Birthday Party

Emma's 7th Birthday party. River City Pottery was such a neat place...we all really enjoyed our time there. I am considering going back for a girls day and make something for myself.
I can't believe little Emma is seven...time has really flown by. She is such a sweetheart.

Hank painting his shark.

Eden and her Chihuahua.

Kelly getting his pinky painted for Emma's birthday souvenir plate.

The girls painting Kelly's fingernails with the polish from the goody-bags. He is such a good sport!

Aunt Emma and Niece Eden. These two are going to be a mess together in 10 years!

Happy Birthday Emma!

The day after...the girls painting the gift we got her. A stone making kit.

Basketball Saturday

Eden had her second game this weekend. She is improving with every quarter she is playing. It is so fun to watch my daughter run up and down the court. Ten years ago...I would not think this is what I would be doing. It is so surreal to be a parent and to watch life work out like it does. I can only pray that she will blossom and develop a love for this sport. Promise: I will not push her to do more than what she desires for herself. Kelly and I have made the commitment to offer all options to our children-and they can decide what is right for them. We just have our fingers crossed..:)

Below is Hank dressed in his Batman cape for Eden's game...needless to say he got some attention in that one.

"Jesus' Off Day"

Funny story:
Our church, as a mission/fundraiser for the Men's Club, buys and butchers pigs and the sells the sausage to members and to the public. Well, on Friday when pulling up to the preschool to pick up Hank, I sent Eden over to the church with $3.50 to buy a pound. I was going to run in to the adjacent center (where I was actually working for the evening) and then she would meet me inside. I took my time in the parking lot gathering my purse and her backpack, so that I could watch to make sure she got in the door. As I was locking the doors I looked up to see Eden already heading back over to me from the secretary's entrance. She then says "I guess Jesus isn't working today, no one answered the door."
I laughed so hard! She is too funny and she was very serious. Too cute. I just love that girl.
Things kids say :)

Visiting Kye

He is getting so big and will be a month old this week. What a sweet baby! Hank and Eden could just eat him up! They love him just as much a baby brother!

Snow Day...finally

The kids and I were able to finally enjoy the benefits of staying home on a snow day preceded by a holiday (MLK Day). It was nice to have two days to do...nothing, nothing at all!!

Playtime on the DS's with Emma.

The kids playing in the snow on Monday night. Poor things-they wanted so badly to build snowmen and have a snowball fight. It's hard to comprehend that this all we get!

It's a Family Affair

We had a great long weekend which included a lot of family involvement and activities. And needless to say; a LOT of eating!
Here is a recap of our glorious weekend

Dinner reservations for 10 at Fuji's. Guests included: Donna, Eden, Hank, Brittney, Chris, Brandy, Preston, Heidi, and Kelly and I. What a great way to start our weekend!

After dinner drinks with all of my sisters at the Dalton Depot.

Saturday started early with Donna and I attending an aerobics class together and off to Eden's first ball game at First Baptist.

Playing in the Saturday evening snow!


Out to dinner at Hennen's in downtown Chattanooga for Bernie's 60th birthday party. It is rare to get all 4 kids in the same photo...what a fun evening and a great surprise party!

Watching for trains out the Depot window Sunday after lunch with Donna and Jennifer and an end to our busy weekend.
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Basketball

Eden's first game is this Saturday morning. We are really excited and can't wait to watch our little girl out on the court. Also, last minute news--I have to coach! We'll see how this goes! :)

Song Writer

My little rock star! Sweet, sweet Eden. She is so creative and has such an exuberant personality! She is often writing stories in her journal/diary and on her new blog. We never know what she is going to write and/or draw. Recently she has been writing songs...which are very heart-felt. She often reads/sings them to us or gives them to us to read; with her spelling still not quite right-you never really know what she is completely saying. So, on Friday she is writing in her journal and she proceeds to sing it to me, all while I am trying to get us all ready to go to the birthday party. I say it was great and put it to the side to continue to get ready to walk out the door. She meets Kelly at the door with the song and sings it for him...

"Arakabama will not come for you..." (just a section of a line)

Too funny. Kelly is hysterically laughing and brings it up the stairs to me to read. Apparently I did not catch what she had written...Barak Obama will not come for you. What a funny child. This just goes to show you how much your kids are listening to television, adults, etc. All due respect-they did have a mock-election in her school on the day of election and spoke frequently about the candidates. But this is just beyond words...my 6 year old singing about our new President-elect...in a love song.



She tells us often that she wants to move to Nashville like Taylor Swift to become a star! One day my baby girl, one day!
See complete song here.

Friend Night

We have a big group of great friends that we normally hang out with on the weekends; lake, camping, football Saturdays, etc. But we have all been so busy from the holidays, that it has been a while since we have been able to get together. In an attempt to bribe everyone over-I cooked a big pot of vegetable beef soup, cornbread, hot dogs and brownies and gave everyone a call. We sat around watching the NFL playoffs while the kids destroyed my house (lol).

What a great night and reunion!

Club Lily

Lily Bell is 7! The kids all partied with a Club Makeover theme (like Libby Lu). Cute and fun idea.




*If you will notice...Eden had all her hair cut off too. She loves it and she looks so like a big girl. She'll be seven too in May.

Jingle Bells

In the midst of the normal household racket flowing through my home, you can softly hear Hank singing "jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all da way. Oh what fun it is to ride in a (mumbling something)..." And he stops on the stairs, peers in to the living room; "aggh, what are you doing with dat Tristmas tree?" As I am slowly taking off lights and the top half of the tree is already missing; "I told you Hank, Christmas is over." "No it's not." In a Will Ferrell sort of tone like in the movie Elf, when he is arguing with the store manager whether or not singing is allowed at the North Pole. So we go back and forth, kind of like a game he likes to play (imitating Buddy the Elf), and off he continues in to the play room..."jingle bells, jingle bells..."

Too cute. My sweet boy--he has my heart. Wishing that it could be Christmas all year long!

25

years of Brittney! Happy Birthday lil' sis!

Happy '09 Kids Party

This year we opted to stay home for the New Year. We normally go to friends' houses and leave the kids with Ganny and Pops--but decided to celebrate at home this year! I am really glad we did...we had so much fun!

Hank, I mean Dash, with his party hat on.

The decorations...handmade by the kids of course. These are supposed to be Disco balls.
Making personal pizzas.
Playing Monopoly.
Toasting to 2009...with grape juice.

Heidi and River with matching streaks.
Me and my Edibug.
Kell with the kiddos.