Tis the Season

Tis the Season :: Christmas is upon us !!! This year we decided ( against all I have ever done ) to get an artificial tree . Every year we head to the tree lot but I have always LOVED the white "flocked" trees and have been saving for a pretty one for the last few years. Well, we took the plunge and got a beautiful white tree( and it was super easy with no sticky branches- haha! ) It is such a snowy beauty in my window and Georgia loved putting up the ornaments this year.

We also went to the annual Franklin Santa Parade - one of Georgia's favorite things these days is "the band " so she was excited to see the drums. She is asking for a xylophone for Christmas and a bongo drum set !! Needless to say , the parade made her day!!! Happy shopping and most importantly, let's fix our eyes on JESUS this Christmas!!

Giving Thanks

This year has been FULL of blessings... wow, I am so thankful to the Lord for HIS goodness to us. We headed to Raleigh, NC for Thanksgiving with "the fam" and enjoyed some much needed REST and good eats!! This was Georgia's 3rd time on the airplane and Violet's first - they did amazing and were awesome holiday travelers! I love my mom - she has the biggest heart and she served us well all week - cooking and hosting is a big job for 12 people!!

Lord Jesus, thank you for so richly pouring out your blessings this year and doing MORE than we could ask or imagine. You truly are the giver of Good things. Thank you for sending your son to die on the cross so we could have freedom in you. We are so very THANKFUL ! - Amen

We are so thankful for Violet Joy :: born Sept. 16, 2010

Georgia Love

This is my sweet Georgia ...I can't believe that I am looking at this pictures of her and I am amazed at where the time has gone. I wanted to do a special post about her because she is the "big sister" now which means she gets to be my big helper a lot .... but these last few months have been an adjustment for her ! There are many times a day that mommy only has one set of hands and can't do all things I used to do ( just with her ) ... but she is so patient and sweet. She adores her little sister and has nick- named her "chubby cheeks" !! Georgia will be 3 in February and will start a mother's day out program 2 days a week ! Sammy and I both think she will LOVE this and have a chance to meet new friends and learn a ton !

Here are a few things that our little Georgia is doing these days :

* she loves animals and think she can kiss all dogs ! ( we need to work on that! ) haha!

* she loves worship music and sings constantly! She says she wants to be a girl drummer!

* she is a fashionista ( already telling me what SHE wants to wear!

* She adores her dad .

* She loves to watch me cook

* She loves doughnuts! ( this is our bribe for anything!) haha!

* She is still not using the potty but we are making strides... :(

* she has the most adorable crooked grin

* and... she is a GREAT big sister!!

WE LOVE YOU GEORGIA !!

Happy Halloween !

This fall has just flown by - can't believe we are already approaching Thanksgiving! We had such a FUN October and it started off with the annual downtown Franklin Pumpkinfest! Sammy's sister and her family came down for the event so that was a fun treat - the girls loved playing together and eating kettle corn ! Then, on Halloween we headed out to our church for TRUNK OR TREAT which is always a blast! Live blue grass music, tailgating and eating with friends, activities for the kids and of course going car to car for large amounts of candy! ( Georgia does not like chocolate so lucky me ! hahah! ) I love this time of year so much... and I am kind of sad when it's over . The leaves reached their peak here about a week ago so the trees are starting to look bare and winter is upon us and so are the HOLIDAYS! Looking forward to more family time and new pictures to share! ( Violet is not in too many of these pics because she was bundled up in a car seat and that was not the best photo op - hahah! )

All our friends met at Heather's house to walk to the festival - what is more festive than a hot cider stand right??

Sammy's sister Dayna, and her daughter Oraya

Dayna's youngest, Qwynly

Dayna and Tom

Phil and Daniel - husbands of 2 of my best friends ( of course there are no pics of us girls together because we were all wrangling kids! hahah! )

face painting - no scary pumpkins for us !

Sammy and the storm troopers!

Georgia and Kenda's daughter, Ella

Georgia's costume- Ariel ( as a princess, not the mermaid )

Gentry's Farm

FALL is in the air ... and we could not wait to do our annual trip to Gentry's Farm! There is so much history in Franklin , and this farm has been operating since the 1800's ! This year was even more FUN because Georgia was old enough to do more of the activities AND we had Violet to join us this year too ! Fall is my favorite time of year ... and as we approach Thanksgiving, my heart is VERY FULL . God is GOOD !

Violet Joy Ward

On Sept. 16th the Lord gave us another beautiful addition to the family - VIOLET JOY WARD ! weighing in at 7lbs, 1 oz and 20 in. long. My c-section went great ( minus the usual discomfort after delivery) and we are all resting well at home. Georgia has been so great with Violet and loves being a big sister !! Wow, having 2 kids is no joke... I have my hands full but feel so very, very blessed! Here are some pics from her birth... and I will be posting more of our "family " soon!

My BIG girl

My little girl is beginning to look like a BIG girl lately... This summer has gone by so fast and with another baby on the way, I have been horrible on blogging! I guess chasing a 2 1/2 yr old takes up more time than you think! ha!

We have been busy the last several weeks tearing our house apart ( or so it seems) with moving and re-arranging rooms for the arrival of Violet Joy. We officially moved Georgia to her "big girl room" at the beginning of August and it looks SO CUTE ! We still have to do some decor on the walls but i have not found the exact things I am looking for...?? Violet's room is almost complete ... so I will be posting on her sweet room next. Here are some pics from the last several weeks of this HOT summer and Georgia's new room!

The walls are white and the ceiling is same yellow as bedding!

This is the sweet rose patterns on bed ( www.Landofnod.com)

This brown hutch will be painted to match her dresser - i just love to redo old pieces of furniture!

HOT summer- so many days at 100 deg. !! yuck !

princess silly bands have been her favorite this summer!

It's TOO HOT MOM !!