Christmas time is the best!

We have already had so much fun this Christmas season. We attended JD's preschool Christmas program, and I just can't begin to tell you how precious it was to see all of the little children in their angel costumes and singing the sweetest songs. One of the songs was performed with words and sign language, and it was amazing to see such young children not missing a single sign as they sang their hearts out. We got the whole performance on video and I've already watched it. It was just as sweet the second time around.

We have also already been to see Santa, and JD informed Santa that he wants a jump rope for Christmas this year. I'm not really sure where that came from, but a jump rope should be pretty easy to find, right? Davis wasn't a big fan of sitting on Santa's lap and we just happened to get a good picture of the occasion right before he completely melted down.

I absolutely, positively LOVE the angels that my dear friend Christy and I made at church the other night. Thank you so much for coming up with that idea Christy! They will decorate our home at Christmas for years to come. I made 3 of them for each of our children, as that's exactly what they are to me...ANGELS, loaned to us by God.

Tomorrow night we are heading out to see the Festival of Lights at Tanglewood Park...always a favorite! JD is SO excited! He still remembers going last year.

We hope that everyone is enjoying this very special time of year!

He's here, he's there, he's everywhere!

Our little Davis will be one year old in just a couple of weeks (January 3rd), and he is into everything. He just loves to explore anything he can get into, especially the refrigerator. I actually have a child lock on the refrigerator door, but I allow him to rummage through it occasionally. He is pulling up on everything and loves to stand at the toy drawer and pick something out to play with. He is an absolute sweetheart and we love him so much!

Did I mention that he also loves to stand at the edge of the tub while I take my shower? His hair always ends up getting quite wet from having the water splashing on him through the open curtain. I stepped back into the shower with the camera the other morning so that I could capture the view that I have as I take a shower. It's true that all privacy goes out the window when you become a mom, but that's ok. I actually rather enjoy our tubside visits. :)

Oh Christmas Tree...

We recently attended the annual downtown Winston-Salem Christmas parade, and as always, it was very entertaining. We went with our great friends, Hank, Christy, and little Hank. It was quite cold, so we were all bundled up as we watched the spectacle of floats and marching bands and dancers. JD loved trying to collect candy from those who were giving it out, and he was mesmerized by the drummers! He and his best friend, Hank, squealed in delight as they saw Santa in the parade.

We also finally got our Christmas tree (I think it was December 5th to be exact!) JD Sr showed JD how to use his saw to trim the trunk of the tree, so JD thought that was quite a thrill. Davis even crawled over to supervise. I love it that JD Sr always takes the time to involve our kids in the details of things. It may result in things taking a little longer to accomplish, but the kids always get so much more out of those experiences.

We all decorated the tree together and were quite pleased with the finished product.

Our poor little guy!

JD recently had a very bad ear infection, and he was feeling pretty miserable from it. We first noticed that something was going on when his hearing began to deteriorate to the point that he couldn't hear dinner conversation around the table -- sitting just inches away from us! After a few days of noticing problems with his hearing, he began to run fever and was complaining of pain in his ear. I took him to the pediatrician who told me that he had red bulging ear drums in both ears! Her response was, "It's no wonder he can't hear anything!" After a full round of antibiotics, I am happy to report that he is completely well and his hearing has returned 100%. It was hard to see him feeling so bad for those couple of days though. :(

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving with family in Georgia this year. Before we headed out of town, JD's school hosted a Thanksgiving luncheon during which the children sang some of the cutest Thanksgiving songs while dressed up as pilgrims and Native Americans. Too cute!!

We spent part of our time in Georgia down in Americus where JD Sr grew up, and he got to go hunting while there. He actually got a deer and was so thrilled as it had been about 13 years since shooting his last deer. We now have a freezer FULL of deer burger!!

The formal portrait of the boys is one that I had done at Olan Mills in early October. I was SO pleased with how it turned out!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

A much needed visit from Gamma

So now that I'm through the first trimester, I am feeling MUCH better in terms of not being nauseated and exhausted every day. However, when I was in the worst of it, my mom came for a visit to help me with the boys, which was great! She fed, bathed, and played with the boys every day and changed all diapers! It was very much appreciated!! She also cleaned my kitchen every night and picked up all of the toys in the living room before going to bed. Thank you for all of your help, Mama!

One morning while she was here, I woke up early to discover that we had a very light dusting of snow on the ground. Although it wasn't much, it's always fun to be surprised by it. I hope we get another good snow this January like we did last year!

In the ultrasound photo below, notice the lower half of the baby's face below his/her arm. The tiny arm is draped across the eyes, but if you look closely, you can see the nose and mouth below the arm. My friend Christy pointed that out to me because I certainly didn't notice it the first few times I looked at it. If you click on the photo, it should open larger in another window.

French Toast Friends on Friday

So I decided to surprise the boys with a special breakfast one Friday morning, and they absolutely loved it! I told JD that the French Toast Friends had gotten snow (powdered sugar) all over them, and the only way to warm them up was to put them in his tummy as fast as he could. He was more than happy to help them out! Davis also thoroughly enjoyed the soggy, syrup-y treat.

The final photo is one that I love. I was tucking JD into bed one night, and he said, "Mama, I'm just going to read my green Bible until I fall asleep, ok?" (His favorite color is green.) I said, "I think that's a wonderful idea." I went in to peek at him a little while later, and this is how he had fallen asleep. It was so precious to me, so I had to take a picture. I pray that he and all of our children have a lifelong hunger for God's word.

Halloween Fun

We had lots of fun this Halloween baking pumpkin cookies, dressing the boys up in costumes, and attending fall festivals. Davis got his first taste of cotton candy, and while he wasn't quite sure what to think of it initially, it only took a few tastes before he knew it was something he wanted! JD's school had a pumpkin carnival complete with costume-wearing, games, candy and class photos. JD Sr just happened to have the day off and was able to attend. JD jr was all too eager to dump his entire bag of candy on the gym floor at his school in order to show his daddy all of his treats! (See photo) I have been so pleased with his school and all of the fun things that they come up with for the children to do.