Christmas Cheer

December kept us extremely busy, but we managed to still have a blast during the holidays. Here are a couple of activities we did to spread the Christmas spirit within our family.

A friend of ours works at an art museum in Memphis and invited us to one of their kids' nights which included lots of holiday crafts and games. Though very crowded, we were able to find some hot chocolate and cookies, make snowflake ornaments, play in fake snow, and win a drawing for a free Christmas tree and a trip back to the museum.

Aaron's friend, Lucas, invited us to a Christmas parade one night. Of course, we couldn't pass up the offer. The boys love watching parades, catching candy, and running around with new friends. Here they are!

Time Flies When You're Havin' Fun!

It's been almost 2 months since we've updated our blog, and so much has happened since then! We've celebrated Thanksgiving, my 28th birthday, Nana's 50th birthday, Jeff's 29th birthday, and Christmas. With all this going on, we've attended numerous parties and parades, baked dozens of cookies, and travelled thousands of miles. Hopefully soon, this blog will be completely up-to-date with all our new pictures and stories of our many, many exciting adventures.
Here are just a few random pictures of where we've been and what we've been up to . . .

While back in our hometown for Thanksgiving, we were able to join with Jeff's brothers and sisters to throw a surprise 50th birthday bash for Nana. All the grandkids-12 last time I counted-had fun gathering around the table and helping blow out the candles.


The week after we returned home, it was my turn to have a celebration. The boys took me to Spaghetti Warehouse in Memphis; and after dinner, we dug into a huge brownie topped with ice cream, of course! As you can see in the picture, Jonathan, Aaron, and Caleb were enjoying the finger-lickin' yummy dessert!

As soon as all these birthdays rolled by, it was time to start preparing for Christmas. What better way to get ready for Christmas than to meet some of our favorite wintery friends. Caleb's school was fortunate enough to get a visit from Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. To top this off, the kids boarded a winter train and took a short ride to a petting zoo full of live animals. They thought this was so much fun and weren't quite ready to end their day, although hot chocolate and cookies were waiting inside for them!

Caleb's class wasn't the only one gearing up for Christmas. Aaron and his buddies from school had activities every week it seemed. We made a stocking at home to hang on the fireplace in the hall at school. His class also made ornaments and painted Christmas t-shirts to wear for their party. Many other moms and I volunteered to help with painting so I was able to capture the moment on camera. Aaron loves for me to come to his school to help, and I love to be such a huge part of his Kindergarten experience! So it works out well.

Jonathan's class didn't get to play quite as much as the other two. He's in second grade, and they have a little more work to do; so I don't have any pictures of him at school. He did, however, have a Christmas party; but, much to my utter disappointment, the camera's battery was dead when we got ready to snap some pictures.

I hope these pictures will suffice for now until I can get the time to post again soon! Keep checking back for more Christmas pictures and for our vacation pictures.

"Dip"ity Doo Dah

My, oh my, what a wonderful day here in the south! We made the most of this beautiful fall day. We picked up our precious puppy, Dip, to get his vaccinations today at Petco. He made lots of new friends while we waited at the store. After the boys got haircuts, we decided we'd picnic at the park and take Dip on his very first nature walk. He loved running, playing, and rolling down the hill with the boys. We are all so happy to have Dip in our family now. He fits perfectly. He's friendly, fun-loving, very playful, and so cute. There's no way the camera could capture all the fun everyone had, but here's our best attempt.

Kickin' Parties

Soccer season has ended for all 3 boys, and they all had their parties at Cici's Pizza. They had fun saying bye to their soccer buddies by eating pizza, playing arcade games, and receiving their very own trophies. Here are the pics!

Jonathan and one of our goalies, Matthew, with Aaron trying to sneak in the picture.

These are the girls who were on our team, minus one.

Here's Jonathan showing off his trophy.

Coach Daddy, Austin, and the whole Royal Blue team.

Aaron, Caleb, and their friend, David.

The Maroon Team is "patiently" waiting to receive their trophies.

Caleb autographs the coach's shirt.

Aaron and his prized trophy.

Caleb was so proud of his new trophy and he couldn't stop playing with it. Do you think it made it out of Cici's in one piece? (Answer: No way! Thank goodness for super glue!)

Coach David, Coach Jeff, and the Maroon Mustangs

Priceless Art

A recent new furniture purchase and a day's worth of watching the home and garden channel spawned some creative ideas in Jeff's brain to spruce up our living room. He immediately went shopping at Lowe's, Michael's, and Hobby Lobby, armed himself with a few power tools and art supplies, and began a project that I honestly didn't believe would ever be finished. But much to my surprise and pleasure, it took Jeff less than two weeks to complete; and I am now the proud owner of an original, one-of-a-kind masterpiece of, the one-and-only, Jeff Rhodes' stylish and contemporary collection. The pictures give it no justice; you'll have to come visit to see these fine works of art in all their glory!!

Down on the Farm. . .Again!

Caleb's class took a field trip to the farm last week, so he and I were able to experience the excitement again. Here are a few pictures of Caleb on his first school trip!

Pumpkin Paintin'

During our community group Sunday night, Alesha and I took the kiddos out and let them spark their creativity. While at the pumpkin patch, each of the boys picked out a pumpkin for themselves as well as one for Miss Bailey. So we thought this would be a great time to let them really make them their own. And my, what a fantastic job they did! Here are some pictures of the diligent workers. . .

Fall Fun

Last week was quite rainy and pretty dreadful. The sun finally started peeking through the clouds Saturday; so when Sunday rolled around, we decided we'd take advantage of the beautiful weather and head to the pumpkin patch. We loaded up that afternoon and went to Cedar Hill Farms. The boys were so excited to be out of the house. We all had fun feeding and petting the farm animals, watching a chicken show, riding horses, going on a hayride, making our way through a corn maze, and picking out the perfect pumpkins for painting. The boys also had a blast on the playground, in the hay fort, and walking through a hay maze, while Jeff and I munched on some home-made fudge! Here are lots and lots of pictures of our precious, beautiful boys enjoying a precious, beautiful day God blessed us with!