmother to me. She was the godliest woman I have ever known, and likely ever will know. I miss her so much. I know that she would be proud of her beautiful family and how we have grown. I did not get many pictures, but we did manage to snap these few before the service.

Homecoming in Auburn (Finally a W!)

Hi Everyone! This past weekend was Homecoming for Auburn and Matt and Daniel rode up with some friends of ours. Greg and his little girl Ansley, who is five, met us a Chick Fil A Saturday morning for breakfast and some play time and then they were off to the plains! The kids had a fantastic time. Daniel saw his first Tiger Walk (that he can remember) and was amazed at the "huge paw prints on the road!" He was so excited about them--he said a real tiger even bigger than Aubie must have made them! They played at the park near the baseball field and even sat inside the baseball stadium. Matt and Daniel met up with his sister Meredith and her baby Claire. Daniel really wanted them to stay, but he understood that Claire could not make it through the game. He just loooves baby Claire! In fact, he wanted to sell Caroline in a garage sale to make room for cousin Claire in our house. Silly guy! He loves his sister, too. He is such a good big brother. He shares and takes care of her, and always tries to make her laugh when she is crying. She is a lucky little girl, and I am lucky to be their mommy.

Below are some pics from Homecoming. Enjoy!

Turkey Trottin'!

Okay, so every November my school does it's annual Turkey Trot. Each grade level K-5 runs a one mile race through Homewood. I decided that since Daniel loves to run, and is actually a very good runner, we would participate together this year. After all, he has run the track with me since he was two! We ran a practice mile yesterday, and he did a great job. My little man ran an entire mile without stopping! I knew that today would be no different, and he did not disappoint! Since Matt has had the stomach bug today, he did not get to go. :(
But Daniel, Caroline (who rode along happily in the jogging stroller) and I ran our mile like champions! He was so proud of himself (and I was proud of him too!). We stayed after the race and played on the playground for quite a while and then headed home. Caroline's most favorite thing was the slide and Daniel loved the swings. I wish that I had brought my camera--I will take a picture of us in our Turkey Trot shirts and post it another time. Again, my little boy is growing up so fast--I can't believe that he will be at Edgewood as a Kindergartener next year!

Happy Halloween!

I hope that everyone had a Happy Halloween! Matt, his mom and dad, the kids and I enjoyed a yummy neighborhood cookout at our friends Abby and Larry's. They have a little boy Daniel's age named Trey. Trey and Daniel have deemed each other their best friend and they were so cute trick or treating together! Trey is the Spiderman you will see in the pictures below. Abby says that every time they drive by our house on the way to or from theirs, Trey points to our house and says "my best friend lives there; that is my best friend's house!" He is the sweetest! Enjoy the pics, and welcome to November!

Daniel as the all powerful super scary Transformer Bumblebee and sissy as the sweet little bumblebee with sparkly wings (that I wish you could see better in the pictures!)

Caroline's favorite treat from the night was a tiny little "dum dum" sucker. Don't worry, she was supervised at all times to prevent choking!

Some of the boys at the cookout

Ready to put out any fire that comes his way!

Daniel and his "best friend" Trey