Merry Christmas

What a terrific Christmas we had! I love being a parent at Christmas - it makes it so fun to see your kids light up with all the wonderful presents that you got them! We made it another year Santa free! I really don't want to encourage the whole Santa thing, because I really want to instill in my children the spirit of giving and that it is Jesus's birthday! I love kicking off the Christmas season with our Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes. The kids love buying gifts for the kids whose Mommies and Daddies can't. And this year it was really neat to be able to track our boxes. All our boxes went to Madagascar!! We got the email the day before Christmas Eve that they were there. I showed the girls all the pictures of kids in Madagascar and they were thrilled to see the stacks of boxes that looked just like theirs and all the kids waiting to get one! Another awesome experience we had this year, was buying gifts for a family in need in our area. Our Sunday School class was blessed with the opportunity to help out the sweetest family and it was so fun to have our kids involved. There was a little girl who is a year older than the girls and a little boy who is a year older than Harper. This made it perfect to shop for them. Carly, Chloe, and Harper got to pick out things that they thought would really make them happy on Christmas morning. They also helped wrap the presents and deliver them! I think this made an awesome connection to see how great it feels to help others and to put them first! The whole month of December was exciting and they were just excited to give! I didn't want to mention gifts to them because I didn't want that to be all they were thinking about - I didn't want them to want anything. We did go and see Santa, but that is just for the pics and the girls really wanted to conquer that fear of not crying. I don't want to take something away from them, but I just don't want to push the subject either. Well on Christmas morning the girls woke up and came into our room (they had no clue that there would be presents). I said Merry Christmas to them, and Carly's eyes got big and she said so excitedly, "IT'S JESUS'S BIRTHDAY!" I was so happy to hear that! She wasn't excited for presents, she was excited for the birthday of Jesus! I loved it. So, we told them we had a party for Jesus and we went into the living room and there were all the gifts. It was a great Christmas season and I hate that it is over.

Here are some pics of our Christmas gatherings:

Christmas Eve entailed going to my parent's house. It is always a loud fun with 8 kids 7 and under!! We had a terrific time.

Here is Finley with Oma
All the little "Grand Dears"

Here we are singing Christmas songs for advent - great memories! You may be wondering why all these kids are on beach towels - that was their "space" during gift wrapping. This way we could all see the gifts and the kids wouldn't get frustrated with others too close.

Reagan

Our wrapping paper was pretty tough to unwrap. After Kaitlyn finally got her gift open, she had to show off her muscles!

Carly and Chloe admiring their gifts - Carly got a princess dress up chest and Chloe got an easy bake oven!

Harper thanking Grandma for his cool race car!

Finley opening her first gift for the season - a lady bug outfit!

Christmas Eve night - preparing for the party!

Our sweet babies!

Chloe bought Carly some wings at the Dollar Store! She loved them! We take the kids every year to the Dollar Tree to buy each other a Christmas present. They have so much fun decided what to purchase - it is always hard to pick out 1 gift! Then they come home and wrap it and put it under the tree. They know exactly what each one will like and enjoy being something special for them. Last year the girls ended up buying the same thing for each other and this year they had the exact same thing in the exact same color for Harper - I did have to intervene on that choice - he did not need 2 blue tractor trailers!!

Chloe opening her crown from Carly

Finley sat next to the Christmas tree and just played with this ornament - she had fun!

Chloe riding her bike inside - it was raining all day so the house became an indoor track!

Carly loving being a big girl!

Finley relaxing with her Cabbage Patch kid from Grandma and Grandpa

After we opened our presents at home, we went to Grandma Kay and Grandpa Eddie's house for lunch and Christmas. They got the girls these princess Barbies - they LOVED them!

They also got them a playhouse! They were thrilled and I know they will be in it daily!

Santa Visit

Well we made it!! Our first time where all our kids did NOT cry when near Santa!! Harper never has, so he didn't care one bit to hop up on his lap. Carly and Chloe stood next to him and were so proud of this major fear they conquered! They were so cute walking up to him. They had it all planned out - they would stand next to him, smile big, and then walk away. We were so proud of them - and they were too. As soon as the pictures were over, they walked away, talking so loud (almost yelling) about how proud they were of themselves for not crying! It was very fun and is kind of sad - our pics of our big cry baby girls with Santa, came to an end!

And here is our sweet Finley! She did so great sitting with Santa. She just blew her little bubbles and looked unamused! She is so cute! We had to get her picture with the big guy all by herself so that we could document her 1st Christmas!

Finley Gets Dedicated

On December 13th, Finley got dedicated at church. She was so cute and really listened to everything Pastor Kenn said! She just ate her dress and watched him intently. God gives us so much, and this baby is an amazing gift! We are thankful for all 4 of our precious gifts and we only hope to raise them up to honor Him! It was a beautiful dedication and we know our church family will be there for us always. Thank you Lord for this beautiful child. Thank you Lord for our loving family and friends. Thank you Lord for our wonderful church that will help us raise our children. We are truly blessed!

Praying for us to raise this sweet angel in a way that will Glorify the Lord! What an amazing task He has given us, and we except the challenge!

Uptown

We took the kids uptown last week to see the singing bears. They were excited to ride "the train" - Charlotte's blue line lynx system. It was VERY cold this day! We actually gave them a Christmas present early (which they liked unwrapping a present early) - their coats. We rode the Lynx and then walked downtown a little bit, saw the bears, and then ate lunch at Bruggers. It was a fun thing to do and the cold made it really feel like Christmas!

Here is Grandma fixing Harper's glove - they all had to sit with her!
Finley can't believe the things we make her do! She just looked at everything and fell asleep as needed - she was wonderful!

Family pic in front of the enormous Christmas tree uptown

The singing bears - it was kind of quiet, but nice!

My 3 amigos getting ready for the show to start.

3 Months!

I can't believe our sweet little Finley is already 3 months old! She is such a wonderful baby! She just goes with the flow - and this family's flow is fast and loud! She smiles so much and will give the heartiest little laugh when tickled. She has rolled over from her belly to her back several times. Sleeping through the night - she did that around 6 weeks! We just love her cheeks! I could eat them (I occasionally do)! Carly, Chloe, and Harper continue to help me out with her and love her so much. One day I went to go check on Carly at nap time (Finley and Carly sleep in the same room at nap time) and she was just standing next to Finley's bed watching her sleep - it was so sweet! I want these kids to be so close - and I think that is panning out just fine!

Here she is posing for her 1st Christmas ornament picture!
The girls and I were playing dress up - we stripped their baby dolls and used our real life one~

My mini lifeguard

Harper taking his sister for a stroll in his stroller - he went very slow!

For more 3 month pics of our sweet angel, visit Deanna Devine Photography - they are so beautiful:

www.deannadevine.smugmug.com/Portraits

Oh Christmas Tree!!

Last night we went to the tree stand to pick out our Christmas Tree. The kids had SOOO much fun! They were so serious about the perfect tree. We barely got parked and they were already in the midst of the trees. We found the perfect tree and watched the man put the tree on top of our car - exciting. When we drove home, we drove through Hemby Bridge and they were lighting the town's lights! They loved all the great decorations.

The Perfect Tree
Santa - they were cutting the bottom off our tree - Harper thought it was too loud

Tonight we decorated the tree - they LOVED it! They were singing and really enjoying putting each one up. This was Harper's first year participating in the tree decorating. He was so good at trying to get the little strings on each branch.

Good thing Daddy is tall - with some team work they were able to get the ornaments on the highest branches!

Carly gave Finley an ornament to put on the tree. Finley held the bottom of it and Carly looped the string on the branch - it was so sweet.

Look how happy they are - Christmas time is getting better and better each year when you build up new, fun traditions.

After we finished decorating, we made fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and then had a campout. I read them some Christmas stories and they snuggled in for the night under the tree. They were so excited.

The giggles and the laughter was so awesome to hear! We had so much fun tonight - great tradition!! We will need to tweek the schedule for next year though. They were just so excited and at 9:00 tonight I did send them to their beds. The evening took a little longer than expected so they didn't have time to play and get their giggles out before bed, so when they got in bed, they were too excited. They didn't mind going to bed - they just hopped out and went in their room. Next time we will set the tent up with ample time for them to play! But regardless, it was a wonderful evening!

This Boy

Ok - Had to run and blog this one right away before I forget. So Finley was sitting in her saucer watching a Baby Einstein movie. She was fussy so I took her out, didn't turn the movie off since Harper was in there watching it and took her to the playroom so we could play. We were in there for a long time and Harper was in and out of the room. He then disappeared. After a little bit, I went looking for him. WELL - the baby Einstein movie I had on was a video tape and when it was over it flipped to the regular TV which was set to channel 11 and guess what was on - Maury!!!!! Oh yes, Harper was just standing there soaking in the Maury Show! And today's topic - Who's the father of my 4 kids - My husband or my lover?!!!! Oh boy!!! All this coming from my house and I won't even let them watch Sesame Street!! When I asked Harper what he was watching, he just told me they were loud - meaning they were all yelling! Classic!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Seeing as we are celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow at my Mom and Dad's house, I am feeling very Thankful and need to post all that I am Thankful for! First and foremost, I am thankful for serving an almighty and awesome God! I am thankful for my salvation and the eternity that comes with it! I am thankful for all that HE has provided for me and given to me, because without Him, everything I have would mean NOTHING!! I am also thankful for my precious little Finley Claire! She is such a sweet baby and is a beautiful addition to our family. I am so blessed to have 4 healthy and happy children. Matt is definitely someone to be thankful for! He is my amazing partner in this journey called life and I am thrilled to be sharing it with him. Harper, Harper, Harper - need I say more!!! After his horrible accident, I will never be able to love him enough! You love so many people in your life, but after almost loosing someone, your love for them takes a whole new meaning! He is such a sweet boy and I am so thankful that God has more plans for this boy that He kept him safe in his sturdy hands. Carly - my has she grown so much this year! She truly has taken on the big sister role and looks after all her siblings. She is such a big helper and has a terrific loving heart. Chloe, my little bug! She is the sweetest little thing! She is always concerned about others and thinking of them first. I love each of these babies that I have been given and am truly blessed to be their Mommy. I am also thankful for Matt's job. It has given us some much need Daddy time that we so desperately needed. Having more time with him has made this whole family so happy. I am so happy that my kids haven't cried about him going to work, because that means they see much more of him!! And he is just so fun to have around! I am also thankful for our extended family and great friends. I could go on and on about everyone, but that would just take way too long to list everyone! Well, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Operation Christmas Child

The kids went shopping today for Operation Christmas Child. I told them that we were buying things for boys and girls whose Mommies and Daddies couldn't get them anything. Carly said, "because they don't have any stores?" I told her yes and that they would be sad. Chloe says, "These presents will make them so happy Mommy!" I love starting off the Christmas season with these boxes. It means so much to the kids that receive them and my kids absolutely love picking out so many great presents. They each get to put their own things that represent what they love and I know the kids that receive these boxes will love what they put in them. It makes me so happy to see them enjoying buying for others - I hope it teaches them to have giving hearts!

Leaf Time

Matt has this week off, so we are doing some much loved family activities! We bagged leaves on Sunday and Monday - 16 of them - and the kids had so much fun! They were great helpers and we loved hearing their little giggles as they pilled them up! It may take a whole lot longer with them out there, but it is so much fun! I know there will be a day when they won't want to be out there with us, so we are going to enjoy our time now!
We even got Finley in on the fun!

Here the girls are being Mom and Dad - Mom holds the bags and Dad scoops the leaves. I love my family!

10 Year High School Reunion

I can not believe I have been graduated from High School for 10 years!! But yes, I am getting that old! The reunion was at Wingate University and it was pretty interesting to see some people that I haven't seen in a while. Before we left, the girls had to get into a picture with us! Don't you just love their outfits!
Me, Randi, and Sarah - and these are people I see alot!

Here are all the ladies who came from the class of 99! For some reason we didn't get a group picture.

My high school sweetie! We dated my whole senior year, so Matt knew alot of the people there.

Sarah and Tim

Amy and myself - she is such a great friend!