The Polar Express!

When our elf Jack arrived at our house in early December, he had this envelope with him...

Andrew loves to open mail or other packages (aka "special delivery"). So they were so excited to see what was inside....

Polar Express Tickets!!!

The boys were sooo excited! We had ridden the Polar Express last year and had loved it. Andrew and Forrest have occasionally talked about it over the past year, so Wilson and I knew we really wanted to take them again this year.

Both of the boys talked about it daily for the 2 weeks before we went. And I think they told everyone we came in contact with about it, too! :) We read the book at bedtime each night and listened to the Polar Express movie soundtrack throughout the day, at home and in the car. (#3 on the cd, referred to as "the fast train song" by the boys, was listened to over and over!)

Forrest would repeat this same this little conversation with us often... He'd say "Mama, Dada, where are we going?!" We'd answer "The Polar Express!" Then he'd say "And where is it going to go?!" And we'd answer "the North Pole!" Then, he'd say, getting really excited, "Who are we going to see?!?!" Then he'd be so excited he couldn't wait for us to say "Santa". He just say it himself, with a huge smile on his face!!

Fast forward a couple of weeks...

and here we are... ready to ride the Polar Express

wearing Christmas pjs and robe, holding his real ticket

tickets punched and ready to board

at the 'North Pole', waiting for Santa to visit us in our train car

(outside the window you can see the North Pole decorations and lights!)

Forrest sees Santa and Mrs. Claus waving as the train pulls up to the North Pole

ringing the jingle bells that the "elves" gave us as Santa approaches!

a picture with Santa and Mrs. Claus!

Ann Evelyn didn't cry but she didn't smile either - just stared Santa down the whole time!

Forrest's jingle bell had come off the leather strip it was tied to, and he was trying to string his it back on as we were taking pictures. Funny boy was saying cheese but wouldn't look at the camera! Andrew, of course, is all smiles! I think this picture is so fun though because it really is true to how they were acting that night when they met Santa. They didn't miss the opportunity to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas...

For Andrew... a new trumpet (he had asked for this last year, too, but that trumpet broke. So he wanted a new one.), money - quarters :), oranges :), a candy cane and an airplane... I love hearing his Santa list each year. He comes up with it all by himself, and it's always so unique! :)

and for Forrest - Toy Story toys!! :)

Eating cookies and drinking chocolate milk after our visit with Santa

A picture in front of the "Polar Express"!

What a fun, fun family night (and weekend)! It was a very special time with my precious family! The Lord had just brought us through a very busy time of studying and work for Wilson. So, this was a much needed getaway together... and what a blessing it was!

Happy New Year!!

and GO DAWGS!!

We had a fun New Year's Day cheering on the Bulldogs with a delicious "tailgate" lunch at May-May and Bubby's house. We were so proud of our MSU Dawgs!

We have had a busy month, with a yucky stomach bug mixed in with our Christmas. But, I haven't had to wash any sheets in the last 36 hours so I think we are finally well! :) I hope to get busy posting some December pics soon. Happy New Year!!

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!