Friday, December 30, 2011

Christmas Day

After a late Christmas Eve the boys were late sleepers on Christmas morning. Because Kevin had to work dayshift (7am-7pm) we spent the morning with Nana & Papaw at their house which is a 1 minute drive.Santa was not making his appearance until daddy got home. We were so bummed that it turned out this way, but we did what we had to do to make sure daddy got to see all the action.


Checking out the hermit crabs. Karson is in LOVE with these nasty things. Everytime we go to the pet shop he wants a crab. Nana bought him some but they are staying at her house :) A win/win for everyone.

Taking an even closer look with Papaw

Kip got a little McDonald's playset. He loves it.
All smiles for Christmas Morning :)


Karson got a huge tool set. I would say overall from all the toys he got this is his favorite and he plays with this the most. It's not just the tools like screwdriver/hammer but it's jackhammer, jig saws, etc.

The boys were happy to have Aunt Amanda in town.

Kipton looking cute in his new chair from Nana & Papaw

Nana cooked us all breakfast that morning and then a big dinner around 1:00. The boys took their naps at Nana's and I was able to just hang around with Mom and Aunt Amanda. After the boys woke up we came back to our house and waited for Daddy to get home.

When Daddy got home Papaw took me and the boys for a "drive" to look for reindeer. We did see some deer while we were out driving on our road. Nana and Daddy were getting the presents out. When we got back home "Santa" had been to our house. That was about the only way we could figure to do it so late in the day. Kevin was so happy to see the boys. Especially the bicycle that Karson had been asking for the entire Christmas season.

Daddy opening his gifts from Nana & Papaw

Super Excited!!!



Some new train sets from Santa

Kip got his own ride.
"I'm outta here!"

A Santa sucker was in Kip's stocking. Yummy!


Operation! I think Mommy was more excited about this game than Karson was.

Overall, we had a GREAT Christmas Day. It was relaxing and full of family time. Despite Kevin's work schedule it was all so wonderful. Here's to hoping that someday his schedule is "normal".

Hope all of you had a Merry Christmas

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve Day took an unexpected turn. We had everything planned around Kevin's work schedule and at the last minute it changed. Typical! But we made it work. On Christmas Eve the boys and I hung around the house until it was time to go to great-grandma's house for dinner around 5:00. Karson had a great time with his cousin Katelyn. She kept him entertained the entire time.
Playing games

Playing hide & go seek. One of our favorite games these days


We didn't think that Kevin would be able to make it to my grandma's house for Christmas Eve dinner because he had to work but he did get off work in time. We are so happy to have such a dedicated and hard working husband and daddy.

Karson got a train whistle! Loved it.....for a few minutes and then it was on to the next for him. This is something that I really struggled with for Karson. He was very excited and would get overly anxious about the present opening. I have really stressed to Karson that it's not all about the presents but it's hard for a 2 year old to fully understand. I am hoping that someday he does understand.


Kipton was so good. He was so happy and friendly to all of our family. He thought that this tractor was to ride on instead of to push.


My trusty sidekick. He is such a momma's boy and won't hardly let me out of his sight.

After Grandma's house we went to Kevin's parents for their Christmas gift exchange. It is always so hard to go to so many places but we made it work and the boys were super that night. They did really good to be out so late.


Karson enjoying his new Mickey Mouse scooter he saw in the toy magazine and has wanted ever since. His Mamaw and Papaw bought this for him. He loves it!


Kipton taking a break and loving on his new dog. So sweet


Kevin's parents also got the boys drum sets. Aren't I the lucky one to hear them? HAHA!

That concludes our Christmas Eve. It was a great one and the boys did great. So thankful for another year of family, food, and laughs together. The boys make it so fun!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Family Time

Read: John 1:19-28

It’s easy to pass by the manger scene without giving it any thought. All we see is a small human baby lying in a manger. But this Baby is the mighty God who created all the heavens and the earth. His mother feeds Him and changes His diapers, but He provides food for all His creatures and holds all the stars in place. His foster-father Joseph guards His life, but He commands the wind and the waves.

As this small Baby grows to manhood this same wonder continues. He who formed the mountains and valleys learns to be a carpenter in Joseph’s shop. He, who spread out the galaxies in the universe, walks from place to place teaching and proclaiming God’s Kingdom to all. He, who commands all the forces of nature, surrenders Himself to be arrested, beaten, whipped and nailed to a cross. And it is through His bitter suffering and death He wins our pardon, forgiveness and peace.


Why did He do it all? Why did He set aside His majesty, glory and power and come to live in our world? He did it because of His intense dedication to His Father, who loved the world so much He gave His only-begotten Son to save us, and because of His own undying love for you and for all people.

Our Savior still comes to us in the same quiet, mysterious way today. He invites you to His Church this weekend where you will hear His ancient Word and learn more about Him who gave His all for you. There He will prepare you to celebrate His birth with a profound joy, peace and hope next weekend.

A Daily Devotional from http://www.aroundc3.com/

Just wanted to write down some things so I will remember how life was like with a 2.5 year old and 17 month old. Last night we went to our church's Christmas EVE EVE service. It was awesome!!! I had everyone dressed up and we took some pictures before we headed out. I am so thankful that we spent the money last Christmas on a nice camera that will take good pictures with a self timer. I don't think we would ever have a nice picture if not. We haven't had pictures taken professionally all year because I can do them myself.



Even though the night did not go as planned it was still a great night with our family of four. I fixed a little dinner because I didn't want to mess up the kitchen. (I know sounds lazy) but I was going to be up cooking a bunch of candies and casseroles and didn't want an even bigger mess of dinner so I fixed sloppy joes and french fries. Well...NO ONE would eat it. Imagine that! We are having a very hard time with dinners right now especially with Karson. He has always been one to eat really good but for some reason we aren't having much luck. A stage I guess? So on our way to church at 6:45 we are feeding the boys in the car McDonald's chicken nuggets and apples. I sound like a horrible mom but they were hungry then and it was getting later and later and I did not want them to be hungry at church. To my surprise they both ate their entire meal! Kevin said maybe we should do that more often.

While we are in the car Karson says he has to pee. We are on the interstate so I say "Just wait until we get to church we are almost there!" So he says okay and never mentions it again. We get to church and Kevin gets Karson out and his entire seat and outfit is soaked with pee! He has been potty trained since he was 27 months and hasn't had many accidents since. I only had an extra pair of sweats in my bag so he got to wear a t-shirt and sweats to church. NICE!!!! I was super upset but I guess there is no reason. He has just as much fun playing with is pals.
After church we went to Kevin's parents house since we were in South Point and the boys played and played with their cousin. They had such a great time and we didn't even leave until 10pm which is WAY past their bedtimes. They held up so well and had such a good time playing. I thought Kipton looked super cute! He is at a stage now where he is so loving and sweet and so good. It has taken him his full 17 months to be this way. HAHA! He has been such a high maintenance baby and  I'm glad he is giving me a little break right now. 


By the time we got home and got baths it was 11:00 that the boys were going to bed. Besides the dinner in the car, the peeing on the outfit, the boys were so good. I am so lucky and undeserving to be their mommy.

 I am so lucky to spend so much time with them and have such a hard working husband who allows me to stay with them. I am so blessed this Christmas and ALL the rest of the year. I am not taking ANYTHING for granted! I am forever grateful for our SAVIOR for giving me all that I have.


Hope everyone has a great Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas DAY!!

*Remember the REASON for the SEASON*

Thursday, December 22, 2011

What are you looking at?

At our AWESOME CHURCH they have daily devotionals that are sent to your email each day. I'll be honest sometimes I am too busy to read them but I normally do read them because they are very personal to my own life. Just wanted to share the one from today:



What Are You Looking At?



Read: John 1:6-8
Have you ever taken a close look at a manger scene? There are a bunch of figures all gathered together: Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men, perhaps even some sheep, camels and a donkey. Usually they aren’t placed in little groups talking among themselves. Instead, they’re focused on that Baby whose birth brought them all together in that place.


What if you were one of the characters in that manger scene this Christmas? Would you be focused on the Christ Child like the others, or would your attention be somewhere else? Would you be gazing out to the side, staring at the Christmas tree and all the presents lying under it? Would you be scanning the kitchen and dining room thinking about Christmas dinner? Would you be staring into the family room where friends are gathered for a Christmas party?


All those things are great parts of Christmas, but only one thing belongs in the center as the focus of our Christmas celebrations. That is God’s Son, born on Christmas day. The mighty God became one of us and came into our world to share our life, to suffer and die in our place, and to rise to life again to guarantee our eternal future.


His birth brings joy, hope, comfort and peace to all our Christmas celebrations. He is always with us to provide our needs and protect us from all harm until the Last Day when He will come in glory to bring us to our everlasting home.

Tomorrow (Friday) our church is having it's EVE EVE service and I can't wait!! It is always so exciting to see what else they will come up with.


Boys before shopping and lunch with Mom!
I love them sooo much!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

House Update

As of last week our contractor was DONE! We are SO happy to see him gone. I know that sounds awful but it has been a long 6 months. We have more work to do inside and outside but Kevin and my Dad will finish those small things.

Love Christmas wreaths! They make it so festive :)



Looking into the kitchen from the living room. It's all one huge room.


I have hung some things on the walls but still not finished. Need to find some "big" pictures for the bigger walls. Those are the ones I always have trouble with.

The pantry. Kevin hung all of the shelves. He is so tired of hanging shelves. We are so happy to have a handy man around here. I wish I had about 2 more of him sometimes to get all of the work done. But I have to remember it will get done "in time". I am such an inpatient person. I am working on it :)


An up close look at the counter tops and cabinets. I am so happy with the way the kitchen turned out.

A little table I have in the kitchen.
I love poinsettias!


I will have more pictures once they are finished up with the trim work.

Hope everyone is getting everything finished up and wrapped. I am done shopping but not done with my wrapping. It is kind of hard to wrap presents with two kids around all day. Then I always say I will do it at night and then I'm so tired by 9:00 that I just want to clean up and rest.

It will probably be one of those last minute Christmas Eve things. :)

O the joys of parenting!!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Pictures with Santa

We took the boys to see Santa about a week ago. We picked a weekday that Kevin was home and went in the morning so that there was not a long line. I was so proud of Karson especially. I was a little nervous that he would have reservation about seeing Santa that close but he didn't. He walked right up and sat on his lap and proudly stated that he wanted a bicycle for Christmas. Kipton also loved Santa and sat on his lap without any reservation. I was so happy with the outcome and with the picture.
Kipton (16 months) & Karson (2.5 yrs)
2011


Last year Karson was not as much of a fan of Santa, but you MUST still buy the picture.
They are "Classic" and will make the boys laugh someday.

Karson (21 months) & Kipton (5 months)


Our first year having a baby and Karson was a delight.
He thought Santa was fun and loved to touch his beard this year.

Karson (8 months)

Hope for many more years of sitting on Santa's lap. I never want my boys to grow up!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Our Weekend

The weekend has went by so fast. Kevin has been off from Friday and won't go back to work until Tuesday. We LOVE having him home with us. We really miss him while he is gone.

On Friday, Kevin and I dropped the boys off at my parent's house so we could go to his Christmas Dinner for his company. It was super nice and we got to catch up with some of our friends from his work and all of the wives. We also got a chance to do some Christmas shopping before the dinner. It was nice to get away. I always look forward to date nights with Kevin.



On Saturday, we worked ALL day on the house. We had lots of little things to get done. We have 7 closets in our new house that needed shelving. I never knew how time consuming putting shelving in until this house. Kevin has become best friends with those shelves. Poor guy! I think he hung around 5 shelves just on Saturday plus some cabinets in my laundry room. He is such a trooper. I also tackled painting our hallway. I decided to try a color and picked a neutral tan color to go well with the white trim. I also had to paint all of our interior doors. They come a little creamy looking and knew I had this job coming for a few weeks now so I went ahead and tackled 8 doors this day. I was painting for 7 hours. The boys were super and entertained themselves most of the day with a few breaks for lunch, nap, and dinner. I was up until 1:30am finishing up the house.



Today, Sunday we had my dad's 52nd birthday party. We had lots of company and had a great time. Our friends Erin and Josh went ahead and brought the boys their Christmas gifts because they go out of town for Christmas. They had a great time opening gifts and it was a glimpse of how they will be for Christmas.

Kip opening his gift :)

Erin & Karson


Kip going to town! Loving the paper and ribbon.


The guys: Josh, Kev, and Karson watching the Lions game on their phone.


Cute Couple : Erin & Josh


This picture cracks me up. They are always being jokesters!

Erin and I : After looking at this picture I think: "Stacy you look way too tired here!" Get some sleep woman :) Erin is looking all fresh and pretty. Need to work on that tonight :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!! Just 1 week until Christmas :)

Friday, December 16, 2011

Moved in and Settled!

We are finally in our new home and settled. I have unpacked all boxes and done almost all of the organizing. I still have some shelves to hang in the closets and lots of painting to do. We did have the whole house painted but I chose to just have them paint it all white and then when I had time and could really think about the color choices I would paint the colors. I have to admit I am not a HUGE color person. I am a scardy cat when it comes to color especially dark or bright colors. I really do love white. I think it makes the rooms look so much bigger.

We decided to also let my dad and Kevin finish the trim work. It was a decision we pretty much had to make because of the price increases in everything towards the end. BUT it's totally fine with us. We will get it done...(I am hoping before January 1st. That is my goal for them :)

Moving Day (My friend Erin & Kevin)


The boys have really done well with the move. I can't complain at all. They have not asked to go back to the "old" house. Karson did ask me if the "old" house was where daddy lived. I think he got confused there for a bit that daddy wouldn't be coming with us in the move but he realized that we were all together at the "new" house.




I will say that I was a bit sad and overwhelmed with the move. I think I only cried twice. It is just a special home where you bring your babies home to. We had lived in our "old" house for 5 years together and brought both boys home there. The boys really did love the neighborhood but it was time for a change. Kevin and I needed the change more than anyone. We could not live in the close tight neighborhood for much longer. We need to breathe and we need our space. Well....we got it!! I could go on my front porch and not a single person could see me. Kevin has been deer hunting more than he ever has because he doesn't have to drive anywhere just walk outback and start looking for a path to walk.Kevin has lived in South Point his entire life so I was a little worried what he would think about the country life. I am used to it because I grew up in the country. He says so far so good. I think he is seeing the peacefulness it brings.
I had my pumpkins to throw out because it was after Thanksgiving so we "let out some stress" but throwing them over into the burn pile. Karson thought we were hilarious.


1st night at the new house - Snuggled up with Daddy


Kitchen on moving day.

Still have lots of work to do!! I will post a house tour as soon as I finish up everything.
Better hit the hay. Will have a bright and early riser at 7:30am :)

Goodnight Y'all