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.

Since we've been gone...

I've been missing from the blog world lately. I don't know why but I just can't seem to find the time to sit and do a blog, but I assure you it is not from lack of trying. So here we go. Buckle up, it is going to be a long one.

Since we've been gone....Both of my sweet girls had their well check ups. We are definitely glad to be back in Dr. Barron's office. Okay, lets start with our big girl. Still hard to believe Mary Selwyn is 3 years old. She still weighs 36 pounds. She has been the same weight for a year. She was 75% in height and weight so I guess her growth is evening out and we are no longer in the 95+ percentiles. She is smart and beautiful and polite. The doctor is always impressed with her. Mary Selwyn got a very unpleasant surprise while were at her check-up. TWO SHOTS!! I told her she wouldn't be getting any shots......boy was I wrong. Apparently there was a shortage of 2 vaccines when she was a baby so she missed the the last 2 and had to make them up. Ouch! She was NOT happy to say the least. A chocolate milkshake eased the pain, but only a little. She should be good on shots until she kindergarten so hopefully I won't unintentionally lie to her next time. The drama factor has definitely been increased since we turned 3. Mary Selwyn loves barbies these days. She also loves Toy Story and all Princess stuff, well rounded right? She is getting really good at drawing, or what I think is good for a 3 year old. She is still my little song bird and I love to hear her sing real or made up songs. Looking at Mary Selwyn is like looking at Shay, but she has my personality 100%.

Now onto Liney girl. Adeline weighed 24 pounds and was 32 inches long. She is our little runt! She was 50% in weight and 75% in height. She can say juice, cracker, more, mine, mommy, dad-dy, papa, meme, grampaka, down, out, poop, gone-gone, shoes, juice, cracker (she says this ALL the time. All she ever wants is a cracker) rock-rock, car, ride, hi, bye, don't know, sit, gum (because big sis always wants gum) meow (does that count as a word) and love you. So love you is more just mimicking the sound and sounds more like "wub woo" but it counts. I'm sure I'm forgetting other words she says...it is getting difficult to keep up because she says a new word (or 10) everyday. My most favorite word she says is "Sissy." It is so cute and sweet and she walks all over the house calling for her sissy. She can also say a few sentence like: I want juice, I want more and I want cracker. She's becoming a smarty pants. Adeline started taking a pacifier when I stopped nursing, not looking forward to breaking that habit either. She calls her paci a "happy" and that makes the habit a lot cuter. She is still very cuddly and loving but she can also be a real bully. She picks on MSN and is a little jealous of her... you wouldn't think I would describe my second child that way but it is the truth. Adeline is such a ham. She is so funny and goofy and has the funniest facial expression. People say she is mommy's mini-me but so far she seems to have daddy's personality!!

My girls have been "fighting" lately. We are getting to the point where they are starting to fight over toys, over mommy, over food and whatever else. You can always tell this is happening because you will hear MSN let out a scream followed by Adeline letting out a big, "MIIIIINNNNEEE." It was bound to happen but they love each other twice as much as they irritate each other. Most of the time they can't even stand to be in separate rooms. I love it. Everyday with my children is such a precious gift and I am loving every minute, even the hard days. The other day I told Shay that I had the best job in the world even if my employees are sometimes difficult.

Since we've been gone...My girls started "school" or Little Lambs (MDO) and they are loving it. Well, Mary Selwyn is loving it. Adeline would rather be with mommy but she is tolerating it. Mary Selwyn would go everyday if she could. She loves to play with other children and get out of the house. Maybe Adeline will learn to love it. I'm glad they are back at First Pres with their sweet staff. This is the best "first day of school" picture I could get of them.

Since we've been gone...My grandparents from Texas and my Uncle Larry from California came to visit. It was such a fun visit because we miss them all so much. It had been way to long since we have seen Uncle Larry. This was the first time he had met Adeline and she loved him. They were instant buddies. Both of the girls enjoyed Nana and Poppy's visit and they keep asking me when they are moving closer???? Hmmmm.... still waiting for that answer. (wink, wink)

Since we've been gone...We have gotten all geared up for football season. War Eagle! The girls sweet "Aunt" Amy made them these Auburn dresses and they couldn't be more perfect.

Since we've been gone...We took our annual family beach trip this Labor Day weekend. It was great. This year, Mary Selwyn finally loved playing in the sand and the waves. Adeline enjoyed the sand, not so much the waves but at least this year we did get to spend some time on the actual beach, not just the pool. However, the sand and salt water are not good on Adeline's skin. It made her eczema flare up again. We went from her skin finally being virtually free of all eczema to her looking like a leopard with all these eczema spots covering her body. Poor thing. The girls had fun playing with their cousins Kate and Kinley and staying up late watching fireworks. It was a fun family trip as always. We are worn slap out.

Okay, I think that is a pretty good wrap up. I will try not to get this far behind again... I've missed blogging!

P.S. If you notice Adeline makes a silly face in almost every picture....that is her "cheese" face. Whose idea was it to teach our children to say cheese when taking pictures?? It makes my kids have silly faces.

Pinkalicious Party

This weekend Mary Selwyn had her Pinkalicious 3rd Birthday Party. Pinkalicious is a story book. If you have a girl and don't own Pinkalicious, GET IT ASAP!! Pinkalicious is a precious story/series that my girls love, especially MSN. We read it to her every night before bed. She can recite the whole book to us so I guess we don't technically "read" it anymore. Since she is a Pinkaholic, this made for the most perfect birthday party. Meme and Papa are always so sweet to host our parties. They probably didn't realize when they built their house it would become the grandkids party palace. Anyway, it was a girls only party. Mary Selwyn was dressed in her Pinkalicious shirt, wings, skirt, crown and "pink-tails." We did make-up, read the book, played pin the cherry on the cupcake and of course ate pink cupcakes. It was so much fun...it is going to be a hard party to top. Mary Selwyn seemed pleased also.

There are a million more pictures from the party and from her actual birthday that i never shared. You can use these links.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2465132&id=7026226&l=8675064252

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2457022&id=7026226&l=874d9c4ab7