Welcome to 2018!

Our year is off to a great start!  We ended 2017 and started 2018 with our dear friends, the Smith family.  It was a fun evening together!  Lily was excited to make tres leches cakes for each of us.  They were delicious!

 The evening was lots of fun as we ate dinner, drank hot chocolate, watched the Falcons, and enjoyed being with our friends.

 We are so thankful for this crew!

 I never thought I would be one to tell stories about my dog, but this cracked me up.  Decker saw me sitting in the chair and eating a snack while I was reading one afternoon.  He came up and gave me his puppy dog eyes.  I said "You can't have this Decker, it's chocolate."  I kid you not, he turned around and sat like this with his back to me for a solid five minutes before walking away!  Cracked me up.

 Don't even remember where I took this or why, but I just love my beautiful Lily.

 Mia's class went to the symphony this month, and she had a great time sitting with Eliana!

 We couldn't believe the girls had another two days of school cancelled due to snow and ice!  They certainly didn't mind though.  Decker had lots of fun playing in the snow too!

 Both of my beautiful girls with their new glasses!  Lily has worn glasses for several years now, though these blue frames are new.  Mia however has always had great vision.  She's been so upset that she hasn't needed glasses yet!  At this year's check-up, the doctor said glasses could alleviate some strain while reading, though they weren't needed all the time (yet).  We caved.  It will help her with reading which is super important, and she loves them.  How could we not?!  She picked out a great pair of blue and red ones.  Look how precious they both look!

 Saturday night Ryan and I went to a prayer gathering at the Casey's house.  The girls went over to hang with the Hendersons while we went.  I love this picture of Lily with John Asher who just turned six months old.  How adorable is he?  Lily is very excited to start learning how to babysit, so she had fun helping Jill and Brian with him while there.  I think she'll make a great babysitter as she gets older and learns even more about kids.

Just some of the fun we've had already this month!

Wrapping Up 2017

 This last week of the year has been a little more hectic than normal, mainly because Congress passed a huge tax bill over Christmas weekend which meant I was inundated with client email and calls wanting to know how it was going to impact them, not to mention I was trying to catch up from being out for a few days before Christmas as we traveled to visit family.  It was a hectic work week, but it's a good thing that clients value my opinion and advice!

Ryan and Mia had a Daddy-Daughter date one afternoon, and they stopped by the office to say hello.  Mia helped me for a few minutes.

 

 They were both excited to go see the new Star Wars movie together.  They went to a new theater where they bring the food directly to your seat.  Needless to say, this date was a great one for both!

While Ryan and Mia were out, Lily went over to Emory's house.  They both received Harry Potter games for Christmas and felt they needed someone with "more knowledge" to play with than their parents!  They had a great time playing together all afternoon.  We were then very happy to have Emory spend the night at our house that evening.  The next morning, these two had all sorts of fun together.  They recorded a silly show they had made and then had lots of fun watching it on tv.

 Ryan took all three girls to the Battery for lunch.  There was lots of activity going on!  Lily and Emory enjoyed hula hooping for awhile, especially when the Braves' pep band started playing and they turned their hula hooping into silly dancing!

These two girls love each other and have so much fun together!

Lily drew this picture in the hallway one day.  It's what her new pillow looks like.  I was really impressed by it!

New Year's Eve arrived on Sunday.  We were glad to have the Smith family come over to watch the Falcons game with us and then countdown to midnight together.  We are so thankful for this family and their friendship.  During the day, Ryan and I reflected on what a great year it has been.  There have been some tough moments as well, but we focused on the highlights.  We each made a collage of some of our favorite moments.

As we reflect on the year, there's no way we can be anything but grateful.  God has given us blessings and abilities that way exceed what we deserve.  We pray that each day we are doing a good job of pointing our girls to Christ and giving Him thanks for our lives.  We hope that in 2018 we will have more opportunities to share Christ's love with people both near and far.  We look forward to a new year with anticipation.  We can't wait to see what's in store!

Christmas Day

What a wonderful Christmas day!  However, I took absolutely no pictures while presents were being opened.  I didn't even think about it.  I was enjoying watching everyone else, and their excitement that it actually didn't even occur to me.  Oh well!  I promise you we had fun!  Here are some of the after the facts pictures that I did take.

The girls slept downstairs in the guest room together.  They woke up a bit before 8:00, but we had agreed that we'd come get them at that time.  We told them to grab their stuffed animals, so Decker wouldn't get them and take them to their rooms.  We weren't actually concerned about Decker, but this was a great way for them to go see what Santa left for them!  They both received a Dream Tent which they had been asking about for months.  They were so excited about that!  Mia's has this great Northern Lights theme to it while Lily's is an Underwater Wonderland.  They love that they can curl up in here to read or play.  They each received a new 2018 calendar as well; Lily's is a "Mommy and Me" adorable animal one while Mia's is a Descendants theme.  Lastly, they each received a pillow from the Mermaid Pillow Company.  These are so cool.  They are super soft and adorable on one side (Mia's says "puppies play" while Lily's says "foxes explore."), but the backside is covered in one color of sequins, but when you move your hand over them they change to another color very easily.  They are really neat and are very fun for writing messages and making designs on them.  This was a very way to start the morning!

 Next, we all went into the living room to open our presents.  Everyone was very excited and surprised by their gifts.

 After all these gifts had been opened up, we unloaded our stockings which is always fun too.

After all the gifts had been opened, we decided to have some breakfast.  I tried a new Pinterest recipe and make "Christmas tree cinnamon rolls" which turned out pretty good.

 After breakfast it was time to start playing with all the fun gifts.  Mia couldn't wait to plug in her new karaoke machine.  She received two soundtracks to use: Descendants and Moana.  We've all had fun with this gift!

 She was so excited to get a skateboard and pads from Grandpops and Grandma Jan, especially when she realized the wheels light up!  She's been riding this all around our unfinished basement.  The basement is getting lots of good use these days as she's having fun learning to use the stilts that Granna and Papa gave her and the pogo stick that we gave her!

 Grandpops and Grandma Jan also gave her a cool throw-back basketball goal which she's loving.  It attaches to the back of her bedroom door and each time she scores, it throws the ball back to her.  We've had a lot of fun playing this together too.

 Other fun things that Mia received but aren't shown here include books, waterproof iPad case, bath table for watching the iPad in the bath, Stare game, Eno chair, Bop-It Maker from Lily and lots of books.

Lily spent most of her Christmas afternoon building Legos.  She loved the Grand Hotel received from Grandpops and Grandma Jan and the Sailboat we gave her.  On Christmas Eve, she had already put together the Hospital from Granna and Papa and Ice Skating Rink from Wayne that goes with the Ski Lift Resort from Meme.  This girl is always happy with new Lego sets!

 Other gifts not pictured are an Irish flute and instruction book, a Harry Potter Hogwarts clock, a cool looking magnetic bulletin board for her room, Lego Reactions from Mia, and lots of books.

Both girls also had full stockings that included things like new Camp Crestridge shirts and a trunk sticker for next summer, putty and pens, Hermione-inspired American Girl clothes (for Lily's doll), Descendants socks (for Mia), Braves toboggan (for Lily), a mood ring (for Mia), and a few other miscellaneous items.

It was a restful afternoon.  Granna and Papa came over for a bit and the girls loved showing all their new goodies.  It was nice to hang out with them for a bit before they headed over to visit Wayne's family and Meme.  This was a fun and wonderful day.  As parents, it's so much fun to give our kids gifts that excite them; it reminds us that God delights in giving us as His children good gifts too.  We love to remember that Christmas is here because He gave us the greatest gift, His son, to the world.  For that, we are thankful each and every day.

Christmas Countdown 2017

And the Christmas Countdown tradition continues!

Day 1: We had four tickets to see the ASO play Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  This is such a cool experience.  They are playing the movie on the big screen, but the orchestra is playing the score.  It's really amazing to watch and hear!  Lily's best friend, Emory, asked Lily if she could join her at this a few weeks ago.  We knew she'd love to do this, so we said yes, and then invited Mia's friend, Patrick, to join us because we know he loves HP as well.  Patrick and Mia wore their wizard robes while Emory and Lily took a dressier route.  Lily also entertained a little crowd outside the hall beforehand by playing Hedwig's Theme that she has memorized.  This was such a fun experience and a great way to kick off our countdown!

 Day 2: Lily spent the night with Emory and joined their family at the CHOA Christmas parade the next morning.  Just after lunch, Mia and I met a bunch of Stonehaven families at the movie theater to watch "The Star" which was an adorable movie of the nativity told from the perspective of the animals.  After the movie, we all went to the Miley's house for cookie decorating.  The McKeeby's brought Lily there too.  A little bit later, Ryan picked Lily up while Mia and I stayed awhile longer.

 Lily had to be picked up a little early because she was going with her friends Danae and Brielle to Medieval Times for their dinner show.  She had a blast!  When she got home that evening, she was telling me all about it along with all the other details from the weekend.  She had been quite the social butterfly!  She ended her retelling by saying "this was just about the best weekend of my life."  Give this girl some good friends to be with, and she is one happy girl.

 Day 3: Lily was asked to light the John the Baptist advent candle in the sanctuary at church.  We all stood up there with her.  There was a small mishap where her candle blew out twice, but luckily we were able to exchange candles and she gracefully lit them.  We were very proud of her.

 While that was certainly a honor to be asked to light the candle at church, our activity of the day was actually going to the Falcons game at the new Mercedes-Benz dome.  David and Jan had given Ryan amazing club seats for his birthday present a few months ago.  We loved having the club-level access and eating at the Iberian Pig for lunch, meeting Freddie the Falcon before the game, and having fantastic seats to watch from.  The only thing that could have made the experience better is if the Falcons had actually won the game, but unfortunately, the Viking triumphed.

 Day 4: We did Mad Libs around the dinner table.  These always provide some good laughs.

 Day 5: The girls enjoyed decorating some snowmen cookies after school.

 Day 6: The girls and I stuffed, sealed, and stamped all the Christmas cards we were mailing out.

 Loved the look of our card this year!

 Day 7: The girls had a ton of winter jokes to share with one another!

 Day 8: Dart tournament down in the unfinished part of the basement.

 Day 9: Change of plans...snow day!

 Day 10: Heads-up game night, and we really glad to have Grandpops come in town.

 Day 11: Grandma Jan flew into town today, so we all enjoyed a delicious dinner together at Chops.

 Day 12: The girls took some time looking through the Samaritans Purse gift catalog to pick who they wanted to donate to.

 It was also the school Christmas program this evening.  The girls were glad to have Grandpops, Grandma Jan, Granna, and Papa in attendance with us.  Their classes did a great job with their songs.  We are so super proud of the girls too.  They have been doing voice lessons this semester with Mr. Scheidt.  He asked them to each do a solo.  Mia did a great job of singing "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent."  Lily was very nervous, so she asked if she could do a duet instead.  Mrs. Johnson agreed to sing with her while Mr. Scheidt played the guitar.  They sounded great as they sang "What Child Is This."

 Day 13: We read The Crippled Lamb together; such a sweet story.

 Day 14: Ryan and the girls had fun with glow-sticks while I was at a board meeting.  Even Decker got in on the fun!

 Day 15: Bama had bought the girls these little pipe cleaner crafts to make.  Mia's snowman turned out really cute.  Lily's reindeer didn't turn out exactly as the picture so she was pretty frustrated and had no problem letting us all know for the rest of the evening.

 Day 16: We were happy to serve with Feed My Starving Children at Johnson Ferry on this Saturday morning.  We helped make "Manna Packs" filled with rice, soy, dried veggies, and vitamins.  These packs go around the world to help meet the needs of starving children.  There were hundreds of people involved, and three shifts in which to participate.  By the end, they were proud to announce enough packs had been made to make over 100,000 meals.  How incredible!

 Day 17: Meme's Christmas party at Wayne's house.  Always a fun and delicious time!

 Day 18: Ice skating at the new rink at the Battery with the Smith family.

 Day 19: The girls made cards to take to Bama.

The girls spent the night at the Smith's house which gave Ryan and me the opportunity to go on a date and get lots of Christmas wrapping finished up.

 Day 20: We drove over to Birmingham, and we were so glad to meet some friends for lunch.  Ryan has known Robyn and Bridges for years, and he and Bridges were fraternity brothers at Samford.  We met up for lunch at Milos and had a great time visiting with one another.

 After leaving lunch, we headed over to Samford for an afternoon of nostalgia.  It was great to drive and walk around campus.  We stopped back by the mail room where Ryan and I met 20 years ago.  We toured through several of the buildings, and of course, took the girls to see Mr. Beeson.  Even though it rained a little bit, we had a lot of fun.

 The best part of the day was getting to have a Christmas dinner with Bama and family.  We were very excited to find out the Josh and Amy are expecting a baby girl next summer!  We ate a delicious dinner together and then had fun exchanging gifts.  We always enjoy our time together.  

 Day 21: We drove from Birmingham over to Jefferson City to visit with Mom's family.  It was a nice evening, and it's always good to see this extended family.

 Day 22: When we got home from Tennessee, the girls headed over to our neighbor's house to decorate gingerbread houses.  Mrs. Cornish always puts out a great spread of icing and candies for decorating; the girls had a ton of fun and made great houses.

 Day 23: The girls made cookies.  Mia made a delicious lemon glazed cookie while Lily baked a yummy confetti cookie.  I had fun assisting both, and they all turned out delicious!

 Day 24: Christmas Eve!  We were glad to have Mom, Dad, Wayne and his kids over for brunch that morning.  It was delicious as always!  Everyone had fun exchanging gifts afterwords, and then playing together for a bit.

 After brunch ended, the Smith family came over to watch the Falcons play the Saints which was just an ugly game that we'd love to all forget.  After the game, the four of us headed over to the temporary fire station #2 (new one is being build so they are in a trailer right now) and delivered the girls' cookies.  I'm sure the firemen will enjoy them.

After dinner we enjoyed our annual viewing of How The Grinch Stole Christmas.  We love this movie.  The girls then got to open one present each.  This year's present bag included new pajamas, new bath robes, and adorable animals adopted by Grandpops and Grandma Jan from the Lincoln Park Zoo.  It was a sloth for Lily and a black bear for Mia.  Super cute!

The girls headed downstairs to watch a movie and sleep in the guest room for the night.  This allowed Ryan and me to finish getting everything ready for Christmas morning and watch a new episode of The Crown.  This has been another fun countdown to Christmas!