Hannah's Sweet 16 in Mobile

Back in October we drove to Mobile for our niece, Hannah's, sweet 16 party. We always love visiting our family down there... (I know I'm a little late posting this, but I'm trying to catch up)

Hannah is FINALLY sweet 16. Get off the road!!!!

Her cake was beautiful and the food (Cajun) tasted great too!

Gracie got this flower off the cake and danced around with it in her mouth toward the end of the night. What a little nut!!

My attempt at self-portrait... didn't mean to only get our eyes, but I thought it was kind of cool how it worked out anyway...

My little "party animal !"

Uncle Jojo (Jody) and Daddy with the kiddos

Giving Mommy some sweet love!

Sisters-Corie and Hannah

Harry' sister, Kim (Hannah's Mom), the birthday girl, and Grandma Sue

We had a great time and were so proud to watch Hannah-Banana grow into such a beautiful young lady (inside and out!)

About Me...

I was over at http://jewels-of-my-heart.blogspot.com/ and she did a post with this fun list and I wanted to play too to see how many of the things I have done in my life on this person's list....so here goes...

The things on the list that I have done I will make BOLD....

If you want to play too please let me know in the comments so that I can come and see...

Bold the things you’ve done and will admit to:
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (I think NOT!)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Burger King chicken sandwich!)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (In my youth- I sound wild, but this was WAY out of character!)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (No, but I was offered an extra spot on Baywatch Hawaii -in my skinnier youth)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (Subway Sandwiches)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (Nope, but I've been Puffin-watching!)
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem (one day...)
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Bella Karoli (sp?) and the 92 Olympians and Mario Lopez smiled REALLY big at me... Does that count?)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for... I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving.

(This photo taken on Halloween)

Beach Video

Enjoy! Forgive the loud, shrill of the videographer over the waves!

So Long to Summer...

We went to the beach with Nana, my brother, Shawn, KK, and Ethan the last weekend in September to enjoy the last weekend of Summer. We had a great little townhouse a block from the beach. The kids had a great time and so did the grown-ups! The weather was perfect! We even surprised Gracie with a dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville restaurant (she LOVES him... See June post to check out her rendition of Buffet's "Fins") There were pirates on stilts who made balloon hats and parrots. The walls and ceiling were painted to look like treasure maps, and there were boat booths and a cargo plane was hanging right over our table. When the song Margaritaville came on, a disco ball with an attached salt shaker came down out of the plane. It was alot of fun, and the food was good. ((I had SUCH a hard time narrowing down which pictures to post. Maybe I'll randomly post some of the others when I get a chance, but for now please forgive my indulgence... and there is a video that is 3 and a half minutes. I understand if you're not interested, (but I want in on the blog for the kids to see someday. For some reason, I can't figure to how to copy it to disk from computer, so... I tried to upload it and after 20 minutes loading, it said there was an error. I'll try again tomorrow...)

Ethan and Gracie in front of Margaritaville

Harrison's sweet-feet in the sand

Gracie's tiny tootsie's too

Harry thinks this one looks like a postcard or ad for an island vacation. (I would follow this girl anywhere!)

"Got sand? I do!"

Nana and Harrison chilling on the blanket. We had just watched a wedding at the house right beside where we sat.

I just LOVE this one of Ethan!

Sportin' their hats 'cause that's how they roll!!

Nana and the kiddos

My movie star in her "coolest shades EVER!"

Running away from the waves kept them bust for quite a while! It's so fun to watch her innocence and pure joy in life. I wish I could bottle it up and save it for the times in the future when she will experience uncertainty and difficulties of adolescence. My heart aches at the thought that she will have aches I will not be able to kiss and make better at some point. Harry thinks I 'm crazy that I've thought that far ahead. Maybe it's a Mom-thing... or maybe I really am a bit crazy...

So long to Summer... We'll see you next year!

Turning 4 in the Land of OZ

Welcome to the land of Oz!

Gracie/Dorothy turned 4 on October 11th. She has been obsessed with the movie for over a year. She wanted to have an Oz party, so I obliged. I made a yellow brick road to cover the LONG sidewalk leading up to the house (we had the party at my BFF's house. They have a great screened in porch) There was a sign by the doorbell that quoted the one in the movie about knocking because the doorbell is broken. Below is Dorothy beside the Pin the Heart on the Tin Man game. It turned out really cute!

We had all kinds of costumes that we borrowed from our local theater group so the girls could dress up like the witch and munchkins. the girls enjoyed that too.

We had mini subs ("Munchkins Subs"), Pretzel sticks ("Broomsticks"), and Melted Witch Punch...

My art teacher at school made a tree (even better than I had expected it to look!) We used it for the Apple Toss game. It was supposed to be like when the Scarecrow and Dorothy pick apples off the tree, and the trees throw them at the pair. I had some soft apples we got for relieving stress at the beginning of the school year. The kids had to throw the apples through the hole in the tree.

Aww... Harrison was here too, but I couldn't get him to stand still long enough to get a pic.

Catching up in reverse... Pumpkin Patch '08

Here are some pictures from our trip to the Pumpkin Patch in mid-October.

"Is this a pumpkin... or a BALL!!!!"

Harrison walked around throwing his little pumpkin and saying, "Ball!"

Can someone say GRUMPY?

(I don't know exactly what caused this meltdown, but it was a good one. After 20 minutes, she was fine thanks to Aunt KK!)

Harrison likes to show off his tongue, and Sissy is happy to oblige!

"Peek-a-BOO!"

Happy Fall

Who ARE those people behind us!!??

Ethan, Gracie, and Harrison

My favorite one of Little Man

Tracy, I thought of you and you own little own "Punkin"... Isn't life wonderful now that we have them in our pumpkin-filled lives?

Update...

I want to thank all of my bloggy friends for your prayers and words of encouragement. This has been a very trying time for our family. We feel God at work and see his love pouring out through the generosity of others. My administration and coworkers at my new school have been tremendous blessings to us. Harry had heard nothing in 3 weeks and then this week, he had 2 interviews. He REALLY felt like one of them is where he is supposed to be, but we haven't heard back from them. The other place, a car lot, is very interested, but the money is not enough to support us in the long run. We are thinking he will take this job with the understanding that he is still looking for something in his field of expertise (computers)... We are so grateful for this opportunity and can hardly wait to see God's plan for Harry unfold. I've missed you all so much! Love, Nicole

"Trick or Treat!"

Happy Trick-or-Treat to everyone!

We went to Old Navy in our costumes the Saturday before with Corie (cousin). Any child in costume got a free t-shirt.

For trick-or-treating, we met up at Ally's house around the corner with some of the girls from our local group to eat and go out in the 'hood together. The girls are all growing so quickly. They had a great time as always. Below are Leah (Rosetta the Fairy) and Gracie ready to go in the wagon.

The Gang... We had a ladybug, monkey, Superman, Rosetta, Silvermist, a princess, a ninja princess, Dorothy, and a girl (Olivia didn't want to dress up).

Anna Grace, a.k.a. Silvermist

Daddy had his hands full!

My little ladybug!

Hope your night was as great as ours!

and now...time for my favorite time of year-bring on Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Prayers welcome...

My husband, Harry, last his job last week unexpectedly. We have been on our knees asking God to reveal his plan. I feel so out of touch with my bloggy friends, but I'm hoping things will get better soon and I can get back to normal. We welcome any prayers lifted up in our name. I miss you all. Gracie had a good birthday on Saturday and I'll be posting those and some pictures from the previous weekend or two VERY soon. Love to all... Nicole

Something I borrowed...

I read this on Krista's blog and just had to borrow it. It is wonderfully put! Have a great weekend...

How to really love a child, by Sark

Be there. Say yes as often as possible. Let them bang on pots and pans. If they’re cranky, put them in water. Realize how important it is to be a child. Go to the movie theatre in your pajamas. Read books out loud with joy. Invent. Remember how small they really are. Giggle. Giggle a lot. Surprise them. Say no when necessary. Teach feelings. Heal your own inner child. Learn about parenting. Hug trees together. Make loving safe. Bake a cake and eat it with no hands. Go find elephants and kiss them. Plan to build a rocket ship. Imagine yourself magic. Makes lots of forts with blankets. Let your angel fly. Reveal your own dreams. Search out the positive. Keep the gleam in your eye. Write letters to God. Encourage silly. Plant licorice in your garden. Open up. Stop yelling. Express your love. A lot! Speak kindly. Paint their tennis shoes. Handle with care. Always remember ~ Children are miraculous

Ivy turns 6!

So, Gracie tells me the other night as I'm tucking her into bed that the next day would be her doll, Ivy's, 6th birthday and she was going to need a party. I scrambled to "throw" something together the next day and even called my mom who was coming over that night. I warned her she might not want to come empty handed. Nana brought a Snow White dress up outfit for Gracie and a card for Ivy...

Ivy had to blow out her candle after we sang the Happy Birthday song...( the brownie bites were delish!) Gracie had to help Ivy take a bite...

Gracie wrapped up a couple of things from her room for the "birthday girl"... Here she is opening baby powder...

Reading Nana's card...

Opening the gift I "got" her...

I know Ivy had a great birthday, but I think we may have created a birthday monster. The very next day she informed me it was a different doll's birthday, so we threw together another impromptu bday party... and I bet you can't guess what my little angel told that night as I was tucking her into bed... That's right! The next day would be TWO of her other dolls' birthday... Needless to say, I had to stop the trips to Winn Dixie's bakery dept, and we are just pretending to have cake... I might be able to lose some weight if all these baby dolls would stop having birthday parties!