First duck hunt...

Michael is an amazing husband and an even better Daddy. He works hard at work each day and then finds the time and energy to spend time with his family!!

When you hear stories about children loving their parents, it is really touching to hear. But when you live to see how much one little man adores his Daddy, it is priceless. It is amazing to see how much Vaiden wants to be and do like his Daddy. Michael truly is his hero!!

Michael is an avid hunter and I knew that when we got married:) I knew I would never change him, but I also knew that one day he would share his love for the outdoors with our children. And that makes me happy!! Michael has been wanting Vaiden to hunt with him forever!!!! Vaiden has recently shown an interest in it. I think Vaiden likes to be with his Daddy more than hunting, but feels the need to tag along!! A couple of days ago, Michael woke Vaiden up at 4am to get dressed in several layers of clothing, to go sit out in the freezing cold in a flooded timber area to wait for ducks to fly in so they could shoot them. Vaiden really didn't know what he was in for...all he knew was that he would be dressed in camouflage, spend time with his Daddy, and have hot chocolate and a honey bun!! Well, Vaiden has now gotten the hunting fever because he loved it!! They killed 24 ducks in all, in other words, it was a good hunt!! The best part about this hunt was Michael took his camera (without my request) and took pictures. I cry at them everytime I look at them. I can see in Vaiden's eyes that he is in Daddy heaven!! I am so proud of them both and I am so happy to see the bond that they share!!

MMO Christmas Party

Whitten's MMO class had a fun Christmas Party as well. They ate Christmas cookies and played in the gym. Our preacher stopped by to read the Christmas Story as well. The kids had a blast...fun party!!

Vaiden's Christmas Party at School

Vaiden had a great Christmas Party at school this year. There were several centers set up for the kids to enjoy. They made necklaces/braclets, pin the tail on the reindeer, snack table with a mom reading a book, and decorate your own cookie. Vaiden's favorite center was cookie decorating!! He choose a blue icing because he knew it would turn his face blue. As you can see from the pictures, he was right!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Christmas Card

My parents Christmas Card this year...I let them use the 50 free Shutterfly cards that I got:)

Christmas with the Ellis'

Nana and her grandbabies!!

Whitten, the proud baker!!

Last weekend, we had Christmas with Michael's side of the family. It was great having everyone together, especially his Aunt Bitsy, that came up from Jackson. The kids had so much fun playing outside in the warmer weather and, of course, cooking in the kitchen with Nana. Here are some pictures from the weekend...

On the hunt...

Vaiden's Kindergarten class had a Gingerbread Man on the loose. Every child in the class made their own gingerbread man trap. Vaiden didn't want any help with his...and did a great job with it. Then a couple of weeks later, his class took a field trip to the square on the hunt for the Gingerbread Man. They stopped in Square Books Jr. first. On the way inside, we had to step over "cookie crumbs" that had been left by the gingerbread man. Books were read to the class and then we all sang Christmas songs. Nobody had seem the gingerbread man though. So we headed off to Square Pizza. Along the way, the kids stopped in the stores to post their "missing" posters. Once we got to Square Pizza, we saw more crumbs on the ground...but no siting of the gingerbread man. The kids enjoyed hot chocolate and discussed where the gingerbread man could have gone. This field trip was so much fun!! On the last day of school before the Christmas break, the gingerbread man left a note telling the children that he had caught a bus to the North Pole because he didn't want to get eaten and he knew Santa didn't like gingerbread!!

Vaiden's poster for the missing Gingerbread Man!!

Vaiden and I at Square Books Jr.

Singing Christmas songs at Square Books Jr.

Christmas Tree Farm Field Trip

Vaiden's class took a trip to the local Christmas Tree Farm a couple of weeks ago. I, of course, tagged along with several other moms. It was so fun. The man that ran the farm talked to the kids about planting trees, trimming trees, and cutting trees. The kids had a blast and were excited to take one back to school to decorate!!

Happy Birthday Vaiden!!

Today, December 20th, is Vaiden's 6th birthday. It is so hard to believe that my sweet baby is already 6 years old. Vaiden shares his birthday with his great-grandfather (aka Giddie) and his cousin, Bobby. What a special day!!

Vaiden has had a great birthday month. He has had a birthday party with friends, at school, at grandparents, and at home. He thinks he is a year older with every party!! I just wish he would slow down growing up...6 years has gone by way too fast!!

I love you Vaiden and I hope you have had a great birthday month:)

Vaiden's birthday party at school...Michael and I took cupcakes and I read a book to his class...Vaiden wanted Mario and Luigi cupcakes for the boys and Princess Peach cupcakes for the girls...I thought they turned out really cute!!

Michael's birthday is December 10th and Vaiden's birthday is December 20th...Nana and Paw Paw always get a cake for them both to celebrate!!


We celebrated Michael's birthday on the 10th. The boys wanted him to have brownies...Michael loved them and they were delicious!! My mom was in town that weekend and kept the kids for us...we were able to go out to eat. It was so nice for just the 2 of us to do that...Happy Birthday to you too, Michael!!

Birthday Party for Vaiden

Vaiden had his birthday party earlier in the month at Cloud 9. He, of course, chose to have a Super Mario Brothers theme!! It turned out to be a really cute party with lots of his buddies attending. I can't believe my baby is all grown up and turning 6!!

Visiting Santa 2010

Our trip to see Santa at the mall...I am still in shock that my children didn't scream!!

City of Lights...

Oh the joys of a small town!! Canton has the best Christmas set-up. They have lights, music, rides, and shopping all on the square starting after the day after Thanksgiving. I think my parents love to go more than my children though-Ha!! On Thanksgiving night, the kids and I drove into Canton from Vaiden. I rode around the square so they could see all the lights around the square. Vaiden loved it and said, "Hello Gorgeous"!! The next night my parents took the boys out in the cold to enjoy it all. Their favorite was the hot chocolate and beignets!! On Saturday, we went during the day while the weather was a little warmer and took Mary Katharine for her first time. She watched it all!! We had a great time and can't wait to do it all again next year!!

Thanksgiving 2010

Sorry for such the delay on posting, but our life has been so super busy!! Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving Day. We spent the day with Michael's family and of course, his Momma, cooked the best Thanksgiving dinner. The weather was warm, so we spent the afternoon resting in lawn chairs in the driveway as we watched the kids play outside. We truly have a lot to be thankful for this year!!