Thankful for Family

 This Thanksgiving we had a special blessing! Our family came down to see us. They rented a beach house and we all got to enjoy a relaxing week by the ocean. We got to play Putt-Putt, souvenir shop, go deep sea fishing, kayak on the ocean, hunt for shells, and shop like crazy on Black Friday. 

That week we were thankful for

 Lots of boy cousin time

 

Sweet Uncle love

 Good cooks in the kitchen

 This sweet baby girl

 Having a cousin to help knock out a loose tooth

 Good deals and late night fun

 Lots of outside playtime

And a beautiful Family by God's beautiful landscape.

Daddy's back :-)

This post is a little late because our life has been a little busy :-) Troy had to travel overseas for work for a little while in October/ November. We missed him a lot and the kids were excited to pick him up from the airport. After a 24 hour flight, his plane delayed out of Atlanta and so we waited at the airport. When he finally landed the kids were right by the gate, but we couldn't find daddy. That is because he looked like this....

Yikes! I though someone from Duck Dynasty was walking up to us! When we saw his eyes we recognized him, but the kids wanted his hat off. Then Sam said "I think your hair turned Gray!" (his hair was pretty long too!) We are glad to have daddy home and we are glad that he shaved and got a haircut :0) So thankful he was safe while he was away from us and that our friends here were so helpful.

Color Vibe

This weekend I ran a 5k race with my good friend Kerri. It was the color vibe race where they have color stations that you run through during the race. About 4,000 people participated and it was a lot of fun. About 2 months ago I started the couch to the 5k running program and it worked :-) Running proves to be a pretty good stress reliever around here and I'm thankful that I could get back into it. The kids were excited for me and kept asking if I won...I told them I made it and that is sort-of like winning! Troy, Maddie, Sam and I are planning on running the Reindeer Dash here on December 14th. I'm hoping it is something we can really enjoy as a family. 

10 Months

 This little one is 10 months old now and she is way to busy to have her picture taken! She is changing so much and growing everyday. She is doing well with a sippy cup, sleeping all night up in Sam's room, and is constantly on the go. She signs for "more" and "milk", waves good-bye and has mastered pat-a-cake.

 She is the best little carpet cleaner around and we have to run the vacuum daily to keep little bits of paper, small toys and oak leaves out of her mouth.

 And she doesn't just stick to the ground, she is pulling up and exploring anything she can reach. She is at a cute and fun age. The kids love the reactions she gives them and she love playing with them. They went outside this week and she went to the sliding door and just watched for a long time. She thinks she can keep up with them!

I finally put her in the exersaucer to get her to hold still for a picture! She cut another tooth this week so now she has three with one more about to break through. With all the growing up she is doing I love the fact that she is a cuddle bug....she will let me hold her and rock her. She lays her head on my shoulder and coos. So blessed by this sweet little girl!

Trick-or-Treat

 Well I guess this post is a little late, but here are the kids in their Halloween costumes :-) We went trick-or treating with our good friends the Loves. The kids had a blast. It was hot and humid here that night, even when the sun was going down, but we managed to make it through with lots of yummy candy and some good memories with friends. 

We took with us Tinker Bell,

 A Florida Gator football player,

 Fairy Fern from Tinkerbell,

 And a screaming Flower

 Marla can't eat candy or walk so really it was not so much fun for her, or me as I carried her for like 4 city blocks.

Here is the whole crew...and yes MG is still screaming. I did have mercy on her and take off her petals for most of the night. The kids actually sold most of their candy back to their dentist who sends it to our troops overseas. Then they took their money and bought a DVD and some Nintendo DS games at a yard sale. All in all they thought Halloween was very successful this year!

Fall

Fall is my favorite season around here! It is cooler and the kids spend lots of time outside playing. We are also still able to go to the beach and enjoy the ocean. This weekend we went out to St. Andrews state park and their were yellow and purple flowers in bloom everywhere with lots of butterflies floating around. The kids played in the ocean and the water was crystal clear. Just beautiful! I also like making caramel apples, caramel corn and anything pumpkin :-) A few things we have enjoyed this fall....

Cooler nights to play at the park...

Dressing up like candy corn....

Carving our pumpkins...

And dipping apples!

Fall Festival

 Last week the kids decided they would like to dress up as the characters from "Despicable Me" For our fall festival this year. They were more than thrilled when Troy agreed to dress up as well :-) So last week was spent getting all the right outfits and accessories in order to pull it off. Of course we couldn't get Troy to shave his head, but the kids thought he was the 'perfect' Mr. Gru!

 The fall festival is always a very busy 2 hours for me so I was only able to grab a few pictures of the kids having fun. The kids played lots of games, jumped in the jump house, did the big slide, ate cotton candy, snow cones and pop corn, and loaded up on candy.

 We had a great time hanging out with friends and seeing what everyone was dressed up like. Marla got a little cranky at the end, but did pretty well over all. The kids loved that she was 'Agnes' and laughed very hard when her hair stuck straight up after we took the rubber band out. We made some great memories with the kids who are already talking about next years costumes ;-)

My Lil' Pumpkins

 Saturday we had some perfect weather so we headed to the pumpkin "patch" in town with some friends. The kids had a great time and we brought home a few pumpkins to decorate the porch :-)

Fall is my favorite time of year here and we have really been enjoying this one!

Fast, Very Fast!

 We have been enjoying a little bit of cooler weather in the evenings. The kids like to go out and ride their bikes, man can they ride fast. It seems like we were just picking out their first trikes and pushing them from behind to get them started. Man, that went fast.

 On Sunday I came out of the shower and found this. Didn't we just bring her home from the hospital? My baby can't pull up can she? Wasn't I pregnant on the couch yesterday planning Christmas 2012 in a very pregnant state? Now I have my list complete for Christmas 2013 and I'm working on plans for a 1st birthday party. Whew...this year has gone by fast!

Meg can't believe this year is almost over either. 

We are looking forward to the last few months of 2013, and I'm hoping somehow to make time slow down a little before my "littles" are zooming off like my older two.

Baseball

 Sam started baseball this fall. He has wanted to play for a while now, but we decided to wait until he was 7 to play and just avoid the t-ball years. He and Troy play pitch and catch a lot and practice batting so he knew most of the fundamentals going in. He has really enjoyed practice and his coaches have been great. Their first game was last Tuesday and they won 16-4! Before the game all the boys on our team huddled up, took a knee and said a prayer. So cute! At the end of the game Sam was awarded the game ball by his coach for "working so hard" in his position. Oh man, was he excited!

 Sam played catcher, which he loved. He liked having all the extra gear on and getting to stand next to the batters. The umpire and the coaches for both teams were very encouraging to the boys during the game which I appreciated. I'm going to have to work on my baseball photography, but I took these pictures from the bleachers while holding Marla Grace, feeding Meg a picnic supper and keeping an eye on Maddie on the playground near by...I'm glad Troy will be able to come to his next game to help me out!

Here he is batting...He is #12 on the "Lynn Haven Navy Blue Crushers". He hit the ball each time he batted and even scored 2 runs. He already knows his next game is on Monday at 7....we hear about it at least 10 times a day! I'm glad he has found something he enjoys and is getting to make some new friends and work at being a team player.

9 Months

 This little cutie is nine months old now! She is growing up fast and really keeping us on our toes. She wasn't in the mood for pictures on the 7th when she turned 9 months, I told her it was ok because the older you get the more your birthday might seem a little depressing :-) She is also actively cutting a bunch of teeth so I think that may have been the cause. She has gotten her 2 bottom teeth in the last week and her 2 tops ones are about to break the surface.

 She has gotten VERY active in the past month and doesn't like to sit still for long. She can get to anywhere she wants to go now and today I found her climbing the stairs! She loves to pull over our shoe basket and dump the shoes, take a detour under the kitchen table to see if anyone dropped some goodies, and then head into the school closet or the bathroom if the kids have left the door open. A new favorite saying around the house is "Shut the doors!" Megan's new favorite past time is to follow her around and say "No, No little silly!" and then save her from putting something into her mouth :-)

 We tried a hair bow out the other day. Maddie and Meg like to pick her outfits and then accessorize with things in her dresser. The bow lasted a few minutes and then it was ripped out. I found it later on one of the girls baby dolls....probably a better choice anyway!

Uh- Oh...someone left the school closet open and Marla found the marker bin. Glad we found her before any lids were removed :-) I'm thankful now for my three older helpers who do keep an eye on her, even if they occasionally leave the doors open.

Sweet Momma

Little Dancers

 In September Maddie started her 4th year of ballet and Meg started her first year. Maddie was very excited to get back into her class, and Megan has warmed up to the idea of her class. They practice daily in all sorts of dress up gear and with different music. It cracks me up! They got these matching leotards and insisted on wearing them even though it was about 90 degrees outside. We love their dance instructors and appreciate the Christian environment they are able to learn in.

Monday are now the girls favorite day!

Seven

 Last Thursday Sam turned seven. It is hard to believe how the years are flying by. We had a good time celebrating! The week of my kids birthday is usually filled with trips to the mail box for lots of cards and presents from our family. The kids love getting mail and calling each person to thank them for it.

 He got lots of things he had been wanting and also some money that was spent on a video game and his first BB gun. He was very proud that he put this Lego set together all by himself that Mimi and Papa sent.

 On Thursday morning he got a skim board from Troy and I and we took a trip out to the beach to try it out. The weather has been beautiful here and he did well with it for his first time. The girls really enjoyed the beach too and we all enjoyed taking the day off school! A birthday is a perfect day for a field trip in my opinion ;-)

 That evening we had dinner with our neighbors and enjoyed some yummy cake and time in the pool. It was a special day to celebrate a special boy :-)