A Bethlehem Visit

Last night we loaded up the Crew and met my mom and Terry for yummy pizza @ Al's in Ponte Vedra! After our dinner we drove to our Main Attraction, The Bethlehem Visitby The Ponte Vedra Presbyterian Church. This is not your typical Nativity Scene. This is a town! It is filled with Knights on horses, beggers, pottery makers, leather makers, Bread makers, belly dancers, everything you imagine to be in the town of Bethlehem that very special night, including Baby Jesus! It was amazing. This video does not do it justice! Before the tour you are welcomed by the pastor in the sanctuary followed by a beautiful musical piece by two talented musicians and vocalist. We were then asked to stand and sing Silent Night! Beautiful! I was tearing up! You could feel the love! Then we were led out to a candle lite path that took us into the town of Bethlehem.

Again, this is a nice video, but this is only a small glimpse of what you actually see and experience! There was even a camel!! It isn't just a path that you walk on and look at the attraction. You actually interact with everyone! The kids had a blast. Onceyou leave the town you are welcomed to stand around the bonfire and drink your hot chocoalte and eat your cookies!!

In the last couple of years nearly 30,000 people travel through the town of Bethlehem during this 2 night event! It is SPECTACULAR!!!

Thanksgiving, Birthdays, etc...

Well, for all of you out there wondering if Landon stayed home for Thanksgiving or went to Georgia, well, he stayed!! I have to admit I was thrilled with his decision. We had a great day at my Mother's house. We spent time with 2 of my Uncles and my Meemaw and GG Curt. We haven't done that in years! It was nice!

We ended up at Toby's parents house and watched football and The Elf with his sister, her husband and their three girls! It was a great day. So much to be thankful for!

We also, celebrated Landon's bithday. I cannot believe he is 11 and will be in middle school next year...crazy! BTW, I totally would have made him a cake, but he insisted on the Edwards Chocolate Hershey Pie. Hum, I wonder why??

Last Sunday was Emerson's 3rd Birthday. She invited a few friends and lots of cousins! It was a perfectly themed party for our little Princess!

Tickle made her a beautiful Princess cake!

We have been filled to the brim with festivities! This is a busy time of year, but my absolute favorite!

'Tis the Season

I am so looking forward to getting up in the attic and pulling down all of our Christmas decorations! Most people hate that part, but the kids and I love it! We get all gitty reminiscing while we unpack. I love watching the kids pull out things from when they were younger. Every year I try to find ornaments that represent the phases they are in. Like, I have a Hershy Bar to represent Landon's love for chocolate. You should see the Barney and Lion King ornaments that we have collected over the years! People think I'm crazy, but our tree is filled with memories, as well as all of my pretty stuff! I have the kids help decorating the tree too. They decorate the layer of the tree that matches their height. We always have our Christmas music in the background. It is always such a treat.

We usually decorate sometime during the Thanksgiving weekend, but this year we just might have to push it back. Landon has been invited to go to Athens, GA to watch the GA vs. GA Tech game with some friends of the family. The Pickrens live in our neighborhood and are HUGE Georgia fans. It is a little bittersweet, because they will be traveling for Thanksgiving as well! Landon has been dying to go to Athens and he now has a chance! I will just miss his stinkin' butt during Thanksgiving. He hasn't quite made up his mind yet, but I think he is leaning towards going. We have given him the opporitunity to decide for himself whether to go or not. It is a real honor that another family wants your kid to travel 6 hours in the car and to enjoy Thanksgiving with their family! Keep in mind, they have 3 boys of their own!!!

I'll be so happy for him, but I also hate not being there to see his excitement!

Storytime

I so longed for a sweet little girl and now that I have her I don't know what to do with her! I know for a fact that I am so not into the whole "playgroup" thing anymore. It's like I don't know what to do with a toddler. They need interaction. I feel so bad for her. She is here at he house with me all day long...with nobody to play with!

I can't lie. I just really don't want to sit down and play with her. There are way to many other things I'd rather be doing. And no, I don't mean laundry!

So, today I strapped on my "good mommy" boots and took my little "sweet peaches" to the Main Library downtown! They are celebrating their 5yr. birthday for the new building! It was great fun for us both. I enjoyed watching her during the sing-a-longs and the storytelling. She had such a sweet smile on her face the whole time. She also really enjoyed the art and craft part! It was a great afternoon!

A few fun photos...

Here are a few random photos...

Halloween with all the creepy peeps, except for Emerson!

Baylor enjoying his Birthday Brownies...

Toby and Landon enjoying their Bowl Game victory...

I took a few (150 to be exact) pics of Emerson. Trying to play around with my camera! Here is my FAV from our "photo shoot"...

Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

Forever and A Day

Yeah! So, it's been awhile. I've been in hiding. Ha! So much has gone on that I cannot even begin to back track...so, I'm starting fresh from today! Today is Baylor's 9th Birthday! I am amazed at what an incredible person he is. He is so smart and responsible, as well, as handsome and sweet. I love him to pieces. Toby and I picked him up from school early and took him to Zaxby's (his choice) and then we went to the mall where he picked out the jersey of his choice - Matt Ryan from the Atlanta Falcons! Now to cook him some brownies and some steak and chicken for dinner!!

TWF

I want a pair of these...

Just to take me away for a little while!!

I'll come back later.

I promise.

I've been hearing, "Ding, ding, ding!" ALL day!

Thumb Wrestling!

There's little peices of paper all over my house.

And tape.

They are having fun.

I guess a little paper can't hurt, right?

Make your very own right here! Have fun!

The BEST Place On Earth

This is our Favorite place.

It's my Aunt's Lake Place.

The kids look forward to going here every summer.

Compass Lake.

Relaxing.

Beautiful.

FUN.

We had friends join us for a few days this trip.

I always hate leaving!

Thanks Uncle Larry and Aunt Cheryl!

Wedding Day

Sunday, May 1st mom married Terry Murphy. It was a georgous day! Lots of preparation, but everything turned out great! We meet Terry's 2 daughters, Sabrina and Victoria. Our kids really hit it off with Sabrina's children and granddaughter! We meshed together like we've known each other forever. It was an amazing day filled with God's great love. Here is a sampling of pictures from the day.

Our new extended family!

Sabrina and Victoria, Terry's daughters from Alabama

Four Generations

It was so beautiful!

Wishing mom and Terry a lifetime of love and happiness!

Busy Bees

Holy Moly! Can I say, "BUSY"! Busy is good, though. I feel like we have a new perspective ~ a more positive one now! Before we would sit around and sulk in our missery. Not now! It's great, we feel impowered! On top of being so busy we are on track to looking great at the pool this summer. Toby has lost 9lbs. now and I have lost 6lbs. We still have a way to go, but are feeling great during the process. Visalus is changing our lives ~ mentially, physically and emotionally! Things happen for a reason. I am a true believer of that. God has placed this opporitunity in our laps and we are going to run wild with it! If you're up for the challenge are just interested in learning more check out the link to the right! On to other news. Avon is going well. Ii placed my first official order Thursday! YEAH!! Last night I went to a fundraiser for a dear friend, Becki Couch, who is running for School Board! I'm so proud of her. We've been friends since elementary school. Toby had to miss the fundraiser because he had a Visalus meeting on the other side of town. It was a great night up until the end. That's when we ended the night in Super Crews Fashion with Baylor getting sick at the fundraiser. Poor baby threw up ALL night! Ugh! He stayed home from school today and seems to be feeling better now! Hopefully, everyone will have an amazing weekend!

I Need an Office ~ Like yesterday!!!

I have a serious problem...I love to move furniture! And now that Toby and I have taken on a few new business opporitunities I've realized that we need an office ~ BAD! Before Emerson was born we used the back room for our computer, toys and stuff. We've put our home computer in our kids hall way since then Please let me know. I know that sounds weird, but it is actually a really neat space. Near the entrance to 2 of the bedrooms there is a big open area ~ almost like it was meant for the desk to go there. But (yes that is a big but) Toby and I now have lots of papers and stuff. I've got tons of Avon books ~ last campaign books, this campaign books and next campaign books and that's only the half of it!! So, I'm thinking about converting our dining room (the one we NEVER use) into a multi functioning office/craft area! Hopefully, when we see some money coming in we will close it in. I've been playing around with it and I think it can work. Do any of you have ideas??? I could use some serious help!!

Where Oh Where To Begin...

Sunday was a beautiful day! The family gathered with my Grandfather to dedicate the carillon system in the memory of our G.G.! Gran was such a special person and is missed greatly everyday! Here are a few pictures from the afternoon: Earlier in the week Emerson started a new gymnastics class. This class is for 3-4 year olds. I actually watch instead of being part of the class! After class we met Erica and Jillian for a little play time! The girls are so cute together ~ they are really enjoying their time with each other! In other news, I have opened up an etsy shop!! There are only a few goodies in there but it will soon be filled to the brim! Check it out: http://www.cutemessyfunky.etsy.com/ Also, I am signing up to become an Avon Rep.!!! YEAH!!! I am really excited about this. Toby's cousin is a rep and I am meeting her on Thursday to get all my books to get started. I will have an eBoutique up and running soon. Toby is also getting involved in a new endeavor called ViSalus! This is an amzing product. Check it out as well: http://www.tobycrews.bodybyvi.com/ If you have any questions you can contact him through that site! Lots more to come! Hope you have a great week!

Family Rules

I am so glad I decided to whip this baby up yesterday! It is so colorful...and the words are delightful. I found this idea over at The Pleated Poppy! She did hers using fabric. I thought about the fabric, but decided to use paper that I had! I just copied the words from the computer straight onto the paper. It was super easy even though I did spend several hours working on it! It's great when you take what you have laying around the house and make something so fun! I even had the canvas in the attic!

It's not perfect, but what is???

If you want to make one of your own just head over to The Pleated Poppy and there you will find step by step instructions!

Good luck!

Giving

Several different afternoons, the boys have gone out in the neighdorhood and collected food for Second Harvest Food Bank! They did a great job. They collected quite a bit of canned and boxed items. Yesterday we all piled up in the mini and drove the items to the Second Harvest Food Bank downtown. The kids collected enough to fill a grocery cart! I am so proud of their effort! Emmie even lended a hand!

Now onto other breaking news!

I went garbage diving this morning ~ that's a first for me!

I was taking the kids to school and spotted this on the side of the road:

I just couldn't resist. I was a tad bit nervous about stopping on the side of the road and grabbing another persons trash, but I got over it! Score for me. I cannot wait to clean her up!

President's Day, Potty Training and Tea...

Oh, I can't seem to get motivated today! I think it's because it is Monday and Monday's are always hard for me! I thought that since the kids were out of school that it would be a fun day, but instead it's just a blah day. Oh well.

Last night Emmie decided that she didn't want her diaper on. She's been doing this lately and I go with it for a little while then we move right back to the diaper. She was ready to do this in September so I'm guessing at this point she's really ready! I left her "Big Girl" underware on her last night for bed. I don't know what I was thinking because she sleeps with us, but she woke up dry! I couldn't believe it. She's done good most of the day, but the last 3 times she's wet her pants. I am going to stick with it though. It will be really nice this summer not dealing with diapers and the pool. I never did like those swim diapers ~ YUCK! The boys were all over 3 years old when they trained so she is a bit younger than them. I used the book potty Training in Less than A day. It worked really good, but I really don't have the luxury of being confined to the house for a week. If anyone has any tips on potty training young girls let me know!

Right now I am enjoying a hot cup of Peppermint Tea! Yummy! I love peppermint and it's caffine free which is nice! I think next time I go to the store I will pick up the white chocolate kiss. It sounds really yummy.

Maybe my day is blah because I'm potty training ~ unexpectedly! Wish me luck.

Hug Your Sweetie!

My Hubby took me here last night:

This is one of my favorite resturants! The food is yummy and the atmosphere is wonderful. Last night it was quite busy if you can imagine. So, we decided to go to the bar have have a few drinks and enjoy our night without kids. We ended up at one of the bar tables with two other couples. We had a great time chatting with new people over dinner! Melody and Bill were great company! It made our night laughing with new people.

Be sure to HUG your sweetie today ~ kids included!!!

Happy Birthday, Lil Man!!!

My baby boy is 6 today!

Here's 5 of my Favorite things about Corbin:

1. He is so silly.

2. When he smiles his whole face lights up!

3. He is tough as nails ~ he has to put up with 2 older brothers!

4. He is very determined.

5. He loves his baby sister!