The True Meaning of Christmas

As I sit here, surrounded by shiny, new toys that will replace other shiny, almost new toys in the quiet warmth of our home as we've returned home from food and festivities with family, I am reminded of the true meaning of Christmas...watch this amazing work provided by my friend Kelly's organization Ordinary Hero. May we all be reminded of the true meaning of the season in this season and in always...



Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve in Dixie

Christmas was very exciting this year, as it often is with little ones. The excitement of decorating the house, seeing Santa, spending time with loved ones and receiving gifts with little kids warms the heart. And to see it times 2 this year made it all the better!

We spent Christmas Eve with the new babies in the family. What fun to see Meemaw's house filled with the laughter and excitement of 4 little ones this year! We've waited a long time for Jack to have siblings and cousins to play with at the holidays...he had to go it alone for many years. Now the house is full with 3 babies under 2!! We were sure to get a few pictures of the cousins...

"He comes in with all those presents from WHERE??"

Jack enjoyed being the Christmas "pro" and handed out all the gifts from under Meemaw's tree.

It was a fun evening with our growing family, though we missed cousins Cayce and Jason, who were celebrating with the Williams family this year. Tyler was fascinated with his very own "fish tank" from Aunt Peggy and Uncle Mike.





The boys were happy to head to bed knowing that Santa was coming soon. Of course, they were not disappointed. Santa remembered that they were traveling to Alabama!

(a parting shot of our boys playing...a bit rough at times these days)

Oh where oh where has the blogging gone?

If you haven't heard the news, I'm a workin' girl! Balancing family and business takes some practice, I'm afraid! Hopefully with the chilly weather comes a little rest for this busy Mommy...cuz she really needs it!

So before Christmas gets here, a quick Fall picture as we bid it farewell...

He Loves a Lollipop and I love...

my new camera!!! Took her out for a spin this weekend and grabbed a few shots of my most willing subject...

Wordless Wednesday...Rounding the Corner

Trunk or Treat!

The Tree Frog and Wall-E:

Those pesky feet!

As odd as it might sound, this was our first year participating in our church's annual Trunk or Treat. I guess we have Tyler to thank for that one! And Grandpa!

Grandpa, the boys and I headed over to the church, costumes on, for dinner and Trick or Treating, Trunk-style. We had a great, kid friendly dinner of hotdogs, sides and dessert and then headed out to the parking lot where LOTS of cars were parked waiting for their little, begging, costume donned visitors.







The boys were happy to trick or treat at each car trunk and, before we knew it, had visited every car! The weather was perfect and the lollipops (pop pops!) were plenty! A great time was had by all!!

A worn out, candy filled trick or treater...hanging out in our trunk!

The Zoo Crew

Our friends Cooper and Cara, along with their friend Cecilie (and her baby brother) met us at the Nashville Zoo for some fun this week. It was a gorgeous day and all the little ones had a great time!

We saw elephants and giraffes, meerkats, monkeys and more. We ate lunch together and played ring around the rosy. Tyler insisted on a hat and, since we didn't have one with us, we made a purchase of an adorable new Zoo hat for him. Tyler's favorite animal was the lblblblbllblblb. Well, that's how it sounded when Tyler tried to tell me that he loved the lizards!

Here's a peek at ring around the rosy. Cara is the sweetest big sister...so much so that she adores Tyler, her little brother's friend, too!:





The Zoo Crew. The 3 little ones were all born within 2 months of each other:


The Crew checking out a 'used' gummy bear napping on the rock wall...


Parting shot. Tyler checking out the zoo! It was a great morning. Maybe it's time to get a zoo pass again???