School days!

I realize it has been quite some time since my last post. To say my life has been crazy would be an understatement. We have had some major events happen in the last month and I am trying to stay afloat here!

Allie started kindergarten this month! KINDERGARTEN??? How is this possible? Wasn't she just 2 years old?? I am not one who does well with my kids getting big so fast. I have cherished the time I have had her at home with me on a daily basis so I really dreaded this transition. One thing that has made it a lot easier is that she is only going half day this year so she still gets out at 12:30 and we still feel like we have quite a bit of time together at home. Next year will be even worse when she goes all day! This makes for one sad mommy. However, as expected, the transition has been much easier for her. She loves it and has just taken the whole thing in stride! She told me that "school is better than pump it up". Hmm, wonder how long that point of view will last?! Anyway, so happy to see her enjoying herself and learning so much but I'm still trying to cope. Here's a few pictures of my sweet girl!

3 for 3!

I must confess, I am not a fan of big birthday parties. I realize that one day my kids will catch onto this but for now, I am still safe. I mean, don't get me wrong, I totally love celebrating their big day and making it fun. I just always have been one of those people that less is more for me. Just a fun day to let my child know how special she is is all it takes for me. Not some huge party with everyone we know where I have to throw down a ton of money for. I know it suits lots of folks, but not me. So, anyhow all this to say that this year I decided to tone things down even more than normal. For Taylor's birthday my plan was to just have Jeremy's family over on Friday night for a dinner, cake and presents and do the same on Saturday for my family. Well, when you have such large, busy families like ours, nothing can ever be that easy. Upon sending out invites I came to realize that neither set of Grandparents would be able to make it and neither would some of her cousins and Aunt and Uncle. So....we ended up with 3 birthday parties now because G had to throw her a little celebration today. So, here we go, In honor of my baby turning 3 today we had party number 1. Dad and mom had us over for lunch (tacos, which are Taylor's favorite), ice cream cake, presents and a whole lot of cute Tinkerbell decorations! Taylor loved it and it was really fun being able to celebrate with them since they can't come next weekend to her real party. G did great on everything! The decorations were adorable and Taylor loved them and the ice cream cake was delicious. Thanks Papaw and G for everything- She loved it!

Now I just have to figure out how I am going to explain to Allie why Taylor had 3 birthday parties!!

Sweet Prayers

One thing I absolutely love is listening to my kids sweet prayers every night at bedtime. Yesterday Allie was asking me why God does not answer our prayers sometimes. She thinks God is not listening to her because she has been praying for a long time that our house will sell and it hasn't yet. I explained to her that God knows what is going to happen tomorrow, the next day and the next day in our life and we don't know what is in the future so while sometimes we really want something, God knows it is not best for us at that time. We discussed all of this and that this is why it is really important to talk to God daily and try to let him lead us in our decisions. I guess she put some thought into this throughout the day because at bedtime her prayer went something like this:
            
  "Dear Jesus, I just want to tell you what I want to be when I grow up because I know you are in charge of what happens in our life so I just want to tell you I really want to be an artist. Please tell me if you will let me be an artist when you decide. "

It was really sweet and funny! I love that kid!!

Christmas in August!

Last night we had our annual Christmas in August party. Last year was our first year to start this tradition and I have to say, it is one of my favorite things we do all year. Every year I say I am going to really try to enjoy summer while it is here but truthfully, after about a month of summer I am so ready to see it go. The weather here gets so unbelievably hot and horrible. I mean today the heat index is predicted to be 125. REALLY?? I am very grateful to have a pool but realistically we can't be in the pool at all times. We are now at the point of starting to sweat just walking to the mailbox or car. As you can tell, I am not a fan of summer. Anyway, back to what this post is all about. I AM a fan of all things fall, winter, Christmas and so on. This year Stacy hosted our Christmas in August party and I have to say she did a fabulous job. For starters, the menu was great! We started out the night with dinner, which included Chick-fil-a nuggets, cheese fondue, sausage balls, chocolate covered strawberries and puppy chow. Delicious!!! While we ate dinner we attempted to watch Polar Express but really with us 4 girls and 5 kids did we really think that was going to be possible?? After dinner we did a Christmas craft. The girls colored snowglobes and the "big" girls made picture frames. It was really fun. This year we also all brought canned foods that we are going to donate to the local food banks. The girls had fun organizing all of our canned goods. And of course, it wouldn't have been a Christmas party without mom surprising everyone with a "Christmas present"! The girls got so excited when G came out with a gift. Each of the girls got a really cute notebook and fuzzy pen. And even the big girls got a gift. We each got a really cute fall candle holder and little bag that will hold your wet swimsuit. Super cute as shown in my pics above! We had such a great night hanging out. Right before leaving, we did our name drawing for Christmas...I guess that means it is time to start my Christmas shopping!!! (By the way Julie, you and Daniel both got your own names...Sorry!) The only downfall of last night? Now I really don't know how much longer I can suffer through summer- I just can't wait for fall and all of it's fun festivities!
On the way home last night Allie informed me that her notebook and fuzzy pen was the best present ever because she has never had a diary! Thanks G for the gifts and thanks Stacy for hosting such a fun night! Can't wait for next year, Amy!