The Reason...

This is the reason that I am so behind in the house...the reason that my Christmas cards are not sent out...the reason that our tree is only decorated from the waist up ...and the reason why the warm weather in Alabama is such a blessing!!!

If I take my eyes off of this little guy for just one second he is in to trouble. Nothing is "safe." In the span of just 30 seconds he emptied the top of my cupboard and started pretending to pop toast in the toaster!

He realized he was filthy from his day's adventures, but didn't realize that he needed to try the washer out first!! This has become a particularly fun game for him, especially when I am folding laundry!

Our New Niece...

Announcing this little beauty...Cadence Winter. She made her arrival this morning weighing in at a whopping 6 pounds 5 ounces!! Congratulations Melissa and Robbie - We can't wait to hold her in just one short week!!

Petting Farm...

Eli and I were sitting at the computer tonight looking at pictures and we came across this picture from our trip to Oak Mountain State Park several weeks ago. Since I don't have any fun creative Christmas things to post, this will have to do for today!

This State Park has a Petting Farm...it isn't your usual petting farm. It is a farm where all the animals are out of there pens for you to feed. Eli was thrilled with this, Seth was o.k. with the idea, and Zach was completely spooked by the idea! I think prior to this picture there were a few more goats and maybe even a donkey checking out E' stroller!!

Homemade Christmas Fun...

We certainly are not the only ones who are talking about "saving" this Christmas. Maybe you are thinking about giving less, or maybe you are trying to be creative in your gift giving this Holiday Season. I thought I would share two things I have enjoyed doing for the holidays...not just this year, but for several years!!

Homemade Potpourri

This is so very simple, the aroma is incredible, and on a side note, it's pretty. Just add some orange peel, whole cloves, and cinnamon sticks (all of which the majority of us have in our house) to some water. Simmer throughout the day in either a potpourri pot or a small pot on the stove. You will need to add water occasionally.


This quick and easy homemade Hot Chocolate mix recipes is from a dear friend of mine (who says she is going to start blogging soon - hint, hint!). It is being added to the teacher baskets that I am making. It is also great to add to your morning coffee, and a little cheaper that a Starbucks run!

1 Large container of Chocolate Quick
20 oz of Dry Milk
11-16 oz of Coffee Mate
Dash of Salt
1 C Powdered Sugar
1 Pkg mini Chocolate Chips
Marshmallows.

Makes 20+ cups. (I divided into 6 separate packages).

Would you care to share any homemade Christmas fun?

Conversation with Santa...

This past weekend I took the older boys to a Winter Festival that the base offered. There were crafts, games, snacks, Christmas movies, and of course Santa. We have never been ones to push the boys to have pictures with Santa, or to sit on Santa's lap...in fact we have been the opposite. The boys know about Santa, and know the story of Santa delivering the presents...but they also know that we believe that Christmas isn't just about Santa. This year was the first time one of the boys asked to go see Santa. Seth was very excited about sitting on Santa's lap, and mostly excited about the candy cane he would receive when he did so!

Santa: "What's your name?"
Seth: "Seth."
Santa: "What do you want for Christmas?"
Seth: (after pondering and looking around for a moment) "I want that one!"
(pointing to one of the present at Santa's feet)
Santa: "Ha-ha....I don't think you want that one buddy, it's empty."
Be sure to tell your Mom and Dad what you want for Christmas, o.k."
Seth: "O.k..." (Looking very confused).

I'm not sure Seth was all that impressed with his visit with Santa...he would have enjoyed it much more if he had received his present right then and there!!!

The Game of the Day!!

Our weekend was filled with family, food, and fun! Our fun primarily happened around Uncle John's pool table. He and Justin had an ongoing competition, in the evenings the girls joined in, and the boys even had their own version of "stick free" pool!

Seth breaking a group of 9 balls. He then conveniantly would set a ball up on the edge of each pocket and run around the table shooting them in with the white ball!

Zach's game was basically the same, except he didn't have the preset up ball at each pocket. He actually tried to play a game without using a stick and just rolling the que ball.

Aunt Arline had a mean game!! There was one moment where she had to sink the 8-ball in the specified pocket. Her teammate (Justin) kept saying don't worry about getting it in the pocket, just be sure you hit it! She calmly set up her play and made the shot!! Uncle John didn't let Justin forget that!

Justin looking on...who knows who was winning at this point, they both had their high and low moments!!

The boys really enjoyed watching! They would yell "shark shark" to whoever made their shot!

E would have LOVED to crawl around on the table and chew on a few balls, but he had to settle for watching! He didn't seem to mind!

Eli's Thanksgiving Firsts!!

Eli encountered several firsts in North Carolina over the holiday weekend!! O.K., they may not be baby book worthy firsts, but firsts non-the-less!!

Only now do I realize that living in a Ranch style home has deprived our children of A LOT of fun!! Eli's first chance to be up on one floor all the while seeing us down below!! He definitely thought this was great!!

Steps...now granted we did live in a home with steps the first 10 months of his life, but he never even tried to learn how to maneuver them, and we never felt the need to teach him since we knew we were moving! Here we had several small steps and some larger that needed to be conquered. He caught on to the "turn around" phrase with in just a couple of minutes! I think we might have a genius on our hands!!

We have tried several times to teach him how to use a straw....but he just hasn't been able to do it...

I guess he just needed the right motivation! Starbucks can be a great motivator for anybody!! So his first use of a straw, and his first Starbucks all in one day!! How can a coffee loving mom not be proud of her son!! For those of you who are very concerned at this point, this was Daddy's drink so there was no caffeine...and just a touch of sugar!!

Thanksgiving trips to the park!

As most of you know, boys are FULL of energy 99% of the day!! My boys are certainly no exception to this rule! Over the coarse of the Holiday weekend, we headed out to the park a couple of times!!

When it's cold here it's VERY cold...but the day after Thanksgiving it was almost 60 degrees and absolutely beautiful outside!!

Eli relaxing with Daddy...he is enamored with Daddy most of the time!!

Strutting his stuff across the park...he has become quite a pro walker!

I didn't have a park picture of Seth, and I didn't want to leave him out. The boys loved the balcony in my Aunt and Uncle's home. Of course throwing things over it seemed especially fun, but since that wasn't allowed, staring down through the iron was a close second!

Happy Late Thanksgiving!!

Several days past Thanksgiving and everybody is already into the Christmas season full swing! I thought I would take a few days to post about our Thanksgiving weekend. For any of you that is not family, I apologize...for those of you who are we wish we could have all spent Thanksgiving together!! Although many miles separate us all, we certainly thought of each of you this past weekend. Justin and I were happy to find out that my Aunt and Uncle would be home for Thanksgiving, so we headed over to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the weekend!


The turkey really is quite beautiful when it has been cooked to perfection and everyone can hardly wait to have a taste!!


The South is known for it's Sweet Potato Casserole! I personally have NEVER liked Sweet Potatoes, but this casserole is to die for! Thanks Sherry for sharing it with us!

Simple but nice...no fine china for the boys to break...wonderful food...and great fellowship!

Aunt Arline had TOO much help in the kitchen, at least when it came to the turkey!!

This was just a few minutes before we headed home. My Aunt and Uncle and my cousin Sherry in the back! The boys were quite comfortable after a few days there and were silly as usual!

Thanks Uncle John and Aunt Arline for a wonderful weekend! Thanksgiving is about family and friendship...thanks for letting us enjoy it with you!!