Thanksgiving 2016

    Happy Thanksgiving! I hope your day has been as wonderful as ours has! I am so thankful for another year to celebrate with my precious girls and sweet husband. We are truly blessed.

     We spent our Thanksgiving at Granny and Paw Paw's. Aunt Vicki, Amber, Matt, Jenna, Maddy, Emilee, and Jeff were all there, too. We ate a delicious meal, then talked and laughed at the girls playing and being silly.

    After everyone had left, but us. We spent some quality time with Granny and Paw Paw. The girls were so excited to stay and play a little longer and we were grateful for more time with them. They sure are 2 special people and they way they love us and our girls means the world to us.

An "Incredible" Day with Uncle Ben

   Today, Ben was able to get a 6-hour pass from Teen Challenge Memphis to spend the Day with us! We did a little shopping at Kohl's and then spent the rest of the time at Incredible Pizza Co! We all had so much fun.

    Ben was nervous since, other than for a quick moment at his baptism, he hadn't seen the girls since January that they wouldn't remember him, but he was way wrong. They both warmed right up to him, but especially Payton Joy. She and Ben were inseparable the entire day. It was so precious.

     Of course, the kids had a blast riding the rides and playing the games, but so did we! It was so good to finally be able to spend some real time with my brother! I have missed him so, but I am so proud of him and his commitment to Teen Challenge and the progress he has made throughout his time there.

    It was a perfect day even though it was hard to say goodbye at the end. Payt had the hardest time with it, but if everything goes right, we might get to "steal" him for 4 whole days for Christmas. That would be amazing!

Halloween 2016

     We started our Halloween fun Saturday evening by going to trick or treat at Nonna and Granddaddy's house. Of course, the girls were spoiled absolutely rotten! But that's what grandparents are for, right?! ;) After that we went to dinner at Olympic and filled our bellies before heading out to Mary's Chapel for our annual Trunk or Treat.

     It was so much fun. The girls got so much candy, decorated pumpkins, jumped in bouncy houses, raced in the inflatable bungee lanes, and rode on a hayride. By the end of the night, they were both completely ready to crash. It was just too much fun!

    Today we had a costume parade at MES and Payton had her class Halloween party at Preschool. The MES kindergarten teachers and I dressed like emojis for the parade and Rylee was a little witch emoji so she walked with us. It was really cute. Of course since big sister was going to be a witch, Payton wanted to be one, too. I love how she looks up to Rylee Love.

     It was such a fun Halloween. Last Halloween I was sick with Strep Throat, so this one was much, much better! And how cute did these emoji tshirts that I made for us turn out?! Happy Halloween, y'all!

Rylee's Loose Tooth

     Rylee Love lost her first baby tooth tonight! I guess it is time to accept she's not a baby anymore! It has been loose for a while, but she has been very nervous about pulling it. This afternoon it started bothering her and it was to the point she didn't want to eat anything except for yogurt, so I knew it had to go. She was nervous, but she let me do it and it was so loose that she couldn't even tell when I pulled it out. She was so excited when I showed her it was gone! Of course, my girl didn't want money for her tooth, so she got a game for her 3DS instead. But only because this was the first one. She already knows form now on she's getting a dollar! This tooth fairy is not rich! Haha!

Fall Break 2016 is in the Books!

    Well, Fall Break has come to an end, but we made the most of it. We got a lot accomplished this week, and most importantly I got LOTS of good, quality time with my girls.

     Tuesday, we took the girls to the Doctor. It was time for Payton Joy's yearly physical and then both girls got flu shots. Payton was so brave, she didn't even flinch. Rylee had quite the meltdown, but that has come to be expected. After the doctor, we went to Chikfila and the girls ate and played their hearts out. Then we went back to Ripley and all 3 of us got our hair trimmed. Then we went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream to celebrate.  It was such a good day minus the flu shots-ha!

     Wednesday morning we slept in. Then when we got up, we spent the morning painting our pumpkins that we picked up at the pumpkin patch last weekend. Then the girls and I played outside for a while and I just soaked in every minute. It was a lot of fun.

    Wednesday afternoon, we went back to Dyersburg this time for a dentist visit. The girls love the dentist and both girls were very brave. I got tons of compliments. The tech that took Payton's dental xrays was so impressed with her. She said she doesn't see many 3 year olds who behave as well and she did. I was so proud. After their appointment we had to stay and let them play in the waiting area for a little while because they called us right back when we got their and the girls were disappointed they didn't get a chance to play. I don't blame them. They have the most fun waiting area there.

     Thursday evening we went out to dinner then to Bounce With Us. Mary, Bailey, Liz, Brandon, Kaden, and Levi came, too. It was so much fun! The kids love this place. It's the perfect place to get their energy out.

      Most of the day Monday and Friday and some in between I was working on my little embroidery and vinyl business: Love, Joy, and Designs. These are some of my favorites that I did this week, but I did A LOT. I love the creative outlet it provides me and I'm excited to be able to put the money I make into savings to hopefully go towards buying us a home one day.

    I have had a blast this week with these 2 cuties. And since Ryan has been on 2nd shift since the beginning of September, the kids and I actually got to see him some this week. It was good to have this time together! I absolutely love teaching, and I'm excited to see my babies tomorrow! I also love that teaching provides these little breaks where I can be "just a mom." There is no more challenging or more rewarding job than that one... :)

Pumpkin Patch Fun

       Yesterday, we spent the day in Jackson at Donnell Century Farm. It was so much fun.  Of course we had to start by getting a few fun pictures of these little cuties!

     There is so much to do at this farm. The kids loved the slides. They climbed up and went down again and again. By the end , Callie was doing it all by herself which doesn't surprise me. She is the same age as Payt was when when went last year and Payt was the same way. Payt and Cal don't only look similar, they act just about the same: FEARLESS! After sliding for a bit, we decided to try out a few of the other attractions. The kids chose the cow ride first and it was a huge hit!

    Then we went on a hay ride, and it was just so beautiful to take in all the sights around the farm. The kids also went inside these giant hamster wheels and worked together (with some help from Ryan) to run it from one end of the track to the other.

     While they were having a duck race, we ran into Liz, Brandon, Kaden, and LEvi who were there having a fun family day at the farm. The kids were so excited, so of course Kaden had to join in on the duck race!

    Then we all went to the pig race. It was funny. Payt and Callie were the only kids who wanted to pet the pigs. I don't blame the others, they were pretty stinky-haha!

     The kids jumped on the giant bouncy pillow for a long time. Then the Joneses went on their way and our kids went and rode the zip line. It was really cool. They played and slid a few more times, then we went to pick out some pumpkins and head to dinner.

    It was a perfect Fall day with family and the perfect way to kick off my Fall Break. So excited to spend this week at home with my precious girls!

Levi and Callie's B-days!

   Levi's party came first. He had his party on his birthday last Saturday. It was such a beautiful day! He had a little monster themed party and all the decorations were so stinkin' cute. First birthdays are a pretty big deal, and I can't believe it has already been a year since this little man graced our lives with his presence. He has such a strong personality. He definitely knows what he likes and what he doesn't. I think that is a great quality to have.

     One thing he knows that he likes is cake! That boy tore it up! It was so cute. He hasn't ever had sweets before and now his eyes have been opened to a whole new world! Haha! He had such a good party. The kids played, ate cake, helped LEvi open presents, then played some more. It was awesome! Happy Birthday, Levi Scott!

     Even though Callie and Levi share the same birthday (exactly 1 year apart), Callie was with her dad last weekend so we had her party tonight! It was so much fun. These 4 cousins were so excited to be reunited. They haven't seen each since the 4th of July.

     Callie had such a good time. We ate hamburgers and hotdogs, ate cake, then Callie opened her presents with the help of her cousins. They had so much fun. I am so glad we were able to celebrate with sweet Callie! Happy Birthday, princess!
    A big moment tonight was when it was time to sing Happy Birthday to Callie. Rylee Love stayed in the room and even sang along. This is huge for a girl who has been afraid of the Happy Birthday song for as long as I can remember. I am so proud!

Payton Joy is 3!

      My BABY is 3, y'all! I'm not sure how it happened, but the past 3 years have absolutely flown by! We love our Payt-the-Great so very much! She is so energetic and full of life. She brings joy and laughter wherever she goes! I am so very glad that God chose me to be this angel's mommy!

    Well, we had 3 days of birthday fun for our 3-year-old darling. We started on Friday with her preschool party. She was so excited to bring cupcakes and cheeto puffs to share with all of her friends!

    Saturday we had her birthday party. She chose a Paw Patrol theme this year and it turned out super cute! She begged for "2 ponytails" and I think her curly little pigtails just perfectly matched her sassy little personality so.

  She got so many presents and she loved them all and has been playing toys evy free moment she has had since she opened them, but if you ask her what her favorite part of the party was, she will say "hitting the pinata!" I think all the kids loved that!

    She absolutely loved when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She and her sister are polar opposites in that area. Ha! She also enjoyed eating some chocolate ice cream and making herself a "mustache". It was such a great little party. I am so thankful that we were able to celebrate her little life with lots of people who love her!

 Today is her birthday. We had our church picnic today and she thought it was another party for her. Of course no one told her differently.

     When we got home from the picnic, we gave Payton 3 presents: 1 from Rylee, 1 from Mommy, and 1 from Daddy. Rylee picked her out a Princess Zelda doll and stick puppet and she has been so excited to give it to Payton. She was thrilled when Payton opened them and loved them. It makes my heart glad to see Rylee being so loving and generous to her sister.

    I got Payt a talking minion toy and Ryan got her a nerf gun. She loved it all. She is one spoiled little lady. We love her so much, it's impossible not to spoil her a little! 

   Unfortunately, after she opened her presents, we realized she felt warm and took her temp. It was over 101, almost 102. She hasn't been herself this whole week and ran some low grade temps here and there, but never anything I'd really call a fever, but today it really hit her. I was sad she was sick on her birthday, but Ryan took her to urgent care and it turns out she has a double ear infection. The nurses felt so bad that she was in urgent care on her birthday that they gave her all the stickers she wanted and a slushie! She was so excited. She came home talking all about it. She keeps saying it has been the best day ever. I'm glad she doesn't let anything get her down. She's my little Joy!