Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

Tonight we went to see Santa but we are too cheap to pay $16 for one 5x7 so we just took pictures from afar.  I didn't take the good camera because I didn't think they would let us take our own pictures. I only had my small one so the pictures didn't turn out great.  I wish we weren't so cheap because the picture they took was very cute.  Both of the girls did surprisingly wonderful sitting in his lap and telling him what they wanted for Christmas.  Mary Selwyn is insisting on having a mermaid barbie (?) and Adeline is easy to please, she just wants four babies!! It was a painless and sweet experience.  The first year that seeing Santa was a success.  Merry Christmas!

La Tech

Last weekend Shay and I made a trip to Choudrant/Ruston Louisiana to watch our best friend Jeff coach at Louisiana Tech University. This is the first time we have been to one of his games since 2005 when he was at Texas. (Sadly we never made it to Iowa.) Unfortunately Tech lost but they hung in there with a great Nevada (quarterback) team. We have had plans to attend this game since July and Shay was such a good sport to go support our friend even though he had to miss the first half of the SEC Championship. WAR EAGLE, by the way. It was a long 10 hour trip for such a short weekend but it was worth it to spend some time with some of our greatest friends. We just do not get to see them enough.

Maura and I had the best girl time...she colored my hair (for the first time ever) and we had tons of fun talking wedding stuff! It was fantastic. Maura was a fabulous hostess and tour guide.

Jeff coaching... Shay and another friend spent the whole pregame on the field but I forgot to take a picture of them down there.

Thanksgiving for 4

This year, I decided that we were staying home for Thanksgiving, just the four of us. There were many factors that played into this decision but the main one is that the last year of our life has been utter chaos. It has by far been the hardest year on my marriage, my kids and our family as a whole. I could think of nothing better than staying at home for a calm, non-traveling Thanksgiving. Thankfully Shay agreed. Shay made a delicious ham and I made all the sides (minus the dressing Mitzi contributed). I had very messy, I mean good kitchen help. I'm proud to say our Thanksgiving dinner turned out very yummy. We plowed through our leftovers.


Although I love seeing our families, especially on holidays, I am so glad I made this selfish decision. More than ever it was so important to me for it to be just the four of us spending time together and being thankful for one another. It was so special and my heart was so full that I cried at the dinner table during our meal. I am truly thankful for my family and the weekend we have had together.

The Kitchen Help

Notice how much flour and brown sugar ended up on the counter instead of in the casserole. (:

I almost forgot to mention that when we were eating Shay asked Mary Selwyn what she was thankful for and she said, "I am thank-you for me because I am the best cooker. This food is yummy." It was pretty funny. Shay said, "That wasn't really what I was thinking," and she said, "I am thank-you for Mommy, Daddy and Adeline too." That was more like it!

Our little Indians. Mary Selwyn made an Indian dress with her cousin Kate. Mommy tried to make Adeline one out of the only paper bag in the house....it was a pretty sad attempt but it worked for the 30 seconds she wore it.


Notice the color of our feathers..... War Eagle! What a stressful dream season! We enjoyed watching the game a celebrating just the four of us too!

Of course we spent the rest of the weekend decorating for Christmas. The girls are loving all our lights. We put a tree up on our front porch and garland on our white picket fence. I told Shay our house really does look like that white picket fence house they say every little girl dreams about. I'll have to post some pictures when I take some.The girls also have little trees in their bedrooms this year. Adeline drags you to her room every chance she gets to show you her tree and tell you, "Mineeee," just in case you were confused as to who it belonged to.
I am also very proud to say that I addressed, stuffed, stamped, licked (with a little help from Shay) and mailed my Christmas cards. I must admit it is so nice to have that done and out of the way.



I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was as special as mine. Now we are in the Christmas spirit, are you?

Halloween Hangover

After a trip to the pumpkin patch and scarecrows, two fall festivals and trick-or-treating, we are one worn out bunch. I have definitely had enough Halloween for the year. I'm exhausted. It was fun and now it is time to muster up the energy for the rest of the holiday season.....which I really am excited about, just too tired to be excited today. I'll start tomorrow, or next week. Here are a few pictures from the seeing the scarecrow's at the botanical gardens.

MSN and Natalie posing with the Lady Gaga Scarecrow....they thought she was just as weird as the real one ha ha. Happy End of Halloween!!!

Fall Fun

Even though most days here it feels like the middle of summer we have been enjoying some fall activities. The girls and I made a quick trip to the pumpkin patch one Monday morning. We didn't do the whole hayride excursion but that was just fine with all of us. It was a fun morning.








Last Friday we hosted a little fall party with Mary Selwyn's friends and their mommies. My sister-in-law Shannon gave me some holiday cake molds and of course I couldn't wait to try them out. It took me a couple tries to perfect the pumpkin cake but I finally did and I made 7 for Mary Selwyn and her friends to decorate. Adeline had a few friends come also. They decorated pumpkin sugar cookies. It was a fun time full of fellowship. I'm thankful that I can be a stay at home mom and plan activities like this.

Before I perfected the cake

After

Big Kid table

My Centerpiece

Almost all the children at our party, some are missing. They weren't in a picture taking mood.

One of the decorated cakes

Decorating cakes

Little Kid table

This is Mary Selwyn's friend Austin. She LOVES Austin as you can tell. She told me, "he is SOOO sweet." The play so sweetly together too. They were playing grandma and grandpa, so cute right? I'm afraid MSN may be a little boy crazy but at least she picked this precious boy!!

Last but not least we had our neighborhood fall festival. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my neighborhood. It is so fun and kid/family friendly. We dressed the girls up in their costumes and headed to the park. I won't post many pictures from the festival because I'm sure I will have many more from Halloween night but here is a little sneak peek.

Mary Selwyn is obviously a clown. Shay's Mom made this costume for Shannon when she was little. It is really cute. This was my first face painting experience. It went fairly well I think.

As for Adeline..... remember Scardey Cat blog from Halloween two years ago? (I don't know how to link to my old blog, sorry) It is A's turn to dress like Silas for Halloween. This picture turned out a lot cuter than the one of MSN and Silas. I guess he isn't scared anymore.

Great Daddy

Last Saturday, after 92 years, Shay's sweet Granddaddy went to be with the Lord. As a farmer, he lived a long life full of hard work. He definitely deserves eternal rest. Great Daddy, what his 19 great-grandchildren called, was such a precious man (FYI he could call all 19 great grandchildren by name too). I thought of him as a quiet man with a very commanding presence. In a chaotic room full of 40+ family members during holidays I always knew he was in the room just taking in the family he created. Shay's family has always been so special in that we all get together, 4 generations, for every holiday. Our cousin Colbi has been telling me for the last year that Alan Jackson's song "Small Town Southern Man," describes Great Daddy perfectly. Not to be cheesy and use a country song as the basis of this post but Colbi is right, the song really does sound like it was written about our Great Daddy. The song says something like, "his greatest contribution is the ones he leaves behind," and I couldn't help think about how true that was of this family as we all spent the day after he passed in his home. I think it was one of the longest visitation lines people have ever walked through. Everyone who came through made comments about the how family was never-ending. They also said what a beautiful family we had and I couldn't agree more. I am so thankful for the family that Great Daddy and Great Mama founded and I believe I am one lucky girl for marrying into it.

The song also talks about the man only loving one woman. Three weeks ago Shay's grandparents celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. If that doesn't give you chills I don't know what does. In the 12 years I have been a part of this family I have never seen Great Mama go more than 5 minutes without reaching over to touch Great Daddy's hand. I can only imagine how much she is missing that hand and I wonder how many times she has reached next to her just out of habit. They sat in a double recliner for as long as they were able and once he had to move to a lift chair or hospital bed she inched her chair as closely as she possibly could next to him. What a love story. They are all I hope my marriage to be.

Shay is 100% the man he is today because of the amazing male role models he has had in his life. I know for a fact that he is truly thankful for his Granddaddy and impact he had on Shay's life. I've done my best, though it doesn't even come close, to express how much Great Daddy was loved, admired and respected. We will definitely miss him and that sweet smirk. We give thanks for his long life and rejoice in the fact that he is finally with his Heavenly Father.

Our Friday Night

This is how we are spending our Friday night........

We are having a sleep over. Well Daddy is planning on sleeping in his own bed but he was sweet enough to pull a matress in the living room for me and the girls to snooze on. We rented Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue from Redbox. Super cute movie. Fun night....hope I get some sleep.