Dee's Visit

Andrew has been gone quite a bit lately for work.  He recently had back-to-back trips to the Middle East and my Mother, M&M call her Dee, came to stay and help out.  What a luxury to have family so close.  Michael and Mary Ellen love Dee and always have fun when she visits.  These first pictures are from one of the walks they would take in the afternoon.  M&M love to walk the path and find treasures like flowers, rocks, leaves and really anything that looks interesting.

M&M are showing off the empty shot gun shells they found.  Mary Ellen used hers as a little vase to hold her flowers.

These fireplace shots were usually either before church or before we went out shopping in Columbia.  Those days that we actually got dressed cute and went to town!

Now the favorite new toys are these big wheels that Dee bought for them.  Michael started calling them "motorcycles" from the very beginning. We had the motorcycles inside for several weeks and this was the first day they officially became "outside" toys. They can't quite reach the pedals yet, but love to scoot around in them or have us push them. Mary Ellen immediately claimed the purple and red one. They love them!


Thanks for all your help Mom...we love and miss you!

Valentine's Day & Chick-Fil-A

The beginning of February, Andrew had to go to Atlanta for a work conference and I was able to go with him. It was at the Westin by the airport and even though he was in meetings during the day it was a nice break for me. I was able to meet up with one of my oldest and dearest friends, sleep late in those wonderful Westin beds, and generally just lounge around. What a luxury! We were also able to go to the site of the first ever Chick-fil-A.  Those of you that know Andrew know his LOVE of Chick-fil-A. So it was a definite must see! The original restaurant was called the "Dwarf House". You can see in the pictures that it has been added on to substantially. It really is just another Chick-fil-A now but a busy one. It is somewhat of a tourist attraction and has a city policeman that sits out front most of the day to direct traffic in and out of it. What a fun couple of days to spend with my sweet husband. We LOVE our kids, but boy do we still enjoy being together just the two of us!

Andrew actually left for the Middle East on Feb 14th but the Saturday before we were able to go out to dinner.  We've had so much help from our parents since Andrew has been gone so much with work.  It was nice to have a little break before he left again for another work trip.  Michael and Mary Ellen enjoyed making cards for Daddy and loved the hearts we hung on the fireplace.  It was a happy weekend!  M&M were so happy to see Papa and then Dee, they barely had time to be sad that Daddy was gone again.  Thanks so much for all the help Papa, Mama Jo, and Dee!

M & M Toss

During one of the snow days, we spent lots of time inside trying to keep Michael and Mary Ellen entertained.  One of their favorite things is to get Andrew to toss them or spin them.  With our high ceilings they can really get some height in the tossing now.  They love it so much!  They keep asking, "Again Daddy, again!", until Andrew is exhausted.  This time I caught some good pictures.

Mary Ellen looks like the perfect gymnast...great form! Although she was really scared if she got too high. Michael couldn't get high enough and well, the look on his face is explanation enough!

Snow!

We have been waiting for our obligatory one snow-fall-per-year that we get here in Sumter. I was beginning to think we may not get it at all this year. But to our surprise Friday we got it! And my how it was beautiful! Perfect cold day and the small flakes began to fall in the afternoon about 3 o'clock.

We bundled up and raced outside to watch. This was the first snow Michael and Mary Ellen had ever seen. Although they do "know" what snow is. They were trying to catch the snowflakes on their tongues in the pictures above.
After a couple of hours, right before sunset, it really started coming down. We accumulated about 4 inches total of perfect white fluffy snow.

Papa (Andrew's Dad) was in visiting for the weekend so we all went outside again before dark to play. It was really sticking on the ground at this point and M&M loved running around and hearing it squeak under their feet.

Here we all are in the middle of a pretty hard downfall of big snowflakes (as you can see in the picture). Being a Florida girl, snow truly fascinates me. Like how you can be in the middle of a "downpour" of snow and how it's so completely quiet. Peaceful! Beautiful!

This is a shot of our back yard and our pond beyond while it was still coming down pretty heavy.

The two shots above were the next morning. The first is the street on the corner outside our house and the last is, of course, our house. The next day, Saturday, was a perfect cold sunny day. The snow started melting pretty fast, but I wanted one good remembrance of our first snow in this house. Only a few remnants of snow are left this Sunday afternoon as I write this. Glad we got just a little this year. Sorry for those of you who are still in it :-)  Gotta love the South!

Family New Year

On New Year's Day, Andrew's sister's family came to visit.  The kids had fun playing in the bonus room with all the new Christmas toys. 

Michael and Mary Ellen showed their cousins the new train track and play kitchen.

Brygs was helping Michael open his new puzzle from Aunt Amy and Uncle Jamie.  Then we all had a nice lunch and enjoyed each others company while the kids played. 

Brygs and Mary Ellen entertained us with their dancing skills after lunch, which consisted mainly of lots of jumping up and down.  They were so cute holding hands.  Fun way to start 2010!

Crazy Christmas

Well, this is a snapshot of what Christmas week looked like in our house.  We were actually in the house the first week in December, but our household goods didn't arrive until December 23rd.  So, this can go down officially as the craziest Christmas thus far.  Andrew and I were just happy to actually sleep in a regular bed after sleeping on a mattress on the floor for 2 weeks.

These are a few pictures of Christmas Eve. M&M were still super thrilled about Christmas. Funny, how the boxes and chaos didn't seem to bother them. They just go with the flow and love all the new and exciting experiences. Man, can I learn a lot from that attitude.

Papa and Mama Jo (Andrew's parents) were down to help and M&M loved having them here.  Andrew was able to read the Christmas story this year and they actually listened and sat through the whole thing.  They are still at the age where they don't expect a pile of presents Christmas morning.  So we agreed to get them one big gift and only one other smaller one.  It was perfect!  They've gotten so much since then from other family and friends I'm glad we didn't kill ourselves getting a bunch of "stuff".  We got Mary Ellen her pink and white play kitchen with a big selection of plastic food.  Michael got a wooden Thomas the train track with 2 engines and a big play fire truck.  It was all a hit!  Now that we have the bonus room as their play room, they have plenty of space to play, play, play!

Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas. We thank God for the immeasurable blessings he poured out upon us this year. There are so many hurting an lost people in our world, country, town, our very own neighborhood even and I can't help but thank God for His grace and sustenance. Are we worthy? No, but I will certainly praise him for this little bit of heaven we call ours in Sumter, for a supportive and loving husband, for two healthy and happy children, and friends and family that love and encourage us. Our cup truly "overflows" (Psalm 23:5).

Thanksgiving in Laurens

We spent Thanksgiving this year in Laurens, SC. Jamie's (Andrew’s sister Amy's husband) family has a cattle farm and had a big get-together in their huge state-of-the-art pole barn. A day full of great fellowship, yummy food and lots of outdoor fun! M&M loved riding on the 4-wheelers. Even though I was a bit nervous at first...Andrew took it slow and they loved it!

Andrew giving Brygs and Mary Ellen a ride.

Andrew giving Michael one of MANY rides!

Aunt Amy helping Michael ride the John Deere.

Mama Jo and Mary Ellen watching everyone get a turn on the 4 wheelers.

M&M watching Daddy carve a turkey.  I think they fried about 8 or 10 turkeys that day!  So yummy!  Andrew would feed M&M little bits every now and again.  Mary Ellen loved the skin.

Mary Ellen obviously pointing out to Brygs the finer points of picking the skin off the turkey!

What a fun day.  Hope it becomes a tradition.  Fun to think of M&M growing up so close to family.  It's great to be back in the south!