Sweet potatoes and some fun

A fun night around the house...

Mary Catherine enjoying sweet potatoes.
Looking a little suspicious too...but what in the world could this cutie be getting into?

Ella was playing around in her Dora dress-up clothes - and giving daddy some love when he got home from work. There's nothing like some love from Ella!

Christmas lights

We went to the Roper Mountain Science Center to see their display of lights. What a fantastic time! We drove thru the first time and Ella stayed in her own seat. Here is a picture of her...

After we drove around the lights, we stopped and walked around. They had all kinds of things to do. Along the trail of lights, there were various places to take our pictures. Here's Ella having a good time pretending to be a soldier.

They had a tent with Santa Clause, but of course, Ella didn't want to have anything to do with Santa. We went inside for a brief minute to peek at him, but that is about it. Instead, we got some hot chocolate and roasted some marshmallows.

Ella had to try by herself at first...

Then, she asked for help from mom...
Then, we had fun eating them...

We walked around to look at the lights on the walking trail and took more pictures.

And you wonder where Mary Catherine was? Asleep in the stroller, bless her heart!! Maybe next year she will stay awake and enjoy the lights a little.

Sisters

Amazing how much they have both grown. It is just such a blessing to see them play together and to watch Mary Catherine react to Ella. They sure do love each other!

Decorating the Christmas tree

We borrowed a tree from Mimi and PawPaw so that we could have a tree at McKinney Lane, too this year. Ella and I had a great time putting it together. She helped me sort all of the different branches and then she brought them all to me while I put the tree together. I think she enjoyed being such a big help.

After Clint got all of the lights on, it was time to decorate the tree. Ella helped, too, of course. Here is a picture of the ornaments that Ella put on the tree. I think we counted like 10 ornaments all right there together, a lot of which shared a branch together. Oh to be a child again :)

Ella's Christmas program

Ella's school had a Christmas Program. The kids did fantastic. They all sang songs and had a manger scene. It was great to see how it all came together.

It is amazing all of the songs that she has learned this year!! She even can say The Lord's Prayer. It was great to see her on the "big stage" again. Her teachers weren't really sure how she would sing for the program because she had a tendency to not sing during practice. I told them to rest assure that she would do just fine on the big stage - and of course, she did :)

Trying to get the girls to pose

I was trying to get the girls to pose for a Christmas card. I didn't get a great shot of them together, but as always, got a couple of good pictures by themselves.

Mary Catherine 6 months

Mary Catherine was 6 months on Dec 4. I took her to the doctor on Dec 9. She weighed in at 15 lbs 2 oz (30th percentile) and is 26 inches (60th percentile). Her head is 41 cm (15-20th percentile). She checked out just fine. Dr. Stoeber even told me that he would take her home with him if I ever needed him to. She got 3 shots. She did so good with them though. I was looking at her when the nurse gave her the first shot. I had to take a double look at the nurse after the first shot because MC didn't make the first grimace. The 2nd shot, she cried a little, but by the 3rd, she just stared at me. I picked her, gave her some love and she just acted as if nothing happened!

She was a little cranky that afternoon and ran some fever that night. But, all in all, everything went just fine.

Greenwood Christmas Parade

We went to the Greenwood Christmas Parade. Boy was it brrrrr chilly outside!!! I don't think we realized how cold it was going to be. But, it was well worth it. We all had a great time. Ella wasn't feeling 100%, but she still enjoyed it. There were 2 little girls by us that shared their candy with Ella, which was really sweet. Ella stayed up on Clint's shoulders most of the time. We saw horses, bands, lots of dancers, cheerleaders - we saw it all.

Mary Catherine slept thru most of it. She had no idea what was going on around her :)

Sister love

Ella said, "Mary Catherine - you're my best friend!" How sweet!!

Giving Thanks...

I have so much for which to be thankful. I have a wonderful husband. Although we can't seem to decide where to live, he does so much for me. I don't thank him enough. There are so many little things he does for me on a daily basis that I seem to take for granted - and I shouldn't!! I am so thankful for my beautiful girls. Ella is just so independent and smart and funny. We may butt heads sometimes, but she also steals my heart. Mary Catherine is just pure and utter joy. Her smile can make even the darkest day seem like the brightest. Her laughter can bring a tear to my eye. I am also so thankful for my Lord and Saviour. Only thru Him is all of this possible.

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Thanksgiving in Mississippi

The girls and I traveled to Mississippi for Thanksgiving. As Ella would say, "It's a looonng way," but well worth it. We had a great time! Jody and Zac got there on Wednesday and stayed the night with us at Nana's. Ella loved playing out at "Nana's park." She even showed me how she can swing on the big swing all by herself. She would pump her legs so hard and lean forward and backward...I was speechless!!
Zac and Mary Catherine

Zac and Ella played outside a lot on Thanksgiving. They played croquet - or at least tried to :) We played a little football. Zac and Ella put together lots of puzzles, played "Doggie Doggie where's your bone (or as Ella would say - "phone").

Here's Zac climbing the tree in the backyard.

...and Ella right behind him. Everything that Zac did, Ella was going to try too!

That evening, we went out to PawPaw Bern's house. We had a good time visiting with all of them. Ella especially enjoyed PawPaw taking her for a ride on the tractor (riding lawnmower).

On Friday, we went over to Granny Ciel's house. She was getting some pictures out of a box for Ella and I looked down and there was Mary Catherine on all fours like she was about to take off and crawl!!

And of course, after concentrating so hard, she smiles!

We had a great afternoon visiting. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Ella loves going to Nana's house. She especially loves it when Nana reads to her before bedtime.

What a blessed Thanksgiving we had! The only thing that was missing was Clint. Although we had a great time visiting with family, we sure did miss him a lot.

Thanksgiving in Byron

We went to Byron the weekend before Thanksgiving. It was great to fellowship with the family...lots of laughter and joy.

Of course, the sweet, sweet kids that were all there made it that much more special.

Looks like Carter, Pearce and Mary Catherine are already carrying on conversations. Might be trouble one day! :)

Carter has the sweetest smile. He will just beam from ear to ear and when he does, he shrugs his little shoulders up. It is so cute!!

Mary Catherine and Pearce hanging out....looks like Pearce is on the move for something and Mary Catherine is just thinking about it.

Hard to believe that Ella is one of the "older kids" now. She and Parker had a great time. They play so well together - Ella just loves hanging out with him!

Ella really got into playing pretend with the "little people" house and barn. I think that PawPaw Ace was her best "pretender". At one point, he was telling me that they went on a hay ride. I kept thinking - when did they go on a hay ride? Then I realized that it was the little people on the farm that went for a hay ride!

Clint and Ella

Mimi and PawPaw Ace with all of the grandkids.

This picture cracks me up. It looks like Mary Catherine is just having a blast!

She is just too photogenic, I think!