Family Picture

Family Picture

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Christmas morning




Wesley and Will are happy with their XBOX and games!  They were adamant about getting up before Anna came in to see her gifts from Santa.  They wanted to see her expressions as she first came in the room.   They ended up having to wait as the princess slept in a bit....we do not awaken the sleeping princess unless we have too!  We actually had a thunderstorm Christmas Eve which is unusual for this time of year, therefore she went to bed later than usual. Anna was concerned about Santa and the lightning!  We had a great morning as we all got to enjoy the fun of Santa again through Anna, watching her priceless expressions as she opened gifts, and more importantly the gift of being together as a family as we celebrate and cherish the greatest gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;  Immanuel--"God with us".

Santa delivers Butterscotch for Princess Anna



Anna was thrilled to get her request of  "a horse she could keep in her room" and she has named her pony....Butterscotch.  Butterscotch makes galloping sounds and neighs when you press on her ears.  Anna drags Butterscotch by her reign, through the house as we have hard wood floors so pony can slide!  It is so funny to see her treat Butterscotch like a real live pony, dragging her from room to room (she is heavy!) and talking to her, as well as "feeding" her and giving her water. She also loves to dress in her princess outfits and pretend she is riding off to her castle.  Anna loved all her presents this year and she was so surprised and excited over each one.  After unwrapping a gift she would say, "Thank you, this is what I have always wanted"!  

Christmas Eve


After attending Christmas Eve services at our church, we took the kids' annual picture under their stockings. We always wait until Christmas Eve to hang their stockings.   As you can see this activity excites Anna as she realizes Santa will be officially on his way!   The boys laugh that Anna's stocking is quite a bit bigger than theirs.  Of course there is sentimental value as the boys have had theirs for many years and did not want new ones,  therefore when our precious Anna came along there was no way to match hers with theirs. Well, so it goes the princess has the biggest stocking and she is rather proud of that fact! 

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Visit with Santa



Our boys never cared much for a visit with Santa and Anna has followed suit!  She prefers to mail in her list.  Well it was family night at our Chick-fil-a restaurant and Santa was there so we made plans to have dinner and see Santa.  Free, that is, which is really nice these days!  We figured if she decided not to visit, we would have dinner and just watch him from afar then put Anna's list in the mailbox they had provided.    She decided to be brave and visit, however as she was one of the first in line,when they called her up, she latched on to Will and begged him to come with her.  He was a good sport and gave her the support she needed.  All is well as she let Santa know what she wants for Christmas...... a HORSE!  Then she added, "one that can stay in my room"!  Note she is holding her beloved Thunder as she talks to Santa. To make double sure Santa didn't forget, Anna dictated to me as I wrote her request then she placed her list in the mailbox!  This girl loves horses so tune in after Christmas to see if Santa delivers!

Anna's Newest Ornament



Every year my mom gets the kids a new ornament and gives it to them on Thanksgiving.  They have quite the collection and she gets something that commemorates the year for them in some special way.  This year Anna was given a little ballerina as she started dance this year.  A ballerina in purple as this is her favorite color.  She also got a "My Little Pony" ornament.  Will got a GA Bulldog and Wesley got an Irishman.   Long story on that one!  Here is Anna showing us her ornament.  This is one happy girl as she LOVES Christmas and all the activities that go on this special time of year!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

I Am Too an Angel! See My Wings!


Anna has added some new words to our family's vocabulary.  Here are just a few!  

Tomorning:  reference of time, to take place in the morning or sometime in the near future.

Yessernight:  another reference of time, last night or sometime in the recent past.

Pessert:  something yummy and delicious that gets to be eaten sometime after dinner.

Ms. Pizzazz:  term used by Anna's brothers when they want to get our Spicy girl all riled up.  They started this endearing term because she loves to be the center of attention and wear fancy costumes.  For some reason it makes her absolutely furious and at that point the boys do not think she is quite the ANGEL anymore!  

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Practicing Ballet



Anna loves taking Ballet and Tap every Monday morning!  She has to practice her tapping in the laundry room or garage.  She can practice her ballet most any where.  She will tell you she is ready to have us all come and see her show!  

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Tinkerbell/Halloween



Anna really got into the whole trick or treating deal this year.  She was on the move to fill that bag with candy!  She was very good at saying Thank you and Happy Halloween as she felt she had to get both in because we practiced it before hand.   That Tinkerbell.....gotta love her! She gets to pick one treat a day and feels the need to dump the whole bucket out every time!  Decisions.....decisions!  

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Hiking and Eating Apple Pie!



We made a short hike to a beautiful waterfall and then made our way to our favorite apple orchards.  We took home lots of apples and fresh cider.  As you can see Anna was enjoying her fried apple pie down to the last bite.  The boys ate theirs so fast I didn't get the picture in time!  Happy Autumn to everyone!

Pumpkin Farm and Hay Ride



We just love this time of year and in spite of a little rain, we made our trip to Burt's Pumpkin farm in Dawsonville GA.  We were the only ones on the hay ride but not the only ones out in the rain.  We had a great time and the scenery was beautiful!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Anna The Plumber!




We had a small leak under our kitchen sink so Scott and Anna took care of it.  This girl likes to be in the middle of everything!  Of course I made sure it was nice and clean under there before I let her climb in with her dad!  That is the good thing about a leak, it makes you clean out all the old cleaning supplies and tidy up under there!  Anna loves to fiddle around in Scott's tool bag and ask what things are for and what they do.  When she was younger, she liked to use it as a doctor bag and somehow got my Dad's toe in a wrench when he wasn't paying attention, then twisted it! No more playing doctor Anna after that!  Her very important job on this project was to hold the flashlight for Dad. Well done Scott and Anna the plumbers.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Pudgy the Panda Comes To Visit




Anna's class mascot came for a visit a few weekends ago.  Pudgy stayed by her side for all of our activities.  We made some scrapbook pages and kept a journal of the visit to share with the class upon Pudgy's return.  Some highlights include Anna reading all of her library books to Pudgy, and playing in the dollhouse with Anna's own little Panda and little ponies.  The dolls actually had to move out for a few days to make room!  Of course no visit would be complete without a little shopping!  

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Swinging (Wanted to get this in with the last post)

Something Old/Something New!






Friends were getting rid of their old playground as their kids are in high school now.  Yes friends, children do grow that quickly!  The sad old playset they were going to throw away, Scott loaded on to a trailor to bring home and then used a tractor to move it to our play-yard.  Scott and Will did a total renovation by adding a lot of new lumber, new slide, swings,trapeze bar, ship steering wheel and canopy.  Throw on several coats of paint and Anna has a brand new playset!  She loves it!  Scott and Will did a great job!  Here are some photos of the project before and after.  

Friday, September 12, 2008

Aunt Peggy



We wanted to post a Happy Birthday/tribute message to our Aunt Peggy.  Aunt Peggy has been the best Aunt to me and then became the best "great aunt" to my children! She has always shared the good times and the bad times with our family and is always one to remember us in special ways.  Thanks Great Aunt Peggy and a Be-lated Happy Birthday to you!  These photos are of Aunt Peggy baking cookies with Anna.  She makes the worlds best cookies by the way.  The other is of a special teacup and saucer Aunt Peggy brought from her travels to London and gave to Princess Anna. This china is from the "royal collection" and story goes this gift came straight from the Queen who just so happened to be at Windsor Castle!  Anna treasures this gift as do I!   We love you Aunt Peggy and you will always hold a special place in our hearts!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Hand On Your Hip and Finger On Your Lip


So we are walking through the house and Anna turns to me and says, "Mommy, Hand on your hip and finger on your lip!  This is how we walk in the hall at school!" I made her freeze that way so I could grab my camera and catch the moment.  She was squirming when I got back but I got the shot!  I love the way Anna gives me details of her day at school!  We love going through her notebook as she shows me all her projects for the day!  The other day she talked all the way home and finally said with a big sigh, "Mommy, isn't it good being just me and you, and don't you like all this nice peace and quiet now that the boys are back in school!"  

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Off to Preschool



Anna has completed her 2nd week of  preschool and she is doing great!  We are liking the schedule and she loves her teacher and class.  She is in Mrs. Pam's Panda's!  How fitting for us! Several days when Scott has worked from his home office, he insisted on taking Anna with me then picking her up also.  The church is only 10 minutes from our home so that makes it nice. Scott is as bad as I am at wanting to get there a few minutes early so we can be at the front of the line to pick her up at 12:00!  Scott and I got a lunch date in also which we needed!  Here are two photos from the very first day.  Our girl is growing up so fast!  

Monday, August 18, 2008

Sprinkler Fun



We survived the first week of school!  Today was a bit easier to get out of bed as we are getting our days and nights back on school time!  Anna missed her brothers last week and we were busy shopping for the last few items on our back to school and soccer lists. Also had meet the teacher day at Anna's preschool.  She will be going Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 to 12:00. We have talked a lot about it all and I keep assuring her she will love learning, crafts, and making friends.  This will be new for her and she tells me she is "a little bit nervous" about it but "sort of" ready to go and try it out!  Please pray for her as she had a rough go of it last year for the preschool setting, so I pulled her out.  This preschool is more structured and Anna likes that sort of thing so I think this will fit her a bit better.  Not letting Anna know, but I am feeling "nervous" too!  I am glad we will still have our Mondays and Fridays together!  Anna is still enjoying the fun of summer as you can tell by these pictures.  She actually wants a big swimming pool so she can start diving like on the olympics!  She has enjoyed watching some of the events in the evenings as we have the TV on, and talks about all her family coming to watch her swim and dive in the olympics!  

Monday, August 11, 2008

Back from the Beach




I have the back from the beach and back to school BLUES.  We had a great summer and the boys were okay with the return of school today...... but it is me.  I miss them. They are both going out for the school soccer team so I won't see them until 6:00 or 6:30 most days.   I love the freedom of summer.....  late nights, taking our time in the mornings, not paying attention to the clock all the time!  With school in, it seems we have time for dinner, homework then bedtime.  No more late night talks and milkshakes, no more swimming by the light of the moon and waking by our body clock vs. the dreaded alarm!  I think too because the talk of college preparations starts this year for (11th grade) Wesley, I am wanting the summer to last forever so I do not have to face the facts of this next phase and letting him go.  Here are some photos of our recent trip back to the beach. What a blessing to be able to use my parent's place during the summers!  It makes it tempting to pack everyone back up and run away from the world!!!  Somebody stop me! 

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

July 4th and Fireworks




I am a bit late in posting these pics as Anna and I have been down and out with summer colds. Yuck! We have been pretty miserable together, fevers included,  but are still trying to get things ready to head back to the salt air/ocean soon.   Anna went to the Publix grocery store with me to get the supplies for our cook out at home and later fireworks outing.  Note the big flag balloon in the picture.  She marched all through the busy store singing "Hooray for the RED, WHITE, and BLUE"!  As she sang and floated her flag balloon through the store, she even made the grumpy type people smile!  She also picked out the cookie cake we took to help us bide the time for the fireworks to begin later that evening. We will always treasure Anna's Chinese heritage and be forever grateful for all that comes with it for us and for her, but we will also enjoy the fact that this girl is one flag waving, freedom loving, hot dog/apple pie eating American Girl!  May God Bless America!  

Saturday, July 5, 2008

On Blueberry Hill






On July 1st,  Anna and I along with lots of friends (about 13 little girls and 3 little boys from China) from our FCC group, went blueberry picking on top of Blueberry Hill bright and early in the morning.   That is the true name of the farm and it is only about 4 miles from our house.  This fine old southern gentleman grows his many rows of blueberry bushes with no pesticides so we could eat as we picked. YUM!  It was fun to see all of the children in their patriotic clothes picking and eating blueberries up and down Blueberry Hill. The weather was perfect,  not too hot which is unusual for July! We all went for a picnic lunch afterwards.  As from the photos you can see Anna and I picked our fair share---7 quarts to be exact!  We ate a bunch, put some in the fridge to make blueberry pancakes, and Anna helped me put the rest in 20 small freezer bags to use later.  This girl is definitely my little worker bee and best helper.  She stuck with me the whole time, only stopping for a moment to play with a ladybug!  

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