Making memories

Well I have finally caught whatever is going around my house and it is not fun! I have a sinus and double ear infection and it feels more like the flu! I am home with both girls which doesn't really qualify for relaxing...
Despite the sickness we have tried to have fun being couped up in the house with crafts, games, coloring, etc... Ann Mason has really taken an interest in whnoen mommy and daddy got married. she wants to watch the video, ask questions and the other night she begged me to try on my wedding dress. I was secretly thrilled I always wanted my daughter to ask me that but I didn't know it would be when she was three :)
I never got my dress persevered like I should have but then we wouldn't have started a new tradition :) thanks to pinterest I.am going to take the girls pictures in my wedding dress every year on our anniversary and then we they get married I can give them the pictures! It was such a special moment when Ann Mason looked at me in my wedding dress for the first time... Priceless!!!  Here we are having some dress up fun!

January....

January has kicked our tails in the sick department! Poor baby Chandler has had the flu, the stomach bug and RSV in a month!!! I just took Ann Mason to the dr today and she has a viral infection. Palmer has had the stomach bug, etc.... you get my drift. Between rotating shifts at work between me, Tex and the fam, running kiddos to and from the dr office, disinfecting the house, it has been a whirlwind couple of weeks!

I am ready for warmer weather and healthier kiddos! We have managed to have fun in between the bouts of being on lock down at the house. Here are some of the things that the New Year has brought us...

Palmer started his first Upwards basketball league! Tex is the coach and his two best buds are on his team. He LOVES it and really enjoys playing! They are cute and hilarious! It is definitely a nice way to start the day on Saturday watching the cuties shoot hoops!

This pic cracks me up with the fake smile! This girl continues to be a diva and the outfits are getting more and more crazy! She has a vision and likes to stick to it :) I try and persuade her as much as possible but it doesn't always work. The more bling the better for her!

 

This was Ann Mason the morning after we went to Walmart and she found the most "ADORABLES" (as she puts it) scarf and HAD to have it! She let me tie it all cute and everything, she even wore it to school all day like that! I must admit I think I have just as much fun or more fun that she does getting her ready!

 

Poor Baby Chan Chan! She is still the sweetest, most smiling, most cuddly baby in the world. I could literally eat her up and do on a daily basis! Since she has been so sick and on so much pedialyte I decided to try cereal and a few solids just to supplement. She is not a fan just yet. She wont open her mouth for anything! :) We will wait a few weeks and try again! She is so stinking cute though, I don't care!

 

My big girl sits and plays in her excersaucer all of the time now and loves it! I really, really am struggling with her getting bigger, I want her to be my bitty baby forever :) She truly is the sweetest baby ever and she is pretty much adored by everyone in the house! haha

 
Ann Mason finally started gymnastics and LOVES it! I think she likes the outfit as much as actually doing it but still... I knew it was really important for her to have her "own" thing these days so I am so glad she enjoys it and it is just more time that her and I can go together and spend some quality time with each other!

 

So even though it has been a sick month we have still managed to stay busy and have fun! More pics and posts to come!!!

2012

As I reflect on 2012 it is with mixed emotions. The highs were high and the lows were definitely at times pretty low. It was a year of blessings, change, finding myself a little more, learning I am growing everyday, heartache, loss, gain, love, fear and everything in between. I found a quote which is deep but so meaningful and kind of fits how I feel.

From The Tale of Two Cities
IT was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us...

Focusing more on the highlights (cause they're a lot more fun, right?) I will share some of my most treasured moments of 2012

Announcing that we were growing by another "two feet" and our trip to Disney! Disney was by far the best family trip that we have had so far! Can't wait to take everyone back in a couple of years!

Annie-licious turning 3 at her Pinkalicious party!!! How is it possible Miss Priss is going to be 4???

Seeing the beach!!! Always a treasured moment watching the kids run in the sand and ocean.

Dad turned 60! It was a great celebration of the last 60 years!

Palmer turned 5 and had a superhero bowling party! This kid loves a good birthday party!

Sports!!! We loved sports this year. It kept us busy, active and allowed us to meet SO many wonderful new people that became great friends!

Palmer went to KINDERGARTEN! It is still hard for me to believe, he is growing up so fast! Wow! What an emotional time, in this picture I was 8 days from having a baby and my first baby was leaving to go to school for the first time! So glad he loves it!

By far the best moment of 2012 was the moment I saw my daughter being born and held her for the first time. It amazes me how that unconditional love is immediate, without question. She has been a joy from the moment she was born she has literally been the life of the family!

Learning to grow as a family with 3 children! Not always easy to navigate thru the jealous moments and being out numbered but oh so worth it. 4 1/2 months in things are seeming to be settling in. Chandler is right where she belongs in this crazy crew :)

Meeting amazing friends!!! The kids and I both have met amazing friends this year. One's that we treasure and formed an instant bond with, so blessed to find that!

Growing Family! 2 babies 3 days apart is a treasured moment for sure!

In Nov it was mom's turn to turn the big 6-0! A great time was had by all!

Loving being a family of five!!!

I must say the first of the year was the roughest but as the year progessed it seemed like things went better. Having Chandler and watching the kids get to love another sibling has been the biggest blessing by far. Tex and I both have jobs that we like, we have a roof over our heads and food in our belly's! God is good and has blessed us in so many ways. I don't really have any major expectations for 2013 yet. I think sometimes when we expect less we appreciate more so that is my motto for the year :) We hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and New Years!

Not enough time

Life is full and busy!! Christmas
Didn't turn out like planned but life seldom does, we are so blessed
With So many things I can't complain! We have been having a blasT with family in  toWn here are
some recent photos!

All About Annie

Poor Ann Mason. She definitely gets the "middle child" wrath in some of my posts. As they say in the south,"Bless her heart" she is just strong willed, independent, persistent and determined. All qualities that I will be thrilled about when she is a self-sufficient, succesful, head on her shoulders type of 20 something girl but at 3 we have had some battles!

This week however we have turned a corner. It may be that I have made time specifically for Ann Mason and am trying to really truly be present with her when it is just her and I because she is the type of child that needs your 100% undivided attention when she is with you. She has been so stinking sweet this week!

Let me tell you this girl LOVES being a girl, loves everything about it! She has started wanting to wear dresses to daycare which hasn't gone over to well with me considering they don't always come back in tip top shape but I decided if the girl wants to wear dresses and feel good about herself, so be it!

Here is Ann Mason this morning, just a normal morning going to daycare. We have a routine now where we pick out a dress, accessories and then we usually have a lengthy discussion about possible hairstyles from the popular half up half down to the side pony tail and today it was pig tails. I promise I am not enabling crazy behavior but more letting her know that I am proud that she wants to take pride in the way she looks and feels and if pig tails and a dress make her feel special then pig tails and a dress it is! There is no harm in that for any girl to feel good about herself and the way she looks!

I was so scared to be a mom of a girl and still am at times especially now with two. What I didn't realize was how much I would like picking out outfits and curling hair and buying hair bands and bows. I love watching her tell Daddy to close his eyes and when she says open them she is usually in a pose like in the picture above and he tells her how beautiful she is and she beams from ear to ear.

I hope she grows up knowing that beauty comes from within and you can be the prettiest girl in the world and have the ugliest actions. Wow, I sound like a mom!

I am so proud of Annie and can't wait to see what life has in store for her or rather what she has in store for Life. She is a force to be reckoned with!

I think the greatest thing about being a mother is seeing how different and unique each child is and the hardest thing about being a mother is making sure you nuture their strengths and weaknesses the right way! It would be a lot easier if there was a handbook on how to do this correctly :)

T-minus 4 days till Christmas I am finally starting to feel my shoulders drop from up by my head, my breathe get a little softer and myself starting to get EXCITED!!!!

Trip Down Christmas Card Lane

So, we all know that A. I LOVE making cards especially Christmas cards and B. I love taking trips down memory lane so here is a post with two of my favorite things! I get so excited every year "designing" our Christmas card. I just love everything about it from colors to fonts, etc... of course I am no expert and am limited by whatever website I choose to buy my cards from but to me it is just fun!

I literally track the package and I can not wait to open them up and see what they look like. This is just something that I cherish so very much! I love receiving them just as much! Having mail come that is not bills or junk mail is thrilling!

Here are some of our Christmas Cards of years past....

Yes, the picture with the dog pre-children. This is Tex and I in 2006, I was 11 weeks pregnant with Palmer.

Not sure what happened that first year Palmer was born! haha Here he is with Santa but I can't find a card that we sent??? Since I am fuzzy on what I did two nights ago I am not even going to try and attempt to think about what card we sent out in 2007!

Awe yes the ever hilarious Portrait Innovation Pics for Christmas Cards 2008. This cracks me up! We all look so young and not one of us has a clue what we are doing (generally speaking) I was about 30 weeks pregnant with Ann Mason at this point.

I started to get my Christmas Card act together a little more in 2009. I loved these pics and this card so very much!

Again 2010 I managed pretty well and loved this one too. Of course there isn't one that I didn't love :) How has the time past so quickly???

Well, this is 2011. I actually sent out a cute card but the website it is on wont let me preview it for some reason but this is us almost exactly one year ago!!! Crazy how things have changed! I was about 5 weeks pregnant with Chandler and we were more crazy than ever! Tex and I have those looks on our faces like "what is happening?"haha

And this is 2012!!! I just adore these cards and they make me smile.

Our family of 5!

The inside

I can't wait for the kids one day to go thru all of the years of Christmas cards and we can laugh at our clothes and hairstyles and all of the silly things mom made them do! I need to remember to save 3 a year for each child. That is added to my things to do/pinterest/task list that is a mile long :)

This week has been a tough week for a few reasons. My heart is heavy but as I look towards the Holiday Season I know that I am blessed and after everything that has happened this past week the most powerful thing I can do is pray!

We only have 2 more days left of the week and then we can finally take a break! I am SO ready for some much needed quality time with my family at home making new memories.

Here comes Santa Clause...

Thankfully Sunday the family felt good enough and had been fever free for well over 48 hours to finally get out of the house! We went to church, ate a yummy lunch at the in laws and went back to the church for the kids Christmas Play. Ann Mason was just itching to get up on stage. She SO wants to do it next year. Palmer is still convinced it is totally not his thing :) After the play they had a birthday party for Jesus and Santa was there! The kids were pumped especially Annie. She was also pumped cause her BFF Tatum was there and those two are two peas in a pod!

 

3 Amiga's in their minky dot pants with Santa~

 

Laughing and Eating all the sugar they could get their hands on!

 

Annie asking Santa for an American Girl Doll. The way she says it is precious, she wants one so bad!

 

My soon to be 10 year old Niece! (I can remember like it was yesterday her being born on Christmas Eve and us eating at the Chinese restaurant!) She is the sweetest thing ever and the best cousin to my Annie-boo!

 

This pic cracks me up! Chandler still doesn't look up to snuff in this pic not to mention the scratch on her face doesn't help. She didn't mind Santa either way, I actually think Santa was more scared of her! haha

I seriously cannot wrap my brain around the fact that Christmas is a week from today pretty much, I have not wrapped one present! I told someone the other day that I didn't become a flaky mom until I had number 3 and now I can never get my act together! haha If I can just make it thru this week we will be good! So excited to spend some quality time with my husband and the kiddos and just enjoy our time as a family! We have so much to be thankful for this year, I just want to enjoy it and be present!