Reflections of a Mom's Life

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Home at last...

Well, we've had a wonderful two weekends filled with Thanksgiving Celebrations! Last weekend we were in FL with Anthony's parents. It was wonderful as always and the kids love it when they're there. Mom fixed lots of yummy food and we filled up on it for days! :) We got home Monday night and left Tuesday night for my Mom's. It was a quick turn around but it really worked out perfectly.

Spent Wed. morning with the Schrodts, always a fun time, and attended the Thanksgiving Service as ASBC that night. Then it was time to get to Mom's and prepare for the next day. :) Again, we had tons of yummy food! It's so funny to me that both Mom W. and my Mom cook such different things around the Holidays and yet I look forward to it all. One year, Mom W. tried to switch it up a bit and cooked a few different things than usual. Vonda, Anthony, and myself practically had a riot! We like to know what we're having and imagine them in our minds and look forward to them all day. A few new things are always nice but stick to the classics! That's my opinion anyway! :)

It has been a great time with family, cousins, and friends. We always feel so blessed during this time of year with all the wonderful relationships with which God has blessed us! It's nothing to take for granted! On Friday, I had plans to do the shopping thing but chickened out about 10pm while laying on the couch! I think Nanny was glad I cancelled, it would have been a long day! :) Anthony was able to round up some old high school buddies and play basketball on Thanksgiving night late. He took Austin with him and the first thing Austin was curious about were all the knee braces! Hilarious! Those boys are getting older, I guess. Anthony came home with a jammed little finger but that is much better than the foot that needed surgery not too long ago. He loves basketball but he was warned about that wrath that would occur if he was on crutches and in a foot boot for another pregnancy. Remember that!!! Boy, I do! :)

Friday night, we spent the evening with the Maggiore's and Jackson's. Jen cooked a FABULOUS lasagna and it was more time with very special friends! Once we got home to Grace's, Anthony went out with Tom and Austin and bowled. They had a ton of fun and were up late. These late nights out are going to catch up with Anthony this week! Saturday we attended Josiah Schrodt's Birthday party and that was a blast for the kids. Who doesn't love Chuck E. Cheese's??? I'm so happy it worked out for us to be there! Harrison and Jackson sure love those Schrodt boys! We headed home last night and I've pulled out the Christmas decorations. Yippee! It's starting to look a lot like Christmas around here! Hope you all had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving! Now that I've written about it, I'll post my pictures later and you'll be able to scroll through without having to read too! :)

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Indian Headdress Night

Here's our cutie pie in his Indian Headdress for AWANA. If you look closely you can see his new Skipper patch that he earned last week. He's learning those verses! :)

Weekend with the Maggiore's and Jackson's





We had a great weekend with the Maggiore's and the Jackson's! They suffered the three hour drive in a van full of children and we only hope it wasn't too much trouble! :) The guys went to a GA Tech/Duke game and while it wasn't their usual Atlanta trip for a weekend, we sure enjoyed it better! Us girls and the kiddos went to the mall on Saturday and then made it home just in time for naps. The kids played great and Harrison and Erin really enjoyed each other! They were so cute! Anna was a breeze! She is such a good baby! Sunday we relaxed and the kids played outside (even the big boy kids...new game called Birdie Ball). Thanks guys for coming and spending the weekend! We loved having ALL of you and look forward to the next time! :) Thanks Cody, Erin, & Anna for being such good friends! See you next week!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

"Oh I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner..."



Can you believe this??? I sure couldn't. We saw The Weinermobile on our way home from SC on Sunday. Someone actually drives this thing! Hilarious! Harrison was particularly thrilled because Papa got him a Weinermobile Matchbox Car a few years back. Too funny!

A Weekend Wedding

First morning Breakfast at Cracker Barrel on Saturday! We went AGAIN on Sunday!

Jacob and Rachel

Momma Lou with the boys
Uncle Doyle, Natalie, & Ron
For some reason, the boys look so old in these pictures! what is happening to them!
As any good brother would do, Harrison convinced Jackson it would be fun to drink from the rock water fall. Why not? It looks like a water fountain!


Jackson truly loved the string quartet! I think it was his favorite part of the wedding!

Anthony's cousin Natalie got married this past weekend. We drove down to Greenville, SC on Friday night. The trip up was pretty bad because I was just feeling SO sick but thankfully I was feeling much better coming home! We were able to meet my cousin Rachel, who is attending Bob Jones University, and her boyfriend Jacob. They make a great couple and it was fun being able to see them. That afternoon we had the wedding. It was beautiful and on a huge farm. There was a playground for the kids which worked out very nicely. Jackson's favorite part was the String Quartet. He just watched, and watched, and watched. :) Natalie made a beautiful bride and we hope she and Ron will be very happy.

We were able to see Anthony's Grandmother Momma Lou. She was very excited about the news of the baby and told everyone before we had the chance. We didn't care though! We were just so excited that she was so excited to make sure everyone knew! Grandparents are that way, the want people to know about their grandchildren! :)

It was a great weekend! Two breakfasts at Cracker Barrel, can't beat that! We are so glad we were able to make it!

Bus Ride



Harrison had a field trip on Friday of last week to the Farmer's Market in downtown Raleigh. I was able to go and it was a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed seeing him interact with his classmates and getting to know his teachers better. One of the highlights of the trip for Harrison was riding the bus. We take him and pick him up from school everyday so he doesn't get to ride the bus. You can barely see him in the picture but I had to take it anyway!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Halloween 2007




Trick-or-Treat

Last night we had a blast walking the kids around the neighborhood. Harrison was Dash Incredible and Jackson was Batman. They looked adorable! Anthony set him up a station to pass out candy. He started out at the top of the driveway and then moved himself down to the bottom. He got lots of compliments on the pumpkins! :) I started out with the boys and some of our neighbors and we walked for about an hour. Harrison really got the concept this year and by the end of our time was practically running ahead of us to get as many houses as he could. Jackson was HILARIOUS! He wanted nothing to do with his bag. He would walk up to the house, say "Trick-or Treat" get a piece of candy and then bring it back to me to be opened immediately. I tried to convince him to save them and put them in his bag but he would hear none of it! So he literally, ate as he went. Too funny! After an hour, Jackson was getting tired so we walked back home and traded spots with Daddy. Jackson and I gave out the candy and Anthony took Harrison for another hour. :) They were our from 6-8pm, to the minute! That's how I remember doing it as a kid! :) One of the best parts about the whole night was seeing all of our neighbors out and about. We have met so many of them at the pool this summer so it was so fun seeing all the kids dressed up and the parents out visiting with everyone. We truly have the best neighborhood! Can't wait 'till next year! :)