"Wii" Are Addicted..

One of Mark's Christmas presents was a Wii. That thing is so addicting! We have played everyday since he has gotten it. Emma loves it! She likes the bowling game and might I add that she is pretty darn good. My mother-in-law loved it. Mark's hillarous. Today I went out and bought the Mario Kart game. I came home popped in the game and had the best time playing all my myself. I haven't played video games in years, so this is liking getting accquantied with an old friend again.

On a different note, I registered for school yesterday. I felt like a little kid on the first day of kindergarden. My stomach was in knots. I have not been in school since Emma was 1 so I am a little nervous. It will be fine. I just have to get used to the school routine all over again.

Here are a few pictures of Mark and Emma playing the Wii. Don't they look like they are having a blast!

Christmas Morning 2008

Christmas this year was a BLAST! It had some very interesting moments but worth every minute. On Christmas Eve my mother-in- law and brother-in-law arrived to spend Christmas with Emma. Note, I said Emma because there is some unwritten rule that when you have children you are no longer important. I wonder why that is? Oh well so back to Christmas. I rose extra early to make sure "Santa" had eaten at least one cookie and had taken the "reindeer food" that Emma had so carefully left for him. He had indeed done what was expected of him, but along with that a mess for me to clean up. Gotta love Santa! When Emma woke up, she rubbed her sleepy eyes and squealed with excitement. "Santa" left the only 2 things she had asked for: a vacuum cleaner and a Barbie bike. She was so excited. That little girl had so many presents under the tree that her Uncle Chris got tired of handing them to her. She loved it. There is something about seeing your child on Christmas morning that makes everything in the world seem right. I loved it! Here are some of the few pictures we got on that morning. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas with the ones you love!

City of Lights

Mark and I decided to take Emma down to Natchitoches to see the lights. The city is famous for all the decoration that go up every year. I have gone a few times before Emma was born but this was her first time. We drove down on that Saturday afternoon, did a little shopping at all the shops on Main Street. The shops were fantastic. After a few hours of walking and shopping we started the search for the perfect spot to see the fireworks. Once we found "the spot" we settled in for the wait. The fireworks were amazing. They lasted for about 45 mins. It was the most amazing fireworks display that Mark or I have ever seen. The only bad thing was that is was so cold. I am talking bone chilling cold. We are all bundled up but we were still freezing. Ohh well, it's the price we pay for our children's delight!

Here Comes Santa Claus...

Today Emma and I decided to brave the crowds at the mall to see good ole' Santa Claus. This is the first year that Emma has not screamed her head off at the sight of him. We stand in line for what seems like forever with every other child in town just to get a picture with the old guy. Emma could not have been more excited. She went up to him like a big girl, told him what she wanted, and then smiled for all the pictures I wanted her to take. I must say I am very proud of her. After she was done I asked her what Santa said when she told him what she wanted. She looked at me and said "Santa would do his best, but mom if he doesn't it then we will just have to go to the store and buy it ourselves." You gotta love the mind of a child!

So many things to be Thankful For..

Every year for Thanksgiving we have friends and family over for dinner. We started off the morning by getting some cooking done before we headed to do Thanksgiving with Mark's family in Arkansas. That was fun driving an hour away and only staying an hour then driving back home. So when we got home we kicked it into full gear and finished all the cooking. Mark fried a turkey and I did the fixings. Except for the dressing. That is the one thing that I would rather leave to someone else. Our friend Mark Fuller cooked this for us. It was so good!
We had a house full that night. Our friends Mark and Tracy Fuller and their little boy Luke, my mom, sister and niece, and our friend Ryan all came to eat. I think I cooked enough food for an army but you know I would rather have more than enough than not enough.

As I was sitting there with all our friends and family here with us I thought back to our first Thanksgiving without all our family around. It was when we were in California. I think that was the first Thanksgiving ever that I did not go to my grandparents to eat. But we had some good friends of ours out there with us, Paige and Russ and my mother-in-law, JoAnn, also flew out that morning to be with us. Between Paige and I we cooked our first Thanksgiving meal. It was so good. We had so much food left over but dear lord was it good! I was proud of us. We did a great job.

This year I sat there looking around and began thinking how lucky we were. Mark and I have a wonderful little girl, who is growing up so fast. We have wonderful friends, who are more like family, and we also have a wonderful family. Our friends Mark and Tracy just had twin girls that were 10 weeks early, who are striving in the NICU. They should be ready to come home any day.

I thank God everyday for my family,friends, and the many blessings he had bestowed upon us. Happy Holidays!

Little Miss Sassy Pants...

Everyday Emma is learning more and more. When she gets home from school she gets so excited telling us all about her letters,songs,etc that she has learned that day. I listen to her tell me all about who gets in trouble, whose clip got moved, and what her teacher said to them. Em is such a little mommy. She "mommies" Allyson all the time. It's so funny to watch them together.

Ok so on to the sassiness. A couple of weekends ago Emma and I along with my grandparents headed to Birimingham,AL to meet my dad,stepmom,and little sister for the weekend to do some Christmas shopping. On the way there a VERY slow driver got in front and would not move. I think this person enjoyed making my blood boil. While I was discussing this with my PawPaw,Emma says "Mom don't freak out, just chill." I could not believe it. I was sure I heard her wrong but obvisouly not she repeated it again. I laughed so hard. Where in the world so they learn these things. Also one of her newest things is when you ask her something she looks and you and says "Are you serious?" The first time I heard this I thought I was hearing things. It amazes me that all of a sudden my sweet little child has gotten to be so sassy. For instance a couple of weeks ago Emma and I were headed to do some shopping while Mark watched a ball game on TV. Emma asked Mark if she could buy a toy while we were out. He said "baby daddy doen't have any cash on him" and with that said Em looked at her daddy and said "but daddy you have a credit card!" I thought her daddy was going to fall out of his chair laughing.

If she is doing this now, OHH to think what her TEENAGE years are going to be like. Lord Help Us!!

Trick or Treat...

Our Halloween night was filled with all kinds of fun. First, let me start by telling you Emma was a fairy. One lady called her a butterfly because she had wings and with all her 4 y/o sassiness she said " I am not a butterfly, I am a fairy." It was so funny. OK so enough about that....We start off our Halloween adventure every year with visiting grandparents before we head out to trick or treat. It never fails, Emma gets more candy from them then anyone else. She had a 1/2 of a bag candy before the night even began. SO after we got done with all the visiting we headed to my friend Jackie's house to trick or treat with her,Gracie, Wesley, and Wes. Emma and Gracie were so cute. They got all excited when it came time to run to the door and ring the door bell.


After we left Jackie's we met up with my sister and my niece Allyson for a little more fun. Allyson was dressed up as a nerd. I have to say I think she's the cutest nerd ever! My mom and sister did a great job on her costume. The girls were so excited to see each other. Over all our Halloween was a blast. Emma had a blast and now we have way to much candy in our house.


This year is also the first time since Emma was born that my mom and I have not made her costume. We actually bought one. Let me tell you it was so much easier. She picked it out all by herself and she was so proud. And by the way I think she did a GREAT JOB! I also think that she was by far the cutest fairy ever!! I may be a little bias on that one!!