Pre-Christmas Cheer

A few Saturdays ago we had breakfast with Santa. Their Gram managed to bring Santa all the way to Rock Hill, SC just to have breakfast w/ the kiddos. WOW--how special! Gracie was especially smitten w/ Santa--she always has loved the men. Help us in 10 years! Everyone got to share their Christmas wishes with Santa and many photos were taken of this special morning.

This is also the place that hosts tea parties so Gracie made her way into the dress up clothes!

And then this past Saturday we went to Lucy and Burns' house to make a gingerbread house. Cade is focusing very hard!

Gracie has never been my risk taker. She looks around at what everyone else is doing as if she can 'mess up' the house. Finally she got rolling.

And Halle was the oldest gingerbread particpant there. She had quite a masterpiece. I must admit it was very strange to be at a 'messy' party and really not have to get that messy. It seems like just yesterday when I was toting around the diaper bag, juggling a sippy cup, or bottle, and trying to manage meltdowns when we would venture out in public. Not to say that it is still easy to always travel w/ all 3 but it is certainly more manageable than it was a few years ago. Although it is always nice to stay clean while in public I do miss having a little ones to hold and snuggle with. I'm afraid now I'll have to use my friends' little ones, or maybe get a puppy.

Thanks for a great time Lucy!

One Terrific Kid

As if I didn't already know....Halle is one Terrific Kid! She was her classroom's Terrific Kid for the month of November. Her teacher had wonderful things to say about her. She is of course bright, kind, and just 'a ray of sunshine' as her teacher put it. I know she gets all of these attributes from me...ha! And of course Gracie got to enjoy some of the donuts after the celebration.

Busy with Choir

We have been very busy wrapping up choir for this fall semester and Gracie and Cade ended with a spectacular performance right before Thanksgiving. They made these t-shirts using their handprints in the shape of a cross and they were so cute! They both love going to choir and this year I helped in Cade's class. He got a kick out of that and always wanted to be the line leader. I will have to admit having me in his class did work to his advantage in the 'line leader' department. Oh well.....life has its perks, right? Cade gets very into his music and aims to please. He is such a hoot. One day I'm sure these pictures and the videos will come back to haunt him.....but he will always be my sweet little man! And who will forget Gracie's shout out to her daddy. When asked who she was thankful for during the performance she said 'my daddy.' Sweet.....and she is a daddy's girl. And of course that worked to her advantage when we got home later that night too!

And unfortunately no pictures of Halle's performance b/c I forgot my camera.....oops. I'm hoping a friend passes them along this week. Stay tuned.

Halle finished up with choir this weekend where she sang at church both Saturday and Sunday night. They worked so hard and sounded spectacular. They've rehearsed all semester but then met last Wed at 7:00 for a run thru, then had to be at the church Sat. and Sun. at 5:00 to prepare for the 6:00 show. It is so much fun and special to hear their sweet voices singing.
Sometimes it is hard to get there on Sunday evenings but I love that the kids love to go and want to go. I think it is so important that they feel connected to their church at a young age and they definitely do!

Needless to say we have been busy people...so busy in fact I managed to forget our dear friend Burns' bday party this weekend...sorry Lucy and Burns. You know we love you! No mother of the year award this weekend! I need to recolor and and cross check my calendar again!

Have a great week! It is such a special time of the year and I am so thankful for wonderful family and friends.

Random

It is hard to believe my baby boy used to tot around in pinks dresses and purple clunky shoes trying to keep up with his sisters. I had no idea how that would turn out, but it is safe to say that those days are long gone and they did not taint his 'inner boy' at all! My little man is all about a football. He crashes into the couches, his sisters, and his daddy and loves every minute of it. He is super quick and I'm not sure he'll ever play football, nor am I sure I really want him to, BUT he is really loving it now. He watched almost the entire Gamecock game last weekend and about drove me crazy w/ all his questions......BUT he was very concerned about the score! Sweet dreams my angel!

Cade's gingerbread house that he made at school. I'm not sure I ever had a child that really wanted to eat it, but he did. He came home and picked off some candy and then threw it in the trashcan. I scooped it out so we can view it for this holiday season!

And Gracie came home with a little festive project of her own. She had to decorate a gingerbread man and then take it back to school to explain to her class. Her name was Gingerbread Stephanie....I have no clue why! Halle and I both helped and she turned out pretty cute. Gracie did most of it herself with the help of big sis Halle who is always leading the pack w/ the directions and procedures! And yes it appears that she is topless, but it was bedtime so we had to 'wrap it up.'

Ahhhhh! My favorite meal of the day....bedtime snack! Need I say more!

Emma Grace Wilson

Gracie entered the world shortly after 4 am on Nov. 23, 2003. After sitting at home all night w/ labor pains I practically had her in the kitchen. When we arrived at the hospital we were there less than 30 minutes before she entered this world. We were waiting on the doctor to arrive....yikes! She is such a sweet blessing to our family. We are so thankful for her kind heart and her spirit. I pray she continues to grow up healthy and happy. I am sure she will accomplish many great things. It is such a pleasure to be her mommy!

Birthday Weekend

What do you do when you have children with a November, December, and January birthday? You have them all at once!! And that's what we did. We went to Cherokee Farms and rode horses and the cow train.....that was fun!

Take Me Back to the Beach!!

I miss the days when the most important things were 'will I catch a wave today,' 'do we have on enough sunscreen,' and 'will I take a nap.' Busy, busy, busy is what we are. School, gymnastics, soccer, homework, raking, raking, raking leaves! And soon...Christmas shopping. Guess the beach will have to wait!

Halloween 2009

This year the kids had a little Halloween party at Gram's house on Friday night and the kids wore their costumes and played games. Then Saturday we went back over and trick or treated in between rain showers! It turned out to be great....a little wet but at least it wasn't freezing cold. Now we are sorting, organizing, and trading candy each afternoon. Fortunately mom has a little stash herself that the kids can't reach. Who says motherhood has no perks! Ha. Poor Cade wants to eat his candy every morning for breakfast. I can only imagine how long we will be looking at these orange bowls of candy.

The pre-trick-or-treating pose!

VERY Scary!

Gracie and her horse "Steady."

Ouch. Wished I could still do that!



Halloween at Gram and Grandaddy's