We Wish You A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Let me start out by saying there are an obscene amount of pictures in this post. Sorry! It has been a while since I posted and here goes nothing! Now that I have a grip (a very small grip...probably more like a finger-hold) on how to use my new computer, I am loving it! The photo editing alone is worth it!

These first few picture are from the kids Christmas program. They both did an amazing job. I had to move around to get some pictures of Annah, but know that they both sang their little hearts out. This mommy was so proud!

There's my daddy!

Here are 2 pictures I love. The first is straight out of the camera, the 2nd I edited. What do you think?

We had a blast at The Columbia Fam's house making x-mas cookies. The Boys and Me were there too (as well as a few other friends). There was quite a mess and I think Laura might be cleaning up sprinkles until next Christmas, but the kids sure had fun!

Then, of course came Christmas! Santa (and Gramme, Grandaddy, Rosie, and Poppa) were very good to Annah and Liam this year. I am just now getting my house to not look like the inside of a Toys R Us (a Toys R Us that had a bomb go off in it, anyway). We decided last year that Baby Jesus got 3 presents on the first Christmas, so we would follow the same rule. Annah got a baby station (one of those things with a baby bathtub, bed, highchair, etc all together), a 2 wheel scooter, and a Tinkerbell water fountain. Liam got the "buzzwightyerscooter," a grill, and a Leapster of his very own (in an attempt to stop world war 3 that was threatening over the one Leapster we already had). Note to self, next year at least brush Annah's hair before taking x-mas morning pictures!

This is a jar to count the money Annah has been saving for Disney World. She has been saving Will's change for the last 2 years to go have breakfast with the princesses!

I know there is a very small window of opportunity left while Annah and Liam will still believe in the magic of Christmas. There is something almost sad in Liam's excitement about Santa bringing what he really wanted, because I know that in a few years that magic will be gone. Doubt will creep in. Christmas will always be special and we will always be together, but I can't help but feel a little pang of loss as another year passes. That said, I will hold on to the magic of this Christmas for as long as I can!

Note the halo on my sweet angel

Then, as if all that was not enough, it snowed!!!!! I have decided that snow of the weekend of Christmas definitely counts as a white Christmas. We had so much fun and the only downside is that all the outside toys they got for Christmas had to be ridden inside the house (almost drove me insane). But there was still plenty of fun to be had outside...snowball fights, snow angels, snowman, and jumping on a snow covered trampoline (which if you have never tried it, really is a lot of fun)!

I have this same picture of Liam in front of this door every year since he's been born looking at the snow. I am afraid he is going to think this is what to expect every year!

Jackson was not a fan and stuck close to the house! 

Doesn't the house look pretty with the snow and all the decorations?!

Seriously, couldn't this be a Patagonia ad?!

the perfect snowball!

Once You Go Mac

You never go back (hehehehe)

I think I am finally getting a handle on how to use this Mac Book (thanks to Lauren), so as soon as I get these pictures edited, I will be posting them. We had an amazing Christmas and I can't wait to share our good times with you!

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town!

My very dear friend, Micah (Stand By Me) has started her own photography business and I am so happy for her. Micah (her website is http://www.micahleighphotography.com/) does amazing pictures, so when she asked if we would like to have Santa come over to our house to take pictures with some of our friends, my first response was Absolutely! My second thought (once I thought about how many small children would be in my house) was "oh, hell, what have I gotten myself into?!" I must say, it went very smoothly. Liam was so excited he couldn't stand it. Santa was not even all the way in the door, before Liam was all over him..."Santa, Santa, Santa, Iwantabuzzwightyearscootaforchristmas! Agreenwon! Abuzzwightyearwon!" To which, Santa made the very same face you are probably making right now. That translates to Santa, I want a Buzz Lightyear Scooter, but when you're that excited, it comes out kind of crazy! Even Annah was agreeable to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what she wants for Christmas. Thankfully, she was a little easier to understand! Our Elf, Elfie, has been keeping a very close eye on these little monkeys to make sure they stay on the nice list and get everything they want this year! As chaotic as the day was, I am so glad we did it! What an amazing experience for Annah and Liam to have Santa in their very own house! And we got the chance to share it with 20 of our closest friends! In the end, it was totally worth it...

Just look as those faces!

Micah, I think we have set a precedent, so get ready for next year!



Happy Fall Y'all!

OK-I admit it...I am a slack blogger! I have been so busy with Stella and Dot (which I am loving, by the way) that I haven't gotten much extra accomplished. So, here is the last month in a nutshell. As a warning, there are a LOT of pictures coming...

Will's dad was able to get the condo again this year. This is fantastic for trying to take kids to a football game! They can hang out, toss the football, cheer, we can go to the game, they can stay there...I love it!

We love to pick our pumpkins at the pumpkin patch! this year Gramme and Grandaddy met us there for some pumpkin picking fun!

Got the right one!

They have this great photo op area for nutty mommy's like me, who are under the impression that their kids will sit still, smile, and stay that way long enough for me to get the perfect picture...turns out sliding into the hay was much more fun that my idea....

Then we had to carve the pumpkins (and by carve, I mean put the Mrs Potato Head pieces into). They were so proud!



THEN...on to Boo at the Zoo

It was really too dark and they were running too fast to get very many pictures, but I did get a couple of them in the Foam Zone

Followed by another Gamecock victory. Annah went into one game last year but hardly made it through the first quarter. Liam had never been into one at all. They did so great and made it well into the 3rd quarter this time. The fireworks were a big hit!

Love this one!

and this one too!

Finally, real trick or treating! Liam got really into it this year and was so excited to YELL "trick or treat" to anyone who would listen!

Annah and Liam's preschool had their annual fall festival this past weekend and Annah's ballet class preformed. I was a little afraid she would freeze up there...it was really cold and there were a lot of people standing right there watching. But, she sure proved me wrong! She danced just like a star!

And last, but not least, we made our first leaf pile of the year just for jumping!