Highlights of 2015

I can remember perfectly our last New Years Eve. Cheney was in a sweet little tutu outfit & the boys thought they were big stuff because I let them drink sparkling grape juice. How has a whole year already gone by?? 2015 sure was good to us. Here are some of the highlights from our year:

 

 

Watching this baby grow from a sweet little baby into a spunky toddler has been so fun. Especially since she is our last baby. I definitely savored it a little more this time around. Cheney developed quite a big personality over the last year!

In February we decided to put our first home on the market in hopes that we could move to Brentwood and find a much bigger yard for the kids. It was the longest process & nothing about it was easy, but we found a great house in the neighborhood we love on a little over an acre. It is a work in progress but we LOVE our yard and our neighborhood. We also have friends that live a couple streets over which is fun. This will be the house our kids grow up in & I can't wait to make years & years worth of memories here!

I declared the winter of 2015 as the COLDEST WINTER EVER. We had so much snow and ice. It wasn't always fun being stuck in our house with 3 kids, but the boys thought sledding was so fun.  We are prepared this year & have snowsuits for all the kids and we even bought 2 sleds. It better snow!!

Our family vacation is always a highlight of the year! This year we went to Gulf Shores with my parents and had so much fun. I love escaping for a week. Griffin loved digging in the sand, Grayson became a little fish in the pool, & Cheney was obsessed with the beach!

 

Grayson played 2 seasons of baseball & just started his first season of basketball a few weeks ago! This boy is so athletic and it is really fun watching him play.  This picture is from him birthday when he got the game ball!

 

One of the biggest changes of our year was that I went back to work part-time for the first time in 4 years! Teaching the 3 year old preschool class has been such a fun change. I have the best co-teacher who has become a great friend and a precious group of kids! It feels great to contribute a little to our family, use that part of my brain again, and still have a few days at home during the week with my kids.  Honestly, I was feeling pretty burned out from being a full-time stay at home mama. I definitely appreciate my 3 days at home more now!

This year went by SO FAST. We had some hard moments but we had lots of really great moments too. I can't wait to see what 2016 holds for us!

 



December fun

We have had a fun December full of Christmas activities! I feel like this is the first year where I didn't try to cram in every little Christmas activity. We didn't get around to doing some things, and I am totally okay with that. I am learning that quality is really better than quantity!

We are at such fun ages this year. I know that Cheney was here last Christmas, but I really feel like this her first REAL Christmas. She is obsessed with the big Christmas tree this year. The first week it was up she would walk into the foyer, her eyes would get big, and she would yell "WHOA!" I love experiencing everything through their eyes...it is so magical!



We have the best library right in our neighborhood. It's beautiful and always has fun activities going on! Earlier in the month they had a magician there performing & we got to see Santa! Cheney is very unsure about new men in general, but the guy with a big fluffy beard really bothered her! I love a good crying Santa picture!

I have waited 5 years for this...but I am happy to say that I finally have kids that love to do crafty things!! Our big kitchen windows are full of cute Christmas things made by the boys. I love it!

 

One of my favorite things about Christmas is matching Christmas jammies! Luckily, G still thinks it is cool to match his little brother and sister. I am sure that will end soon, so I had to live it up this year!

We have had some crazy weather this month. Thunderstorms and tornadoes last night...yikes! It has been so warm outside and we have loved being able to play in the cul-de-sac.

 Our afternoons consist of picking up sticks, riding scooters, playing hide and seek outside, and exploring the backyard. I am a big fan of a warmer December!

This year our preschool did something new! One Sunday afternoon we had a Journey to Bethlehem. We had different rooms that the preschoolers got to walk through & they learned all about the birth of Jesus. It was so fun! I love that our preschool is so focused on the Lord...our kids get to hear about Jesus all day! The boys are still singing the songs from that day. They enjoyed it!

 

I also got to spend time with Grayson at his Gingerbread Party at school! He ended up covered in icing and sneaking lots of marshmallows and candy!

I love making Christmas memories with these kids. When you are little, being a kid on Christmas is THE BEST.  It's so much more fun though as a mama. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!

 

our halls are decked!

I was pretty excited to decorate for Christmas this year since I had a new house to decorate! I was so excited that I may have started 2 weeks before Thanksgiving. OH WELL. I am a firm believer in keeping my pumpkins on my porch until Thanksgiving but having Christmas trees on the inside! 

 

Merry Christmas from the new May house!

 

 

Different house, same situation. I still hate having a tv over the mantle. BOOHOO. I do love having all of our old Christmas cards on the mantle though!

 

 

This tree is Ben's dream come true. He has always wanted a spot for a HUGE Christmas tree and now he has a 2 story foyer! This 12 foot (!!!) tree is our newest addition. I love it and surprisingly had enough ornaments to fill it up!

 

I can't wait to make so many memories with our kids in this home. I just love it so much. Merry Christmas, y'all!

 

 

 



Halloween (a couple months late...oops)

Pretty much all year long our boys talk about what they are going to be for Halloween. This was our first year to trick or treat in the new neighborhood & we were pretty excited. It's definitely different! Our new neighborhood has really big lots, no sidewalks, & isn't as well lit. BUT, some of our best friends live here and we were excited to have buddies to trick or treat with!

This year our crew was Iron Man, Hulk, & a sweet ladybug.

 

 

 

We now live within walking distance of one of my high school best friends and it is so fun! Our kids get along so well & they were excited to trick or treat together.

We started off at their house and did walked a LOT further than I thought we would. I was impressed by this 5 & under crowd! I guess when candy is involved, they will do just about anything!

I love these girls! So happy they will grow up together!


We ended the night with a few pieces of candy, books, & Halloween jammies. Love these kids so much!



real life

My poor blog has pretty much been abandoned. (Hi Granddaddy! I'm posting!!) I do plan on playing catch up soon.

 

We spent Thanksgiving in Atlanta with my family. I tried to take a picture of all three kids outside before our big lunch & I figured I would share what it is REALLY like to capture 3 smiling kids at once. For every cute picture I get, I get about 37 funny ones. Sometimes the outtakes are my favorite because they resemble real life so much!

 

 

Can you tell who the family comedian is?