Sleeping

As I was kissing everyone goodnight, I noticed they all are sleeping in some sort of crazy way tonight.  Reed is surrounded by pillows and 25 stuffed animals.

Ridley is wiped out on the sofa after enjoying her Nabi.  She even lost her wolf ears.

I found Ryland upstairs in his pillow fort behind the chair in the gameroom.  I don't see how this is comfortable, but he is out.

Christmas Fun Continues

We are enjoying our family time together and playing with every new toy.  Today, we are making homemade cotton candy.  It was pretty interesting to learn how cotton candy is made and watch the hard candy turn into thin strings.  It was very easy to find a few cute taste testers.

The bickering brothers discovered a new "punishment" today.  Hug it out timeout!  Ha!

Ridley wore herself out playing with all her new dolls.  Tonight she chose to sleep with Elena.  Such a sweet cuddler.

Merry Christmas

The kids woke up excited to check out their new stuff.  They were so happy to see new toys and clothes.  Ridley's favorite item was her doll house.  Ryland's favorite item was his new bike, and Reed's favorite item was the foosball table.  

We were lazy all day and just played around the house.  We had birthday cake and sang happy birthday to Jesus, since He is the reason for the season.

Christmas Eve

We enjoyed an amazing Christmas Eve service at White's Chapel.  The message of joy, love, and peace spoke to our hearts, and the children really liked the parachute candy and the snow machines at the end of service.

Before we could go to bed, we sprinkled the reindeer food across the front yard.  Hopefully they like glitter and oatmeal.  

Santa knew just what to bring the kiddos.  Bikes, dollhouse, foosball table, Shopkins, and lots of Under Armour!

Santa

Perfection!

Pallet Party

While John Chris and Ryland are away at the camp, I had fun with the little ones.  We made a big pallet with lots of stuffed animals.  I love watching Ridley and Reed together.  They are such great buddies.  

Goodnight my loves.

Hot Chocolate

Tom is full of fun this year.  Today he brought delicious Starbucks Hot Chocolate and lots of mini marshmallows.

Roller Skating

This was not her finest hour.  Ridley is NOT a fan of roller skating, and she immediately wanted the roller skates off.  She didn't make it one lap before melting down.  We will have to try again another day.

Ridley's First Dance Recital

This was a dream come true.  I have wanted to share this experience with my little girl, and I was so proud of her.  She did a great job smiling and dancing at her recital.  She is a precious little snow angel.

We gave her a ballerina music box with a charm necklace, and she was so proud.  This was truly a special day.

Christmas Parties

We packed in the fun this morning with two Christmas parties at Old Union.  Both boys had a blast playing with their classmates and showing off.  Now we are ready to spend the next two weeks relaxing!

Emojis

Tom brought some emoji ornaments for the kids, and they had a ball with them.  They talked about which one belongs to each of them and who was the poop head.  That Tom is a silly dude.

CHCS Christmas Party

Ridley had a sweet little Christmas breakfast party with her friends at school.  She is getting so big, and I enjoy seeing her personality come out.  She is a stinker!

Christmas Magic

There are not enough hours and days to complete all the fun and festive details I want to finish.  I am having such a wonderful and joyful Christmas season.  Making magic!

Six Flags

It was warm today, so we made a quick trip to Six Flags with the Nesters.  It is awesome with short lines and so few people.  Everyone had a blast!

Redneck

There is something about a dead animal head in my front flower bed that makes me realize how country we can be.  My goodness, the poor neighbors.

Kinder Gingerbread House Decorating

Lots of fun at the annual Kinder Gingerbread decorating party.  Ridley was thrilled to join Reed and have some fun.  I think there was more icing licking than actual decorating, but we had fun doing it.

Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree is up and decorated.  The kiddos had fun helping with the ornaments and reminiscing with each ornament.  This is such a special time for our family, and our house if full of joy.

Many Moods of Ridley

Our photographer posted a sneak peak on her website of our very own drama princess.  I absolutely love this, because it captures Ridley's moods and expressions perfectly.  LOVE!

Toilet Paper Tom

Tom, our Elf, was a little mischievous tonight.  He toilet papered our master bathroom with HOHOHO paper.  The children loved it!

Inflatables

Everyone knows that I am not a fan of inflatables.  I guess our elf, Tom, missed the memo, because he brought three inflatables back from the North Pole.  What was he thinking?  That crazy elf!

Kinder Party

Old Union PTO hosted a Kinder only Christmas party.  The students were invited to wear their pajamas to watch The Polar Express and make Christmas crafts.  Reed had a blast, and all the children were thrilled when Santa showed up.  Love our school!

Mantel Decorating

I am having so much fun decorating this year.  I added some red glitter stars to our usual mantel decorations, and it looks so festive. Christmastime is here!

Tom is here!

Our elf is back and not a minute too late.  Tom made his appearance today with Christmas pjs and yummy sugar cookies.  Can't wait to see how excited the kids are!

Christmas Festival

Another awesome Christmas festival at WCUMC.  We had so much fun, and we didn't have a chance to take pictures until we were leaving.  We are so blessed to have such a wonderful church.

Thanksgiving in Bossier

Our next visit was in Bossier with Lizee & Pops.  We stayed with Aunt Emily & Uncle Jeffery, so we were able to visit and play with Ellison.  The children loved playing games with Lizee while Pops rests.

Pops and his grand girls

Texarkana Thanksgiving

We are making the rounds for Thanksgiving fun.  Our first stop was Texarkana to see Nana and Papaw.  We also got to visit with our nieces and nephews, and I just love watching the kids play together.

Crazy at IHOP

To kick off the Thanksgiving break, we had two Owens boys spend the night.  They wanted pancakes and bacon for breakfast, so I treated them all to IHOP.  It was a bit out of control, and I got a couple of "holy cow, 5 kids" looks.  Lots of laughs and making memories!

DYF Trophy

Reed was pretty excited to get his massive football trophy tonight.  It was half his height!  Way to go, Reed, on an excellent season.  You learned so much and always had a smile on your face.  Congrats on your first year of football!

Chi Omega Market Shopping

When you go shopping with the girls, and you need a bigger vehicle to get you all home.  It was a tighter ride on the return, because we found so much good stuff at the Chi Omega market.  So excited to go home and decorate for Christmas!

CHCS Thanksgiving Feast

Ridley's class had a Thanksgiving celebration with pasta necklaces and feather decorated headbands.  This sweet age is precious.

Volunteering

Old Union held a staff luncheon today to show appreciation for our one of a kind awesome team.  Parents volunteered to lead the classrooms for one hour, so the staff could all eat together.  I volunteered for Reed's class with my friend, Kristi.  About 10 minutes in, we knew we were in over our heads.  These kids are crazy!  I immediately started counting down the minutes, and she blocked the door.  It seems like school is much more "fluid" than it was year ago.  Kids just get up and leave the class for water, bathroom, etc.  Without asking! 

After an hour, we were exhausted and begging Ms. Hill to magically reappear, as we stared down the hall.  Note to self, never again volunteer for a teacher's place.  Never again.

The students proudly displayed their turkey feathers on the classroom door.  Every parent made a feather that included what makes their child special.  This is a very heart felt homework assignment that John Chris and I enjoy working on.

Viewing Day

In order to keep the little ballerinas engaged in class, the viewing windows have curtains.  Every few weeks the studio will have an open curtain viewing day, so parents can watch their little ones dance.  Ridley did great, and she was very focused.  She loves to dance, and me watching didn't phase her one bit.