A birthday boy and our first Christmas at Upper Hembree

It's 2012 and there's so much promise in a new year. We finish 2011 celebrating Wells and sharing Christmas with friends and family.

Wellington had a HUGE 3rd birthday party. With all our family and only a few friends, our house was fun of people. It was great! we had chili, cake & ice cream, a pinata, and party favors. Kids played in the yard, inside, upstairs and under foot. With 13 under 5 it's never a quiet house when we all get together, but I'm so thankful for lots of cousins for my boys. I hope they all grow up to be great friends.

At 3 years old, Wellington is speaking very very well. His favorite book is the children's encyclopedia. He asks us to tell him stories about the earth, sun, and stars - meaning tell him what the sun is made of, what it does, how it works, etc. And he seems to understand and remember it all! He loves to do puzzles, play with playdough, build train tracks, and watch Thomas youtube videos. For the most part, I can't get him to nap during the afternoons. But he stays in his room for a little quiet time. He got a bike with training wheels for Christmas and is already riding all over the place. Wellington goes to Creative Play at the park center and loves playing with all the other kids. He's so friendly! Everyday I am amazed {sometimes dumbfounded} by the things he says and does. I love my little man!

We got our first Christmas tree ever this year! It was fun having it. I got a "chugging train" for the boys and we had it set up around the base of the tree....it barely survived.

 Since I haven't met many of our neighbors, I made granola for them and walked them over...unfortunately, no one was home when we went. :(

Josh and I were so excited about giving the boys bikes. At least half of that loot was for family, but I definitly got the boys too much...it took us all morning to open gifts on Saturday {we did Christmas on Christmas eve morning}. They would open one gift and play with it for 30 min. then come back for more. :)

 We didn't have any ornaments except for the silver bells my mom recently handed down to me. So the boys and I made some glitter stars. They were a fun activity!

 Fielding, my fixit man, got a ton of tools for Christmas. He "works" with me now..."like Daddy" as he says. :)

 Oh yeah, I pulled my back out right before Christmas....It's was terrible and I'm still recovering.

 Since we did Christmas as a family on Christmas eve, we had lots of time. We did a little grocery shopping for that night and picked up lunch. I think sushi and Champagne would be a great traditional Christmas lunch. ;)

Wells by the Christmas tree. Isn't he handsome??!

 He was wiped out and we were just about to drive to Lawerenceville to hang out with the Tadsen's for Christmas eve...needless to say, he fell asleep on the way.

Christmas morning we went to my parent's house and had a beautiful breakfast then opened gifts. It was very fun and a bit crazy...and...I didn't get any pictures. :( After my parents', we drove to Hannah's house where we did more gifts, had lunch, and played. Here's Fielding and Andrew taking over the food table.

 Oops...this was Wells on his bike at home Christmas morning. A little out of order....

 At Hannah's we also did some DDR type game. It was fabulous. :)

It was a great holiday. We're ready for 2012 and are already trying to improve our lives in many ways. We're excited about this year and plan to make it a great one!

Party, party, party!

Happy New Year everyone! This is definitly a catch up post, annnddd...the pictures loaded backwards. So, sorry....I'm too worn out to delete them all and repost at the moment.

We had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you did too. We had lots of family time. We're lucky that almost all of our family lives in town. The week of Christmas we found that the boys had ear infections, but we were all healthy enough by Christmas to enjoy being out of the house. Every year I feel so blessed and humbled by how much people give me. Again, our families have been so generous to us. I hope everyone knows how thankful I am for their generosity and love. We are blessed in so many ways.

We finally had a make-shift party for Wellington. My mom bought him a trampoline for his birthday and wanted to be there when we set it up. So they came for dinner and helped {really I sort of helped and my dad and little brother assembled it} set up the trampoline. Wellington woke up from his nap that afternoon in no mood to please anyone and didn't even try to jump. Fielding, on the other hand, loved it and still is so excited to jump with Wells...who now loves it. It's amazing that my kids can already go outside and play without me! Of course, I bring Fielding out there and zip up the netting and check on them every minute, but still...they are getting so big. Josh crawled in with them today and they thought that was great!

We have the best friends! Below is a picture from our annual "Holiday Dinner". These people are so dear to us. All the guys played highschool ball together and have known each other since they were around 12 years old or younger. We've had our own dinner together since we've all been married. This was our fifth year. We always have the greatest time telling stories, laughing, teasing, comisserating...they are like family. We are so thankful for the Hoffers, Henrys, and Cahills! {Please keep the Cahills in your prayers. They had a small house fire that evening which created a lot of damage. Thankfully, no one was hurt.}

Here are some pictures of Wellington's party....sorry they are backwards!

Wellington loves having people sing happy birthday to him and blowing out candles. The next day we finished off the cake and he insisted that we do candles again and again and again...after each bite. :)

We had white Christmas! Can you believe it?!? We left our house early Christmas morning and headed to my parents' house {Mia & Boss's}. We opened gifts there then headed to the Brookers for breakfast and more gifts for the kids. While there, it started snowing....and snowing...and snowing! It was beautiful! Here are the few pictures I remembered to take during all the paper throwing, candy eating, toy playing, and gift giving. {these are in order :)}

Fielding loved "swinging" with my brother Dane.

Trains. They've already provided hours of entertainment. I love them!

I set this up....thank you very much. :)

Christmas really takes it out of you.

Our humble abode on Christmas night.

*sigh* The holidays came and went so fast. It's been good..... If you're still reading, I'm impressed. Now for a short update on our house hunt. We put a second offer on the house going to auction but never heard back. I am/was very excited about it, but we are reevaluating what our next move should be. We've placed an offer on a small rental property in the area. I know this is a wiser investment in my head...it's short term lost {not getting to move} long term gain {having another rental/other source of income/valuable property, etc.}, but I am still coming to terms with it. Honestly, I've been convicted of how selfish/greedy I have been about this whole situation. Since thinking about getting that house for us, I've started nagging Josh and wanting it and trying to figure out what we can do to get it...maybe it's not time, maybe something bad would happen there, who knows. I do know that I have so much already. I have a very comfortable life and home and it's unfair of me to demand something more ~ especially when there are others in my life whole are struggling with real issues....not they just aren't getting something more. So, I'm trying not to say another word about this house. If it happens some how, that would be awesome. But as of this moment, and you are my witness, I'm giving the whole desire for a new house up to God. If our current house is where I need to be, then okay. Sorry ~ I said it would be short didn't I?....okay. The End.

Fall Days, A Happy Thanksgiving...and a christmas tree!

The days up until Thanksgiving were beautiful! And then...the cold came. :( But during those nice days Wells got a lesson in mowing the lawn. He loves playing with the lawn mower and blower in the garage. When Josh let him help him for a minute he was in heaven. :) Let's hope the enthusiasm lasts a looonnggg time. :)

We visited my favorite park again! This time we fished off the dock....with no luck. But it was fun trying. We had more luck attracting people than fish. Tell me this, who comes two feet from you with their child, narrates what someone does and then sits down right there and watches you? Without talking to you or thinking their being annoying?? This was very strange behavior....

Anyway, Wells had a great time.

Thanksgiving was a great day for us. We didn't get to play our normal football game {just too many little ones that can't participate and need supervision}, but we had family time all day. The boys and I made Sweet Potato casserole {I'll post the link to the recipe under the Recipes tab} and mashed sweet potatoes the day before. Thursday morning we made cinnamon rolls and got coffee for the family and headed over to Josh's parents' house around 10am. Josh fried a turkey and hung out with the guys while I played with the kids and caught up with the girls. After an early lunch there and Fielding's nap, we headed to my grandparents' to hang out with my side of the family along with all the random people and adopted family members. It was a full day. I love that we have a day set aside for remembering to whom we are thankful and what we are thankful for. I'm thankful for my husband, children, family, health, provision of more than I need, and to be able to stay at home with my children. I know I am very blessed and hope I am being a good steward of all God has given me. I always think of what Andy Stanley taught about making wise decisions when I think of being a good steward. He says to think about this ~ "In light of your past experience, present circumstances, and future hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing to do?" I know that doesn't exactly go with a Thanksgiving theme...but it was in my train of thought so I thought I'd share that too. :) Along those lines, we're thinking about moving...more about that later :). Here are some Thanksgiving pictures!!

Wells cleaning potatoes for me.

Fielding being happy on the floor...this was a huge help!

Me in my new apron that I made ~ after making like 8 I finally kept one! :)

Fielding at Poppop and Grandma's.

Sweet potato topping - yum!

Josh's turkey pot.

Cooking the turkey!

Wells just wants to do whatever his Daddy is doing. :)

Looks like Fielding isn't so sure about this frying business.

Getting ready.

I didn't get anymore pictures of the feast...guess I got caught up in everything but it was beautiful and fun and couldn't ask for a more loving family ~ on both sides.

Next up ~ Christmas tree shopping!!

Every year we try to get a christmas tree on November 27th. This is a special day as it's the birthday of my brother, Hanson, who passed away at 6 months old. This year we were all together on the 26th doing family pictures so we decided to head out for convenience sake. It was freezing!!!! We went, cut down a tree and then sadly everyone headed to their own home. It had gotten late and things are just more complicated with the three little ones. Here is a picture of Josh, Wells and Dawson {my brother in law} warming themselves by the stove {really they are trying to get a glimpse of the Auburn game}.

Family photo...expect that you can't really see the kids ~ HA!

Dane, Mia and little Josiah. Since we hadn't planned on going to get a tree that night we all bundled up with whatever we had. Luckily my mom had room in her jacket. :)

Wells helped cut down the tree too!

We didn't get a tree {again...maybe next year} but we did get greenery. I made a garland for the door. Looks pretty good! I'll take a some pictures after I get all the decorations up.

Wells helping me cut the garland I just spent an hour making and hanging....it doesn't matter. Kids learn through being able to try new things and sometimes I just have to let it go....it's not a big deal and he had a great time thinking he was helping me. :)


Have a great day! Thanks for reading such a long post!

Helen