Christmastime is here!

The girls have been so excited about Christmas and it's finally come (and gone)! We have had a super busy but fun Christmas break so far and there's still more to come! We packed up on the 19th and headed to grandmother's so we could be around for all of the Birmingham festivities. On Sunday we went to church and then spent the afternoon finishing up last minute Christmas shopping and errands at the Galleria. The carosel at the Galleria changes all of the animals to reindeer for the month on December so the girls were excited to get to ride on Santa's reindeer...even Gracie got a turn! We wandered around the mall a little bit and got sucked into Build a Bear....yikes! What were we thinking?!?!? The girls had a great time making their animals...two bunnies and a Frosty! After spending a small fortune (actually, I shouldn't complain...we got off easy compared to lots of our friends....I think it's bacause we left with naked animals!!) we headed back to the church to get ready for the live nativity. Josh was a wiseman and Annie and Emma were angels. Gracie and I were just along for the ride! They were all really cute!
After the live nativity, we headed back to grandmother's for a day or two. Josh and I celebrated our 7th anniversary...yay for us....by having dinner at Shula's and spending the night at the Wynfry. (Thanks Mom and Grandmother for watching the girls!!) and then we just spent a few days around Gadsden waiting for Christmas. We played with Logan one day and met Walker and Becca at the park...got a few cute pictures of the cousins!
Finally it was Christmas Eve! The girls were so excited they could hardly stand it! We spent the day helping (i'm not sure that's the best word) grandmother around the house and getting ready for the rest of the family to come to town. Around 4:00 we got ready and headed to Birmingham for church...our first Christmas at our new church. Our church decided to have a family Christmas Eve service...in other words no nursery. It sounds like a really good idea but when you're by yourself with three kids 4 and under it's not the most practical idea. I was kinda worried about how well the girls would do having to sit still and quiet but they were great! There was a little bit of wiggling around and lots of sticker fun but overall they did were awesome! Then after church we headed back to Grandmother's house for Christmas Eve dinner with the family. By then Mom and Dad and the boys were there along with Aunt Jane. We had the traditional (I guess it's a tradition...we have it every year) Christmas Eve lasagana before getting into our new flower pjs and putting out our cookies for Santa and then heading to bed.
We woke up bright and early on Christmas morning to rush downstairs and see what Santa had brought. The girls got quite a few goodies....princess shoes, an easy roller, tvs for the car and lots of dress up clothes and other fun things! Santa (and Mom and Dad and Gleigh and Bo) was good to them! We had a fun-filled day playing with all of our new stuff and a really good Christmas lunch when Aunt Donna and her crew arrived! Then back to playing (Josh and Daniel took a break from playing to go and see The Blindside) before heading to the Copeland Family Christmas party. This year there were a couple of surprises! Mom, Marianne and Renee' all turned 50 this year so Grandmother, Aunt Jane and Aunt Janice hired a "wailing woman" to come and cry and moan and lament their old age! It was hilarious! and embarassing! But overall kinda fun! The party was nice...it's always good to catch up with extended family.
So..another Christmas has come and gone (and will come again with other families in the next week or so) and overall it was great! Tonight I as I was tucking Annie in she made reminded me that even in the hustle and bustle and food and presents and stress and tension and all of the trappings and things to get caught up in (of which there is lots and lots) Christmas is about so much more than that. As we were saying our prayers Annie prayed that we all remember that Christmas is about so much more than all of that! Christmas is about love and more specifically God's love for us. The best Christmas gift of all is not one we give but one we get...the gift of Jesus and the opportunity for an eternity in paradise with our Creator! Sometimes it takes a kid to remind us exactly what Christmas is all about and I'm so glad my Annie's got it figured out!

Christmas Time Is Here!!

My new (old) milk jug

My Grandmother gave me this milk jug a couple of weeks ago when the girls and I were at her house for the weekend. It's old and kinda beat up but really neat because it came from the LEE DAIRY. My great grandmother was a Lee and her parents (my great grandparents) owned the dairy. Growing up my grandmother spent lots of time at the dairy farm so this was kind of like a piece of her childhood. She has several bottles and now I have a piece of our family history too.




I think it made a pretty little centerpiece for my kitchen table. The bottle says "Help them to happiness with strong bodies." Cute!

Happy Birthday GLEIGH!!!

This weekend was my mom's 50th birthday. YAY! So, we loaded up and headed to Chattanooga to surprise her! Mom's friend, Annie, hosted a really nice birthday dinner for mom at her house. Grandmother, Josh and the girls and I showed up just in time for Mom's arrival. I think she was actually surprised...quite an accomplishment that our crazy family was able to keep anything a secret! :) We all had a good time and a really good dinner and then headed to Mom and Dad's for the night!
The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful...it was cold and kinda rainy so we mostly just hung out and watched lots of Christmas movies by the fire!:)
SO...we just wanted to say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY GLEIGH!!! WE LOVE YOU LOTS!!"

Annie and Emma playing "shepherd and wedding girl" with some blankets on a cold rainy day at Gleigh and Bo's! :)

Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart...

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs and lately I've been listening to one of those radio stations that is playing Christmas music all of the time. Well, on Friday the girls and I were in the car and this song came on. Annie piped up from the back "Mom, it wouldn't be very good to give your heart away." I explained to Annie that it was just a figure of speech (that's a dumb conversation to start with a 4 year old!) and that it really just meant that you loved someone. She was satisfied with that answer for a while and we went on our merry way.
A little while later the same song came on. This time Annie T. was secure in knowing what "giving your heart away" meant and she made an announcement from the back! "Mom, this Christmas I think I'm going to give my heart to you and Jesus." I told her that was an AWESOME idea. I know that Annie is not quite there as far as asking Jesus into her heart BUT I DO think she is learning about and loving Jesus more and more each day (he even beat her daddy on her list of people to give her heart to! AND her daddy ranks pretty high)! That makes her mom one happy camper! :)

Dear Santa

This a note my sweet Annie wrote to Santa. It is really amazing to me that she is writing so much and so well (at only 4 years old)!
In case you can't read it (dumb yellow paper!) this is what it says:
Dear Santa,
I have been good. Please bring me headphones and a TV for the car.
Love,
Annie

I think Santa's got this one covered!

The Nutcracker

Today started off a little crazy! Emma T. left the light above her carseat on in the car last night...all night; so this morning when I went out to start my car, you guessed it...my battery was dead! YIKES! We had places to be (school) and things to be doing! My sweet friend Valerie came and jumped me off (that was an adventure in and of itself!) and we all headed on our way!
Later this morning, my friend Kris offered me some "tickets" to The Nutcracker (it was really friends and family night so it was free but you had to have a seat)! Her daughter, Kinsey, was in it and she thought the girls might like to see it. (Kinsey was snow and a flower. I honestly think the snow was Annie's favorite part. When "snowflakes" started falling from the celing, I thought she was going to jump out of her chair)! I have debated taking Annie, or Annie and Emma in the past but have never gotten around to it. It's just one of those things that seemed like it could turn into a whole lot of trouble but tonight with free tickets I thought it would be worth a try. I called around all day and found a babysitter and then invited Valerie (my rescuer from this morning) and her daughter, Ari, to tag along. I thought it might be a good mother daughter thing to do. I decided to wait on Emma and Gracie....they are probably still a little too young for such a long performance but they had a great time playing with Sara! That always makes me feel better about leaving the little ones when I know they're having fun!
I cannot believe how good Annie was (Ari too). The show is right at 2 hours long and Annie hardly made a peep. She loved the costumes and the music and the dancing! She just sat there in awe! I forgot my camera-what a big dummy-but I wish I had been able to get a picture of her watching! She was so engaged and totally wrapped up in what was going on on stage! I am so glad I decided to take her-the performance really was good and since this was still technically practice I imagine it will only get better! My only complaint was the SUPER hairy prince...he needs to shave that chest or get a different costume....GROSS! All in all a good time was had by all!

A weekend of Christmas fun!

This weekend Josh had so much going on that it was nearly impossible for him to make it home so rather than go without seeing him the girls and I jumped in the car and paid him a visit. He had scheduled a parent's night out birthday party for Jesus so the girls were really excited to get to go and spend some time with their new friends AND it was a good chance for me to get to know some of Josh's new kids and their families. The kids had a great time making Christmas crafts, eating pizza and cake, watching the Grinch and just having a good time hanging out! The girls were absolutely exhausted when the night was over....exhausted but HAPPY kiddos!
On Saturday Josh and I went to the staff Christmas party. A few of Josh's youth watched the girls at church so everyone had a fun night ahead! The girls had a great time playing with Katie and Avery and Mason and we had a great Adults Only dinner with the staff at the Watterson's house. They have such a beautiful home and were so gracious to have us all! We had a really good time. It was really nice to finally put some names with faces and get to know some of our new church family a little better.
On Sunday we went to church and then went to look at a house. Great area, great schools etc., across the street from a great playground, in our price range.....crappy house! Kind of disappointing! Oh well, there are plenty more to look at (and we still have a house to sell!). I know we'll find something just right at the right time! :)

Just for fun! A little Christmas Cheer!

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Simply having a WONDERFUL Christmastime!

So Thanksgiving has come and gone and now it's time for the big leagues, the heavy hitter of holidays and my alltime favorite...CHRISTMAS! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas and everything that goes with it! I don't want to be one of "those people" who just skip Thanksgiving all together...you know the ones who go straight from Halloween to Christmas but I must admit it takes all of my self control to not break out "Elvis sings Christmas" (my very very fave) in the middle of November! But the wait is OVER...Christmas time is here...HOORAY!
Today, the girls and I decorated the house and tree. I must admit I'm pretty impressed that I was able to get the tree in the stand all by myself! Once I got the tree up and the lights on it was time for my little helpers to get busy! The girls had so much fun! We popped in The Grinch and watched and decorated and sang along and just had a Great time.
We also got out our nativity set and got everyone situated to wait for Baby Jesus' arrival! The girls played and played and finally got everyone settled into the perfect place. It made me think about Advent and that we too are in a season of waiting for his arrival. I want that wait to be special and worthwhile...I want to really reflect on the things I have rather than the things I want. I want to be waiting and watching and anticipating the wonder and excitement and even the uncertainty and fear that the first visitors to the stable felt and see Christmas through a different set of eyes! While I love all of the trappings and hustle and bustle that comes with Christmas and I too can get caught up in Christmas specials and food and fun and even finding THE perfect gift, I also want to remember the real reason for the season and even more importantly teach my girls why we celebrate! So, this Christmas more than ever, I am thankful that God so loved the world (and me in particular) that he sent his ONLY son that I can have eternal life with HIM!

Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees

"Mom, you always put hot sauce on food, NEVER on children!" and other holiday happenings!

One of the MANY MANY funny things heard in our car during the holiday travel! This particular jewel was said when I told Annie that if she couldn't leave her nose alone I would put hot sauce on her fingers and it would hurt the next time she decided to dig around. I know, I'm a mean mama! but I can't stand nose picking from my pretty little girls!
As is the case with most everyone I'm sure, we had a super busy holiday week! Busy but FUN! We spent a lot of time in the car-so worth it since we were able to visit with lots of family and friends.
On the Saturday before Thanksgiving we loaded up and headed to Grandmother's house. Josh and I were able to go out for the night to see a play that several of his youth were in and enjoy some quality adult time at dinner! Yay! The following morning we woke up to a big surprise..Emma and Annie (well mostly Annie) had colored all over Emma's face with a pink highlighter! What nuts!
We spent a few funfilled days in Gadsden and were able to see lots of family-we had lunch with Aunt Jane, Frank, Virgina, Sarah and Anna and the girls got to bake a cake with Aunt Jane in the "little oven". They have the best time doing this and it's a good thing because it takes FOREVER for the cake to bake! On a less happy note, it was at this very lunch party that I dropped my cell phone in the toliet...YUCK! Amazingly, it is still working at least for the time being :)
After spending a few days in Gadsden we all (Grandmother included) crawled into the car and headed to Chattanooga to spend Thanksgiving with Mom and Dad and the boys! We got there a little before Matthew came in from school and got to spend several days with mom and dad. On Wednesday, Matthew, the girls and I delivered food to Dad's office for their Thanksgiving lunch then spent the afternoon just hanging out. Finally the big day arrived! Now, unlike most people I am not a big fan of "Thanksgivning food." I don't love turkey or all of the casseroles and sides that go along with it but we had a really good Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends at the Wilson's house. We really do have LOTS to be thankful for!
On Friday (the day we were REALLY waiting for) Josh and I got up bright and early and headed to Auburn for the Iron Bowl! What a fun day! We saw lots of old and new friends, spent some time wandering around campus, ate at some of our favorite "Auburn" places and cheered for our Tigers! The game was so much fun....and so exciting! AND Auburn did GREAT! For a team that was picked to lose by 21 points they showed up and showed exactly what it means to be an AUBURN TIGER! They really were awesome! I hate it that we didn't pull it off but they sure did make this Auburn girl proud! :) After the game, we headed back to Chattanooga and crawled in the bed....we were so exhausted!
On Saturday we had the best time just bumming around Chatanooga with the family! It's so funny how you can have the MOST fun just hanging out and playing around. We decided to head downtown (if you haven't been lately, Chattanooga has a GREAT family friendly downtown) and look at the boats and just wander around in the park. The girsl ran and played, climbed on the animal statues and rode the carosel. AND just when we thought the day couldn't get any better we wandered over to this big grassy hill where people slide down on cardboard boxes. So much fun! The girls absolutely LOVED it! Uncle Daniel even came to play with us! It really was a great day!
That evening we headed back to mom and dad's and made pictures for mom's Christmas card (Emma colored on her face again...this time in orange!) AND got the cards themselves finished that night! Are we on the ball or what?!?!
Like I said a wonderful but BUSY Thanksgivng holiday! Now to get out the Christmas decorations and start shopping!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gymnastics!

Just a few photos of Annie and her friends enjoying gymnastics! These girls sure do have a blast! :)

Gymnastics!

Annie T's Thanksgiving Program

Today was Annie's Thanksgivng program at school. It was adorable. Annie was a pilgram woman...they really were the cutest things ever! She and the other 4k kids did an awesome job! They are learning so much! They recited the pledge to the American flag, the Christian flag and the Bible along with singing a handful of cute Thanksgiving songs, a special Thanksgiving blessing and Psalm 100 (Yep, the WHOLE psalm)! I am just so impressed with all that Annie is learning and so thankful that she has the opportunity to go to a school that focuses not only on academic development but on spiritual development too. Everyday she comes home talking about her Bible verse or Bible story or song she learned to go along with her story or verse. I am so glad she is able to hide these things in her heart at such a young age!
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his prescence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to the Lord and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100

Thanksgiving Program

One Year Old!

It's so hard to believe it but my sweet Gracie is ONE!!! One year old! Time really really flies! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing home our tiny (HA! 8lbs 9ozs) little one and now she is a big girl! It's so funny, after her birthday on Saturday she just seemed bigger...more and more like a little girl and less like a baby!
We had a great weekend even though Josh couldn't be here with us to celebrate (he had Disciple Now that weekend). Mom and Dad and Daniel and Grandmother came to celebrate Gracie's special day! We had cupcakes and icecream and Gracie's favorite dinner (more like Annie and Emma's favorite)! Overall, just a really pleasant day!
Here are a few things I am loving right now about my sweet Gracie:
*Gracie is all smiles ALL of the time! She is just the most content, most pleasant kiddo I know. As long as you are in the room with her she is just happy to be hanging out!
*She loves her sisters. All it takes is for Annie or Emma to walk into the room and Gracie's whole face lights up! She lights up for Mom and Dad too! It just melts your heart and makes your whole day when she looks at you like that.
*Gracie's favorite expression/activity is to say "yay!" and clap. She does it several times a day...again she is just so content with life!
*This girl is a great eater and is so excited to sit at the table and eat a meal or a snack....it cracks me up!
Everyday, I am so thankful that this little bundle of joy is mine! That I get to love her and snuggle with her and teach her right from wrong. What an awesome responsibility and privilege!

Here's a picture of the birthday girl (a little early) with Daddy and Emma! :)

Annie vs. Wild!

Tonight I was in the kitchen when I found a little visitor! An univited one at that! I found a little green lizard making his way across the kitchen floor. Now, I know in my head that this little guy was not scary but I just couldn't make myself reach out and grab him. I called Annie and asked her to bring me the bug catcher thinking maybe I could just scoop him up and toss him outside. Annie brought it and when she saw the lizard she was beside herself....she was so excited! "Can I catch it, Mom? Can we keep it?" Why yes, Annie you can catch it! My fearless little one reached out and grabbed that lizard by the tail in no time flat! :) Here are a few pics of Annie and her buddy before we turned him loose in the wilds of the back yard!

Homecoming on the Plains!

This year for we decided to take the girls to Homecoming on the Plains. They were so excited! Since Josh and I have season tickets the girls have spent lots of time in Auburn but this would be the first time they had actually gone to the game. You see, Josh and I are kinda strange in that we actually like to WATCH the game and we realize that three kids (girls none the less) are not quite conducive to actually watching football. So, this weekend was the girls' football debut....well, college football at least. They have been to lots of Uncle Daniel's games so we figured they were totally up for the challenge! Oh, how little did we know!
Our started out bright and early. We left home around 7:30 and headed for Auburn. Emma and I had the cutest conversation in the car on the way. It went something like this
Me: Emma, what do you want to see in Auburn?
Emma: Aubie and the cheerleaders
Me: Ok, what about the band?
Emma: Yep.
Me: What about the football players?
Emma: Yep...I wanna see Uncle Daniel!
SO cute! The only football games the girls have been to have been Daniel's so I guess he is the only football player Emma knows! I explained that this wasn't Uncle Daniel's team but it might be in a few years! :)
When we got to Auburn, we ran by and picked up Chris and Megan and headed for the Ag roundup. Megan works for the college of Ag so we decided to check it out. It actually was really fun....the girls had their fill of yummy Alabama snacks!:) On the way to the Ag roundup we checked into getting tickets for the girls. We talked to a few people selling tickets but there were no deals to be found so we continued on our way. After talking to one particularly lovely (or not) gentleman (again or not!) an older gentleman came up to me and asked me how many tickets I needed. I told him I needed three for my little girls. Then, get this, he pulled out three tickets and handed them to me and told us to enjoy the game with our girls! What a nice thing to do! AND we were so excited not to pay for tickets for our sweet yet totally inattentive girls!
After Ag roundup we headed into the staduim. We got situated (in the blazing hot November sun) just in time to see the Eagle fly...something not to be missed! and to sing God Bless America and the National Anthem. You should have heard my sweet Annie sing her heart out! So cute! Then it was game time! Please don't aske me anything about it...I don't think I saw a single play! We had to get snacks, then go to the bathroom, then go down to the field and talk to Aubie, then get more snacks! What an exhausting game! We ended up only staying until halftime....the first time I have ever and I do mean ever left before the game was over! But even I was ready to get out of there!
We left the staudium and wandered around campus for awhile and then headed over to Toomer's Corner for some lemodnade and to see the "toliet paper tree"! Such fun and sweet memories for our girls! After Toomer's Corner we headed back to ACF for Perry's famous BBQ and Brunswick stew and a visit before heading back to Megan and Chris' for the night. What an fun day for the Thompson family! :)

Homecoming on the Plains!

Childlike Faith

Tonight as the girls and I were getting ready for bed I noticed some writing on the wall....literally. Annie had written all over the wall, her bed, her window sill, and her bookcase. This is not the first time this has happened!:( This has been a REALLY long week already and I was pretty much at my wit's end so this almost pushed me over the edge!
So, Annie and I started talking about how we only write on PAPER! And I asked her why she wrote on the wall. She said "I don't know...I don't want to do bad things." Don't we all feel that way! So we kept talking and I told her that even though she had done something wrong and even though I was disappointed because of what she did I still loved her-I always love her. Then she said something pretty profound (out of the mouths of babes, right?). She said just like Jesus always love us. I said yep and went onto say our bedtime prayers. After finishing our prayers Annie and I had a really interesting (and surprisingly deep) conversation. It went something like this:
Annie: Mom, I love that Jesus died on the cross.
Me: You do?
Annie: Yep, don't you?
Me: Well....why do you love that Jesus died on the cross?
Annie: Because he makes our hearts clean! AND helps us not do bad things anymore.

It's really amazing to me how much (and at the same time how little) she understands about being a Christian already. I know she has a long way to go before her faith is her own and not just something she's been taught but I'm so thankful I get to be a part of watching her faith grow and mature into something that can sustain her through ALL times!

Three Blind Mice!

SO.....here it is! The big Halloween costume reveal!



Pretty cute if I do say so myself!

Hilarious Hat Day!

Today was hilarious hat day and rainbow day at Annie's school. Annie wanted to make sure that her hat was suitably hilarious! After trying on a large assortment of hats-auburn hats, GA aquarium hat, pink polka dot and more than one tobogan-she finally settled on the perfect hat for hilarious hat day....

I think she made the right decision! :)

One Happy Camper!

Tonight was a normal night at the Thompson house. Dinner, baths, jams and a story, one more drink of water and then off to bed. That is until about 10 minutes after everyone was tucked in. Thats when the phone rang. Now, I know that sounds so ominous but really it was a good thing. My dad was calling to make sure that the girls were enjoying "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (Phil Fulmer was on tv tonight? With Charlie Brown? What? Sorry, not nice of me!). Silly me, I didn't even know that Charlie Brown was on tonight. I confessed as much AND that I had already put the girls down for the night.:( Charlie Brown is one of those fun holiday traditions that we always did growing up. We never missed it (or Rudolph-mom's favorite). I really hated for the girls to miss The Great Pumpkin so I decided that I would go in Annie and Emma's room and if either of them was still awake or woke up then they could get up and come watch with me. Well, Annie got the prize! I tiptoed in and she popped right up. Emma T. just slept away. Annie was so excited to be the only one up. She grabbed a blanket and headed straight for the couch and even told me I was the "best momma in the whole world"! So, thanks Bo for making my sweet girl one happy little camper! :)



Check out that penmanship! My sweet girl is working so hard and doing an awesome job learning to write all of her letters!

My beautiful little burper?

Before I start, a little disclaimer....not for the faint of heart or easily grossed out!!!
Ok, I know that it is important to have good manners and I know it takes consistancy to mold our kids into the lovely little humans we want them to be but sometimes you just can't help but laugh. For some reason Annie has recently decided that burping is hilarious. I mean belly laugh funny. And even though this is my sweet petite little girl, she is burping like a man (or at the very least her 16 year old uncle). I mean big gross burps. AND even worse they bring such joy to all of the little ladies in our family.
Tonight just as we were finishing dinner, Annie let out the biggest grossest burp ever. And just as I was about to remind her about using her manners and how impolite that is I looked over and all three of my girls were giggling. So of course Annie did it again. Before I could tell her how gross that was and ask her to please not do it again, my girls were laughing out loud. I mean big belly laughes. They could hardly sit up straight they were laughing so hard. By this time even I was having a hard time keeping a straight face! Finally, the laughing died down and Annie and I were able to talk a little bit about using our manners. Hopefully there won't be an encore tomorrow.
Just an aside, she almost had me when she said "but even Pinkalicious burps up brussel sprouts." Thanks a lot Pinkalicious, thanks a lot.

Fall Fun!

Today was a beautiful fall day. Seriously, not too cold, beautiful blue sky (we haven't seen that in forever!) and lots and lots of sunshine! We are a little behind this year and still didn't have a pumpkin so we promised the girls that today would be the day! After working around the house some we all loaded up and headed to the pumpkin patch.
We looked at EVERY pumpkin there before selecting the pumpkin of our dreams (and 2 baby pumpkins)! We finally picked one that was "pretty and warty" per Annie's instructions. Kind of a weird combo, huh?
After our pumpkin patch trip we came home and got to work cleaning it out and carving it. FUN! (yuck) The girls had a great time and were such big helpers! When our masterpiece was complete we headed in for a bowl of yummy soup and settled in to watch our Tigers play (sort of)! We knew this wasn't going to be the perfect season or anything but it seems like everyone else is getting better and better and we are just falling apart! :( Maybe next week will be better!
Here are a few pics of our pumpkin patch fun! (don't forget to click on the picture to see the whole album!)

Fall Fun

Congratulations Becca, Matt and Walker!

We are so excited about some news we heard today! Josh's big sister, Becca, and her husband Matt are expecting their second child in June! Becca just found out this week and we are so excited for all of them! We know that Walker will be a great big brother! My three love Walker and I'm sure they will love having another cousin to play with and love on! What fun!
So Baby Grogan, we are tickled to hear about your upcoming arrival! We can't wait to meet you! We'll love you no matter what but I gotta admit we're secretly hoping for a little girl cousin to play dress up with! :)

A little Halloween fun!

This really is HILARIOUS! Enjoy! :)

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Help!! Halloween Costume Ideas!

Halloween is coming up and so far no costumes! Now, if you know me at all you know that I really like homemade Halloween costumes. AND if at all possible I want all of the girls to either be the same thing or things that go together. Some possibilities so far are: flowers (the three together could be some kind of garden), butterfly, bee and flower, Auburn cheerleaders (this would be easy and since the girls will be going to Auburn for the game probably the most practical) and my personal favorites either the three little pigs or three blind mice!
Anyway, the countdown has started! T minus 10 days!!!! Any suggestions would be welcome! :)

It hasn't happened in 43 years....

yet, lucky us (I say that with massive amounts of sarcasm) we were there to watch history being made. Yep, you guessed it...we were at the Auburn/Kentucky game on Saturday night. Oh yeah, the most miserable (and ridiculous) game I have ever had the misfortune of attending. Not only did my Tigers get beat by Kentucky (the first time since 1966) but they looked awful and it was freezing cold. Just when it looked like our boys in blue might make a comeback the flags started flying. 10 flags that penalized us 75 yards!!! And just ask me how many times KY was penalized. You guessed it....a whopping 0! Do you think these refs are Alabama fans or what?!?!?
So in spite of a really crappy game (in the freezing cold) we had a really great weekend overall. Really busy but really good! Josh had a youth event he had to be at so he got up on Saturday morning and headed for a passport workday. That meant that the girls and I were on our own as far as getting up and getting to Auburn. We did great...my girls are AWESOME riders! We made it to Chris and Megan's house around noon and put on all of our cute Auburn gear! Megan made the girls the cutest little auburn outfits and they could hardly wait to put them on....thankfully I saw a weather report so I picked up little white shirts to wear underneath. Once we got all of our gear on, we headed out for a quick lunch and to run a couple of errands before Tiger Walk. The girls were so excited about Tiger Walk...seeing the band and cheerleaders and Aubie and the football players! So exciting. We didn't get a great spot so I think Annie was the only one who actually saw anything (she was on my shoulders) but that's really all that mattered. Emma and Gracie were more interested in hanging out in the warm and comfy stroller! After Tiger Walk we took the girls over to play at Rachel's house (Molly and Macy's house if you ask them)! They had a blast! They made homemade pizza for dinner and played with the dollhouse and watched movies all night! What fun! After dropping the girls off I headed back to campus to meet Josh to head for the game! Yes, the miserable, cold, my high school team could have mopped the floor with them, Auburn game. Oh well, everybody has a lousy game (or two) sometimes...I won't give up on my team. I know they have it in them to be great! Hopefully next week will be better!
Here are a few pics of Megan and the girls in the outfits she made them! Thanks Megan!

And the worst mom in the world is.......

ME!:( So sad! This morning 2 out of 3 of my girls woke up with a fever. Thankfully we're not 3 for 3! Last night I thought Emma felt warm so I took her temperature and it was a little high. Annie too. I gave both girls some tylenol and sent them to bed. Both were acting fine and seemed to be feeling fine so I wasn't too worried. I went in to check on them around 10:00 and Annie seemed to be fine but Emma was burning up! I took her temp....right at 102. Not terrible for a kid but still pretty high. I called my mom who assured me that she would be fine overnight and advised me just to check her out in the morning. This morning both girls were still feverish so I figured I better call the doctor to see if they needed to come in. Now, normally I am not one to go to the doctor...someone has to be bleeding or throwing up or really feeling lousy for me to darken the door but with all this flu and swine flu and "worldwide pandemic" I thought it was better to be safe than sorry!
As soon as I told the girls we were going to the doctor there was a breakout of weeping and wailing and even some gnashing of teeth. No, seriously it wasn't that bad but they were not looking forward to it. I figured out that the outburst was because on their last visit the girls had gotten shots (Annie had to get 4)! Annie kept saying "but mom, you promised no more shots until I am 10!" She's right I did promise. A promise I (not being a Dr.) had no business making but made nonetheless. I tried to reassure both of my girls that today would be a shot free visit. I finally got eveyone calmed down and into the car.
When we walked into the waiting room Emma made her first announcement: "No shots for Emma!" As we waited in the waiting room she told all of the other children that she was not getting any shots today! When they called our name to take us to a room she informed the nurse that she didn't want a shot today. When the NP student came in to check us out Emma again reminded her that there would be "no shots for Emma". When the NP came in to REALLY check us out Emma once again made her announcement. So far so good. Everyone agreed that today there would be no shots for Emma or Annie! YAY! Both girls were so good while they were getting poked and prodded and looked over, even when they did the strep test to confirm our diagnosis. BUT when the strep test came back negative (yay!) things started to head south quickly! Because we had ruled out all of the normal illnesses (strep, flu etc.) they would have to do a blood test to check for a viral infection. This time it wasn't a shot but almost as bad...the dreaded finger stick! When the girls saw those pokers you would have thought they were being chased by a hungry bear! They both ran to my lap and tried to hide! Annie looked at me with big tears running down her face and said "You said we wouldn't have to get any shots!" I felt like the worst mom EVER! I did say that. I did tell her that this visit would be pain free. If I could have taken that finger prick (and every one from now on) I would have. I felt like I let her down and not only that but that I let something hurt her. It made me wonder about our relationship from now on. Will she trust me now? Will she believe me when I tell her that everything's ok? or when I tell her she doesn't have to be afraid because she is safe with me? What if nothing I say matters to her anymore?
It turns out that my worries were unfounded (as is usually the case). As we walked out the door both girls got princess stickers and Annie turned to me and asked if we could go to the bagel store for lunch. I immediately said yes and you should have seen the smile light up her face. I think her faith is restored and I'm thankful....i'm also thankful I didn't pass any police on our mad dash to the bagel store! :)

Annie's first fieldtrip!

Today Annie went on her first real field trip! She was so excited! Last night, she raced to bed because "I've got a big day tomorrow!" She could hardly stay still she was so excited. On the way to school today she kept telling me to hurry up and asking if we were going to be late even though we were early (yes, I said early. I know that's not like us but I didn't want Annie to miss one minute of her field trip fun).
Annie's class had a funfilled day exploring the pumpkin patch. They even got to bring home a baby pumpkin of their own. So excitng! They also stopped by the park for a snack and a little playtime. Thankfully, the rain moved out and made way for a beautiful sunshiney day! I think a good time was had by all!
I know everyone is dying for pictures (me too). Well, sad to say I don't have any pictures because I didn't get to go on the pumpkin patch field trip. When I found out that Annie's class was going I asked Annie if she wanted me to go with her but she quickly informed me that she was "big enough to go with just her teachers and friends"! I even asked her again this morning to be sure she hadn't changed her mind and decided she wanted mom to tag along but she was certain she was big enough to go on her own! Seems like she was right...everything went off without a hitch!

Totally off the subject but worth mentioning: Emma says that her dad is enjoying his new job in "Bethleham". Hilarious! She can't wait to join him there!

Mom, how do you spell.....

My little school girl has been a writing fool lately! She is always asking how to spell this or that and then writing on any scrap of paper she can find. Don't get me wrong, I am tickled that she is learning so much but being a walking spellcheck does get old! Annie informed me that her favorite name to write is Bo "because it only has two easy letters!" This is some of Annie's "homework"-she was practicing writing the names of some family members....she's not crazy about S's or G's so if you have one in your name don't be looking for a card anytime soon! :)

Big news and fun with stickers!

No, the Thompsons are not adding to our numbers! There is no baby on the way in this family so don't go getting any ideas! BUT we do have BIG news!! Josh started a NEW job this week. He will be serving as the Minister to Youth and Children and the Thompson family will be moving! Exciting, scary, happy, sad...lots of emotions accompany this change (as is to be expected). This has been a SUPER crazy week because in addition to Josh starting a new job (in another state) we also had a death in our family and all of the emotions and events ( I know that's not really the right word but it's the best I can think of at the moment) that go along with that as well.
First, let me take a minute to brag on my three little ladies! My girls outdid themselves. They were sweet and kind and quiet (when they needed to be) and respectful and just generally good girls at in some situations that were not particularly child friendly. I really am so proud. The visitation and funeral were about 30 mins away (and Josh is working about 3.5 hours away....he has spent a ton of time in the car this week) so the girls have had to do a fair amount of driving. A family friend was so kind to think of the kids and provide snacks and crayons and coloring books and stickers to help pass the time. So today on the way home while the two little girls were sleeping, Annie T was hard at work. So hard at work that she totally wore herself out! This is what I found when I pulled into the driveway and got ready to unload all my girlies! Hilarious! I have to give it to her, we had talked about how we don't put stickers on the car windows or seats or our carseats and this girl listened. All car surfaces were sticker free! Annie T was another story!

Something to think about.

Yesterday we heard some very sad news. Josh's grandmother (Mema) died yesterday morning. We heard around lunch time and we've just kind of been taking it in since then. It's so funny to me that when something like this happens there is so much stuff to be done and everyone races around making preparations that we hardly take any time to think about how the person we've lost touched our lives. (I know the "stuff" is important and has to be done but I think if we're not careful we can avoid our loss by being busy.)
With all of that in mind, I have taken some time today to think about things I know about Mema and ways she has touched MY life. I had the privlege of knowing Mema for about 8 years. We met while Josh and I were dating (and once I even shared a bed with her! A memory that makes for a great story and conversation starter!) so I knew Mema for not quite 10 years. Not a lifetime of memories like her grandchildren had but long enough to get a feel for what someone is really like. One thing I remember about Mema is that she called everyone "beautiful doll". Kinda of a funny thing to say but endearing too, especially because you know that she meant it. She truly believed that each one of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren was beautiful and even more because Mema believed it, you could believe it too. She was always so excited to see us and just wanted to hug our necks and visit. She watched my girls perform an endless number of tricks and took them for "rides" on her walker! I never knew a walker could be such fun!
Mema was a charter member of her church; a church she attended for close to 50 years. She loved her church and always taught Sunday school for years and years. She impacted so many people just by being a part of their life and spiritual development over the years. In fact, when Josh and I got married my great grandmother was not well and we needed to hire someone to help take care of her during the reception. Someone who lived in Chattanooga and went to church with my parents found out who Josh's grandmother (Mema) was. She had been in Mema's Sunday School class years earlier and because Mema had touched her in a major way she volunteered to stay with my great grandmother. It is amazing to see how one life can impact another even across miles and years. Mema's impact didn't stop there. If you visit her church and walk in the prayer garden that carries her name it's easy to see how many lives she touched in her 82 years.
While this loss is sad for those of us here on earth, it's not so sad (in fact it's a downright joyful day) for Mema. Over the last several years Mema had not been well. She had become a diabetic, had multiple back surgeries and suffered from pretty much constant joint pain. She is free from all of that today! Because of her love for Christ and her acceptance of his wonderful gift of salvation, Mema is in paradise. I really started to think about this when I lost my Granddaddy 2 years ago....about how death is not scary or even all that sad when you're a Christian. (Dond't get me wrong....it's plenty sad for those of us left behind.) Instead it brings hope and peace and comfort. Mema is healed. She is with her husband and mother and countless friends and family members who have gone on before. And even more importantly than that she's with her Savior!! When we told the girls, Annie asked if Mema was with Jesus like Grandaddy Bob. We told her yes. That Mema is with Jesus and Pawpaw and she's probably running and laughing and maybe even dancing! Celebrating! From now on, that's how I'll choose to think of Mema.

Can you say MORTIFIED????

Today we decided to skip church and just sleep in (scandalous, i know) and spend Josh's last day at home (more about that later) working around the house and spending time as a family. Good plan, right? The girls really wanted to "eat lunch at a restaurant and since they had been good all morning we agreed. So around lunch time we loaded up and headed to the Mexican restaurant right down the street. Josh and I both love mexican food and the girls usually really like it too. In fact, it's usually one of those places that the girls eat and eat and eat! So we ordered our meals and when they came everyone started eating. Everyone but Emma that is. Emma starts pointing at her plate and yelling (yes I'm serious, yelling!) "That's poop! I don't like poop! (she's talking about her refried beans!) That's disgusting! No like! No like! I not eat it!"
Are you kidding me?!?! My sweet Emma! This continuted for hours (no, only minutes but it certainly felt like hours)! She absolutely refused to eat or be quiet until we removed her plate from her sight! Good thing she had eaten plenty of chips! Oh Emma, things like this make me very nervous about the future!!

This one's for you, Uncle Daniel!

So as most of you know in addition to my three sweet girls, awesome husband, wonderful parents etc I also have two of THE coolest little brothers around! My youngest brother, Daniel, is a sophomore at McCallie and he is (as you should all know by now) a star running back! Yes, I said it...only a sophomore and already starting (and doing AWESOME!) on Varsity!
Tomorrow night is the biggest game of the year! The Blue Tornado will take on the Baylor Red Raiders at the red school across town. McCallie has won for the last 11 years in a row, totally crushing the competition! :) We are so disappointed we can't be there to cheer on our boys in blue (we couldn't get a ticket even if we could go...it really is that big of a deal) so we decided to do our part to support our team and our sweet Uncle Daniel! So, Uncle Daniel, this one's for you! GO BLUE!!!!

GO BLUE!!!!

Pizza Night!

Tonight we decided to do something fun and easy for dinner. Homemade pizza. Usually I am the frozen pizza or pizza delivery kind of girl but I thought it might be fun for the girls to make our own pizza! I recently discovered (Thanks Terran!) that Publix has ready made pizza dough in the bakery section so I grabbed some this afternoon to give it a try!
The girls had a blast kneading (playing with) the dough and getting all floured up! I only got a few pics because it didn't take long for things to get MESSY so I had to put the camera down and rescue the pizza! :) Maybe next time I'll get a pic of the finished product!

Look what Emma got.....

A BIG GIRL BED! Josh went to Gadsden to pick it up and came home with it yesterday! Emma was so excited! She could hardly wait for Josh to get it put together so she could get in! Check out my girls in their matching beds! (yes, Annie REALLY wanted to get her picture made too!) Adorable!

Growing Girls!

Since school started I have been so bad about taking pictures and just enjoying the things that have been happening in our house...it seems like we are always rushing around! Can't wait for those lazy summer days again (I know,I know, it'll be a while)!
Anyway, my three sweet girls are growing and changing so much! Annie is learning SO much at school and having so much fun! I love to hear about her day when I pick her up and she's always sharing some newfound wisdom! She is such a big girl and especially loves getting picked up in the carpool line! Hilarious, the things that make her day! The newest (and dearest) wish at the moment is to stay for extended day! I've tried to explain how lucky she is that mom picks her up when school is over and she gets to go home and play with her sisters but so far she's not buying it! :)
Emma is also making a big change this week...she's getting a big girl bed! She has been so excited and can hardly wait to sleep in her big girl bed just like Annie! Josh went to pick up her bed in Gadsden today (and also to swap our bedroom furniture) so the girls and I are having a girls night in tonight! The big girls are have a "sleepover" on the air matress! They are so cute! Can't wait to see how Emma likes her big girl bed tomorrow night!
"Baby" Gracie is hardly a baby anymore! She is getting so big and cute and has so much personality! She is so much fun! She has three teeth and eats EVERYTHING! I am not kidding! This girl LOVES to eat! :) She is also moving....she cracks me up because she's not really crawling but she sure is getting where she wants to go! She kinda slithers around on her belly-so funny to watch!
So much is happening....I'll try to post some pictures soon (i'll have to take some first!) :)It sure is fun watching these three sweet sisters grow up!

"Go away Funder!"

That's what I heard coming from Emma's room a mere thirty minutes after I put the girls to bed! We have been having tons and tons of rain and some pretty nasty thunderstorms for the last week or so..BOO! Tonight the rain held off until right after bedtime. I thought that we were in the clear...everyone snuggled into bed before the thunder started but Emma had other ideas. When I went to check on her she said "Mom, make the funder stop!" So cute! I scooped her up and took her to snuggle on the couch with me. It's amazing how brave she got once she was up and playing with mom and dad! After about 30 minutes and several renditions of "God is bigger than the Boogieman" she was finally ready to crawl back into her bed and settle in for the night! I hope she has sweet (funder free)dreams!

Thomas Teddy comes to visit!

The Thompsons have had a very special visitor at our house for the past day or so. Thomas Teddy, the birthday bear from Mrs. Nina's class came home with Annie to help her celebrate her 4th birthday! We had so much fun with Thomas Teddy!
After picking Annie and Thomas up from school, we headed home for lunch with Emma and Gracie. We ate leftover poppyseed chicken and yummy cheesy potatos, Annie's favorite. I think Thomas approved too (he licked his plate clean)! After lunch, we read a few books (we liked Madeline best), colored with Emma, played peek a boo with Gracie and took a short rest before getting ready to go to church! At church Annie and Thomas went to choir and Mission Friends (Thomas and Annie both LOVE to sing)! They also ate a yummy dinner at church (Mommy was so thankful she didn't have to cook or clean the kitchen)! After church it was time for the getting ready for bed routine! At bedtime we had to squeeze Thomas Teddy in with Lovie and Lemur...that was one crowded (but sweet and snuggly) bed!!
Everyone had fun with Thomas Teddy! We can't wait for him to come and visit again!!

Shots!

Today both Annie and Emma had to go to the doctor. Just for checkups. Unfortunately for Annie, it was the dreaded 4 year old check up. This appointment includes not one, not two, not three, but FOUR (yes, I said FOUR) shots AND a finger stick! YIKES!! There was a fair amount of yelling and screaming but all in all both girls did great (Emma had to get one shot)!
These are a few pics of the girls showing off their bandaids (and their toughness)! AND just in case you are wondering...both girls are perfect as expected!!!!:)

My Annie

Here are some things I'm thinking today on my Annie's 4th birthday! FOUR! Are you kidding me! I cannot believe we have had this little beauty for four whole years! What a joy she has been (and of course continues to be)!
Here are a few of my fave things about my fave four year old:
***I love that EVERY morning when Annie wakes up she says "Good morning, mama!" This girl is ready to face the day! She is always raring to go! Even when my morning has not been so good, she brings a smile to my face.
***I love to watch Annie play with her sisters. She is so sweet and kind and such a good example (most of the time).
***I love to hear Annie pray with her daddy before bedtime each night. She prays for all of her friends and family members and any special prayer requests she's heard at school or church. So sweet!
***I love that when Annie gets afraid all you have to do is remind her why she doesn't have to be afraid of anything (because God is taking care of me) and she is instantly calmed. I love that she already knows that God loves her and takes care of her all the time and that she trusts and feels secure in his provision. I guess this is what having childlike faith really means!
***I love that she loves to sing the Beatles songs with the windows down especially in "daddy's car that used to be our car".
***I love that Annie is already learning to be a good friend. Of course we are still working on sharing, but this girl already understands the importance of being kind and loving others.
***I love Annie's spunk and fiesty little personality. Everyday she is becoming more and more of her own person. I love that she is so brave...she's not afraid to try anything (especially on the playground). I love that she has her own thoughts and opinions and she isn't afraid to share them.
***I love that she loves to dress up in coxtumes and jewelry and wear high heels and boas...such a girly girl!
I could go on and on with the list of things I love about my sweet Annie T but mostly I am just so thankful that she is mine. Thankful that God has given her to Josh and I to love and nurture and just enjoy as she grows into the special young lady he made her to be!

For Uncle Matthew and Uncle Daniel!

Uncle Matthew and Uncle Daniel (my brothers) couldn't make it to the PINKALICIOUS party on Saturday! Boo! We really missed them both! BUT they did send a gift that was the star of the show! Drumroll please.....THE PURPLE TINKERBELL COSTUME!!!
Now, I know most of you are probably not overly impressed with a purple tinkerbell costume BUT Annie T. was thrilled, estatic, excited beyond words! This is the tinkerbell costume that we ask for EVERY single time we walk into Target. I mean EVERYTIME! She has been asking and asking and wanting and waiting for SO long! I think the wait was worth it. She has worn it every waking minute since she got it...she even took off her clothes in the car and wore it home from the party! She LOVES LOVES LOVES the purple tinkerbell costume!
So, Thank you Uncle Matthew and Uncle Daniel for the BEST birthday present EVER!