On the first day of Christmas...

The first day of our Christmas festivities found us at my parent's!  We headed up today to celebrate Tiffany's birthday and then Christmas Eve tomorrow night.  It's always a good time at Mom and Dad's, and this year did not disappoint!

Mom wrapped up a gift over and over and then had the kids play a dice game to see who won it.  They had to roll dice until they got doubles and then had to put on a hat and gloves and start tearing away at the package.  It was a hoot!  Just when one kiddo would get all suited up, another would roll doubles and rip the hat and gloves right off of them!  In the end, Taylor won the game.  She was a sweet winner though, and decided to keep the gift at Grandma's (it was a game), so that everyone could play with it!

Of course, no December 23rd is complete without a birthday celebration for Tiffany!!!  Happy 8th birthday!!!

Friendship Kitchen

On the first official day of Christmas Vacation, we woke up this morning to same sheet of ice that we went to bed with!  Not a soul has gone down our road all morning, but we have some work to do!  We volunteered to host at the Friendship Kitchen, which serves meals every Saturday to anyone that would like one.  The Leaders, the Jennings, and ourselves took this Saturday and we had chili, cornbread, and grilled cheese to make, so no ice was going to stop us!  Chad had to put salt down (and had been since about 10:00 the night before), but everyone else was able to get out and get to the kitchen.  We had a great time with our kids, serving others!  

 These are some of the cutest little helpers I've ever seen!  They were all a huge help and made the day a lot of fun!

After working, we packed up and headed to Little Mexico to celebrate Callie's birthday!  We hadn't been able to go out due to conflicts, so we thought this was the best time.  Unfortunately, Chad wasn't able to join us, but we still had a good time!!!

1st Day of 1st Grade

Ben's 1st day of 1st grade was on August 9th this year, which just happened to also be his 7th birthday!  What a great way to celebrate you birthday.  We made treats to take to school, so I'm sure that helped all of the kiddos adjust to the first day a little easier.  He had a great first day and a very happy birthday.  Mom had a good 1st day too, at the high school.  Hard to believe that I've been "in school" now for 32 years of my life...yikes!

 

3 Year Photos

Yesterday was such a beautiful day.  It was only about 70 degrees, the sun was shining, and there was very little wind.  So, I packed up Kyran, grabbed my camera and headed down to Shades State Park.  I'm doing a photo shoot there this weekend, and I'd never really looked it over for photo spots.  Since I hadn't taken Kyran's 3 year pics yet, it was the perfect opportunity.  He was a good sport and cooperated as well as can be expected from a little one.  We walked some of the trails, played on the playground, and even went down to the Devil's punch bowl to see the waterfall.  He had a good time and I had fun capturing the moment!  Here are just a few of my favorite pictures of this cute little guy!

 Look at that ornery little face.

He was showing me how strong he was...holding himself up by his arms!

Look Who's Three!!!

I can't believe that we're already celebrating Kyran's third birthday...yes, you heard me correctly, his THIRD birthday!  Where in the world has the time gone?  Don't get me wrong, sometimes it seems like time goes by soooooooooooooo slowly when you're raising a toddler.  You know, like those times when he's having his fifth tantrum of the morning (yes, morning), or when he won't go to bed without three stories, two vitamins, a sippy cup of water, another story, a trip to the potty, maybe another story...ok, I think you get my point!

But, there are other moments that fly by so quickly.  Those moments when he crawls up in my lap, gives me a hug and says "I love you, mommy", or when he asks me to play with him, or read him just one more story, or when he looks at me with those beautiful, big eyes and gives me that ornery grin that tells me he's up to no good!  Those are the moments that I want to grab hold of and never let go of.  The ones that melt my heart and bring me to tears...being a mommy is hard work but the pay off is amazing!

Yes, Kyran, today you turn three and you're on your way to new and exciting adventures.  But to me, you'll always be my little guy!  Love you bunches and bunches, sweet pea!

Making Memories

The boys have had so much fun at Grandma Debbie's and Grandpa Jim's.  They've been here for almost a week and they've done SO MUCH!  They helped decorate the garage for Christmas, made cookies and candy, rode in tractors, played with their cousins, watched movies, and eaten enough sweets for a lifetime.  It's been a crazy week and we've not had much sleep, but the boys have made so many memories.  That's what it's all about...spending time with their cousins and making memories at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  It's so worth it!

 Kyran, Emily and Uncle Matt went on a walk.  It was such a pretty day!

 

 Uncle Matt was so good and let Kyran "help" him move the ripper

 

 Such a good helper!

 

 We all know who the "king" of the castle is...it's Spike.

 

 Grandma Debbie with her two "littles"

 

 These three were such good helpers with decorating the garage.  Their snowmen were perfect!

 

 One of Evan's Christmas presents.  Grandma did this chair for his Purdue bedroom.

 

 She made this one to match Taylor's room.

 

 I never would have dreamed we'd have a thunderstorm, followed by this beautiful rainbow, in DECEMBER!  This weather has been crazy!

 

 Celebrating this special girl's 7th birthday!

 Two cutie pies!  Can't believe how fast their all growing up!

 

 The three amigos!

 

 Here are two special ladies in my life.  Almost every childhood memory I have involves Aunt Linda and my mom!  Aunt Linda has been a staple in our family since I was just a little girl.  She's shared birthdays, holidays, and just plain old "nothing" days with our family and we love her!  I love this picture because these two ladies are as different as night and day, but together they make a great pair.  They even color coordinated for the picture and didn't even plan it!  Love them both so much!

 

 These kids crack me up!

 

Grandma Debbie got all the grandkids matching pajamas.  Taylor was a good sport and let me post this picture.  Evan was in the other ones, but I promised him they wouldn't go on social media.  I have to keep my word, lol!