I'm Back
11 years ago
We got home this afternoon after what seemed like the longest drive ever. I was sleepy and asked Brandon if he would mind driving and feared the worst by doing so... the kiddos would wake up. They did. But I was afraid of what would happen if I didn't quit driving more. We stopped in Florala for a little play time on the "airwayne" (as miss priss calls it) by the water.
When we got home we found a cute little surprise left by our guests that kept our home company while we were gone. They had a little Christmas tree decorated with homemade ornaments and lights and ribbon, chocolate covered krispie treats, chocolate covered creamer for your coffee (super cool and Brandon can't wait for morning to use them!), some hot cocoa (which I can't wait to use in the a.m.), some Christmas plates/napkins and a cute card signed by our guests. We never met them, but they sound truly wonderful!!! (Did I mention they sent a fall themed package to us in the mail before Thanksgiving?)
Christopher was so excited about the little tree that he ran and grabbed the head of the reindeer that Brandon had made at the lake and brought it inside to show him. I think he named the deer either Dugger or Bisker. Don't ask. He's really into making up words, some of which are not words that sound like ones a 3 year old should be saying, but I fear by telling him to not say that one in particular it will instantly become he's favorite word of the month. So, if you hear him say something and it shocks you, please know that he did NOT hear it from us! I'm off to grab supper and go to bed. I'll post photos from our Thanksgiving this week.
I'm super excited about Thanksgiving tomorrow! I love having all of my family together and eating lots of yummy food we only have twice a year. (Maybe we should spread it out and do it in July?) It was hard to start this post where I was going to name some things I was thankful for b/c my children were just fight over the "sand mold" that they were playing with. Once I threatened to throw it away they finally stopped.
This year we are having the celebration at my parents' house and there is nothing like being at the lake in the fall. I love it! Mom told me last night that not all of the leaves had fallen off the trees so I could still enjoy it. I miss the changing leaves so much!! Here in FL everything either stays green or just turns brown and dies leaving these ugly, thorny looking branches behind. Both of my siblings and their families will be there, as well as my dad's sisters and their families, my grandmother and her brother, Uncle Bob.
I feel I have so many things to be thankful for and with the way the world is lately I feel even more grateful for what I have. I am so blessed to have a son and a daughter who love each other like crazy (even when fighting over dirt and who it belongs to). I'm truly thankful for my husband who gave me those two little blessings. I'm thankful that he has a job that is secure and that we can live so close to his work that we don't have to worry about it taking him an hour to get home. (He can ride a bike there!) I'm thankful for our parents and the faith that they have in God and that they knew just how important it was to raise us to have that same faith. I'm thankful that I have the ability to drive thru Burger King to grab breakfast every now and then. I'm thankful that I stay home with my kids so I don't drive thru there every day. I'm thankful for the friends that God has always provided for us in every move. I'm thankful for the friends we have made at our church. I'm thankful that my son wants to play trucks with me so I will step away from this computer right now. And tomorrow I will be thankful for diving into some of this:
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Christmas that is. We had called the Newells Saturday morning to see if they wanted to come over for dinner that night. Then I got an email telling me about the lighting of the Christmas tree and Santa's arrival at Destin Commons and we all decided to meet there instead. It was funny b/c last year Melissa and I took the kids while our husbands were on call together. You could go have your photo taken with Santa for free at Bass Pro Shop and then make a reindeer ornament from noon to 5 pm. We put the kids down for early naps and then stopped by Dairy Queen for an ice cream treat on our way there. I wasn't sure how the kids would react, but I had a feeling Christopher wouldn't cry. He didn't. Sophie screamed. Christopher walked up to Santa and yelled, "I want a big firetruck!" and then climbed in his lap and stuck out his tongue all funny and froze. This is what he typically does when he's nervous or shy. The tongue thing, not the yelling part. Here are the photos I got from the night. We ate at Red Brick Pizza (which was delicious!!!!) and then made it outside in time to see the back side of the show and get a little wet from the rain. We didn't stay too long after it was over b/c the kids were cranky and needed to be put to bed very soon. Looking forward to going again next year!
Christopher had to try out the shooting game he saw the older kids playing. Sophie had to chomp down on her candy cane she got from Santa.
Checking out the massive fish in the fish tank they have. The kids love this part!
Me making Christopher's reindeer while he eats his popcorn. Remember we already had ice cream and then the four of us inhaled a large pizza with no leftovers. We were hungry!
Checking out the train at the exit. This was next to Santa (back of the store) last year and the first thing Christopher asked for when we got there. I don't know why I was so surprised he remembered where they put it the year before.
The kids on a wall trying to watch the show. They didn't really care that they couldn't see well.
Brandon with the kids, Sophie, Landon, Christopher and Kylan. The only one where everyone is looking at the camera!
Sophie loves Kylan and I think the feeling is mutual. They held hands and chased each other all over the place! She is the only girl that Sophie plays with on a regular basis, but now that Kylan started school we see her even less. She is precious!!!
Tonight I thought I'd left the little man in bed, but he snuck up on me in the kitchen and about gave me a heart attack! I asked him what was wrong and he very sweetly said, "I prayed to God and it didn't work." I think if I'd had anything in my mouth I would have either choked on it or spewed it all over the counter. It was so cute! Once I was able to talk without giggling I asked him if he was scared to which he replied, "Yes. And I prayed, but it didn't work. I was still scared." I asked him what he said when he prayed to God, just curious what he's say and this was what I got, "Dear God, thank you for the food." I guess I need to be more specific when I tell him to ask God to help him when he's scared. Gosh, I love that kid!!!!
I wonder what kind of things Sophie will say when she's three?
I was tagged by Ole Miss Mom to list 10 things that make me happy. So, here goes:
1. My husband, Brandon. He's wonderful! He works very hard to provide for us and even harder to have fun with us. He always tries to out do himself when it comes to entertaining the kids. He does the dishes when we have company and wrestles with the kids when he comes home from work. I could go on and on, but I have to list 9 more things!
2. My kids, Christopher and Sophie. They crack me up! Every time we are in the car and see something to do with construction or any kind of work truck he yells it with pure joy like it's the first time he's ever seen one in real life. Sophie has joined in on the fun too. I love to hear them laugh at each other, even if they are teaming up against me.
3. Not having to fix dinner. I love to cook, but I don't love to clean it up. So if there is ever a night that Brandon tells me not to fix anything I love it!
4. Entertaining friends and family. I know, you are probably laughing after what I said in #3, but I truly love hosting people in our home. But I like to do relaxing entertaining. Don't expect fine china or tea sets or sterling silver at our house. We like to grill out, use wooden plates (if I don't have paper) and wear comfy clothes with no shoes. I'm proud to say we've even had company and I didn't even bother to put makeup on. Oh, and expect me to do the dishes (if Brandon isn't already) while you are still there. Cleaning is way more fun when you have someone to chat with.
5. Family get-togethers. I love going to my parents' house when my siblings are there with their families. It's loud and crazy and someone may end up fighting or in time out, but I love it! And I love going to my in-laws just as much. Yes, I love mine very much. My kids are very fortunate to have such fun grandparents!
6. Chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven and cold milk. Need I say more? (Just had some.)
7. My dog, Brick. He was a sweet addition to our family. He is the kindest dog and I can't figure out why anyone got rid of him.
8. Reading. There is nothing I love to do more than putting the kids to bed, taking a hot shower and crawling into bed to lose myself in a fun read. This is what I do when Brandon is gone at night and that's why I don't mind giving him time away to unwind.
9. Our church. We visited it when we moved here a year and a half ago and never went anywhere else. They have an incredibly children's program, our S.S. rocks and I have truly enjoyed being a part of MOPS. I will miss it very much when we move.
10. Knowing Jesus. I haven't always been great at spending time with Him once I had kids, but I love it when I do. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank Him for everything that He has given me (like the things listed above). I try to remind Christopher of that too. I want my children to know that everything we have was given to us by Him and those things cannot be the most important things in our lives. Nothing we have will make us feel better when we are down in the dumps the way that He can!
Now I'm going to tag some of you! I didn't add photos b/c I didn't know how much time I'd have to do this, but feel free to on your blog if you'd like!
Jennifer (my sis)
Caroline (my sis-in-law)
Melissa
Lauren
Rebecca
Joia
Wendi
Christopher has said some really funny things lately. To start off the first one, we borrowed the Curious George movie from a friend and he's obsessed with watching it. If you haven't seen it, it's really cute (and I found it for $10 to put in his stocking). Anyway, on Monday we went around with Wendi to pass out flyers about collecting can goods to take to a local shelter for Thanksgiving. Christopher loved running up to the houses and sticking them in the door and was more into it than I thought he would be. I want to start teaching my children that holidays are not all about them, but about helping those less fortunate than us too. That's why I was so excited Wendi had this idea and I jumped on board. Well, we met her and her boys after mom's day out and since my kids never nap that day he started to get a little tired. We went home and he went to lie down in my room watching a movie. He came out to find me and saw Wendi still at work and said, "There's Wendi! She's working really hard!" I agreed with him with laughter. Then her husband John drove by and he asked me where they were going. I told him I didn't know and he quickly replied, "They are going to Africa like Curious George." I immediately called her and left her a message to call me when she got home so I could tell her where they had gone in his mind.
That night as we were having our mommy-son time in bed (our favorite time of the day!) he randomly told me he didn't want to go to kindergarden. I told him he didn't have to go for a few more years. (Our friend Kylan started K this year, so it has been a popular topic in our house.) He thought about it for a minute and then said, "I don't want to go to kindergarden. I want to go to a school with squares." Huh? I had no idea what he was talking about. I tried to ask more questions, but the only answer I got were, "or circles." I'm still confused. I tried to ask some more but then I felt like I was in a Dr. Seuss book b/c he starts talking about in kindergarden they have those red and yellow legs. What in the world? I just left him in bed having no clue what he was thinking and figured he knew and that was all that mattered. He's into making things up to be silly so I'm just assuming that's all he was doing. Don't want to squash that imagination!
Today was fabulous! Yesterday was not, so I needed it. I was so very dizzy yesterday I felt like I was going to lose it at any point. This happens sometimes at night, but never all day. Brandon even came home a little early to help out and I felt bad b/c I know it's not how he wanted to spend his evening, but I guess it's ok b/c I've had several nights alone by myself due to his work. SO, today was much needed and I loved it! Our neighbor Wendi has two little boys and is watching a friend of our's little boy too while they are out of town for a couple days. I told her to bring them over and play b/c we were going to be home anyway. It was great b/c the sun was shining, the air was crisp and I got some laundry done along with a little bit of sweeping outside. We had lunch and the kids played toys until they couldn't play anymore. I just spoke to Wendi and she said naps were a HUGE success. They were at our house too! Everyone took at least a 2 hour nap, including me! We just got back from a little walk and some time at the playground. Brick's leash split in half so we had to come home. We plan to do this all over again tomorrow. I'll watch all 5 so she can run her dog and then watch them for me so I can run somewhere quick. I love having such wonderful friends!!!
Grammie and Pop came to visit last weekend and it was so much fun! They came Thursday afternoon and took Christopher with them to get Sophie's new toddler bed. I promised him he didn't have to nap that day. I knew it was pointless. Here are the photos starting Thursday evening and I'll just write occasionally.
Pretty lady.
Mister helper.
Dress up time with Grammie.
Story time before bed.
Helping Grammie make the pizza dough.
Air show in Pensacola. It was loud, but lots of fun. The kids were exhausted and loved every minute of it. When we reached the show, a jet flew right over our heads and scared us half to death. The kids freaked and Christopher wouldn't take his hands off his ears for the next hour.
You can't see it in this photo, but I love how redneck Sophie looks. Camo hat, leaning back, belly hanging out of her shirt. All there, but guess you just had to see it in person.
Beautiful end to a beautiful weekend.
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