A Wedding!

Well, as if we weren't busy enough....Anna and James were in a wedding tonight! They were so well-behaved, and it was a very pretty wedding. It was the first wedding for both of them. They bought Anna a beautiful dress that hopefully she will be able to wear again....despite the tea stains from the reception!!! Oh well, that is what dry cleaning is for, right? Anyway, I was able to get some great pictures of them!!! James was so excited about the tie he had on before we left. He and Brian went to find one that would match Anna's sash. Unfortunately, it wasn't the right color so I successfully convinced him to wait until tomorrow to wear it. I couldn't help but think as I watched them walk down the aisle how quickly they will be grown up and getting married themselves. It seems like just yesterday that Brian and I got married and now my babies are 7, 6, and 2 years old!!!

Happy Birthday Emma!

Emma Dean is 1!!!
Rose, Anna and Olivia!
Alli and her baby!
Tuesday night, we had my niece, Emma's, 1st birthday party. (Alli and Brandon's baby!) She was so precious, I just had to post some pictures of her! Melanie and her children were also able to come up early for Christmas and so they made it to the party. Anna had to be near Rose, or talking to Rose, or at least touching Rose...the entire time. She just loves babies!! Get ready Leslie...she is soooo excited about Erin! Well, that is all I have time for, and I didn't really have time for that. I am having the youth group Christmas party at my house tonight and haven't done much to prepare for it yet. Also, some friends are coming in from out of town and are spending the night with us tonight.....NEEDLESS to say.....I must be going! Merry Christmas!!!

A visit with Santa and some GREAT news!

First of all, the kids had their annual visit with Santa last Sunday. Luke was not too happy about the whole thing. He was fine and actually liked the experience last year, but you know what they say about getting older and wiser....Anyway, he was crying and I didn't think he would go up there, but Anna and James came to the rescue. You can always count on siblings! After he saw Santa, he kept saying over and over as if to convince himself,"Santa not scary!" It was really cute!

And the good news is...........................I finally got my mantle!!!!!!!!

I still have to prime it, fill in nail holes, sand it, and paint it with a few coats of semi-gloss paint, but I am so excited. Of course, this will all take place BEFORE Christmas......what else do I have to do!? Yeah right. I am about to go crazy with all of the things I have to do (just like everyone else, I am sure) but there is always time for a 'project'!!! Especially one I have been waiting on for so long, and waiting very patiently, I might add!!!! Anyway, hooray for the mantle!!!

I've been "fairy" busy!

Today, we had Anna's birthday party. We had a fairy theme and I went all out. I have never really had a big party for her, so I tried to make this one extra special. I took all of the furniture out of the school room and decorated it like crazy. We had 12 fairies in total. We played fairy limbo and had a treasure hunt to find our fairy dust. We also made fairy halos and painted their nails. It was a lot of fun and I hope Anna will remember it forever. However, I now lack the required "get up and get it done-edness" to get everything back in order. Therefore, Anna will have a fairy room to play in for a few days! I better get everything back in order soon though, I can only stand things being crazy for so long!!!

Happy Birthday, Anna!

Lost her first tooth-May 2007
First ballet recital-May 2007
Soccer game with "coach"-May 2007
Vacation-July 2007

April-2006 Vacation- 2007
New Earrings!- Today
( I sure wish we would have gotten a digital camera when she was a baby! Oh well, we are up with the times....for now!)
Wow! My baby girl is 6 years old. Many different people have told me how quickly it goes by, but you really don't understand until it happens to you. I know my children are still young, but I am definitely getting a little taste of it. Last week, we watched some of our home videos from when James and Anna were little. It just made me cry to see how big they have gotten. My thought was I hope I savored every minute of it. I know I will think the same thing five years from now, when I watch the home videos we are making now. (which are not many) I like pictures more than videos. It is much easier to look at pictures of my babies, than to hear their sweet voices and see them in action. It did help me realize that it is so important to spend time and cherish every moment with our children.. They are such blessings!!! Anyway, Anna wanted to get her ears pierced for her birthday, so we took her to the mall. I think I was more nervous than she was. She was so brave. She just held the little teddy bear and squeezed my hand. She never ceases to amaze me. I don't know what I would do without my Anna......she is such a sweetheart and I am proud and blessed to be her "mama".

Peter Pan!

Here is the Peter Pan group! We had a very nice time. The choreography was great and the actors were very entertaining. It was a really good show but it was a little long for children. I would suggest going to see an afternoon show if you are taking little ones. It was about 3 hours long. James, Anna, Ethan and Isaac were perfect during the show even though I know they were tired. They didn't move a muscle. They were absolutely precious. I am so glad we were able to spend some special time with Ethan and Isaac. By the way....... doesn't my tree look pretty in the background? Well about 5 seconds after this picture was taken, it fell down right on my mom with no warning. Water poured out everywhere, all of the ornaments fell off, and a few balls broke. It was pretty upsetting and embarrassing, but I held myself together, gathered the kids up and went to the show. I had to calm Anna down, of course. She thought her "favorite ornament" was broken and she came unglued! I don't even think she had seen that ornament until mom picked it up off of the ground and it wasn't even broken. Nevertheless, I had to console her before we left. Isn't it funny how things happen? I had put so much effort into it and then........kerplunk! Oh well, things happen. After we got home, I acted like it was good because we get to decorate the tree all over again and the kids liked that. Everything turned out OK and we had a great night!!!

Happy Dec. the 1st!!!

Happy Dec. the 1st! My mom would always say that to us when we were growing up and it just puts me in a good mood. Well, it is 5:30 in the AM and I am waiting on my friend Shannon to come pick me up. We are going to Santuck. Santuck is like a year round craft show that happens the first Saturday of every month. I have never been but have always wanted to. I hope I find some good deals. I have no idea what I am looking for, but whatever it is....I hope I get a good deal! Also, I am taking James and Anna to see Peter Pan at Shakespeare tonight. Ryan is bringing Ethan and Isaac up and for them to go, and my mom is going also. I have heard that it is wonderful. I am so excited. I just love to see just about anything in a theater. I am so excited that James and Anna are getting to the age where they enjoy it just a little bit, too. Brian, Ryan, my dad, and Luke will stay behind and watch the SEC championship. I am sure they will also have a good time. Well, she is here.....gotta go!!!