We'd like to take a few minutes to wish the good-looking couple a very Happy Anniversary.  Now, get out there and kick 2016's booty!

One of our family's favorite traditions is going to see the lights at the Opryland Hotel.  If you've never been, I would highly recommend putting it on your bucket list.  It's just so magical, and it never gets old, no matter how may times we go.  Eric and I know that many, ok most, of our traditional Christmas activities will fade away as the kids outgrow them, but this is something we can do with them forever and something we can do with their children one day, Lord willing.  They might not always be so eager to sit in Santa's sleigh, and they may too cool to act like they know us during their teenage years.  But deep down in their hearts, I hope they always treasure these memories.  I will forever have images like the one above etched in my heart.  Nothing is sweeter than a child standing in complete awe of the largest tree they have ever seen. It just warms my heart,  ya'll! We normally head out on December 23rd because cro

It's no secret that I'm no chef.  I'm a total bust in the kitchen, and to be honest, it doesn't bother me one tiny bit.  This lack of domestic skills that I'm referring to includes my inability to bake, but that doesn't stop me from trying.  I used to make the dough for sugar cookies, and then I wised up and started using the pre-made dough. Even that was a struggle for me because I could never get it rolled out.  I was ecstatic this year when I came across, pre-made, pre-rolled sheets of dough.  All we had to do was cut out shapes and bake…that's my kind of baking, ya'll.  So, Monday night after unloading all the groceries and eating dinner, we got busy baking cookies for Santa.  As you will soon see, these cookies are exclusively for Santa because I'm not sure they are edible by the time we are done.  Ha! I made my own icing this year, but it was too runny.  There was food coloring EVERYWHERE!  In fact, between my icing mi

If you’ve read this blog for very long, you might remember the Christmas Tree Wars of 2013.   Ellie was about 8 months old during the holiday season and starting to pull up on things.   Unfortunately, she decided to utilize Eli’s tree and pulled it on top of herself.   Eli quickly responded by telling the Elf on the Shelf to add her to the "Naughty List" before he ran into her room and toppled her tree over.   Good times! Fast forward to 2015.   Yesterday morning while I was in the shower, Eric heard a loud crash and jumped up to investigate.   He discovered that Eli’s tree had somehow fallen over, so he propped it back up. Under the pile of branches, he was surprised to discover a sleeping Ellie. Hahaha!   Ya’ll our little lady is a sleep walker…big time.   She also has a “thing” about unplugging Christmas trees, so we think she was walking in her sleep and tried to unplug Eli’s tree, which caused it to fall. Bless her heart

Have ya’ll seen the movie Jingle All The Way ?  You know, the one where Arnold Schwarzenegger forgets to buy his kid “the toy” for Christmas. Well, it’s one of Eli’s favorite movies and now one of mine because I can totally relate to the parents on a whole new level thanks to a little holiday mishap on Sunday…   We were watching this little Christmas film on Sunday morning when it dawned on me that I needed to see what time Lay-A-Way closed at Wal-Mart since I needed to pick up my two "big" gifts.   You know, the toys that I put on hold on Halloween so that I wouldn’t have to be stressed on Black Friday or try to hide them from the kids for two months…yeah, those items. So we’re watching the movie, and I’m totally judging the parents for their lack planning while double checking the time to pick up my own items that I so carefully planned for months ahead. You can image my shock when I logged on to Wal-Mart’s website only to discover that I had written down the WRO

Hey, ya'll!  I know it's been a month of Sundays since I've blogged in "real time."  I'm always playing catchup six weeks after an event, but I thought that since we're hunkered down surviving the stomach virus, I would actually write. Ok, "hunkered down," might be an exaggeration. It seems to be a 24 hour thing, and since we've all had a turn since Friday, we're just staying home again today for good measure.  I can't stand the thought of spreading germs this time of year, plus I want everyone fully recuperated before Christmas. And don't you worry.  I've got lots of Christmas posts headed your way.  It's only 10:00, and we're already two Christmas movies in with plans to watch more this afternoon.  I'm going to use this time to make my lists...ALL THE LISTS...and check them twice. It has been the busiest holiday season that I can remember, so I'm a little behind. This is the first year tha

Since the stomach bug is making its way through our home, we are making the most of our time together. Peyton Siva (Pate) brought us a movie and hot chocolate to enjoy while we are recovering, so after disinfecting every surface of our house, we are about to settle down for Family Movie Night. The germs need to hurry up and leave, but the snuggles can stick around.

Ya'll know that I love blogging because it's such a great little memory log for me.  For example, I noticed that there seems to be a trend of me getting the stomach bug almost this same week each year. That's right.  The tradition continues.  My stomach was unsettled all day long yesterday, but after having breakfast, lunch and dinner catered for various work meetings, I assumed that it was the weird combination of foods.  Not so much! Ugh!!  Now I'm home sick.  I slept until 1:00 today, which is completely unlike me.  After picking up the kids from school and daycare, I am back on the couch and hoping no one else bites the dust....

In the midst of all the holiday bustle, I forgot to mention that Eli has started his second season of playing basketball.  We signed him up for Upward again.  There was a big mess, and he wasn't put on a roster. All is good now, and he's an Owl. Tonight was his third and final practice before games start in January.  It's so much fun to watch him mature and grow on the court.  I love that this league focuses on the "player" and not just the game.  It's going to be a great year!

Happy Wednesday!  This time next week I will be finishing up my final work day of 2015...whoot!! I just wanted to pop in and share a few pictures that haven't made it into other posts. Ellie is very into dress up.  In case you're wondering, this is how a princess sleeps. Ha!  The other night, I walked into Ellie's rom to check on her before I went to bed, and this is what I saw.  Bless her heart, she couldn't just got to bed.  She had to wear her Sophia the First dress over her pajamas.  Also, someone at work sent me this picture, and I bust out laughing every time I envision Eric doing this.  Can you even imagine? Haha!! Eli is becoming a proficient little writer, which is proving to be a problem...BUSTED!!  I promise that I cook too.  Granted, it's not as good as Eric's.  Also, please see below the unprompted letter to his teacher.  She's a gem! Other than these photos, I haven't taken many pictures this week.  Mo

Ellie is finally on the mend, and I am so grateful because we have such a busy weekend planned.  Last night was Eric's Christmas Party, and Mrs. Beth watched the kids so that we could go.  She took them to the Smiths Grove Christmas Parade and then to church to play while the youth served hot chocolate and the ladies decorated.  They basically thought that it was the best night ever. Ha! Today is always our most festive day the of the year.  We started at the Bowling Green Christmas Parade, went to Christmas in Kentucky at WKU, ate a yummy lunch, and then went to Cookies with Santa.  I'll document each of these separately, so let's start with the parade.  When Eli was younger and I worked in TV, he always got to be in the parade with me.  I was bummed that Ellie would miss the opportunity, but luckily, my work also enters a float every year.  In fact, we have won the past TWO YEARS!! The kids were thrilled to ride this year.  The theme was "Tr

Every season I like to make a bucket list of activities for the kids.  Sometimes we check them all off, and other times we only accomplish one or two things.  How many we do is not the point, and we don't stress over it either way. For me, it's about being intentional with the kids and taking time to make memories in the midst of a chaotic schedule.  It's sorta my accountability.   Anyway, we consider Christmas it's own season.  We have a Winter Bucket List, Spring Bucket List, Summer Bucket List, Fall Bucket List, and Holiday Bucket List.  Here's a look at a few things we plan to do... Activities: Smiths Grove Christmas Parade Bowling Green Christmas Parade Festival of Trains Cookies with Santa Polar Express  Cave Sing Oryland Lights  Looking at Lights Bake Cookies Help a Family in Need School Parties Christmas with Nan & Grandad Christmas with Gigi and PawPaw Movies: Christmas Vacation (for me and

'Tis the season for joy…and germs!  Ellie got a fever over the weekend and can't seem to knock it, so I called in last night to help take care of her today.  Good thing, because she had a rough, rough night.  The good news is that the doctors says it's a sinus infection that she should be able to knock pretty quickly, and better yet, she's not contagious! While we waited on the prescription, we ran a few errands.  As you can see by the above picture, she had a rotten attitude.  Ha!  It was less than for me. Luckily, she's easily bribed by candy.  After some sweet treats and a dose of medicine, she was on the mend.  We have to get this girl better so that we can enjoy the season.