Happy First Birthday RILEY KATE!!!!!!!

WOW! I cannot believe that it's been over a year ago that Riley was born! It still seems like a couple months ago! Her birthday fell the day before Thanksgiving this year and we were definitely reminded that we have a lot to be thankful for. We spent Thanksgiving week in Texas this year so we celebrated by going to Incredible Pizza and having cake with my parents! Then, when we got back into town I took little cookies to her class on a Wednesday night and had a little party for her! (The next to last pic is of her and her favorite lady in the nursery, Ms. JoAnn. She really wanted one of her cookies!) This year has flown by so fast and we have fallen in love with Riley Kate more and more each day. This is such a fun age and she is such a character. She is so loving and funny and wild all at the same time. She gets into way more than Addyson ever did and she's keeping us on our toes for sure! We love her so much and are so thankful that she is our little girl! Happy first birthday Riley Kate! Mommy and Daddy and Addyson love you so much!!!

Talking to Jesus!

I wanted to sit down real quick and write about this so I wouldn't forget it! Tonight we got home from church and I put Riley down and was helping Addyson get ready for bed. She was being so sweet and so good. We followed our normal routine: brush teeth, potty, put on pj's, read story, say prayers, hugs and kisses and good night. Well, when it got time to go to sleep, she started whining and saying she was not tired. On her bed was a little book and she wanted to look at it. (Normally, that is what I tell her she can do at rest time because she is trying to give up her nap.) She wanted me to leave the light on and I said no so she started to cry and I just said good night and walked out. She was crying pretty loud and I didn't want her to wake up Riley so I went back in and told her that was enough. She kept saying she just wasn't tired. So, I told her to talk to Jesus! She said, "Oh, ok" and she put her book down. (Shocking--I thought we were about to have it out!) I walked into my room to change clothes and through the monitor I heard her talking. I went to her door and listened in and she was saying, "And, Lord, I told my mommy I wasn't tired and wanted the light on so I could read my book, but she said no. I know there is a light in here, but I still can't see my book. But, that's ok....And, help me to be a good girl and sleep all night in my big girl bed. And, I think that's it. Amen"
I stood there and listened to my sweet girl talking to Jesus! She says the blessing (sings it) and we say prayers together every night, but it is rare that I get to hear her genuinely talking her own words to Him. She called me back in there and told me that she had talked to God and she was tired now! Amazing how when we start and end our day with talking to God, things get better--even for a 3 year old. I think I still hear her talking up there, but at least she is happy! :)And, if she's talking to Jesus--there is nothing I would rather her be doing!

Little Bo Peep and her little Sheep!!!

Our church does an awesome Fall Festival the week before Halloween with lots of inflatables, games, train ride, pony ride, music.... It is a lot of fun! This year Addyson was Little Bo Peep and Riley was the sheep! They were so cute!!! Then, our friends Molly and Heath had a party on Halloween night where we ate a lot of food and then trick or treated around their neighborhood. It was so cute to see all the kids just take off running to the houses to get candy! They were precious and it was all SO much fun!!!

Costume fun!

Our connect group had a couples costume party and it was so much fun! It was a rule that you could not buy a costume, but you were supposed to use whatever you have at your own house. Justin and I thought and thought about what to be, but everything we came up with was hard for me to do with a growing belly--I can't fit into a lot of the clothes in my closet. So, we opted to be pregnant white trash! It was hilarious! Justin was total redneck with his short jean cutoffs and torn shirt and I wore a mini skirt, tank top, and I borrowed a white trash wig from a guy in our neighborhood! hahahaha We also carried a baby doll with only a diaper that showed we had a baby on our hip and one in our belly! Everyone was so creative with thier costumes and it was so much fun to get together and play!!!

Pumpkin Patch!!!

It is definitely a tradition for us to go, around the beginning of October, to a pumpkin patch! This year we went to Burt's Pumpkin Farm. It was a lot of fun and the girls loved walking around all the pumpkins and picking out big ones and little ones for us to take home. We picked pumpkins and then had a picnic before heading back home. It was a lot of fun!!!

Riley Kate......SO much fun!!!

Riley Kate is all over the place! Her little personality is so funny and we call her crazy because she is into EVERYTHING--way more than Addyson ever was! She will put anything into her mouth, she loves to play in the toilet water, and she has a goofy little laugh that will have you on the ground rolling. She likes to annoy Rookie and she's started to stand up to Addyson. She still has hardly any hair, but I, of course, faithfully put a headband and bow in it so she will look like a girl. She is doing sign language and can communicate milk, more, food, thank you, and all done! She also knows how to say "up" if she wants on the couch or in your lap. Her first word was "dog" so everything she sees that is furry or an animal she will say "doe" aka "dog"! We are so blessed by her---she is so sweet and loving, but very independent. She is not the cuddler of the family, but she is our heart and we love her so much!

Our God is greater..........

One morning I walked in our sitting room and found Addyson playing her drum and singing "Our God!" No sound rings in my ears and my heart like hearing my sweet girl praise Jesus! I know she is young and probably doesn't know exactly what she is saying, but I trust that God is working on her little heart as she sings praises to Him! I absolutley LOVE that this is her new favorite song--along with Glory to God and Oh Happy Day! What a blessing!

Addyson, the ballerina!

Addyson started taking dance in September and it is the cutest thing in the whole world! She absolutley loves wearing her leotard, tutu, and tights! It was so much fun shopping for ballet shoes and tap shoes to fit her little feet! :) I know she is my child so I'm sure I'm a little biased, but in all sincerity, she is actually really good at it! She performed with her class (after only having class 4 times) at the Cumming fair. She actually did the moves and didn't just stand there! hahaha They were SO adorable!!!

Destin with the girls!!!!!!!!!

One of the greatest surprises of my summer was finding out that my girl friends from college were going to be in Destin the same time we had planned to go as a family! During college we would always make the trip when school got out! Well, after we graduated they have continued to go (so almost 10 years now). I never could go because it's always in August and when I was teaching, we were always in pre-planning or starting school. Anyway, when we moved back here (and since I'm not teaching) I was excited to be able to try and jump back in with them. It just so happened that they were planning to go the same time we were. So, while we were in Destin, I got to go spend 2 nights with them! It was so much fun to reconnect and catch up with girls that had played such a huge part in my life. We just layed out by the pool all day and it was so neat to see how God has taken us all in so many different directions, yet somehow, nothing had seemed to change with any of us (by the way, there were 13 of us!)! We all had or would be turning 30 that year, too, so we celebrated with cake and t-shirts that Katy made that said 30 IS HOT!!!! It was so much fun and I can't wait to go again next year!

more Destin pics...

All of our pictures are on Justin's laptop but I was able to capture a few off Kim's blog and from facebook....So, as soon as I can figure out how to pull them from his Mac, I will post more!

Destin with the fam....

In August we met up in Destin with my parents and Kim and Fleetwood. We rented a house for the week and had an amazing time! This was Addyson's first time at the beach since she was 9 months old and she was so much fun to watch. She absolutley loved the sand and collecting sea shells and she loved running down to the water and running back (kind of like those little birds you see running to and from the water!). Riley was 9 months old so she just wanted to crawl and eat the sand so that made it interesting but she loved the pool and immediately started kicking like a little frog when we put her in the water! It was a great week with my parents and a great week for the cousins to spend time together---what a blessing to have been able to spend a week at the beach! Addyson still talks about "the club" (which I found out is the house we stayed at), the pool, the beach and all the seashells she collected! What a great trip!!!