I love Thanksgiving. It's the beginning of the holiday season, there is lots of good food and you get to spend time with family you don't see everyday. This Thanksgiving was especially good because we had the pleasure of spending the entire week with Katelyn and her parents. (Sorry KK and Uncle Stephen, you have officially taken the back seat.)
Caroline loved getting to babysit Katelyn (or so she thinks that is what she did), and I enjoyed getting a chance to spend some time with my little sister who I miss very much.
And once again, Will had the hardest time limiting his kisses. Since he had a little runny nose, he was limited to her feet this time.
I can attest that the old phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder" is very true. When we were little we had our disagreements and don't get me wrong, we still do...but, I often times wish we lived in the same town so that we can share clothes again, go shopping together, let our kids play...the list goes on and on. Since that isn't the case, I will relish the holidays I get to spend with KK and her family.
Both kids were proud to show off Pop's new pony, Molly Girl, to their cousins Helen and Hunter. Caroline decided she should ride first so she could show them how it's done. She was bursting with pride. Will had his own adventure on Molly Girl, but I'll save that for another post because it certainly deserves one to itself.
Mamaw and Pappaw were thrilled to have their great grandkids spend the night with them and were constantly entertained this Thanksgiving. I imagine they are taking it easy this week trying to recuperate from all the festivities.
Of all the fun we had at Thanksgiving, my favorite memory was when KK asked Caroline what about her Mommy she was thankful for. She responded, "she is a happy Mommy." You never know how your children perceive you, but I must admit that I was so glad she considers me a happy mom because the Good Lord knows there are times when I don't feel so happy with the way my children are behaving. Her perception made me realize how important it is to keep a smile on my face.
This Thanksgiving, Matt and I talked about what we are most thankful for other than the obvious like family, friends, our health, etc. The majority of our conversation revolved around the fact that life has been much easier since I began staying at home full-time. Granted, it was an extremely hard transition for me because I loved my job and working outside the home. But, the benefits of staying at home have really started to add up over the last year, and I am so thankful that God put unexpected road blocks in my path so that I could have this opportunity. Matt enjoys the benefits as well because his thankful list included not being the household manager anymore, having dinner ready when he walks in the door, not having to go to the grocery store, and just being able to relax when he gets home. Granted, we don't get have extra money these days to do some of the things we used to do, but instead we have settled on a life that isn't rushed where we can really enjoy our kids more. It's in the nonscheduled, nonrushed moments that we make the best memories. So, this Thanksgiving, we'd like to thank God for the little things we are thankful for that oftentimes get overlooked.
1. The four little feet that scuffle to our bed late at night so that they can be comforted by their Mommy and Daddy.
2. Will's little hand that he longs for us to hold when he's sitting in our lap, riding in the car and laying by us in the bed.
3. Caroline's wonderful memory that can recall details about events that I often don't even remember.
4. Sitting in the rocking chair with my babies on a cold morning under the covers while we watch cartoons.
5. Dancing in the kitchen to our favorite songs with our children.
6. The rush of excitement in our children when Daddy gets home from work.
7. Weeknight candlelight dinners with our family.
8. The adoring love our children share for each other.
9. Getting kisses all over our face from our little man.
10. Cuddling up next to Caroline as she goes to sleep at night.
11. The constant requests for backrubs.
12. Will's affinity for anything with a motor.
13. Caroline's sweet love for her baby dolls and the way she mothers them.
14. Will's passion to fix things even when they don't necessarily require fixing.
15. Caroline's desire to learn to sew just like her Mommy. She loves staying up late at night with me pretending to make something for her babies just like I make for mine.
16. Sweet bedtime prayers.
17. The laughter that comes from my reading Snuggle Puppy.
18. Will's famous phrase, "one more time".
19. Caroline's sweet drawings of our family.
20. The sweet smiles that light up their face when they see their Mommy and Daddy hug.
We hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and that you too reflect on the little things you are thankful for this holiday season.
Over the Thanksgiving break, Caroline's ballet class performed for a local nursing home. It was such a joy to see how these cute little ballerinas lit up the room. It was obvious the residents were so happy to have visitors and the girls' performance was precious.
Caroline's face lit up as well once she saw a suprise guest in the audience. Nana came all the way to watch the performance and then treated us to Cock of the Walk.
Now just because Will didn't perform, don't think he didn't steal the hearts of the residents. Nope, our little fellow was a hit among the ladies, with all of the residents wanting some sugar from him. As usual, Mr. Personality didn't let them down. He winked at the ladies, blew kisses and even let one lady kiss him on the lips. Obviously, I have to teach him that lip kissing is not appropriate until he is 21, regardless of the girl's age!
Since I handmade the kids' Thanksgiving outfit this year, I thought I should take a picture. If this is any indication of what it is going to be like when I take our Christmas card photo, I'm in trouble...
On Tuesday, Matt and I had the pleasure to see Caroline's Thanksgiving Program at playschool. Dressed as a little pilgrim, she was all smiles and kept her eyes on our camera almost the whole time. It was the cutest little performance and while she was quite proud of herself, her brother was prouder. He tried taken pictures of her and afterwords gave her a big kiss of approval.
Here's a little clip from her performance for the grandparents to enjoy...
On Halloween, we celebrated Will's 2nd birthday with family and close friends. We planned a small party, but since we wanted to include all of our family, we ended up having roughly 35 people come. Of all our guests, our most prized party people, other than the birthday boy of course, were Will's great grandparents...Mommaw Edwina, Pappaw Bill and Mamaw Elsie. This makes their 2nd trip to our home and their...the first being Will's 1st birthday party. Of course we were thrilled they came to help us celebrate the big day and are very thankful to all of those involved who helped them get here.
The best costume this year went to Kevin...he came dress as our cousin Josh. When he walked in the door, I thought to myself that I'd never seen him wear clothes like that...that was more in the lines of what Josh would wear. He quickly struck a pose and I knew that he was in costume and was going to act out the part. Josh...we wish you could have been here because even you would have gotten a laugh out of it.
The birthday boy had his choice of Halloween costumes this year...Raggedy Andy or a train conductor. He chose the train conductor digs and enjoyed himself thoroughly. I must admit that his choice of clothing allowed him to really get into striking the pinata.
The Fisher ladies got a wild hair right before the party and decided to all dye our hair red and pink.
Some of us looked cute and some of us...well, not so much (unfortunately, I fall into that category). Will thought it was pretty funny but didn't really want to join in on our fun.
I decided to copy an idea from a friend (thanks Deidre!) and make scarecrow and pumpkin cupcakes, and according to my grandfather there was way too much other food to go along with it...soup, hot dogs, dip, fruit, etc. I informed him that perhaps so but there wasn't much left so either there was just enough food or we had some pigs amongst us!
Will loved getting all of the attention for once and knew exactly what to do when the candles were lit.
After our tummies were full and all the presents had been opened, thanks to the help of Caroline, Abby and Helen, we were ready for our much anticipated hay ride.
Our trailer was decorated to the tee...with pumpkin lights, spider webs and even Halloween music playing. The kids loved it and several kids we met along the way asked if they could hop in as well. Our neighborhood is the place to be on Halloween...we even have neighbors who transform their yard into a pretty impressive haunted house, which included a living scarecrow that just about made Caroline wet her pants. Thankfully, the scarecrow turned out to be a sweet little lady who talked to Caroline so everything turned out just fine.
Mick got to experience his first haunted house and survived it with the help of his cousin Erin.
Somewhere during the course of the party, Will decided to drop his conductor hat and put on his new cowboy hat instead.
It was a little tough explaining what he was dressed as, but he didn't miss a beat. He was the absolute cutest thing going from door to door, tagging way behind the others. He didn't mind being a lot slower than everyone else and made it very clear that he was not interested in being carried. He was now 2 and a very independent big boy who could manage on his own, thank you very much. He quickly got the nickname of Linus from Charlie Brown because he was just so content going at his own pace and in his own little world. When he got to the door, he quietly mumbled something (I'm assuming "trick or treat") and then opened up his sack.
Caroline and her two favorite buddies, Helen and Abby, enjoyed going to door to door themselves. Unfortunately, they racked up on way too much candy for the Mommas to have to deal with later.
By the end of the night, we were all worn out and thankful that we would be benefiting form Daylight Savings time! Will had a wonderful birthday filled with lots of great memories, and we would like to thank all of our family and friends who helped to make his day so special! Until next year, here are some more pictures from our evening.
Well, I finally did it! After much prodding from my husband, I've decided to start selling a few of the things I make. Since the kids receive compliments on the outfits I make for them and I love to sew, he figures I should try to sell some. I'll have to admit that I am a little hesitant about it because I have never really had a lot of confidence in starting something new like this, but what the heck, right? Besides, if they don't sell, I'll just give let my kids wear them or give them as gifts! Anyway, if you are interested, you can check out my blog at Sewing Seeds.
