Picking out the Christmas Tree

funny boy!

Andrew and Forrest were so excited to pick out a tree!

Rocks in his back pockets :)

Ann Evelyn had fun walking up and down the rows of trees

Picking out a tree is always so much fun and a great start to the Christmas season!

Christmas Funnies

Two quick funnies that the boys have said this week...

Our elf came back last Monday to be with us until Christmas. We started "The Elf on the Shelf" last year thinking it would be a fun tradition that the kids would enjoy. Last Monday morning, we actually had to point out to Andrew and Forrest that we had a visitor sitting on the mantel.

Andrew: What is that.... Who is that...? IT'S JACK!!!

I am amazed at what good memories children have! He was so excited! Without us mentioning Jack since last Christmas Andrew remembered him. But he couldn't quite remember all about him. So I read him The Elf on the Shelf book which basically tells of how the elves stay in your house each day and visit Santa at night to tell him if the children have been good or not.

Me: So Andrew, what does Jack do? - (referring to him watching for good behavior)

Andrew: Jump over the candlestick...?

Ha! Too funny and especially with the confused look on his face!

One more cute thing from Forrest...

I was getting him dressed for church this morning, and he asked what he was going to wear. I showed him the red corduroy shirt and pants and told him we were wearing Christmas clothes. He was very cooperative and happy as I got him dressed. When he was dressed and ready, he looked at me with a big grin on his face and said, "I want to go show my friends Christmas Forrest!" :)

Science Museum

We had a fun trip to the science museum or the 'animal museum' as Andrew calls it. We went the week of Thanksgiving and just happened to go on a day that they had special crafts set up for the kids.

The boys made turkey callers out of yarn, beads, feathers, and straws!

Andrew's handprint turkey

Ann Evelyn is pointing to the 'birds'

She LOVED looking in all the aquariums!

The boys love walking on the nature trail. I asked them to smile for a picture, and this is what I got... they are dancing! Silly boys! :)

Sissy enjoyed the trails, too!

All 3 in the same frame, and 2 out of 3 smiling!

We were all smiling as we left... it's always fun to go, and having daddy with us made it extra special!

Thanksgiving Day...

is a happy day when we say "Thank you, God!"

We enjoyed visiting with a lot of family this Thanksgiving. Every other year, my dad's side of the family gets together for Thanksgiving. This year we had a great group. It was nice to see my aunts and uncles, most of my cousins, and to see all of the children playing together! I only took a few pictures... I need to get some of my mom's to post!

Wearing big brother's pilgrim hat

Ann Evelyn loved meeting her cousins!

And she loved their precious puppies, too!

And then, we were off to Meridian to see all of Wilson's family. The kiddos have so much fun playing with their Shirley cousins. We see them often enough that they just pick right back up playing together. Unfortunately, we didn't get there until late, and I just never pulled the camera out. I did take a couple of pictures the next morning.

Papaw set up the card table for them to eat breakfast on while they watched a cartoon. This was definitely a special treat (since I do not turn the TV on much), and they enjoyed every minute!

Ann Evelyn couldn't sit still for long though. She kept going to check on the horses in the back. She loved watching them, and saying 'horse'.

He's Ready!

This little boy, my firstborn, is the most spirited, enthusiastic little boy I know! He is so ready to celebrate Christmas! I know I haven't even blogged about Thanksgiving yet, but I just had to record some of his excitement.

We really held back Christmas festivities and decorations until after the weekend. Our pastor preached a wonderful sermon a week ago for Thanksgiving. Wilson and I came away with a desire to be truly grateful to the Lord for his blessings, and we wanted to take the week to enjoy Thanksgiving with our family.

So, after celebrating Thanksgiving with our families, we headed back home on Friday night. Andrew began to talk about Christmas...
"I want to look for Christmast decorations" (as we drove home that night, we looked for lights)

We stopped to eat dinner on the way, then he asks "Can we go to Walmart and buy some Christmas decorations?" So we did, and he and Forrest picked out some light-up candy canes. :)

At 6:45 Saturday morning, I wake up to Andrew by my bedside. "I am hungry for breakfast, and I am ready to get the decorations down out of the attic." Wilson and I realized that he was serious! He couldn't stop talking about decorating!! So, the decorating has begun. The boys just about finished the outside decorating today. Andrew was singing as he helped, just as happy as could be. Now, he is on me to get the inside of the house decorated. He is just like his daddy. When it's on his mind, he can't stop until its done!

We had a great time with our church family tonight - celebrating the beginning of the advent season. As we got home and started getting ready for bed, Andrew asked, "Mama, can I wear Christmas pajamas tonight? And can we have hot chocolate in the morning?"

I love this sweet boy! He has made our whole family just jump into Christmas!

Birthdays!

We have celebrated 3 birthdays lately, and I wanted to post a few pictures of our celebrations!

Andrew and May May bringing out Bubby's cake!

Happy Birthday, Bubby!

Mmm, the icing tastes yummy! She learns a lot of tricks from her brothers!

Then we always celebrate Wilson and Rebecca's birthdays together.

Happy Birthday, Becca!

Happy Birthday, Wilson! Forrest is really helping with all those candles! :)

Thumbs up for birthdays!!

Andrew agrees! Birthdays are always fun!

Andrew's Jack-o-lantern

Buzz, Buzz & Jessie

We were planning to have a Toy Story gang at Halloween, but when the day arrived, we couldn't convince either of the boys to be Woody. Andrew had 2 Buzz costumes given to him for his birthday, and both of the boys were set on wearing them. So we had Buzz, Buzz, and Jessie!

Buzz

And Buzz

And here's our Jessie!

We trick or treated with the Stuckeys and had so much fun! The girls started off in the wagon,...

but then they decided they didn't want to be left out of the trick-or-treating!

Ann Evelyn would pick out a sucker if a candy bowl was held out to her. That is the only candy she's had (thanks to a few recent trips to the doctor) so she knows she likes it!

Then, this is how the boys trick-or-treated... Andrew would knock while Forrest stood in the yard watching. If someone answered with a bowl of candy, then Forrest would run up quickly to trick or treat. He was just a little unsure. :) Good think Big Brother was ready to go. Andrew LOVED trick-or-treating this year.

We went to our church's Reformation Party on Sunday night and had a great time... wore our costumes, played games, visited with friends... a lot of fun!

Andrew won the "Guess How Many?" game by guessing the exact number of ring pops in the jar. He was so proud, and we are set on ring pops for awhile!

Forrest discovered a new love.... Hershey bars!

Here are my 3 "treats" digging for treasure!

What a fun weekend!

Making pumpkin cookies!

I love to bake and always look for a good excuse to make some kind of yummy treat. Andrew is definitely my child... he loves it, too! We made several batches of pumpkin cookies last week - some to eat ourselves and some to share.

Getting started with the icing... Andrew wanted to be first (he's my sweet eater!), Forrest was so interested in those little bottles of food coloring, and patient Ann Evelyn is watching closely, waiting for her turn.

Iced, sprinked, and immediately eaten!

Getting those sprinkles in just the right place.

Mmm... he said he liked it,

but went back to those little bottles! :)

We didn't even let the icing dry... we just ate them up! Ann Evelyn likes sweets, too!

Waiting for Dadda to get home!

Zoo Day

We enjoyed a fun day at the zoo a couple of weeks ago with some sweet friends!

One last time to see the elephants.

Forrest and Andrew in front of the monkeys - only the monkeys are 'monkeying-around' and moved from where they could be seen! I'm surprised that my "monkeys" stayed put! :)

Some of the bigger kids... Forrest, Julia, Rhett, Lizzy, and Lemly

And here are all the babies!

Kathryn, Mary Emerson, Micah, Colt, Henry, Ann Evelyn, and Tate

Ann Evelyn and Tate... Precious!!

Andrew would ride the carousel all day long!

A very fun day! Looking forward to doing it again soon!