Reflections & Anticipation

As I reflect back on 2012, I think of it fondly with a smile on my face (and it seems impossible that is already gone by).  2012 was good to us!  Really, really good.  Jamie and I traveled together several times and even visited some new places.  Such as getting to go early in the year to New Orleans to the National Championship game with friends.  That was definitely the best trip that we've ever been on with friends.  We both fell in love with New Orleans, ate some incredible 'Nawlins cuisine, had a BLAST and witnessed an awesome football game as Alabama claimed their 14th Championship title. 

A few months later, my dad was told that he was in remission.  Excited and grateful were an understatement for the way my whole family felt!  It was like a 500 lb boulder had been removed from all of our shoulders.  Even though he has to receive chemo injections every other week and have checkups periodically, we were so glad to have this scare behind us!  Noah turned 5 in April and how it's even possible is beyond me. Jamie and I traveled south for Memorial weekend and enjoyed some fun in the sun, sans kiddos, at our favorite vacation spot within driving distance, The Hilton at Sandestin.  And Noah graduated from preschool AND began walking on his own, completely unassisted.  What a blessing! 

Our summer kept us busy with days at the pool, VBS at church, a visit to the Memphis zoo, and grilling out with family and friends.  In early August, Jamie and I enjoyed a weekend away to Atlanta for our 9th Anniversary and Jamie's 33rd birthday, where we cheered on the Braves and played at Six Flags.  The next week on our actual anniversary, my sister gave birth to her beautiful baby girl and I became the very proud aunt to sweet little Harper.  Just a few weeks later, my sweet boy began his first day of Kindergarten.  What a milestone!  While initially it was a hard adjustment for him, it turned out to be a huge blessing and he is doing amazing.  We love his teacher and his school and I couldn't ask for a better first half of the school year.

 At the beginning on September, I found myself on a plane headed to the Big Apple with some of my dear friends for the trip of a lifetime.  We went to a Broadway play, saw Central Park, toured the Empire State Building, did an NBC Studio Tour, experienced China Town, ate some DELICIOUS  food, viewed the Statue of Liberty and the Freedom Towers and even had a crazy night out in the Meatpacking District.  We saw and did as much as possible in our 4 days there.  We all fell in love with the city and I can't wait until I get the opportunity to go back (with Jamie by my side).  Shortly after our trip, I turned 31 and Collier started preschool at King's Kids.  He loves his school and his new buddies and has learned so much.  October brought us a trip to the pumpkin patch, our church fall festival and Collier's Mickey Mouse Birthday Bash... and of course, Trick-or-Treating on Halloween night. 

Of course, the holidays were right around the corner with Thanksgiving and then Christmas and all the festivities in between and here we are at the beginning of 2013!

Despite being 9 days away from having surgery, I'm excited about what this year has in store.  Back in Februrary, Jamie and I purchased a lot in Heritage Village, a neighborhood on Cypress Creek, and sold our house in October.  We are closing in 26 days (yes 2 weeks after my surgery!!) and moving into our rental house.  While trying to get the whole house packed up before I have surgery and then dealing with moving while I'm still recovering from the surgery isn't an ideal situation, I'm still very excited about this next chapter.  Construction on our house will begin soon and I must say, building our own home has always been a dream of mine.  Also, we already have a couple of fun trips planned for this upcoming year, including one for our 10 year anniversary and a family trip to the Happiest Place on Earth in the fall!  So here's to 2013, to the things that we already have planned for this upcoming year and to the things that we are unaware of that lie ahead in the next 12 months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

We had a wonderful Christmas with our precious boys. The older they get, the more exciting it is.  We started off our celebrations the way we always do, with breakfast at my grandmother's house on Christmas Eve morning, where we enjoyed a huge, delicious meal.  Since my dad's family is so large, we now only buy gifts for the kids (as in my grandmother's great grandchildren, since all of my cousins are now adults and half of us have kids of our own).  Collier still isn't too interested in sitting still long enough to actually open the presents but he loves playing with the end result! Noah loved that he got several new books so he got anyone he could to read to him, and of course when your family is as big as mine is, there's always someone willing to do so, so he was a happy boy!  Following the whirlwind of present opening, we nibbled on a yummy lunch made up of all of our favorite snack foods... dips, mini sandwiches, etc.

 

 

 

 

While the boys napped at home, I kept myself busy in the kitchen and made 2 dishes: broccoli cheese cornbread and corn dip for our next meal, Christmas Eve dinner at Jamie's parent's house. We had so much fun letting all 4 kids run around playing and the excitement level was kicked up a notch since they knew that Santa was just hours away from paying them each a visit!  Nana and Poppa spoiled the boys once again with tons of fun new toys and clothes!  We had a BLAST (no sarcasm at all) trying to get a picture of all 4 kids sitting together, but as you can imagine with a 5 year old, two 3 year olds and a 2 year old, it didn't really happen.  I guess it's a good thing that we had professional pictures taken of all 4 kids as our Christmas gift for my mother-in-law and the grandmothers!

 



 

 

Later that evening, we headed home and got our boys dressed in their Christmas pj's and snuggled in the bed so that Santa could pay them a visit!  They were so worn out that I think they were asleep by the time their heads hit the pillow.

 

 

 

 









Christmas morning came and Jamie and I woke up so we could put together a breakfast casserole and eagerly await the boys waking up... however, they BOTH slept in!  My parents, Lindsay, Derrick and Harper all made it to our house, same as they've done the past few years so they can see the boys when they first wake up.  Once they all arrived, Collier finally woke up and came bouncing into the room.  He still doesn't quite understand the whole 'Santa is coming down the chimney and bringing you lots of gifts' concept.  But he was excited to see all that was set up in our den. And in true Collier fashion, he grabbed Noah's gifts too.  Uh oh... eventually I will LEARN to just buy them both one of each toy.  Finally Noah woke up and was as excited about his gifts as he was seeing his Mimi, Papa, 'Deck', Lindsay and Harper. He wasn't sure whether to play with his toys or all of his family sitting on the couch.

 

 

After we stuffed our bellies full of breakfast casserole and cinnamon muffins, we dove into all the presents that were wrapped under the tree.  Once again, the boys were given plenty of toys and clothes from their Mimi, Papa, Lindsay and Derrick.  Everyone went home and the boys were excited to be able to play with their new toys.  Since we had decided to have a late, casual lunch, we were able to relax and enjoy the morning with one another.  Later on that afternoon, we reconvened at my parents. Of course, as soon as Collier walked in the door to Mimi and Papa's house, he went straight for the kitchen to pull out his favorite toys, my mom's kitchen gadgets, despite having plenty of new things to play with! Later on, we ate lunch and relaxed with my family for the rest of the day. Once again, we had a very blessed, joyful Christmas. Even though the 2 days of Christmas are jam-packed with family get-togethers and meal after meal, I'm so grateful to have such this family to celebrate our Savior's birth with!

 



Christmas Par-tay!

'Tis the season... for parties! I LOVE all the activities that accompany the Christmas season, including the Christmas parties. Unfortunately, last weekend, I was under the weather and I missed 2 parties but we made up for this week! Collier's Christmas party at preschool was on Thursday, so I joined him and his little buddies for the fun. 

 

This Friday was Noah's last day of school before Winter Break, so Jamie kept Collier and I loved getting some one on one time with my oldest buddy at his school.  They had Pajama Day and the whole school watched the Polar Express.  Then they had lunch and lots of sugary sweets.  Noah was SO excited to have me join him at school and I enjoyed it equally!  My favorite thing of all was the sweet gift that his teacher had been working on with the kids... a canvas with Noah's handprints forming a Christmas tree.  Noah's school (as well as the other school's in the school district) have an adoptive grandparent program where elderly can volunteer to help out in the classroom.  This is Noah and his school "PawPaw." They are BIG buddies! PawPaw is a really special man and I enjoyed getting to know him better on Friday. It's obvious that he cares deeply for Noah, as well as the other kids in his class.



We also took the boys to see Santa this week.  Noah loved him while Collier was terrified... as in screaming bloody murder.  What a role reversal from last year, when Noah was weary of him and Collier liked him.  Maybe one year both boys will be on the same page with their feelings towards the big guy!