Welcome 2009!

It is about to be a New Year! I thought I would use this post to reflect on the happenings in our home throughout the past year, so here it is.......


January:
Gabe turned 6 years old this month. Where has time gone? We celebrated by taking him and two friends to see a movie and eat Japanese! They had a blast. Can't believe we are about to celebrate his 7th...I sure don't have babies anymore!

Joey and I began temporary foster care during the Christmas holidays. We started this process to eventually adopt a little girl. We feel this will happen when the time is right. Our first child was a special 3 year-old girl that needed lots of love! She lived with us for about 6 weeks and was able to experience a Hallmark Family Christmas. We were sad to see her go, but she is living in a wonderful place now!


February:
Joey and I attended the Kindergarten Jam with Gabe on Valentine's Day! It was hilarious! Gabe danced for several songs, but REFUSED to do the "tootie-tah". He stood there, hands by his sides, and watched everyone else stick out their bottoms and dance silly! His face was priceless! I will definitely never forget that.


March:
We were very excited to have another visitor this month. A sweet little girl from up north flew down and was placed with us for 6 weeks. She was precious! I LOVED seeing her transform while she was in our home. When she arrived, she was scared and had no idea of what affection was about. We were able to see her learn to hug, play, and smile! We sure did enjoy our time with her. She is now in a wonderful adoptive home.


April:
This month was spent playing baseball and doing more work on the house! Joey helped coach Gabe's team this year. They had a lot of fun playing together.


May:
This month was FULL of graduation trips! My brother and niece graduated from high school.

Michael graduated from LaGrange High School. We attended a LARGE graduation party at my parent's cabin. It was a lot of fun! We all danced and ate until we couldn't! We also watched him walk down and receive his diploma. I can't believe my baby brother is now in college. He was only 5 when I left home! He attends Georgia State University in Statesboro, GA. It was a little farther than everyone thought he would go, but he is doing great! We have really high hopes for him... he is a sweetheart!

Cassie graduated from Marion High School in Marion, Arkansas. Our family made the long trip up to Memphis and watched her receive her diploma. She was valedictorian of her class and now attends Union University. She will be a great teacher someday! What a precious girl. We ate at the famous "Rendezvous" in downtown Memphis on the way home. Afterward, Joey and I decided to start a daily exercise routine. It sure has changed our whole outlook on life!


June:
Summer is here! Both boys finished up school early this month. We started the summer with lots of swimming and playing on the waterslide. My boys sure do love the water! Joey and I also celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. We took the boys to Charleston and Isle of Palms to celebrate. We loved it! We were able to enjoy downtown Charleston, the beach, and some landmarks. We even saw Kung Fu Panda for the second time during a rainy day. It was a great trip!
We also celebrated Cole's 4th birthday at Chuck E Cheese with some friends. He had a great time! What a big boy he is now!


July:
We traveled almost the entire month of July! We spent the 4th with the Hallmarks on the lake. That is always lots of fun. We spent time intertubing with the kids and enjoying the "Memphis Hallmarks". Cole had fun playing with Kayla's friend Ashton or "Jashton" as he called her!
The next week, we drove down to Millry with my mom and sister. We were able to visit my grandmother and two great-grandmothers. How lucky I am to be able to spend time with them! We rode horses, had a fish fry, and played in the country. Gabe and Cole always LOVE going down there. They have plenty of cousins to play with and lots of "country boy" activities. We definitely need a house in the country one day! After all our traveling, the month was almost over. Oh yeah, I also had a birthday this month..... I am now 31!


August:
The summer flew by! We went to the beach during the first week of this month. We took our annual trip to Panama City. Joey LOVES going there. We have found a wonderful place to stay and there are always TONS of activities for the boys. We decided to do the Pirate Cruise this year. It was well worth the money! The boys were able to ride on a "real" pirate ship on the ocean and do all the fun pirate activities. Gabe enjoyed them all EXCEPT swabbing the decks! He didn't think that was such a good idea! Cole thoroughly enjoyed sword fighting with everyone on the ship. We will definitely do this again next year!
School began at the end of this month. Gabe began 1st grade and has had a great year, so far. Cole began 4k and has made many new friends. I think the rest of the year will be lots of fun for both of them.
Joey also celebrated his 37th Birthday. We always have fun celebrating his special day. He got an IPod from all of us. He continues to enjoy it during his 5:30 workouts. He has stayed very fateful to the "Y" this year!
The month ended with a 50th Anniversary party for my grandparents. It was wonderful seeing all of their friends and relatives and being a part of the celebration. My mom made a special video of their 50 years together that we were all able to enjoy. They sure have shared some special times together and with our family. They are truly a picture of a wonderful marriage!


September:
This month began my busy Fall! I am GradeParent for both Gabe and Cole's classes this year. These duties have kept me very busy each week. I enjoy planning their parties, reading to Gabe's class, and helping out the teachers. This is a lot of fun for me!
Gabe also attended his first "spend-the-night" party. He had a blast! He really did not want to come home the next morning. He loves being with his friends!
This month was also when I decided to go back to school. I will begin classes in January to get my Master's in the Art of Teaching. (MAT) I can't wait! I have always wanted to do this, and we feel the time is right!

October:
October was full of fun Fall activities. We were busy with soccer, Fall Carnivals, Trunk or Treat, Hallelujah Night in Alex City, Field Day, Fifties Day, and trips to the pumpkin patch. I organized the Bake Sale for Gabe's school carnival. It was quite a big deal, but ended up great! We also had a little girl at our house for a week this month. She was a sweetie! And let us not forget....my mom turned 50! Wow, that was a busy month!!!

November:
Elections, Thanksgiving Parties, Food, and Family.....that sums this one up!!!

December:
Christmas Time! We had a wonderful Christmas this year! The boys were super excited about everything and we were able to spend lots of fun moments with our families. The boys particularly loved the bonfire at the Hallmarks, and playing with cousins at my parent's cabin. Our Christmas in Anderson was very low key and relaxing! We were able to sit back and really enjoy the boys and our time together. That is what Christmas is all about! We even had the Hallmarks with us for a few days at our house. I LOVE this time of year!

Now on to 2009.....This year should be full of fun and new things! I am starting back to school on January 5th, Cole and Gabe will both be playing sports for the first time, we are continuing our adoption / foster care process, and Joey and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage! This is a wonderful time in our lives and there is never a dull moment in our house! Things could never be better. I am really looking forward to another year, but wish time could slow down just a little......

Family Fun

Another Hallmark Family Christmas Fun Day has come and gone! Joey and I started this tradition the first year we were married. Our family takes a "special" day before Christmas and does fun "Christmas" activities. We had a great time this year! I think we are all definitely in the Christmas Spirit, now. We even found the boys under the tree last night attempting to peak at their presents. Poor things...they just have to wait too long. I don't know how long Joey and I will make them wait... we hate the waiting as much as they do!

Joey and Gabe ran in the Reindeer Run at the Y on Saturday. I think they LOVED it! Cole and I cheered them on as they rounded each corner, so it was fun for us, too. We had pancakes afterward and visited with Santa on his GIANT sleigh. Gabe even won a door prize - a stop watch with a laser light on it. The boys have been playing with it non-stop. Maybe we should have just gotten them one of those for Christmas instead of the millions of things they are getting!

After the race, we headed to Greenville for our Family Fun! We decided to go Ice Skating this year for the first time. Joey had a little "trouble" with his skates hurting his feet, so he did not last very long. ( I personally think he was a little nervous about the whole thing!) Poor guy, he did take some good pictures of me and the boys having fun! Gabe was a natural! He absolutely LOVES ice skating. He was flying around the rink and doing turns by the time we left. I think he skated for about 3 1/2 hours before he finally had enough. Cole didn't really like it at first. We got one of the "walkers" for him, so he was able to balance a little more. By the time he finished, he was skating a little without help. Joey took Cole over to the Bounce Room while Gabe and I finished up. We had a blast!! We will definitely have to add that to our agenda again next year. Maybe we will buy Joey his own personal skates so he will be more "comfortable"....

After ice skating, we went to "Sticky Fingers" for some ribs and took in all the downtown sights. I LOVE downtown Greenville at Christmas. It is so much fun to walk around down there and take in everything. We ended our busy day at Roper Mountain Lights. The boys always love it and each have their favorite parts. Afterwards, we headed home and curled up in our bed. I think we were all asleep before 9!!!! What a fun day! I can't wait until we do it again next year!

Tooth !

Gabe lost his first tooth! We are ALL very excited. Poor thing, he has been waiting forever. I think other kids in his class have almost lost every one of theirs, and he is just now losing his first! Funny story how he lost it.....


Gabe came running in the kitchen last Friday with his tooth in his hand and blood in his mouth yelling, "my tooth came out!" My first thought was he had knocked out the wrong one somehow. Living with boys, I have become accustomed to such things happening. He told me he and Cole were playing "tug-of-war" with his pants string in his mouth and it popped out. I know, sounds weird, but I am sure glad it happened. I HATE anything that has to do with pulling teeth! My poor parents were probably suspected of child abuse because of the drama when my teeth were pulled. I really don't think it is the blood that disgusts me, it is just the sounds that are involved in teeth moving around. YUK! I am getting nauseated just thinking about it. Good thing Joey doesn't mind.... He is our teeth puller!

In the process of Gabe losing one tooth, another became loose. Looks like that one will come out soon. Gabe is not so excited about it. I think he will be a lot like me. Maybe we will just let it hang there until it falls out. No harm, right?!

New Bed

We have a new bed! Am I excited or what?! Joey and I finally got a "king-size" bed. We bought our queen size when we got married and have decided we needed an upgrade. This is our christmas present this year, so we are able to enjoy it a little early. I think Joey actually thought he would get more room at night, but I think he has been disappointed. I still sleep as close to him as I ever did! We just have a few more feet on the sides! The boys are excited because it gives them another excuse to cuddle with us on the weekends! Our entire family will enjoy this for many years.

I love a parade!

We went to our first Clemson Christmas Parade tonight!!

I thought I would share a few photos from the grand event. Cole was his usual "Mr. Christmas" self. He greeted everyone in the parade with a BIG "Merry Christmas" and a wave, while Gabe took it all in seated quietly beside me. I think everyone knew who we were by the time we left! When I asked the boys about their favorite part.... Gabe - the army guys, and Cole - Santa on top of a fire truck, of course. Hope ya'll like the pictures!

The Elves are back!

The elves have returned to the Hallmark house!!!! Every year Santa sends 2 mischievious elves to our house from the North Pole - Garland and Jingles. This has been a tradition in our house since Gabe was a baby. Each night we sprinkle them with "magic" North Pole Snowflakes, feed them crackers and water, and wait for them to come alive. This year the elves arrived after our return from Thanksgiving. The crazy creatures were hanging from our fireplace screen and scattered our Christmas books all over the floor! They always seem to make a HUGE mess wherever they go! This morning Gabe and I searched the entire house looking for them, only to discover them sitting in the boys' playroom with all of Gabe and Cole's pirates. I guess they decided to plan a pirate/soldier battle. They had them perfectly lined up and ready for war! Who knows what they will do tonight?! I just hope they don't make too much noise or too big of a mess..... After all, elves don't clean up after themselves! :)