Happy New Year!!

We usually have our LIFE group over for New Years Eve, but this year only a few couples could make it so we rescheduled it. We couldn't ring in the new year without some friends so the Jones', Winn's and Brooks' came over. Here's a few squeezed onto the couch. :)

I can't believe I made it the WHOLE year!!!! I love that I have each day documented and plan to have the blog printed into a book in the next couple of weeks. Since I'm already in the habit and love that we will have these memories saved forever that I decided to do it again in 2012... stay tuned!

"The Bowl of Shame"

We started using a new discipline system yesterday, the boys have to draw a chore out of the jar whenever they fight, argue, tattle-tell, etc... so far I have some windows, baseboards, and a bathroom clean. Is it bad that I want them to get in trouble now?? The boys call it "the bowl of shame." 

(thank you, Pinterest!!)

Rip-Stick Practice

 

The twins got Rip-Sticks for Christmas, they are skateboards with 2 wheels. They spent ALL day today practicing around the couch, they had it down pretty good by the end of the day... they love them!

Go Preds!!

 

Tonight, Jeremy and Caleb went to the Nashville Predators game with the youth group. I asked Jeremy to get a picture of the 2 of them with the rink in the background, but it was too dark to get a good picture with his phone, so you just get the rink. :(

Ethan's drawing

 

Jeremy's mom, Janet, has taken each of the grandkids to get their picture draw when they are between 18 months and 2 years. Today she took Ethan and Jillian (she couldn't get a hold of the artist when Jillian was younger) for theirs. You can tell he was tired of cooperating by the time she was done!

Don't Shoot!!!

 

All the boys got Air Soft Guns for Christmas and have spent the whole day outside at war... this is the pose I got when I asked them to let me take their picture! :)

Annual Christmas Pajama Picture

We alternate which side of the family we see on Christmas day each year, this year is Jeremy's side. So instead of using a picture from this morning, I decided to use this picture for the blog. I love comparing how much everyone has changed from year to year.  Last years picture was taken on New Years Day and was the very first picture on my blog... I can't believe I kept up the blog for a whole year, I didn't think I would last 2 weeks!

Candlelight Service

We attend the candlelight service at church every Christmas Eve. I decided I wanted it to be the picture of the day rather than opening gifts because Jesus is the real reason we celebrate. :)

Geotrax!

We have a huge bin of Geotrax that have been stored in the attic since we moved to this house because there isn't a place to keep them. The kids whined that they were bored today, so I asked them if they wanted to get them down. Caleb helped me lug the big bin down 2 flights of stairs (I was thinking, they better play with this for more than 10 mins!!!) It ended up entertaining them for HOURS!!!! Poor little Ethan got ran out of the room during the building process, they didn't want him to destroy it... I had to remind them that its a toy geared towards his age, not theirs! :)

Little Ballerina

Today, I made this tutu for a friend. I tried it on Ethan to check the waist size and he insisted on wearing it around the house... it's funny that it matched his Elmo pj shirt and Spiderman diaper. Jeremy's the one that showed him how to hold his hands like a ballerina. :)

Borax Snowflakes

I saw this idea on Pinterest, so I decided the kids and I should try it tonight. You mold a pipe cleaner in the shape of a snowflake (you're suppose to use white, but we only had colored ones), then suspend it in water with dissolved Borax. You leave them overnight and wake up with crystals on the pipe cleaners... we will see if the experiment works in the morning. :)

Whoo Whoo!!

I bought this fabric to make Ethan an outfit MONTHS ago!! The shirt has been done for a couple of months, and tonight I finally got around to making the pants. He was up pretty late with me, so it was nice to be able to try them on him during the process to get the right fit... only problem was, he REALLY likes them and would take off running every time I put them on him yelling WHOO WHOO!! :)

13th Anniversary

Today, Jeremy and I celebrate 13 years of marriage! Janet, Jeremy's mom, offered to come up and watch the kids so we could go out and do something. I needed to go to Joann's to get a few things so we trekked down to Nashville (We really need one in Clarksville!!!) After I drug him around the store, we went to dinner across the street at Panera Bread. I know it's not a fancy place to celebrate your anniversary, but I've been wanting to try it and it was pretty good! After Panera, we stopped by Krispy Kreme so I could get some HOT FRESH NOW Donuts... YUM!!!

Pictures with Santa

There is a gift shop close to my sister's house in Olive Branch, MS where this amazing looking Santa does pictures each year. They use a green screen to get the pretty background. Santa is actually one of her friends father-in-law. :)

A Camper Christmas

When my mom sold her house in June, she bought a Travel Trailer (Camper) and parked it at my grandmother's house in Arkansas. We are here celebrating Christmas this weekend and staying at her boyfriend Dave's house. But, since she wanted to do Christmas at Grandma's house, we all went to her camper to open gifts.

Stack of Boys

I bought the kids matching pajama pants (had to make Ethan's out of a bigger size) and wanted to take their picture in a stack. Ethan kept rolling off the top, it was quite comical. :)

Snow Angel

Boy, this elf likes to make messes!! Today, we found him on the kitchen counter making a snow angel with flour!

Whew! NO POOP!

This morning, when I went in to get Ethan, I found that his blanket, pants and diaper were on the floor. Memories of the twins doing the same thing with poopie diapers came flooding back. I imagine it's only a matter of time before he smears poop on the walls like they did... Thank goodness for DUCT TAPE! You can tell that he's not real happy that I left him in the bed to go get my camera. :)

Flynn!!!

Flynn has done some crazy stuff around here!! Last night, he decided to draw on our engagement photo!! Silly Elf!

Rice Krispies Mess

We keep Yoshi in the laundry room/pantry when someone is not watching him closely... he has chewed up too much stuff to let him wander at his leisure and I don't like stepping in surprise pee puddles! Ethan loves to get in there with him. Today, when I peaked in to check on them, I found that they were sharing a snack!

Christmas Card Picture

Here's the picture I used for our Christmas cards this year, it took a WHILE to get everyone looking at the camera.... especially the little varmit!

Choo Choo!!

Today, we went to "Kids N Play" to celebrate Carter Jones' birthday. The kids all had so much fun!! This is a picture of a little train that went around the huge play structure. To make it go, you have to pedal with your hands... Caleb rode behind Ethan to help him out, he thought he was BIG STUFF. 

CHOO CHOO!

Lords a Leaping

This year, the Christmas Program at church (Singing Christmas Tree) featured the 12 Days of Christmas Song... Andrew and Matthew were 2 of the 9 Lords a Leaping. It was pretty crazy with ALL of the 12 days represented.. lots of people on stage!!

The UNDERWEAR was hung by the chimney with care!

 

Little Flynn has been a hoot to have around, today we woke up and found that he threw down our stockings and hung our underwear in its place! Silly Elf!

ELMO!!

Ethan discovered the Elmos on his diapers about a week ago and has been obsessed with him lately!! He even watches youtube videos of him on my phone! While we were in Walmart last tonight, he pointed him out EVERYWHERE!! It was the Elmo version of "Where's Waldo?" He spotted him on a Christmas display, in the Toys (of course), on kid plates, cups, bowls, shirts, pajamas, house shoes, stickers and a video game... I never realized how much Elmo stuff was out there!! We bought him the PJs and house shoes, he loved wearing them today! (Notice the beads are back??)

Vet Visit

Ethan and I took Yoshi to the vet today. He weighs a whooping 2 lbs, 9 oz. His parents are 4.5 lbs and 5 lbs, so he shouldn't get any bigger than them. Ethan looked so cute holding his lease while we waited in the waiting room. He acted so grown up until we got to the exam room, then he was back to being a normal toddler... he discovered that he could reach the light switch and had a hay-day turning it off and on. When the vet came in, he said, thank you for the light show!! 

Coffee Mug Tower!

 

Flynn has turned out to be quite the troublemaker! He seems to flip flop between being good and being mischieveous.  He got into the kids toothpaste and smeared it all over the counter, he hung upside down on the ceiling fan pull cord, and today we found him on the top of a coffee mug tower! The kids are loving finding him each morning!

Ladies Man!

 

Jeremy, Caleb, and I worked in Ethan's class during the service this morning. We sat them all at the little table for their snack and realized he was the only boy in the room! 

Ethan's Tree Decorating

 

Jeremy and Caleb set the Christmas tree up last night but we haven't had a chance to get the ornaments on. While I was working on the computer, I gave Ethan 1 ornament at a time to put on the tree, after I gave him 8 or 10, I went to check to see how he was doing... he was piling them all up on top of one branch!!  It was so cute and he was so proud! I tried to show him how to hang them, but he gave up after a few minutes.

Up Close with Yoshi

 

Day 1 with Yoshi has gone well, the kids fight over who gets to take him outside! (I hope that is something they continue). He has had a few accidents, but thankfully we have hardwood floors everywhere! I took this picture so the kids could show their friends at school. I think he is super cute, but I'm still hoping the little guy grows on me!

Another Set of Twin Boys!

We got a PUPPY!!!! The kids have been begging for one forever and I finally gave in! The Jones' decided to get a new dog because they have to put one of theirs down tomorrow due to health problems, so we decided to get his brother. Yoda, the Jones' dog is on the left and YOSHI, our puppy is on the right. Aren't they cute!! I'm totally not a dog person, so I'm still in shock that we got one.

Yoshi is our Christmas present from Jeremy's parents.

the Elf on the Shelf

 

Tonight we started a new family tradition with "the Elf on the Shelf." First, I read the kids the book, then we watched the little movie that came on tv last week. It was really cute! It was tough when it became time to name him... the 3 big boys couldn't agree so I let each boy, including Ethan, pick a name, then we let Jeremy decided which one he liked best without knowing who came up with what name. Caleb picked "Flick," Andrew picked "Flynn," Matthew picked "Wilson," and when I asked Ethan what his name was, he said "Elmo." Jeremy immediately took Elmo out of the running because that name was already taken by Ethan's new obsession, he didn't like Wilson because all he could think about was the volleyball from Castaway, he didn't pick Flick because he said that's what you do to be mean to someone, so Flynn won! Andrew was excited! I'm looking forward to posting some pictures of Flynn!

Discovery Toy Party

I sold Discovery Toys back when the twins were little. I absolutely love their toys!! Melissa Jones' recently became a consultant so I hosted a party for her. The catalog is much smaller now, but still has a bunch of great EDUCATIONAL toys. :)

Hog Wild!

My mom has always been an Arkansas fan but she has really gotten into football more since she has moved over there. While we were at Walmart (just about the ONLY place to shop there) on Black Friday, we found these shirts for the twins... trying to make Grandma proud!

Domino Rally

Mamaw has always had a bunch of Domino sets around the house. I guess she used to play a lot but when I was little and now my kids play with them like this!! Seems like there was always at least a few dominoes standing upright the entire time we have been here.

Happy Birthday, Michael!!

Today, we celebrated my nephew Micheal's birthday. The theme was Angry Birds and my sister did a great job with the cake and even made 4 different Angry Bird pinata's so each of the boys would have their own. Remember Shrinky Dinks?? Each boy got a pack in their pinatas so we made them after the cake, ice cream, and presents. I feel like I relived a lot of my childhood memories this weekend. :)

Tree House Tree

This giant tree is in my Mamaw's yard. My mom and her siblings had a playhouse in it when they were little.. I love seeing my boys doing some of the same things I did when I was a kid at Mamaw's house.

Thanksgiving!

We spend Thanksgiving in Arkansas with my mom's side of the family every year. We had no problem fitting in her little house when all us grandkids were little, but it's a different story now that all of us have a kid or 2 (or 4) as well.

Corley Thanksgiving

We go down and have dinner with Jeremy's parents the night before Thanksgiving every year. We usually have pizza but since they are redoing their kitchen floors there wasn't an oven to cook them in. We had "pork wings" off the grill instead. Yummy! I just noticed that I made it in the picture too... my reflection is in the mirror. :)

JB Junior

 

Jeremy's business partner, JB, and his wife, Lauren (my friend from college) had their second baby today. They named his John Barton Kent II but we jokingly call him JB Junior. :)

Sick Little Boy :(

Ethan woke up with a fever this morning, he has been pretty puny all day. Hope it doesn't last long, I hate to see him so miserable! :(

Make your own Pizza night!

The Lopp's came over for dinner tonight and we let the kids make their own pizzas... look how big my baby is getting!??!?! :(

Turkey Shirt

I stay pretty busy with sewing orders for other people that I don't take them time to make stuff for our family. Today, I made this cute little turkey shirt for Ethan to wear on Thanksgiving... I love how it turned out!

Caleb's first Basketball game

Caleb had his first basketball game tonight. Here is his team after the game. They won 29-13. You can't really see him, but Ethan is standing in the middle, he had just given all of the players fist bumps!

Pant's in the Barn??

Ethan has learned that he can take his pants off now and prefers for them to be off. Today, I caught him stuffing them in his Little People Barn. Don't know if he was trying to hide them or just offering them to the little farmer.

Singing!

Andrew & Matthew are in the choir at church and tonight they sang before the business meeting. I lucked out that they were standing so close!! They usually end up on opposite ends of the stage!

Puddin' Time!

Remember the gray tupperware pudding set your mom had when you were little??? My mom passed them onto me just before she moved. Tonight Jeremy made vanilla pudding then added Strawberry Quik to it.. I thought it was nasty, but the kids liked it!

Brian & Jeremy's Playdate!

When we got here Friday night, there was only 2 other campers in the whole campground. When we got up yesterday morning those 2 were gone and we were the only ones!!! Today, Melissa and I talked Brian and Jeremy into riding this little 2-seater airplane... it was HILARIOUS!!

Flea Market??

 

Today, we ventured into a little town to go to a flea market that we saw advertised as the LARGEST. I was hoping to find a bunch of craft booths, but instead it was a bunch of picked over yard sale stuff!! :(

One last camping trip for the year!

We decided to get one more weekend use out of our camper before winter. We (and the Jones') went to Cave Creek, KY. We actually got to build a campfire because it was COLD!! Here's all the kids after we made S'mores.