Coming up Empty

So we've had a BUSY day, and I'm a month behind, and have plenty to blog about to catch up...but that takes time...and said busy day (with Daddy out of town) has made me one tired momma...but...I am pretty excited about my little Sunday School lesson for the 2 year old class tomorrow, so I'm hijacking the blog so I can share!

Most people have probably heard the "Jeremy's Egg" story.  I'll never forget reading this for the first time around 8th grade...it touched me so deeply that I still remember it every year.  Anyway, I realized this morning that I had Sunday-School-teacher-duty tomorrow, and immediately started trying to think of an age-appropriate lesson around Easter...2 is tricky...especially for this coming holiday.  They "get" a lot of things, but not enough to go too deep.  I TOTALLY realize that the full story around Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection is far beyond their comprehension...but I also realize how it never hurts for them to hear about our Savior, and how truly and deeply they hang onto "buzz words" that you embed in their brains...or hearts...SO...I decided to go with a "Jeremy" lesson.

My plan is to give out the empty eggs, tell them a MUCH SIMPLIFIED version of the concept, and then let them find the eggs and apply stickers...what 2 year old doesn't LOVE stickers (and then I've incorporated a "craft" as well! :)...and my hope is that, if nothing else, they'll come away with a buzz word that, I speak from experience, hearing 2 year olds repeat is the sweetest Easter sound imaginable..."Jesus is Alive"!!!!!

I will admit, it just dawned on me that I can't go in there giving them empty eggs without any Easter treats to go with it, so I intend to leave just early enough so that the M&Ms and I can make an emergency run by Target for something to hand out along with the empty eggs...you can only expect so much from toddlers, right?  :)

So now...I leave my "buzz word" in your ear...thankful tonight that I can say those words and nothing else...and be blessed.

Freetime in February

Overall, February turned out to be a wonderfully uneventful month!  We've had amazing, unseasonably warm weather, which we've tried to enjoy with random trips to the park and hanging out outside.  Our biggest "project" for the month has been getting the floors covered in our garage, so we've spent a decent amount of time trying to get organized...still not done yet...and have done a few very minor projects around the inside of the house as well. 

A few weekends ago, we took what was supposed to be a rainy Saturday and made a trip to Boone to go to an ASU basketball game.  We arrived in Boone to find PERFECT weather, so we met up with Uncle Whit and Aunt Miss and their friends, who were also there for the weekend, and enjoyed some beautiful sunshine and lunch before heading to the game.  After the game, we spent a few minutes shopping...and dropping money at the ASU bookstore, as usual...before heading home.  It was a fun day!

The other "noteworthy event" of February is, of course, Valentine's Day!  Just like last year, Daddy surprised us all with an assortment of flowers and candy, and a BIIIIG bear that the girls are tackling on the floor as I type!  :)  We also shared an early "romantic" dinner at Carrabas for the whole family.  (Gary and I followed up with a "date after 8" at home the following weekend)

Last weekend, aside from cleaning the garage, we took some time to get started on our planned garden...nevermind the fact that there's not even a tint of green in any of the thumbs in our family, or the fact that we don't really have a lot of yard space, not to mention any with direct sun light, we still decided we're going to give it a shot!  So we started from scratch with an assortment of yummy produce seeds...not a lot of investment, and it was a fun little experiment with the girls, so we'll see what we come up with!  :)

Other than that, it's pretty much been "business as usual" around here.

I've uploaded an assortment of videos that give you an idea of what "usual" looks like. Our girls LOVE to sing...in every circumstance (sorry Macy!)...and we enjoy lots of sound, some "unplugged", and some in true idol fashion!
Daddy is gone for at least a week, so the girls and I are hanging around the house, hanging out with friends, and planning to spend some time with Mamaw and Papaw tomorrow. We've had a few nice tastes of it, and now we're glad to watch the calendar inch toward SPRING!!

Tybee Beautiful

Last weekend,we made what turned out to be such a fun trip to Tybee Island, GA for a 10K "Race Weekend"!  We were hoping for good weather, not expecting it to be too warm in February, but just decent...when we got there Friday night, we were a little bit...COLD!  We met up with Aunt Miss and walked down the boardwalk to the beach, only to look at the ocean while shielding our eyes from the sand blowing in the wind, then headed back to "safety"...the warmth of our car!  With anticipation of better weather to come, we left the beach and met up with the rest of the crew back at the beach house where we were staying. 

 After gathering the bunch, Mimi, Papa, Aunt Miss, Uncle Whit, and our friends Mr Robert,Mrs Katherine and Carson, we had a birthday party for Mimi...yes, BEFORE dinner...then headed out to eat. The nap-less girls were definitely sleepy, and were not too difficult to convince to hit the pillow right after we got back to the house, and we all called it a night pretty early in anticipation for the big day ahead.

On Saturday morning, the girls...wait...the women...got out of bed bright and EARLY (and so did poor Uncle Whit, but he had to go to work! :() and headed to our race. 

We ran our hearts out, and were all done before 9, so we had a full day ahead!!  We were pleased with the weather (for 7am, anyway) which was actually just cool enough to be PERFECT for a nice long run!  The guys and kids met up with us and we had a YUMMY breakfast at the local "Breakfast Club", the weather continued to warm, and it was time to play!  We wandered around the beach, the pier, and the race area (it was a race series, so there were runners to be spotted most of the day) and then finally decided that showers were in order! 

 

After a few hours around the house, we hit the beach again.  By this point, the weather was amazing!  It was a TINY bit chilly...at least for actually getting your feet wet in the water, but Macy was determined, and engrossed in the art of throwing shells at the birds!  She LOVED it!! 

Makayla had a great time too, but, as would be expected, wasn't that thrilled with the sand in her toes, and just chilly enough that she hung out with whoever would hold her and watched from the sidelines. 

Both girls had a great time with Daddy flying the kite that he bought for the perfect windy weather!  After the beach, it was a perfect beer and pizza kind of afternoon, then we headed back to the house. 

The girls (and we) were thrilled to have Carson (a 10 year old) there to entertain them, and they had so much fun playing babies all weekend.  We enjoyed the adult time, and a yummy seafood dinner at the end of the day!

On Sunday, the weather was better than Saturday, so we made an early morning trip to the beach in jammies and with coffee.  We had to finally almost bribe Macy to convince her to leave, then we let Carson entertain again while we readied ourselves and packed up the house.  We all had lunch in downtown Savannah, enjoying a few final hours in the spring-like sunshine (80 degrees!!), Papa treated the girls to fun balloon animals, and we called it a weekend. 

Gary had to fly out of Savannah, so me and the girls made the trek home. We arrived to 47 degree drizzle, and I can't stress enough how much I HATED that...but the girls were champs, we made our trip in good time, and Mamaw and Papaw stopped by while I unpacked the car and prepared for the new week.

Now I sit inside on this cold (but typical) February day counting down the hours until the REAL spring arrives...and am thankful that we at least had a few moments in the sun until it does!

P.O.T.T.Y.T.R.A.I.N.E.D.

As I use that term, I'm a nervous wreck...I do believe in jinxing one's self, and if it's possible, that's what I'm doing...but it's been a successful couple of weeks, so I decided I didn't want to forget, so I'm going to capture it.

I decided over Christmas "break" that the girls were officially ready for official potty training...official panties, no more diapers.  Based on our doctor's advice, we have had a pair of potties in our house for about 9 months now...and while the girls surprised us right away with a few successful runs, we have been sporadic at best over the past months.  Since daycare doesn't start the training gig until the next class (which the girls will move into any day now), we realized that we were a bit helpless on really achieving "potty-trained" status, if they weren't expected to continue the routine for 8 hours of each weekday.  However, during my extended time with the girls, I finally decided it was TIME!!  I'll spare you the details, but after a couple of "busy" days...can you say bathroom breaks LITERALLY every 15 minutes...or there was a price to pay...I felt pretty good about taking them to daycare in pullups and just laying down the law.  Surprisingly, the teachers were AMAZING (why did I expect anything less from my fav teachers of all time?) and have worked with our girls on a very time-intensive schedule, even when the rest of the class is not ready for the commitment.  Last week was UNBELIEVABLY successful for Makayla.  Macy did great, but not perfect.  To spare the morale, we went ahead with the promised ice cream party, since I decided we had done "good enough" (again, GREAT for Makayla) The weekend was pretty darned good, and this week has been fantastic!  Our accident quotient is so surprisingly low, and tonight it was time to celebrate!  Again, we planned an "Ice Cream Party"...however, when I picked up my little popsicles who had been out on the playground in 39 degree weather, they quickly chose cupcakes over ice cream!!

While I know this seems like a ridiculously long post to talk about something like this, anyone who's a parent can understand the magnitude...we are SOOO excited.  Pampers may have to take out a few extra loans since we're no longer funding their corporate jets and employee benefits...Dora, Minnie, Daisy, and Hello Kitty panties, bring it on!!!

Christmas Encore

As exciting as our Christmas had already been, we didn’t have time to get too concerned with the fact that the actual day was over, especially since we woke up bright and early the next morning to head to Mimi’s! We loaded up in the airplane and were on our way…only to have some small mechanical issues, and a few hours’ delay, but we still made it to Gainesville by early afternoon…thank God for blessing us with air travel!!

We were all very happy to see not only Mimi, Papa, Aunt Miss, and Aunt Sheryl, but were so excited to also get to spend time with Ma and John and Aunt Sally from Missouri! The girls enjoyed their time at the center of attention for the evening, and were exhausted and happy to get in bed on time that night!

The next morning was just as good as the night before when Aunt Sabrina, Uncle Clayton, and Haley and Noah arrived! The kids played their hearts out, and had such a good time, but, unfortunately, Macy and I had to make a (LONG) trip to the Urgent Care when her ongoing cold seemed to be much worse, and we suspected (and later confirmed) pink eye! She was pretty pitiful, and, unfortunately ended up missing yet another nap due to the long wait, so by dinner, she was just completely beat. Despite the less-than-perfect mood, we went ahead and opened gifts, and the girls were again blessed with an amazing assortment of gifts…and MORE BABIES!!  We are definitely fully stocked with an entire nursery of dolls now, and not only did they get their own “Itty Bitty” American Girl babies, but they got the changing table and crib to match! Even though they have so many, it amazes me how they can love and track each and every one, and could not have a present that excites them more!

Makayla and Haley played as long as we let them that night, and Macy and Noah joined in for a little while, but unfortunately, Macy had to have an early bed time due to the fact that she was just sick and exhausted. Fortunately, however, the meds kicked in and she was feeling so much better by the next morning, and was able to enjoy a morning of play time with the family before we headed home!

As exhausting as the holidays can be, we are so lucky to have such a big and close family on both sides, and are SO GRATEFUL for all of our wonderful gifts and time spent with those who mean the most!!

Christmas Blessings

As I try to start this post, I’m not even sure how to put into words just how incredible this holiday season has been for us. We are SOO blessed!

We started the festivities on Friday morning when the girls woke up to find that their cousin, Emmy Cate, had come for a visit while they were sleeping! We all enjoyed a livermush breakfast (a favorite of my little southern belles!), then the adults took turns running errands while the girls played, ate, and napped. Mamaw and Papaw came down to complete the crew, and it was a fun day at home.

As soon as dusk came, we made a trip to Zootastic, a small little farm in Troutman that goes all out with a drive thru Christmas lights show, then finishes with a petting zoo and Santa. The girls had a great time and loved the lights and animals, but unfortunately, it was a little bit rushed since we had a lot on the agenda for the night. Afterwards, we headed back to Mamaw and Papaw’s house for dinner and our first round of PRESENTS!! The girls were delighted with their gifts, and I think the night’s favorites were a new baby, a singing microphone, and an adorable backpack that Makayla proceeded to stuff with all of her goodies…and didn't take it off for about 4 days!!

The next day was Christmas Eve, and we started the morning baking our cookies for Santa!

After the cookies were done, the girls made a trip to Lowe’s and to eat lunch with Daddy, then they caught a quick nap before we headed to the annual Christmas Eve celebration at Mamaw Eunice’s house! The girls had a wonderful time playing with their cousins, aunts, and uncles, as well as their Mamaws and Papaw, of course!

It was such a fun night and the girls got sweet gifts from the family!

The highlight, however, may have been just before time to change into jammies! Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and by the time the girls were able to answer it, there was no one to be found…however, we figured out that it must have been Santa himself, since there were two Santa boxes sitting on the doorstep!!

The girls were delighted to find Christmas Jammies in the boxes, and Macy got so excited that she forgot to put them on…instead, she did a couple of streaks around the house, and caught everyone’s attention!! Such a crazy girl!!

We ended the evening with another late night, but still had to get home and do our duties to prepare for Santa’s REAL visit! We put out our cookies, poured a glass of milk, and then it was time to take care of the reindeer! The girls had prepared some reindeer food at school the week before, and we complimented that with fresh carrots and went outside to sprinkle both on the sidewalk.

Thankfully, the excitement wasn’t enough to overtake the exhaustion from all of the festivities, and the girls were fast asleep before Santa even got close! It was a late night for Gary and I as we waited up on his arrival, but he finally came and we all squeezed in some sleep…and the girls even gave us an extra Christmas gift when they slept the latest EVER…7:40!!! (It’s the little things that sometimes mean the most!! :)

Christmas morning was about as magical as I could have imagined. The expressions on the girls faces was something I wish I could capture to hold in a bottle forever!

We spent about 2 hours just opening the simple little gifts that Santa left under the tree, and the girls loved that he followed through with their only request, a new baby and “baby doll toys”! The other favorite gift, I think, was the new Dora umbrellas. They’ve been asking for umbrellas for over a month now, and they couldn’t have been more pleased that their wish was finally granted…and those things come in handy for keeping us dry EVERYWHERE (living room included! :)

We saved the best surprise until all the inside gifts were opened and “tested”, and then it was time to see what might have been left in the garage! The girls were so surprised that it took them a few minutes to even comprehend that they were the proud owners of a new BOUNCE CASTLE!!! After they finally accepted it, the jumping was ON!! They didn’t care that it was cold, they didn’t care that lunch time came, they only cared about BOUNCING!!

They did take a quick break when I finished opening MY gift from Santa (a new Elliptical Machine which I am SOOO excited about) and realized how much fun this HUGE  box could be...but that didn't compare enough to last too long!)

Mamaw and Papaw came over to hang out for the afternoon too, and the girls loved showing off their new treasures, and then were as thrilled as Mommy to get their “main” gift from them as well…a keyboard! We sang a few tunes and played a few notes, and I selfishly enjoyed their gift for a while myself while they bounced around between all of their gifts.

We had a yummy dinner, and then closed out our day with a little birthday party for Baby Jesus!  The girls had a blast, and it was a nice way to bring home the real meaning for all of the joy!

As the evening closed, it was almost bittersweet as Gary and I spent some time thinking about how truly blessed we are! I could have never dreamed that it was possible to feel quite as happy as I did this Christmas.

(As much as I wrote here, this only covers half of our Christmas...another post on its way to go through the rest of the excitement!)

All Aboard the Polar Express!!

Last weekend, we had an amazing trip to the Great Smokies to take a ride on the Polar Express Train!  The girls were delighted with our plan to ride a REAL train, and the excitement was compounded by the fact that they got to meet up with Haley, Aunt Sabrina, Mimi, and Papa before the ride! 

On the way up the mountain, the girls got a preview by watching the movie for the first time.  We headed straight for our cabin, met our group, and had a yummy dinner before heading to the train!  Mimi had bought all three girls cute matching jammies and robes for the trip, and the girls were thrilled to get in their garb prior to boarding! 

While waiting for our turn to board, we had another nice surprise to see that Santa was sitting on the platform...as clearly noted in my last post, the girls still like to talk about him and look, but had no interest in getting too close. I love the looks on all 3 faces as they notice him and just watch! No one will ever be as mystical as the man in red! :)

Once aboard, the girls were almost overwhelmed...Haley obviously had a lot more going through her head as she could totally relate to the movie in so many ways...Macy and Makayla quickly became focused on ONE thing...the basket of treats on the table!!!  It was unbelievable how they managed to enhale cookies, petit fours, and muffins, and I quickly became concerned that I might have to intervene at least a little so that we wouldn't end up with sick little train riders! 

Before we knew it, it was time for the dancing delivery of our hot chocolate and cookies!!  It was so much fun and just like the movie, and I thought the concoction itself was DELISH...surprisingly, though, the girls weren't that interested...it was back to the cookies!  :)  Haley seemed to love hers, and the grown ups definitely drank their share as well!

After riding for a bit, we finally approached the North Pole, where we were welcomed by Santa and his toy land, we were able to see where Santa and Mrs Claus lived, as well as Rudolph, Frosty, the elves, and the toy factory!  It was SOOO cute!!

We started our ride home, sang some carols, and our tired little girls were just about ready to get off of the train...however, the fun wasn't over yet!  Santa finally made his appearance in our train car, and although Macy started shaking in her boots a little, all three girls accepted their bells from him, wished him a Merry Christmas, and our ride was complete!

After a long day, we headed back to the cabin to see Uncle Clayton, Baby Noah, and Papa, and the fun picked up again.  Getting 3 sugar-filled little girls to settle in for a "nap" was not an easy task, but we finally succeeded, and our fun day was done!

The next morning we had a yummy breakfast with the group, all parted ways, and we made one more quick pass by the train.  Macy was too tired to care, at this point, but Makayla took a few extra photo ops, and we headed home!

This was definitely a perfect start to our Christmas week!