For Hill's 4th Birthday, she decided to jump around with her friends on several inflatables at a place in Alabama. Here is a picture of one of the slides.
Hill had lots of fun with her friends playing on several different jump arounds and with air hockey.
Here is the whole group. Whew! Lots of kiddos...
Lots of mouths to feed...
Baylor left a little for later :)
He's a Nonna boy...
Hill with her cousins, Ella and Gray
Brother Bay on the inflatable chair
Princess Hill's turn
A family photo
Cute party details
Strawberry cupcakes and chocolate candies to say "Thanks for bouncing over."
Hill shoved the gum ball from the cupcake in her mouth
Present time... so much fun for such a little one!
Cousin love:
Allyn is kissing Baylor who's hugging his neck
One of my favorite pictures of the day...ahh that smile is precious!
To start off the Christmas season, we went to the Braselton Parade a few weekends ago. Here is Bay with his balloon.
Here is the whole group waiting for the parade to start.
Beautiful Hill waiting patiently
She loves her Mommy
Dan was bundled up ready for the parade to start
Bay was thrilled for the candy donations by all the participants in the parade. He was also sporting his new cowboy boots...growing up to be just like his Daddy.
The next weekend was time to get our Christmas trees. We have a tradition that includes lots of food in Dillard, GA and then cutting down a tree in Mr. Dillard's backyard. Unfortunately, he stopped planting new trees and the only ones left were around 20 ft. tall. We thought about cutting one in half, but decided we would try our luck up the road in North Carolina. In my family, the bigger the tree- the better! The only problem is that in our first house, our ceilings are about 9ft; therefore, we got a tree exactly 9ft. tall. Here is Dan getting it ready with the chainsaw before bringing it in.
This is the tree before decorations:
And after...
Dan and I have a running joke with a decoration in our home. See if you can notice the difference between these two photos...What is in one picture, but not the other?
If you look closely, there is a large bird on the mantle in the first picture, but not the second. Dan likes to place it strategically around the house (hiding in plain sight). It is a little hard to miss the bird if you ask me and I often make this game little fun because it blinds me wherever he places it. Nonetheless, it is a fun game we play. Maybe we should try Catch Phrase or something more traditional???
This last picture is of our little book nook. I love it and enjoy updating it throughout the year. I hope that our home will always have an area like this. We added our manger scenes and have a few more details left to add. Here's to more Christmas decorating!
There have been two families on my heart right now.
Please pray for the Arnette family. Their sweet girl, Ansley, went to heaven the day before Thanksgiving. She fought a rare form of cancer for over a year before passing at home. I am close to her aunt and besides grieving the loss of her niece, she is also in need of prayers. Ansley's aunt is extremely giving, motivated, and kind and I know she has been trying hard to help her brother and his family during this time. She is currently having some tests of her own and also needs our prayers. Please pray specifically for her to find time for rest, for peace that whatever happens will be for God's glory, and that she finds joy in the holidays.
Ansley was a dancer and they had created a foundation called Ansley's angels. At the funeral, everyone was given an angel ornament with a card showing Ansley's picture and a quote: "Dance like no one is watching; Sing like no one is listening; Love like you've never been hurt; Live as if it's heaven on earth."
The other family on my heart is the Green family. Katie is pregnant with her third child and has been told her baby has a diagnosis of Trisomy 13. They have a specific prayer on their blog:
God, give us more hours of joy than pain. Allow us to turn the corner of sorrow, to celebration. Cause us to see her as a gift. And allow us to cherish every moment she’s with us. Change our hearts.
Please pray for their family as Katie nears her delivery.
This is Hill. We like to take pictures together, but not in typical fashion. She loves the photobooth on a Mac. I thought I would share some of my favorites. She's still beautiful even through all the crazy effects, but I'd have to say I've seen better days. Enjoy!
Solo shot
Baylor got in on the action last time, but it was not as fun for him.
This year we celebrated Halloween with dinner and candy. We experienced our first year of trick-or-treat with the neighborhood children. We saw people from Star Trek, Minnie Mouse, vampires, and many other costumes.
Sorry not to excite you with our creative costumes...
or our overly decorated home, but we'll be better prepared for next year.
Before Carrie and Kyle had children, I had the Mahaffeys. My dad's sister Joan and her husband Ross have always been like grandparents to me and my siblings. They have a son, Jeff, who married Julie and started a family in the early 90s. I was nine when Will was born. We recently celebrated his Senior Night at Grayson High School. We are so proud of him and excited to see how he changes the world with his charisma and charm all while being modest, cool and collected- of course :)
Here's to you, Will. You still have a few more months before graduation, but savor all these moments. High school is awesome, but then again college was better and now married life is pretty amazing, too. Hoping it only gets better! Thought you might enjoy a little snapshot of our lives together. I love you. I will never be too far and even though I may be an old married lady now, I will always listen and will ALWAYS be cooler.
Love,
Your favorite cousin- no contest
The world was changed- he's here!
You're rocking a cool onsie, but Mom wins most fashionable in her windsuit.
Fun times at the cabin.
I needed help blowing out all those candles :)
Watching Kyle play ball in Tennessee, but I cheer for Team Tigger, too.
Mark Martin has always been cool. So has Pippy Longstocking.
Showing me some love before singing at the Braves game.
More love at the wedding. My cup overflows.
But shave your chin, boy.
Summer ball with Grayson
Senior Night at Grayson vs. Brookwood Grayson 14 Brookwood 7
Each senior got their program photo made into a poster and hung around the field
MaryBeth, Julie and Sarah before the game started
The proud and oh-so fashionable parents
Here is Will and Jeff and Julie being introduced.
(When they started the introductions it started pouring. My camera is not super high-tech so the pictures didn't come out great.)
Mom and Sarah
Me and MaryBeth
Dad holding G-man who is almost 7!
Dan and I at halftime.
Some of you may have heard, but the rivalry between Grayson and Brookwood was so big this year that instead of a pep rally, the school each made a rap video. I am posting Grayson's because theirs was the best and because they won. It was neat seeing the run through sign before the game, too. As a previous cheerleader, I know how long it takes to make and how it can really pump up the team. Here's their sign to get Grayson fired up before the game. Pretty cool...
