Christmas Photos

Beautiful.

We didn't get as many poses this time. They moved our appointment to naptime and all of the kids were cranky. We were exhausted!

My Monet

Back in the day when I had spare time, I loved to paint. Working full time, going to school full time and being a full time mom means I do not have the luxury of having a hobby anymore. Kinnison LOVES to draw, paint and color. She is good at it too. Well, I think so anyway. She just turned 3. Look how talented she is!

Kinnison's First Masterpiece

Monster

Car

Daddy

Learned how to draw stick people!

First written words! I wrote the ones in green and she wrote the ones in red by herself!

She is so smart! She can identify most of her letters now. She can write some too! We are so proud!

We had a great Thanksgiving! We went to the farm for lunch. We had a great time visiting with the family. Following tradition, grandpa tried to kill us. This is in the kitchen.

Thank goodness it was a beautiful day and we got to eat outside.

After lunch we came home and prepared our very own Thanksgiving dinner. Actually, I popped the turkey in the oven and took a little nap. Then prepared dinner. After dinner we decorated our Christmas Tree.

I got my Christmas Tree up! WOO HOO

New Photos

A couple weeks ago we had some photos taken by Kim Durham Photography. She did an amazing job!

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so many things to be thankful for. I am blessed with two beautiful daughters, a loving husband, a great family and wonderful friends. I even love my job. I have an amazing life. God is good.

I hope you all have a wonderful & safe Thanksgiving.

Luke's Hunting Trip (Dead Deer Photos)

Every year Luke goes to Bethany, Missouri to go hunting with his dad. I posted photos from our visit a couple weeks ago. He likes to go up there in the spring to fish and turkey hunt. In the fall he does nothing but ramble on about his hunting trip in November. He has been going for years. In 2006 Luke went and brought home his first good buck. My cousin Matt went with him that year. Here are some photos from that trip. I don't think pictures do either of these deer justice.

Luke and Matt (my cousin)

This year Luke's friend Jason went with him. They were blessed with a successful hunt. Luke's dad and one of his friends also hunted. Luke got a great 9 point. Here are some photos.

This year and last year Luke got an 8 point on our land. They were nice bucks for Arkansas but tiny compared to Missouri deer.

I am happy for Luke when he is successful. However, I feel sorry for the deer....especially when I cook them for dinner.

It is THAT time of year....

I know! I know! I have a winter background already! I couldn't help myself. Technically this background fell under the "Christmas" category, but that would make me crazy since we haven't celebrated Thanksgiving yet. I am crazy. I tried talking Luke into putting up the tree this weekend. He told me no. He said I must wait until Thanksgiving night. So, I wrapped all my gifts. HA! Actually, I had about half of them wrapped last weekend. I finished the rest today. That's right. Gifts bought and wrapped. I am done! Don't get me wrong. I love Thanksgiving. I just get so excited about Christmas.

We went and ate at Pig & Whistle tonight. It was delightful! It was very clean and cozy. The food and the staff were wonderful. After dinner we went to the Lights of the Ozarks Parade. We got there early, which meant we got great parking. It also meant we would sit in the cold until it was time for the parade. (over an hour) We hung out at David Adams Jewelry for a while. They were very nice and even gave Kinnison a cookie. Kinnison had so much fun. She got candy and lots of free goodies. Kimber was a trooper! It was SO cold. We had a great night. I love when we get to spend time together as a family. It doesn't happen as often as I would like because of work and school. I can't wait until Luke and I graduate!

Being surrounded by all of those people helped me realize that I am not alone. There are lots of crazies out there that love this time of year just as much as I do. Kinnison is one of them. This past June she was reading The Night Before Christmas and watching Polar Express. That's my girl!

Happy Birthday Kinnison!

We couldn't have asked for a better birthday party. My mom and I cooked all kinds of goodies. I made cupcakes and we got a delicious cake from the fabulous Rick's Bakery. Kinnison had so much fun playing with her cousins and her friend from school. She got a lot of really great presents. THANK YOU to everyone who shared Kinnison's special day.

I am still in disbelief that Kinnison is three. I wish I could freeze time. I don't want my babies to grow up.

Here are some photos!

It Won't Be Like This For Long

It wont be like this for long
One day soon we'll look back laugh'n
At the week we brought her home
This phase is gonna fly by
So baby just hold on
It wont be like this for long

Each year for Kinnison's Birthday I make her a montage of my favorite photographs from the year. I just completed her third montage. My baby girl is going to be three. I am not sure how that is even possible. I am so blessed to have Kinnison and Kimber in my life. I love them so much. I am not sure what I did before they came along. I lied. I know what I did...I slept before they came along. :) They are totally worth it though. It is worth the wait, the worry, the pain, the sleep deprivation and all the money in the world. My girls are my life.

I posted part of the lyrics to one of my new favorite songs. "It Won't Be Like This For Long" by Darius Rucker. Those words couldn't be more true. The time flies by.

In honor of Kinnison's big third birthday I am posting all three montages. I will post pictures after the Disney Princess Party.

Kinnison's 1st Birthday

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Kinnison's 2nd Birthday

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Kinnison's 3rd Birthday

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Trick-or-Treat

We had a wonderful Halloween! The Wednesday before Halloween we went trick or treating at two churches in town. The kids had a blast. I think Kimber was a little disappointed she couldn't eat some candy. On Friday I took off half of the day to take the kids trick or treating at Luke's work. My mom, dad and nephew went with us.We have done this every year since Kinnison was born. They get tons of candy in a really short time. Kinnison was dressed as Belle and Kimber was dressed as a shark. After we went to Luke's work we went to my sister's house to hand out candy and eat dinner. We ate WAY too much. We took the kiddos to see Meme and Grandma & Grandpa. We were all exhausted by the time we got home! Kimber was so tired she slept through the night! That never happens! Here are some photos. Oh! One more thing....ignore the date. I must have entered the wrong day when I charged the battery. I'm a dork!

Home Away From Home II

Luke had a test Thursday night, which meant the girls and I had to kill some time before we left town. We decided to do a little shopping at Sam's. Luke finished up around 6:30 and we hit the road. Thank goodness. I was about to spend a lot of money we didn't have on Christmas decorations. Luke's friend Jason insisted on getting us a hotel with his points. We stayed in Kansas City. We love Jason! He is one of the kindest people we know! The girls had so much fun! Kinnison of course had to jump on the bed. No hotel stay is complete until you jump on the bed. We didn't get in until late on Thursday night. So, we got up early on Friday and took the girls for a swim. It was Kimber's first time in a real pool!

I have some photos of me and the girls...but

crystal in bathing suit + bags under eyes + greasy hair = not pretty

We finally arrived at Grandpa Dink's house around noon. This was Kimber's first time to meet Grandpa Dink. She liked him because he fed her fruit puffs. Kinnison was too young to remember our previous visits. But, she quickly decided she loved visiting Grandpa Dink. He colored with her, did whatever she wanted and took her for a ride in his tractor. We were pretty lazy Friday and Saturday. We visited with some family and drove around looking for deer. Sunday morning we got up early, packed our things and hit the road. We didn't get home until after 2! It was a long drive. I was ready to come home but wasn't ready to catch up on homework and laundry! We had a great time! I am ready to plan our next visit.