December in full swing!!

This past weekend was a four day weekend for me…and it was great!!

On Friday, Maddox and I built our very first gingerbread house!!  It was so much fun and It was so funny to see Maddox handling all that candy and trying not to eat it!  I put it together and iced it but he did all the decorating!!

My favorite part of this picture is his hot chocolate mustache!!!  Gingerbread house building just wouldn’t be complete without a nice cup of hot chocolate!!

Bathroom shots!!

This little dude LOVES shoes!!  He loves trying to put his or anybody else’s shoes on!! He also likes to go get my shoes while I'm getting ready and put them on my feet!

The boys were playing dress up while I was getting ready.  My boot, his camo boot, christmas pj pajama top, blue camo undies and Daddy’s belt…gotta love that preschool style!!

We finished up our Christmas shopping on Saturday evening.  We ate at Olive Garden for supper before we got started…always an experience with a 1 and 3 year old!!

My heart melted as Maddox took Ryder’s hand to walk with him into church.  Maddox is just becoming the sweetest Big Brother (at times).  One of my favorite things is to hear Maddox talking to Ryder and he will say…”I’ll help you bud”…so cute and sweet!  I still am praying and believing that they will always be best of friends!!

Ryder checking out baby Kyra at church….she is too precious!!

I feel like I have really slacked off on my dslr camera usage….and I’m not happy about it!  I love my iphone and instagram but I don’t want them to take the place of my camera and blog.  So, I talked Chris into getting a family pic after we got home from church.  We never have time before church.

Sunday evening the whole family met at Laura and Nate’s to celebrate birthdays.  Mom, Dad and Caine all have December birthdays!  Unfortunately with December being such a busy month…we have to combine their celebration all together.  I just love my family and I look forward to all the times that we are all together celebrating anything!!  We always have the best food and fellowship!!

Maddox loving on Caine!!!

Mom opening up all her jewelry!!

Daddy opening up his gift!

Sweet Tori!

 

Birthday Boy Caine!!  I absolutely can’t believe he is 14!!! That just seems crazy!! I don’t want to blink b/c I know that will happen to Maddox and Ryder way too fast!  I’m holding tight to their present ages!!

Tonight (Monday), we took the boys to see Santa!!!  This is the Santa we use every year…he is a storybook Santa!  He does his job very well!!  The boys didn’t cry so that was good, they both sat on his lap so that was good too, but….they wouldn’t smile for the camera very good….but I’ll take it!! Successful Santa trip!  After we left the mall, we rode thru McAdenville to see all the Christmas lights!!  So we can now check several things off our Christmas to-do list!! 

As we are having all our Christmas busyness and fun, I want to keep the true meaning in perspective.  I am so thankful for the precious gift that God gave us!  The baby in the manger…wow…what a reason to celebrate!! 

Hope you all are having a great Christmas Season!!

Life Thru the IPhone

Maddox and Ryder was all into watching a track hoe climbing rail cars on the ipad.




Cozy Christmas night




I'm cherishing these moments!



Santa and his little Elf!



My tree I decorated for the salon!



The dessert buffet at the women's conference I decorated. My trees wouldn't light up. The colors for the conference were pink, red, and green.








December 1st...Wolfie returned to our house from the North Pole!



Me my Mom Joy and the boys went to a pottery sale at Woodmill Winery....Santa was there!!



I took my Mawmaw on a date to Cracker Barrel and Hamricks on Monday morning...Ryder went to MMO and Maddox had preschool.

Love this look!



Monday night I went to a Christmas party with my former coworkers from Shear Options! I made these cute snowmen to take!



While I was getting ready...the boys played... Little menaces!!



We all bring pottery to exchange at the party...so many beautiful pieces!!



On Tuesday...our week took a turn for the worse!! Ryder woke up throwing up and was sick all day.... Wednesday the whole family woke up sick!! It was bad!!! Bad! Bad!! By 4:00 Chris was so sick he couldn't move. My Mom came over to take him and Maddox to urgent care. Urgent Care was backed up so they went to the ER!! It gets worse....my Mom got sick and started throwing up too!! So I prayed that God would help me get over my sickness so I could take care of my family. He answered my prayer b/c by 8 I felt a lot better and was able to go relieve my Mom at the ER. They checked in at 5 and we didn't leave until 1:30 am!!!! What a night!



He was so tired and such a trooper!!!



Wolfie did a no no with the wipes!!





Mickey watching on Mommys lap!!





Tonight we rode around and looked at Christmas lights!!






Hope you all are having a great weekend!!

Fun with Friends and First Parade!!

We don’t get to entertain as often as we use to but I love having friends over!! Saturday night the Travis’s, Ratliff’s and McCarn’s came over and we had a great time!!  I love getting to have girl chats around the dining table, hearing kids running around the house playing, and listening to the men in the living room getting into a good football game…and of course eating yummy food!!  Good times!!

Chris gets carried away when I ask him to take a picture and he will just start snapping away!! So after the serious pose…we like to get a little crazy!!!

Brody and Brayden..cutie pies!!

Sweet Elynd…look at that precious pose!!  Taylor loved taking care of the little ones…such a sweet 9 year old!!

Ryder enjoyed him some pizza!!

Maddox was loving him some Keenan!!

Sunday was the boys first parade!!!  I have to say..I got a little giddy myself when I heard all those sirens coming around the court square!!  It’s been years since I have been to a parade.  We always get together the Sunday after Thanksgiving with Chris’s family and that’s always when the parade is…so we never get to go.  But unfortunately, Chris’s grandmother is in a nursing home this year so we didn’t have the get together.

Ryder took his hat off and he had some CRAZY hair going on!!

The boys LOVED the parade…Maddox said his favorite was..Fire trucks, Tractors, Santa Claus and Mickey and Minnie!!  He sat on my lap on the edge of the curb the whole time and just took it all in!!  I finally got him to start waving at all the people toward the end…too cute!!

After the parade my Mom suggested Cracker Barrel for Supper (my fave) so we headed to Gastonia!  We may just have started a new tradition!!

Love all these special times with my family!!

Christmas Season is in full swing!!!  Love!!