Children's Museum With the Cousins

We loaded up on Thursday morning (very early according to Makenzie) and headed to Jackson to try out the new Children's Museum with our Cousins Emma Grace, Ellie Kate, and Emerson.  If you haven't tried this place out, you really should go!  The girls (all 5 of them!) had a GREAT time, and were so worn out by the time they left that my two slept the whole way home!

She's a logger! She thought dressing up and using the chainsaw was pretty fun!

3 little monkeys

Making leaf rubbings with Onda

Riverboat race...she loved the water activities and was soaking wet by the time she finished playing.

Jan introduced us to the cutest little Diner! The girls had a great time and really enjoyed their chocolate icecream.  Brent's diner is yummy, and we'll definitely have to go back!

Thanks to our sweet cousins for such a FUN day!  We can't wait until next time.  Wonder what mischief we'll get into next? On to the next adventure!

Wordless Wednesday

Makenzie got a bigger fish tank from Santa....need I say more? 

Wednesday Blog Hops:



Top 5 Reasons Why I Blog:

1.  I love it!  I started blogging to help keep family in the loop with what we're doing, and it just evolved over time.
2.  I am able to motivate other Moms who want to work from home.
3.  It allows me to express myself and relieve stress :)
4.  I love meeting new people and learning new things.
5.  It's great for networking and finding new creative ideas.

Videos from Santa

I had to post these great videos that Santa sent my girls on Christmas Eve.  I loved these and so did they!  They're from http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/, and you can customize them for your children with pictures too!  Here are the two my girls received this year.  I didn't have an option to embed them so you'll have to click on each link.

Presley's Video:

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/guest/XYXTtUcGpvU0HhBjl3TG4A

Makenzie's Video:

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/KSQK_JVk5Gs6TzXd9jSjjQ



How fun is that?  The girls thought they were amazing!  Hope you all had a VERY Merry Christmas!

Jessica

Monday Blog Hops:

Alvin And The Chipmunks - Hula Hoop - Christmas Song

So, my girls LOVE this song, and they are about to drive me crazy with it. Thought I'd share it with all of you so you can go crazy right along with me! Enjoy!



Thursday Blog Hops!

This Year...

Christmas with family so far has been too funny!  The girls have been so excited- especially Presley.  She's three and this is the first year that she's just really gotten into Christmas.  Each time she opens a gift she squeals with delite, claps her hands and says, "This is EXACTLY what I wanted!"  The excited look on her face is enough, but when she screams and claps, we just lose it!  We have laughed so hard! 

I am so thankful that God has blessed me with these two precious girls. They have brought so much joy and laughter to my life.

Tuesday Blog Hop!

Christmas Pictures

We finally found the time to take our family pictures, and yes, the Christmas cards have been ordered so just hold your horses- you'll get one- eventually!  It seems like the month is flying by, and I completely  let time get away from me.  Christmas pictures were also postponed because I got the crazy idea a few months ago that I would try sewing dresses for my girls and Britlee (their cousin) for their Christmas pictures.  I kept putting it off, afraid to try it, until the last minute!  I finally buckled down and got to work with the generous help of my Aunt (who helped majorly with the pattern and ruffles).  I definitely couldn't have finished these adorable dresses without her!  Alas, they are done, and in my opinion, they turned out GREAT.  Christmas pictures have finally been taken, and I just had to share some pics! Huge thanks to Katie also for the cute bows the girls are wearing!

Merry Christmas!

Scalloped Scarlet Ribbon Christmas

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Will I Always be Fat This Time of the Year?

I have come to the conclusion that I have a love/hate relationship with the holidays.  I love the lights,

the ornaments, and even wrapping Christmas gifts for those I love.

But most of all, I love the food.  Which is where the problem comes in. 

I HATE that I let myself go each year right before and during the holidays. All the baking, cooking, and family time that I love just leads to me eating and eating and more eating.

 Which means I put on weight.  Then each year in January, I have to bust my tail to lose the weight again before summer.  It's a never-ending cycle of fluctuating weight for me, and I can't stand that I let it happend year after year.  Already this year I'm up 15 pounds, and I'm struggling to manage the weight gain before I spiral out of control. So, now that I'm already fat before Christmas, I find myself depressed over the fact, and do you think I want to exercise? NO! I just grab another handful of m&m's and wallow in self-pity.  I've been through all the whining,  "It's not fair that I can't eat whatever I want and never gain a pound", "I can look at a piece of food and gain weight", and " I just can't find the time to exercise".  Isn't chasing after my kids each day enough?  I'm worn out by the end of the day.  Am I doing NOTHING?

So today I have had enough...no more excuses!  I'm taking control and I'll spend the majority of my day and the next and the next exercising until I have this under control. 

I'll step away from the m&m's, the cheeseball, and the egg nog, and I'll eat my Attain bars and drink my shakes. 

Please forgive me if I'm moody for the next month or so...I promise it's not intentional.  If you don't hear from me for a few days, I apologize.  Rest assured, I'll be home wearing myself out daily with exercise...ugh...

The weightloss countdown begins today...wish me luck!  I'm so going to need it...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wishing you all a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!

I posted my "I'm thankful for..." list on my other blog, and you can read that here, but I wanted all of you to know that I'm extremely thankful for you as well!

We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends, and I thank God for you each and every day!

May God bless each and every one of you!

We love you!

  

Halloween Pictures

My friend Julie took these ADORABLE pictures of my girls right before Halloween, and I just LOVED them!  Here are some of my favorites (yes, I know I have a LOT of favorites!).  Thanks Julie for the great pics!!

See more of Julie's photography here!

Aren't my little cowgirl and indian just the cutest things you've ever seen?!?  Big thanks to their Aunt KK for their cute hairstyles as well!

Fall Festival

Since Halloween fell on Sunday this year, our church decided to do something a little different & have our Fall Festival today.  We started the morning with church services out on the front lawn in front of the church, then we had dinner on the grounds, and lastly, the kids went wild playing games, getting their faces painted, and even enjoying a hayride.