Freckles

I have always said..."We will NEVER have an elf!" so as usual, Friday night the kids new elf came to town with a bang! Freckles Frank Glitterbum was sent by Santa to spread good cheer and the greatest news of all, the birth of our Lord. He has played some jokes on the boys and help encourage them to be sweet and obey. This morning our entire Christmas tree was covered in underwear! He has been writing a letter to them every night and it usually has something about what he did that night and an encouraging word and bible verse. He's a sweet little elf so I guess he can stay :)

Saylor has been so sick this week and had the croup, this was our first time to have that, we I am sleep deprived but glad she is on the mend. The boys went to the Crager's house while I ran Saylor to the doctor and on the way over there I was going over the rules and told them not to take all of Collin's toys out and make a mess. Harrison said, "Yeah you're right Mommy we need to take Brantlee's toys out too".  Ha ha!

Here is our little guy Freckles, he rolled the living room and was hanging from the paddle ball on the ceiling fan his first night in!

Our gingerbread house for 2012, they get better at doing these every year!

Our "Underoo Tree" ;)

By the way Hudson has asked me to change his name to Hulk Hogan! And of course I said sure! I didn't think it would last more than a second but he got back in the car from school today and would only answer to "Hulk Hogan". Harrison is very upset about this because "its not right!" Ha ha. We will see how long this lasts...

Newtown

I will keep this simple for documentation purposes, after the senseless tragedy that happened on Friday in Newtown, CT my heart has been weighted and sad. Along with every other parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher etc. I just can't wrap my mind around it. I do know this much..... Our Lord has blessed Joel and I beyond measure and all I wanted to do was to put these babies in my arms and hold them and shield them from anything that might harm or alter their pureness. I am so grateful for them and the magic, innocence, laughter and craziness they bring to our entire family's lives. These are our most precious gifts and it made me more aware of how fragile they are and how quickly they can be taken or traumatized beyond repair. 

Lord, I come to you with a grateful heart and I am humbled beyond words as to why I am so blessed to be able to hold my healthy children this weekend. You have given the ultimate gift to us, Your Son. I can't begin to understand what has happened but I pray for peace beyond understanding for that community and those families who lost their precious children. Lord, I pray that you will impress upon the angry hearts to forgive this man, I know not what they harbor for him but I know that You have provided us with the capacity to do so. Father, I pray for your guidance as a parent to make the best decisions for our children and to protect them when we can't. Thank you for this precious and most meaningful season, we love you. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen

Disney on Ice

This past week was full of Christmas time activities, it is so busy but I have to say sometimes the hustle and bustle with Christmas music in the background is fun and exciting! We went to Disney on Ice in Biloxi with Joel's family, it was so cute and all of the kids loved it, even Saylor clapped and danced the whole time. We went on a light tour of Laurel with my parents and Liam and we watched a few Christmas movies! I can't believe we only have a week left, it went by too fast. Here are some pics from the week.

We were on the top row which was good because the princess needed to stretch her legs a few times ;)

All the Pierce cousins, Kali with her new snaggletooth grin, we ate at McElroy's after and it was DELISH!!

Just a moment that made me smile....

Mawmaw and Pawpaw bought all the kids cotton candy that came with a hat...they wore the hats on the ride to school everyday this week!

She was a big girl and had a ball!

Exploring the lights in Mason Park!

Santa!

Santa came for a surprise early visit at Nanny and Pops house last night. He said he was just checking in to make sure everyone was being nice. Harrison explained to him privately (as saylor is crying) that she doesn't like fake Santa's but she loves the real one... Can't get anything past him! They all got an early present and were over the top excited! We took them to Lewis Lights after. It was precious and magical!

THE season has begun!

There are a lot of great things about living in a smaller town that I am realizing more and more. We have started all kinds of holiday traditions and EVERYONE is in the spirit, stores, streets, people, cars, classrooms and in talking people always mention Christmas, or Christmas Tree, or Christmas Parade etc.... We are loving it. Here are a few things we have done since the Christmas season has begun!

We went to see the Polar Express at the Laurel Little Theatre and got popcorn and a drink. It was precious and magical. The kids clapped and cheered through the whole movie. Very sweet, we will for sure do this next year too, in our pajamas! 

We have remenisced about Christmases past and watched videos from them on the iPad. 

I got this awesome present for someone and took a pic to send Joel and he said he put it on facebook, I knew he knew better. This may be just as bad but its my blog and I think this mask is so neat.

We went to the Christmas Parade in Laurel and the kids loved it!! The swamp people, RJ and Jay Paul were the Grand Marshals, it was fun to sit with our friends  and all the boys friends from school. Saylor thinks she is just as big as they are.

Charlie went to get one of his bi-annual baths and grooming, it was getting cold at the time (right now its 75 degrees!) so I thought he should be clean in case he needed to come inside.