Disney 2013

 I can't believe I am so far behind on this blog.  Honestly with two little ones running around and another one on the way, this definitely hasn't been on the forefront of my mind. Still, every once in a while i'll remember how I haven't updated in so long, and that I need this blog to help me document our life with these precious little people we've been given to raise.  So, on a rainy afternoon during nap time, I'm finally getting around to this.


In February Matt had to travel to Orlando for a work conference.  We took the opportunity to take Mattilee (almost 3 at the time) to Disney World!  We knew she would love it. She was just starting to really get into the Disney princesses.  After toiling over it for a while, we finally decided to leave Ivey Kate with grandparents.  She was still taking two long naps a day (and prefers to sleep in a crib as opposed to stoller) and was still so young; we just didn't think she was quite ready for Disney.  Matt's company has to go to Orlando every other year so we decided it would be much more enjoyable for her the next time the trip rolled around.

Mattilee had the BEST time!  She was in awe of the princesses and loved the rides!!  I loved watching her talk to the princesses. It filled my heart to know she was having the time of her life.  At one point, as tears were welling up in my eyes watching her talk to Tinkerbell (I'm a tinkerbell fanatic, it was just emotional to see her having so much fun) Matt leaned over and said, "It kinda makes me want to cry. Look how happy she is." My thoughts exactly. We LOVED getting to experience that with her and it was probably nice for her to have our full attention for a few days.  Her favorite ride was the teacups.  We did make the mistake of taking her on the Pirates of the Carribean or the "pirate ride" as she refers to it. It was dark, and I'm sure for a 2 year old, scary.  She still talks about how she loved Disney World but didn't like the pirate ride. :)

We stayed with another family that had a precious little 4 year old girl, Caroline.  Mattilee and Caroline got to share a room and had such a GREAT time together.

Caroline and Mattilee ready for Magic Kingdom! 

Waiting in line to see Tinkerbell.

:)

Holding Tinkerbell's hand.

This Tinkerbell truly fit the part. She was so "fairy-like"

Magic Carpet Ride

Silly girl.

Driving Daddy around.

Teacups! Her favorite! 

Talking to Aurora and telling her how old she is. 

Sweet, happy child. 

Metting Cinderella.

 Repunzel.. or "Tangled" as Mattilee calls her. 

Ariel and Matti. I love that her hand is on Ariel's leg. :) 

Big hug for Ariel. 

Hands up on Under the Sea ride.

We loved this ride.

Matt volunteered me to play Mrs. Potts in the play. Thanks, Babe. 

Riding the airplanes! 

Sweet friends. 

 The castle!!

 Sweet girl.

:)

 End to a fun day! 

Mustaches while waiting for dinner. :)

Sweet girl just sang Happy Birthday to Daddy.  We celebrated his 29th in Disney. 

Mattilee's Gigi gave her some souvenir money to spend and she bought something for Ivey Kate and for herself. 

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  I love the decorations, getting to spend extra time with family, looking for and finding that perfect gift to give, the food...the list could go on and on.  It is even more fun with little ones.  I love how their eyes light up at Christmas decorations and lights. Mattilee loved helping me pick out gifts and helping wrap them.  And she couldn't wait to give them. One day Matt came home from work and she said, "Daddy, do you want to open your shirt that we wrapped for you?" Ha!  She got much better as the season went on.  She still couldn't keep to herself that we had presents for others but it progressed to "Gigi, we have a present for you under our tree. Do you want to see it?"   

Christmas brings so many opportunities to talk about Jesus and the reason He was born.  We loved talking and reading with Mattilee about it, and hearing her say "It's Jesus' birthday!" randomly when someone would mention Christmas. We hope that our children will always remember the real reason for this special season. It can be so easy to get caught up in the commercial side that really has nothing to do with our  Rescuer humbly coming to earth as a baby. I hope that Matt and I will always do our part to keep the focus on Christ.     

A few pictures from our Christmas

Christmas cuties!

We took these pictures after church on the Sunday before Christmas.  

Opening presents at Kit Kat and Bobbo's house. She waited a long time for this baby doll. She picked her out while shopping with Kit Kat in October.   

Mattilee playing with her new leappad and Ivey Kate having a seat in her cousin's new rocking chair.   

Our little ham on Christmas Eve.  I love how fun she is. 

This little one after Christmas Eve festivities. She loves any kind of stuffed animal.  And those two fingers. 

Ready to open presents Christmas morning!

After opening the presents under the tree, Mattilee found her new bike at the end of a scavenger hunt!  My parents always did a scavenger hunt for us with our last gift, and it was always so much fun! 

Since it was raining and cold outside she practiced riding it inside.

Checking out what is in their stockings. 

What a difference a year makes!
Christmas day this year and last year!  They have grown and changed so much!

Getaway for Mommy and Daddy

In October Matt and I got to go to Riviera Maya; just us, no kiddos.  Matt won the trip through his company.  It's really hard to qualify for the trip so I'm really proud of my hubs and his hard work (not to mention extremely thankful for the vacay).  Of course it was really hard to leave the girls and we missed them like crazy, but it was so good for us to get away by ourselves.  We rarely get time alone. I'm not complaining; that's what we signed up for when we decided to have kids.  However, I think it probably does every marriage good to spend one on one time together.  For those few days we felt young and carefree again.  We laughed and cut up, had real, meaningful conversations without interruptions, and truly just enjoyed one another.

The place we stayed was beautiful!  I didn't take many pictures so I got some pics that a friend took. She and her husband were there too with several other couples from Matt's company.  It's so much fun to be able to have alone time with Matt but also get to hang out with friends too while we are there.  

A lot of the other wives and I climbed this lifeguard tower for a picture.  We weren't supposed to climb it but it was just calling out to us.  We had a good time; this group of women were so much fun.  

The infinity activity pool.  There was also a relaxation pool for guests that didn't want to hear music or other noise... like our husbands playing pool football.:) 

Another view of the activity pool. 

The beautiful view of the ocean.  

I think this is the only picture I have of my handsome hubs and me from our trip. This was the last night at the company dinner. 

Family Pictures

We had family pictures made in November.  We don't take the time to do this often enough.  Life just gets so busy and it's hard to remember to slow down and take these.  I know I'll regret it later in life so I'm going to try to be mindful of doing these every 6 months or so.  My extra-talented brother-in-law took these for us.  This works out perfectly for many reasons, one being that both of my girls are crazy about him so it was easy to get them to smile and cooperate. :)

Here are a few a my favorites....

LOVE this chubby smile and these neck rolls. :)

So cute!

:)

 I know you can't see their faces really well, but I just love this one.  

I love that Mattilee is giggling here. 

So sweet!

 Sweet sisters. 

Many Thanks

We have so much to be thankful for.  We realize this all year and try to make sure girls realize how blessed and thankful we all should be, but at Thanksgiving we are especially mindful of how good God is to us. After all, there is no blessing apart from Him.  We have two wonderful families that love us and that we get to enjoy even more on special holidays like Thanksgiving.

One of the things I am most thankful for is my family.  And this sweet woman is at the top of that list.

 This is my amazing Granny with four of her great-grandchildren, Mattilee, Ivey Kate and my brother's daughters, Addie Brown and Lyla on Thanksgiving Day.  I can't express how special this lady is to me.  When I think of the Proverbs 31 woman, she is what comes to mind.  I can't even begin to describe all of her wonderful qualities and attributes because there are too many to list.  I'm sure she has spent countless hours in prayer for our family and I know that is one of the main reasons our family is so blessed! She has five children, 14 grandchildren and over 20 great-grandchildren.  I really hope that my girls will get to spend lots of time with her growing up.  I want them to really know her and the wonderful woman she is! I am so blessed to call her Granny!