Christmas yet?

Well, I'm glad we got all that out of the way.  Thanks for bearing with my five posts last night!  I feel much better to be somewhat caught up on here!  

Our last week was a full one.  We had a dinner for Mark's work on Monday.  I had music practice on Tuesday, bible study and Adventurers on Wednesday and I hosted book club at my house on Wednesday evening.  Book club was really fun.  Hardly anyone had read the book, so it turned into just a time of laughing and talking.  Oh, and eating.  Plenty of eating.  On Thursday, I went with a few friends on a shopping trip and on Friday, my brother and his wife arrived for the weekend.  It was so nice having them here for a low key visit.  They left yesterday afternoon, and Rosie fell apart again.  Just sobbed.  It really broke my heart!  At least we will get to see them again at Christmas!

So, I have a few things I feel I need to share.  If you ever shop at Walmart, you really need to download their app.  If you scan your receipts, it will compare prices of area competitor stores. If any have advertised the items you bought for less, you get the difference!  Isn't that awesome?!  I don't do a ton of shopping there, but I'm a lot more likely now.  

Also, I have found a new favorite store.  It's called Southern Chicks Market and it is so cute.  It's got all sorts of vintage, shabby chic, and handmade goods and I'm in decorating heaven every time I walk through their door.  If you live in the Hendersonville area, I highly recommend it.  The owner is just the most precious girl.  You'll love it!   

We stayed in today.  We did some art projects and the girls loved every second.  I'm so glad they love that type of thing.  In fact, Rosie said she wants a sewing machine for Christmas!  I don't know if she's quite ready for one, but I'm excited she's interested!  

I have a question for you before I go...have you decorated for Christmas?  I'm really torn.  A lot of people I know have and I'm not sure if I should or not.  I love Christmas decor and want to enjoy every second, but I definitely don't want to rush it.  What a dumb problem to have, huh?!  Oh, well!  Have a great night!

The Month of Creativity

We've had a great November so far... 

These girls are just the sweetest things!  They keep me laughing:)

I finally took the girls to their yearly well check visit.  I'm actually earlier than last year, so although I'm late, I'm doing better.  The visit went great!  The girls are no longer low in iron, which was a huge relief.  Kiki had grown 4 inches and Rosie 2.5 inches.  This year Kiki surprised us when the doctor asked her favorite food.  Without hesitating, she said, "strawberry shortcake!"  I'm not certain she's ever had that, but okay.  The biggest relief was Rosie's eye test.  I was almost positive she was going to need glasses.  She is always rubbing her eyes when I am teaching her and I just knew what was coming.  Well, I was very wrong.  She had 20/15 vision!  What a relief, although, I'd be lying if I said the thought of how cute she'd be with some black rimmed glasses didn't cross my mind.  I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Rosie is definitely my drama queen.  She had to get shots and that didn't please her AT ALL.  Everyone in the building knew it didn't please her.  

My sweet ladies!

This month has also seemed to be a creative month!  I've been doing all kinds of projects around the house.  I need to take pictures of them.  Here are a few though...

This made this pillow for our couch.  

I was in dire need of some new fall wreaths.

  

I'm thinking I'll change the bow color for Christmas. 

I found these old shutters and they were in bad shape.  With a little paint, they are good as new and hanging on my wall. 

My most exciting purchase this month, is this wireless tool kit!  I can't wait to get started on some new projects! 

October!

The last few weeks in October were pretty packed.  Mark had to go out of town again to Florida for a few days, the group I'm in had another concert, I helped with an Angel tree project for an area church, we had Adventurers and Bible studies, some of my teachers from Ozark came into town and we hung out with them, the Royals were in the World series!!!, we had a snow day, we celebrated Mark's 33rd birthday and had a Fall party at our house.  We also attended a Panthers/Saints game in Charlotte with our friends, the Fields.  Here are a few pictures from some of those things...

AMAZING seats at the game!   

What a handsome guy:) 

It was so cool being so close to the players!  This was my first NFL game and it was a blast.  Also, I heart Drew Brees.  I also heart our friends, the Stouts, who babysat the girls until 2am! Bless them! 

My poor flowers after the freak snow storm in October!

All bundled up and ready for church 

These girls love snow.  Well, for at least 5 minutes they love snow. 

We took the girls to eat.  I told Kiki that she couldn't have chocolate until she finished her broccoli.  It was a challenge she accepted.  

She literally stuffed it all in her mouth at one time.  

I love this kid

We watched the Stout girls so Jess and Jacob could have a date night and added a few more for the fun of it.  Let me just say, 8 kids is a lot of kids.  They all seem pretty happy, though!   

It was a great month!  

A Crazy Week

Mark was in Atlanta from the Monday my parents left until that Thursday.  What an eventful week that was.  Right after he arrived in Atlanta, his phone was stolen and there was a tornado that took out electricity for awhile, which made it very hard to stay in touch.  We worked hard at finding different ways to stay connected until they sent his new replacement phone.  Luckily, he still had his computer, so we were able to go old school and google chat.  He also would drive to the Verizon store in between his meetings, and call/text me on the model phones there.  It all felt very high school.

One night that he was gone, we had a freak storm here that took out huge trees in our neighborhood.  I thought our whole house was going to fly away!  It was pretty scary.  

Our neighbor's front yard

One of the huge trees that got taken out.  Luckily, no one was hurt! 

Another tree down

Luckily, we had a few sweet friends that kept us busy while he was gone.  We also had swim lessons and bible study to keep our minds off his absence.  (The girls are doing so well swimming, by the way! I'm so proud of them!)  Anyway, we were oh-so-glad to have him home when he arrived early Friday morning.  

My little fish

The weekend was a full one!  The Stouts invited us over for lunch and we went with them to the Biltmore in the afternoon.  That night we had a few families over for dinner and fun around the bonfire.   It was a great time!  I forgot to get any pictures that night!

Kiki riding the donkey in Sabbath School

Fish watching at the Biltmore

Love this girl 

These two crack me up!

I Get So Emotional Baby

In mid-October, the group I sing with got the opportunity to perform at some Medical/Dental meetings in Gatlinburg, TN.  My parents flew in for the weekend to watch the girls, so that Mark and I could go.  I was awfully nervous, but really excited, all at the same time.  It ended up being so fun!  The conference was in a lovely hotel, we had a room without kids, and we ordered room service multiple times so the whole experience felt very much like a mini vacation.  We even got to go on a little date night with friends while we were there.

We came home on Sunday morning and were super happy that mom and dad didn't have to leave until Monday evening, so we got some time with them, too.  My parents had never visited Looking Glass Falls, so we took them there and for a ride around Pisgah Forest.  There may have been ice cream involved on the way home, because, well, what's a trip without ice cream?  On Monday, we did a few errands and had a nice lunch.  Rosie completely lost it about an hour before my parents had  to leave for the airport.  She curled up on Papas lap and just wept because she was so sad they were leaving.  She cried for about two hours after they left.  It didn't help that Mark, too, left that night for a work trip to Atlanta.  Poor kid, just fell apart.  She's definitely my child.

Even though the trip was short, we had such a wonderful time.  The girls just eat up every minute with Nana and Papa!  Can't wait until next time!    

Our group was invited to sing with Charles Haugabrooks while we were there.  Don't worry...I didn't know who he was either. 

I ran into Kaylee's really good friend, April.  We had to send a picture to prove it to Kaylee:)

We also got to spend some quality time with David & Elizabeth.  I just love these people!

Nana and Rosie in Pisgah Forest

Rosie and Papa enjoying the falls.  

My little family 

So thankful for these two!

My man crush

This is Rosie, crying at the front door.  I'm not kidding, she was a wreck when they left.  

My Little Helper

You haven't heard from me in awhile!  So sorry about that.  Things just got really busy and blogging got put on the back burner.  I hate when I do that, because 1)  I don't know where to start and 2) I forgot about all the fun things we've done!  Well, we have been good.  We've had lots of visitors and things going on.  I think I'll refer to the photos on my phone to get started.  These pics are back from October...

She's just a little lady now. 

She wanted me to show you my first attempt at a waterfall braid.  I've improved since then, but not by much:) 

In Adventurers, Rosie is working on her helper honor.  She has really stepped up to the plate and helps make lunches, washes dishes, takes the trash, makes her bed and so much more.  I'm quite enjoying the time off:) 

She's enlisted a little help.  

My favorite little Adventurer and dishwasher.