A parade!

When I was little, I loved going to parades! I loved the marching bands, cheerleaders, and the beauty queens waving. So I was so excited to take Mary Riley to her first parade in downtown Kennesaw. Boy, have parades changed!

Almost every "float" or vehicle was throwing candy! At first it was fun to watch MR run out in the street and grab the candy, but after a while she expected it. And Thad and I were busy trying to keep her from eating all of it. The candy filled almost all of the basket on the stroller full! (I don't remember this part of parades at all.)

All in all, it was a great (and cold) time. Santa Claus was at the end being pulled by real reindeer, of course!

Candy!

Santa Claus and his reindeer

Reflection

This past week has been a tough one for my family. We lost two women who were very dear to us.

On December 12th, my dear Great-aunt Catherine passed away. She had battled brain cancer for so long. She was such a sweet person and loved her family very much. Please keep my great-uncle Bickey (John) in your prayers, as weel as their son Johnny and granddaughter Mindy. We know she is in a much better place and pain/cancer free.

On December 16th, a very sudden death happened, my dear Aunt Jane passed awasy very unexpectantly. This death is very hard for my family to accept and has been extremely difficult on all of us.Please keep my Uncle Rob, cousins Michael and Natalie, and Aunt Jane's sisters and parents in your prayers.

During times like this, we seem to stop and look around and appreciate those around us. I hope each of you find time to hug those special to you and let them know how much you care.

Merry Christmas.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

A few pictures of our Christmas decorations!

Our family room

Our living room. Yes, I know this a huge tree. We bought it for our last house, which had much taller ceilings.

Our entryway

And last, but not least Mary Riley's tree in her room. On top is an angel that I got as a little girl.

Shush...I'm working

Earlier today, I hear Mary Riley talking in the other room. I walk in to ask her who she was talking to. She turns to me and says "Shush. I am working". You notice the laptop and phone sitting on the stool. As I was running to get the camera, I hear her say "I am so busy".

No idea where she gets that from. :)

What does M stand for?

Yes, I am addicted to putting Mary Riley's name or initials on any piece of clothing. I will admit it! Is the an AA for my addiction?

Recently a great lady in Alabama put this cute M on a dress I found at the Pink Crocodile in Acworth. Mary Riley was so excited about it. We have been talking about letters and what different letter stand for. When asked what this M stands for, her answer was "M&Ms of course, Mom". :)

(In case you did not know, Mary Riley LOVES M&Ms)

We did later have the discussion that M also stands for Mary and she said know it stood for Mary Riley....and M&Ms. Oh well at least she is correct!

Playing in the leaves

Back in November I showed you a picture of the beautiful tree in our yard that had the gorgeous orange leaves. Well they all turned brown and feel in our yard. We had to hurry and rake them up before we got a letter from the HOA!

Mary Riley had fun "helping" us. Her job was to jump in the big piles and scatter all the leaves. :)

D-Day and B-Day

Sixty-seven years ago today, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. This day become an important day in history as it later resulted in the US becoming involved in World War II.

But more importantly, 31 years ago Thad was born! To celebrate this special day, Mary Riley and I bought Thad Guitar Hero for his Xbox 360 and baked him an apple pie (gluten-free of course!)

For those of you who know Thad, you know how much of a video game freak he is. Playing his new game.


Mary Riley likes dancing to the rock-and-roll music the new game plays.

Pink Pig, here we come!

Jennifer and I have been planning the girls' trip to the Pink Pig at Macy's for a while. Probably ever since we saw the smocked pink pig outfits in the Kelly's Kids catalog (and which I so happen to sell). So Nov 30 was our day! A very messy, rainy day, but that did not dampen our spirits. The girls were so excited and looked so precious in their matching outfits (if I do say so myself).

Sorry the pictures are not so great. It's hard to take pictures and manage a 2-year old around the pink pig in the rain.

Waiting patiently in line like good little girls.

Sweet Amelia always has a smile for me!

Sitting on the Pink Pig, waiting for the ride to start!

Thanksgiving

We are so thankful that the majority of both of our families live close enough that we can see them for Thanksgiving. Both sets of parents live within 20 minutes of each other, as well as our grandparents, siblings, and lots of cousins.

Below are some pictures from our time in SW Georgia.

Helping Grammy cook...


And lick the mixer beater...


Posing in her Thanksgiving outfit


Sarah Anne got her Christmas present early. A Shetland pony named Chrissy! Sarah Anne is official in her special kid saddle and hat. Mary Riley had to go for a ride, though.

Jesus is better than Santa!

I just had to post something that I read on another blog that I follow. Baby Be Blessed Dolls are such precious little stuffed ministries that is truely a blessing from God. I love looking at these little dolls which come with a special verse and can be custom made for your little blessing. Check out the collection at www.babybeblesseddolls.com and also take a look at the owner's blog if you have time.

From www.babybeblessed.blogspot.com

Santa is a FUN THING right?! That is what I always tell my kids. I received this little poem through an email and really liked it so I wanted to share! What a great thing to read to your children to keep Christ first in their hearts during this month of Celebration and throughout the entire year!!

Jesus is Better than Santa

Santa lives at the North Pole.
JESUS is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year
JESUS is an ever present help.

Santa fills your stockings with goodies
JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited
JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart.

You have to stand in line to see Santa
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.

Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"
JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly
JESUS has a heart full of love.

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO
JESUS offers health, help and hope.

Santa says "You better not cry"
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you".

Santa's little helpers make toys
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle but
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts under your tree
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.

It's obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put Christ back in Christmas.
Jesus is still the reason for the season!

I love this time of year!

I love this time of year!! It is y favorite. I love the coldness in the air and the smell of fires in the fireplaces. We have a gorgeous tree in our yard right now. It does produce lots of leaves that blows in our our neighbors yards, so I am sure they do not think our tree is so "nice". But oh well!!

Amelia is 3!

Amelia is 3! It's hard to believe our babies are growing up...

Amelia had her birthday party at a great kids gym in Alabama. MR and I were so excited to go and had a great time!

Walk the dinosaur!

MR playing dress-up at school today!

We voted! Did you?

The Anglins made it family time at the voting precinct today! All three of us headed over to the Henssler Financial Center at 6:45am today and stood outside in line. We finally got done around 8:15am. Not too bad we thought.

MR was a trooper standing in line with us. We read a couple of books and ate snacks...of course. We promised her a surprise (marshmellow square) at Starbucks if she was good. And she got it!

I always have a feeling of American pride after voting and today was no different. Though I fought my urge to break out in to singing God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood.

Now we wait to see who our next President is!

Pumpkin Pickin'

Our church has Pumpkin Patch every year and they have some of the best pumpkins around this area in our opinion. Plus it is close by and the proceeds go to the Youth Ministry. So today was our day to go.

Thad in search of the perfect pumpkin to carve. (stay tuned to see how it turns out.)


Mary Riley getting a ride.



For some reason, Mary Riley loves the "warty" pumpkins!

Disney on Ice

MR was so excited that we got Disney on Ice tickets. She kept asking each morning, "I am going to Disney Ice today?". She also would tell us that she was going to see the princesses. I was hoping she was not going to be too disappointed since the attractions at our show were: CARS, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and Tinkerbell.

She was not disappointed and had the best time!! The best part was when Ariel (aka Little Mermaid) was singing, MR does the best impersonation of Ariel singing, "Ahhh Ahhh", and holding her arms out. (I wish I could figure out how to post a video here of her doing this...it is priceless as she is so serious.)

Julie went us and had a great time as well. She introduced MR to cotton candy. I thought it might be a mistake being we went to the 7:30pm show on a Wednesday night and she was eating tons of cotton candy, but I thought I

should just relax about it.

MR and Julie posing before the show

The "free" flower hat that came with the $8 cotton candy

Everyone had to take a turn wearing it, even Thad (notice the Treo in his hand, yes he was working during Disney on Ice)

YUMMMMMM, Cotton Candy!

Mountain Getaway

We were so lucky to be able to get away to the North Georgia mountains this past weekend with my parents, sister and brother-in-law. We had the best time and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.

The cabin was right outside of Ellijay. thad lived in Ellijay for about year while we were dating with his sister Becky. So he was our "tour guide" for the weekend. His famous words were, "Right around this curve is the scenic overlook"...which was to be just five minutes up the road. Those five minutes turned in to 30 minutes. But it was fun.

Instead of going to Ellijay's famous Apple Festival, we just walked around the town square of Ellijay. It was great! Looking in the antique stores, drinking cider and eating apple dumplings (my favorite!). I even found a local lady that makes cute children's clothes and bows! What luck! :) (I can find these people anywhere!)

We rode up Fort Mountain to a scenic overlook and found some waterfalls and rocks to climb around. Thad and I used to go up this mountain all the time when we were dating. It was fun to go back and see how much it has changed.

MR asks to go back to the "mountain house" all the time now. Maybe a future investment??



MR and Grammy



From the Scenic Overlook



MR and Uncle Tommy

An explanation is needed

I have been told that I need to explain why I seem obsessive over MR's clothes. First of all, I am not! I just like to find unique and special clothing for her. For each event or occasion we go to, I like for her to be wearing something that is representative of that occasion. For example, our recent trip to the Aquarium. She wore her octopus shirt. I find clothing for her for most holidays, as I am sure all parents do!

I have my favorite brands, but will not bore you with a list. I will give you my new favorite place to shop for her.

Etsy www.etsy.com
Etsy is the GREATEST site! It is like eBay but for handmade items. Any handmade item can be listed on Etsy. The sellers I frequent have amazing work and can make most items custom for you. This is what I like! I can change pieces of clothing to fit our personalities. But the prices are exceptional!! I enjoy giving business to stay-at-home moms.

So I hope that helps explain my obsession a little. Feel free to ask questions and I will answer!

Swimming with the Fishies

We finally made a trip to the new Georgia Aquarium. Well it's new to us! I have to say it is fabulous! I would recommend it to anyone, just maybe go during the week. We went on a Sunday morning with our friends, the O'Neil's from North Carolina, and it was very crowded. Mary Riley is ready to go again! Here are some pictures from our day.

Tylon and MR were so good and really enjoyed it.

Fu Fu Fighting

When Mary Riley rides in my truck (which is 99% of the time), we listen to the kids channel on XM. It is one of the few radio channels that we can trust that will have safe music for kids. Her new favorite song is Kung Fu Fighting, or as she calls it Fu Fu Fighting. She especially loves teh part where you can do the karate kicks.

I am so glad this is her new favorite song. Her last favorite song was Little Bunny Fu-fu...which I hate! Talk about a violent song! And I had to sing it 500 times a day!

Field Trip

Mary Riley's class went on their first field trip! To Berry Patch Farms! They rode on a hayride, ran through a pumpkin patch, drank yummy apple cider and had tons and tons of fun. The kids were so great and excited!