A Snow Day to Remember!

Clayton and I were so surprised to find out that Knox County Schools were going to be closed on Friday! Of course as soon as we heard the news, we did our special "We don't go to school tomorrow!" dance! On Friday we waited with such anticipation! Claire had never played in the snow, and Clayton and I were sick with a stomach bug the last time it snowed! Terry came home with lots of goodies for our snowy weekend at home! Including our favorite- white powdered donuts! When Terry was a little boy, he and his sister always had white powdered donuts and hot chocolate after they played in the snow!
When the snow finally came, it was BEAUTIFUL! It made me stop and praise the Creator and just think about how AWESOME He truly is!
Claire was ready for a nap about the time that Clayton was ready to go outside. So Terry and Clayton bundled up and headed outside to work on a snowman. I couldn't believe how big it was. Clayton always hunts around the house for unusual stuff to put on his snowman. This year he made a snowboarder. I had to take a pic of our neighbors creative snow dog! Check out the collar and leash! When Claire woke up from her nap, we bundled up and headed outside to join the fun! All of the neighborhood families were out playing too! We had so much fun together! Here they are building a snow fort.I think this is the first time since Clayton was Claire's age that he has really got to experience sledding! Our house sits at the top of a pretty good size hill, so the sleds went fast! It got a little interesting when one of the neighbors brought out their bike ramp! Here they are piled up at the bottom of the hill! So glad we don't have pics of Clayton pushing me down the hill! He wanted me to go over the ramp so bad, but those of you that know me , know that I'm a big chicken! So I tried to push away from the ramp and ended up in a drain!
Here goes Claire! Claire had been home sick a few days before, so she was still not herself. She liked the snow, but remained expressionless the entire time, that is until we had to go in and then she threw a fit to stay outside! She was content just watching everyone sled! Of course she was attached to Daddy's hip most of the time! After hours of fun, everybody went inside to warm up and eat lunch and powdered donuts! Of course, because my love language is quality time, this snowy weekend was just what I needed!
Father , thank you so much for this wonderful day of fun with my family and neighbors! May we never cease to praise you for how much you love us!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

I can remember sitting in music class when I was in the 4th grade singing this song over and over! I thought I would share some pics of my favorite things from the holidays with you..
This is Clayton going a little stir crazy on our drive to Kentucky for Mission of Hope. Terry's mom knits scarves and hats for us to give to the kids. Clayton decided to model a few.
Tracy and I at the Nativity pageant. I love spending time with my BFF!
Claire in her Christmas dress from my mom.
This is Clayton's gingerbread house that he made at school during his Christmas party. I was so impressed at the detail! One of my favorite Christmas decorations! Check out the red hots mysteriously missing from the top of the house!
On Christmas eve, Clayton was taking a bath before we began our trip to my grandmother's house in Kingsport. He came rushing down the stairs and shouted, "HO, HO, HO!" Check out his bubble beard!
This is Claire and my 86 year old grandmother, Irene. Definitely one of my favorite things on earth- that God has allowed me so many years with my precious mamaw!

Clayton is Nine!

We celebrated Clayton's ninth birthday on Friday, Dec. 18th. I can't believe that my baby is really nine years old! Clayton was so excited because he only had to go to school for 1/2 day on his birthday! Clayton invited a few of his friends to go bowling. We had his party at Strike and Spare on Western Avenue. He loves music and has had a few guitar lessons this year, so it didn't surprise me when he wanted a "Rock Band" theme. Here is his drum cake that Ms. Karen made for him.

The boys had the best time bowling! They bowled for about an hour and then took a break to eat pizza and cake. The whole time, they were anxious to get back to their game!
Here is Clayton opening presents. He got a new pair of tennis shoes, a nerf gun, an Erector building set, money and gift cards. He enjoyed opening presents, but it was priceless when he looked at me and said, "Mom, it is funny, but the older I get, I kind of enjoy reading the cards better than opening the presents!"
Strike and Spare gave Clayton his own bowling pin for his friends to sign. We love you Clayton and thank God that He has blessed our family with you! We have enjoyed watching you grow over the past nine years!

I'm Thankful For My Family!

We celebrated Thanksgiving at our house this year with Terry's family. Here are my beautiful nieces Karie and Kasie. I love them so much! When Terry and I started dating they were only 1 year old! Now they are 20! I had the best time watching them play with Claire! She loves them! Of course they try to hug and love on Clayton, but he runs! Silly boys!
We always take each family's picture in front of the fireplace. This is Terry's sister- Aunt Tracy, Uncle Brad, Karie, Kasie, my nephew Sam, and Karie and Kasie's friend Abby.We enjoyed Turkey, dressing (made with my grandmother's recipe for cornbread), mashed potatoes, Ally's mac and cheese, Aunt Tracy's corn casserole (My absolute favorite!), green beans, deviled eggs, Kasie's pumpkin pie, and Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Cake! Whew! It was delicious!
Right after everyone left, Clayton and Claire were playing and Claire fell and cut her eye on a chair! Here she is with her first official boo-boo! OUCH!That night we went to the Fantasy of Trees with Terry's mom, which has been our family's tradition since Clayton was two. We had a great time with our family! We love you all!

Our Little Cupcake Is One!

It is hard to believe that Claire Elise turned one on October 21st! It seems like yesterday that I was bringing home my precious baby that I had longed and prayed for! I can't imagine our family without sweet Claire! She is such a blessing! She has such a fun loving personality and always smiles and shows off all of her teeth! She is walking now and loves to toddle around and squeal in delight at the things she discovers. One of her favorite things to do is to play with her big brother! She ADORES him! One of our favorite things right now is when you ask her to give you a kiss- she leans over to you and puckers her lips, then when you kiss her she giggles! She spends a lot of time playing with her new doll house and pushing her baby doll in the stroller.
I didn't really do a theme for her party, which is so unlike me! My mom ordered her the adorable cupcake dress so, I decided to use cupcakes, polka dots, and the colors hot pink and lime green. We had planned to have her party outside at our neighborhood playground, but the weather was freezing on the day of her party, so we decided to have it at our house.
Sarah August made her cake and cupcakes! She is so talented! They were delicious as always!


When we sang "Happy Birthday" to her, she wasn't quite sure if she liked all of the attention! She looks very puzzled here! She was very lady like and did not dive into her cupcake at first- which really surprised us! Claire loves to eat! However, once she tasted Sarah's cake, she loved it! She loved opening presents! Here she is with one of her favorite gifts, The Good Manners Tea Set. We have had lots of tea parties already and she loves to dance to the music it plays! Her Pop and Nana Carol gave her a glow worm. When we made it light up she just giggled and giggled! Terry, Clayton, and I gave her a doll house. She plays with it all the time. She loves to put the "baby" in it's bed! Mamaw Brenda gave her this cute pink chair. She wouldn't stay in it at first, but after everybody left, she crawled up in it to pose for a picture! Now she sits in it all the time! We had such a fun day celebrating the first year of Claire's life with family and friends ! Claire loves all of you and we are so thankful that you are part of her life!

"Children are a blessing from the Lord." Psalm 127:3-4