December 2013

It is hard to know where to start (especially since we are in the middle of January now!).  Christmas this year was bittersweet because it was our first trip back to Alpharetta, but Gregg was not able to be with us on Christmas.

Before we left, we were able to go, as a family, to the Carter Protective Detail's Christmas party.  It was nice to get to know some of the other agents and their families.  We also got to introduce the kids to President and Mrs. Carter.  She admired Adalynn and told me that she had 3 boys, and many years later had Amy.  She said, "You can imagine how much fun I had with her!"

Zeke had planned on asking President Carter about living in the white house, but by the end of the evening when we had our photo taken, Zeke was tired and didn't ask him.  Oh well, it was still a nice evening!

I received a new camera as an early Christmas gift, so I had some fun trying to take photos of the kids.  Here are several outtakes with the "one" in the center!

We had a pleasant evening together at home the day before the kids and I left for Alpharetta.  We do not have a mantle in our new home, so I improvised!  We opened gifts and spent some time as a family.  Of course, Adalynn enjoyed the tissue paper more than the gifts!

Here is a flashback of Zeke from last year standing next to our toy soldier.  I plan to take a photo like this each year as we watch him grow (Zeke, not the soldier!).

Zeke helped Wynna bake the cherry and pumpkin pies.  He loves to help any way he can!

Christmas Eve was spent worshiping at Perimeter Church, then we went out for our annual Italian dinner.  This year we went to Mona Lisa.  It was extremely cold, so we all had to bundle up.

Next, we put the kids in their Christmas PJs and put them to bed for the night. 

As I think I mentioned before, we have prayed about how to handle Santa.  We didn't focus on him much, but did tell Zeke he could ask Santa for one thing.  He asked for a Thomas puzzle.  When he woke up the next morning, he was excited, but didn't really seem too focus on who left the gifts.  He was just excited to see gifts!

Jared, Jami, and the girls came over to celebrate Christmas Day.  We had a wonderful time eating, visiting, and playing together.  The older cousins can play more independently and have so much fun together.  It is fun to see Kariss take the lead as the "little Mommy!"

 

After Christmas, we went to ride the pink pink at Lenox Mall.  It was a first for all of us!

All of the kids in the outfits my mom made.  So cute!

We took an outing to North Point Mall to meet my friend Brandy with her 3 boys.  We had Jami's 3, my 2, and Brandy's 3 along with Wynna.  We were quite the party.  The kids had a blast riding the train.

Finally,we were reunited with Gregg!  He came up to be with us for New Year's.  We took time to thank God for all of the blessings He has given us.  There are not words to express our gratitude.  We pray all of you had a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Adalynn ~ 10 Months Old!

I know I haven't posted our Christmas pics yet, but it has been non-stop since we returned home from Alpharetta.  We were there for 10 days for Christmas, which was wonderful.  We enjoyed Adalynn's 1st Christmas and got to visit with family and friends.  I'll write that post as soon as possible.

December 28, 2013 marked Adalynn's 10 month "birthday."  She began crawling that week and is continually very verbal.  She says Mama, Dada, Baba, Nana...all the typical first sounds.  No first words yet, but she studies your mouth when you talk and loves to make sounds.  She also started clapping her hands the day we got home.  It's so cute. 

I am not sure how much she weighs, but I am constantly amazed by how much she eats.  She quickly uses it for energy, though, by exploring our whole house!  I can't keep her still and I can't leave anything out I don't want her to have.  I remember this stage with Zeke, and boy does it keep Mommy on her toes!

I pray you all are having a Happy New Year.  Look for the Christmas post soon!

Adalynn ~ 9 Months Old

Weight: 18 pounds, 13 ounces (53rd percentile) ~ Length: 28.5 in. (81st percentile)

What she is doing:
Crawling from hands and knees to sitting
Scooting and crawling all over the place
Putting everything in her mouth
Saying baba, mama, dada
Biting Mommy while nursing (ouch!)
Eating soft boiled egg yolks (I need to be more intentional about adding new foods)
Being TOO CUTE!

We are thankful!

This month, I read a blog post on Ann Voskamp's blog, "A Holy Experience" that suggested making a Thanksgiving Tree.  She had pretty leaves you could print out to use for this activity.  You will see hers below.

Each day you have your children tell you something they are thankful for, and you take a leaf off of the tree, read the scripture printed on it, and write down the child's item/thing for the day.

With all we have going on, I didn't have time to get a "tree," so we are placing our leaves in a bowl of fake pumpkins and gords!  It works for us.  I wanted to remember what Zeke said this year, so I will share his list here along with the scripture we read that day.

1) My toys ~ 1 Thes. 5:16-18
2) My basketball hoop ~ 2 Corinthians 4:15
3) My lovey ~ Hebrews 13:15
4) My bike and dinosaur ~ Hebrews 12:28
5) My playground ~ James 1:17
6) My basketball hoop (he forgot he already said that!) ~ Colossians 4:2
7) My puzzles ~ Colossians 3:15
8) My letters and my numbers ~ 1 Timothy 4:4
9) Daddy (I think I may have prompted this a little even though I tried not to!) ~ 1 Cor. 15:57
10) My food ~ Colossians 2:6-7
11) Helping Daddy ~ 1 Cor. 11:24
12) My name ~ Ephesians 5:20
13) My new house ~ Philippians 4:6
14) The swimming pool ~ 2 Cor. 9:15
15) My lego trucks from Wynna at Walmart ~ Psalm 107:8-9
16) The bushes [in our backyard] and the bouncy thing [trampoline the old owners left] ~ John 11:41
17) GOD AND JESUS ALSO ~ 1 Chronicles 16:34
18) Adalynn ~ Daniel 6:10
19) For going poopoo [sorry, it's what he said!] ~ 1 Chronicles 16:8
20) The penguin, door thing, other pot, and snowman [he was referring to putting up Christmas decorations with Mommy] ~ Isaiah 12:4
21) My shake [Shakeology!] ~ Psalm 118:24
22) My new Veggie Tales Christmas DVDs ~ Ezra 3:11
23) Putting together my train tracks ~ Psalm 145:7
24) The Happy Birthday, Jesus sign ~ Psalm 69:30
25) Books ~ Psalm 31:19
26) Wynna, Mommy, Zeke, Daddy, and Adalynn ~ Psalm 28:7
27) Adalynn's A in her room [the letter Jami made to hang on her wall] ~ Psalm 35:18
28) That Wynna and Papa are coming home [they came to our house in Americus] ~ "Psalm 30:12

After 16 days of being thankful for "stuff," Zeke said (completely on his own), that he was thankful for God and Jesus.  He wanted to make sure I wrote down both.  I don't know if he truly understands yet, but that warmed my heart to know that he is thankful for our Father in Heaven and His Son.  You can guess what I was thankful for that day!

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)

Gregg's new job is going to present new challenges when it comes to scheduling, but we are thankful that he has a job he enjoys that provides for our family.  He had to work on Thanksgiving, but my parents came down to visit after they enjoyed lunch with Jared and his family at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

Here are some pictures from the weekend...

Papa was so sleepy after the drive down that he had to take a nap (with his coat still on!)

We decorated the Christmas tree.  Zeke really enjoyed it for the first time this year!

We took him to have his first haircut in Americus by a real barber.  He was such a big boy!

My parents stayed at the Windsor Hotel downtown.  It was built in 1892.  If you are ever in Americus, we highly recommend staying there.  It was beautiful and in walking distance to all the little downtown shops and restaurants.

Gregg and I got to go out to dinner with my dad.  It was our first night out without the kids in months.  We decided it was a date night with a chaperone...ha!

We had such a nice time with my parents.  We are also thankful they let us put them to work.  My mom and I sewed and worked on other projects while my dad and Gregg put together Adalynn's doll case, which was quite a puzzle!  It is a blessing to be within driving distance and we are thankful they were willing to make the drive.

Happy Thanksgiving and God bless!