Fall Stroll!

Several weeks ago, we took the cousins on a fall stroll/scavenger hunt while the boys were out of school.

Eleonora is a jokester too...wonder where she gets it!? :)

We had a wonderful fall and lots of fun at our Thanksgiving festivities!  Now on to Christmas!  We got down our Christmas decorations and bought our tree yesterday.  It's not decorated yet, but it smells SO good!  I'm so excited about Christmas with my girls...Anna Kate's first and Lydia's fourth!  

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for my family!  I'm also thankful that both sides of our family are nearby, so we get to celebrate with (almost) everyone three days in a row!  So thankful my girls get to be a part of two wonderful families!

10 Months!

Anna Kate is ten months old!

She has been puny since Saturday night, but she seems to be on the mend, just in time for all our Thanksgiving festivities coming up!

Her eyes were a little puffy when I took these yesterday, but she's still pretty cute, in my humble opinion.  :)

Here we have her looking off to the left, so you can compare her to...

ten month old Lydia!   Still can't believe how different they look!

I'm so glad they have each other!  Sisters are the greatest gifts!

Dancing Cousins!

Someone passed on some dance costumes to Jessica recently, which led to this:

My girls!

Glamorous Eleonora!

Anna Kate can pull up on just about anything these days and is starting to cruise around while holding on to things...she is on the move and wearing me out!  At least she is cute doing it! 

Not sure what they were all lookin at.  Ha!  We had a little dance party before the photo session.  These girls were loving being dressed up!  Maybe they will be real live little ballerinas in a few years...or at least get some ballet lessons from my mom.  She's a pro! :)

Lydia's Outline!

I'm running out of pictures to share with you, so today you get to enjoy this lovely one.

Lydia made it at Sunday School, and I hung it on the back of her door.  Then I had to take a picture so I didn't feel so bad about ripping it down.  Ha.  I let her color on it first.  :)

A little fun fact for you, when I was in fourth grade, my best friend Iris and I found some rocks that would write on the pavement.  So we started up a little business.  We traced people laying on the pavement for 5 cents an outline.  A few kids actually paid us to do it.  I was the treasurer.  We were saving up for a box of chalk...don't think we ever got one.  Bet I kept those nickels.  Maybe I used them to pay for my Spanish lessons.  Iris charged me a nickel for each Spanish lesson she would write up and teach me.  Ha!  Good times in 4th grade!

Christmas!

I've got our first four Christmas presents wrapped!  Oh yeah!  Trying to get ahead of things a little bit this year.  I love ordering things online.  So fun!

Anna & Buzz!

Happy Birthday, Joel!

Today Joel turns the big 3-0!

I am so thankful to have him as my husband!

He is kind, devoted, humble, patient, and loving.

I couldn't have asked for a better partner and friend!

He works so hard every day to take care of his family.

He also works hard to keep our house and yard looking beautiful!

So glad my girls have him as their Daddy!

Most importantly, he is wholeheartedly devoted to his Savior, which is what truly makes him such an incredible man!

I better stop.  I'm getting all choked up!

I sure do love my Joel-y!  

He's the best of the best!

Happy 30th Birthday, Joel!

If you're wondering why there are no pictures of us together, that would be because this is the only one I have since January of just the two of us.  Ha!  We were about to ride The TN Tornado roller coaster. :)

Cooking with Lydia!

Lydia loves to help out in the kitchen!

She's quite the little chef.  :)

Virginia Creeper Trail!

Here are the girls all bundled up at the top.  

We stopped by a Christmas tree farm on the way down.

There wasn't much fall color, but I did spot this small patch.  

We had a little playground fun near the top.

Momma bought me a lovely pea green hat to keep my ears warm.

And then I didn't take any more pictures.  Sad!  My fingers must have been too frozen.

We were pretty chilly, but we had a great time!