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!

Trip to the zoo

It was a beautiful weekend, so we decided to enjoy the day outdoors. We loaded up the car and went to the Greenville zoo. It has been awhile since we have been to the zoo, so Ella was pretty amazed at everything she saw. She was excited to the elephants - although the second time we saw them that day, she commented over and over again about how much they stink. We really enjoyed watching the orangutans. There was a baby one that was playing all over the place. The daddy was very large - he came over in front of the glass window and ate a pumpkin right in front of us.

After the zoo, we stayed and played at Cleveland Park for a while. Then Ella got some ice cream. Couldn't ask for a better afternoon!

First taste of cereal...

Mary Catherine had her first taste of rice cereal tonight. She wasn't too sure what to think of it. She made some pretty funny grimaces on her face at first. She wasn't getting the whole spoon concept - muchless the concept that there was something weird on it, too. Ella was quiet intrigued with the whole thing though. She thought it was pretty cool that sister was getting her very own cereal for dinner.

She started getting it after a few minutes though. I think she liked sucking on the spoon better than she did eating the cereal though.

Cereal? My thumb is much better anytime! :)

And she sits...

We are in Greenwood this weekend, so I didn't bring my camera (mistake!) I have been thinking that maybe Mary Catherine could sit on her own, but today, I tested her. And low and behold - she can sit for quite awhile by herself. I even had a toy out in front of her - she just sat there reached out and started playing with the toy.

So, tonight at dinner, we cleaned up Ella's old booster seat that we used to sit her in at the table (instead of using a highchair). We strapped it to a chair at the dinner table and put Mary Catherine in it. She sat at the table with us for dinner and just sat there looking at us, watching, smiling and occasionally sucking her thumb.

Ella wasn't too sure about Mary Catherine using her seat though. She had to sit in it a few minutes, whine about it a few minutes, and then I think she was okay with it. She ended up giving Mary Catherine a hug and a kiss and insisting that her chair be much closer to Ella's chair than it originally was.

Bitter sweet...that's for sure. Awesome to see your child reach a milestone, but sad that time is ticking so fast.

Best Friends

I was getting ready to leave Ella's room tonight after tucking her in and she said, "Mama." I said, "Yes Ella". She said, "You're my best friend.". Tears welled up in my eyes. I went to hug her and kiss her and tell her how much that means to me. She then said, "Daddy's my best friend, too."

I thank God for moments like this!!

The girls sleeping

One of my favorite things to do is to watch the girls sleep. They are such angels!

Mary Catherine 5 months

Mary Catherine turned 5 months on November 4. She is just such a delight! Poor thing has been suffering from a cold for the past 2 weeks. May be waking her up in the middle of the night, but sure hasn't stopped her from smiling!

She is rolling all over the place. We can't just leave her on the floor and turn our back for a few minutes anymore - you just don't know where she might roll. She will sometimes even stick her hinny up in the air and kind of army crawl forward. I wouldn't say she is crawling...but she is definitely starting to do a little lunge forward!

We have really had to start talking to Ella about small toys on the floor. Everything that Mary Catherine can get her hands on goes straight to her mouth!