Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

The 12 Days before Christmas My Babies gave to Me

When Avery and I were dating, he started this 12 Days Before Christmas thing. He came by my house every morning and left a small stocking on my door knob each labeled with a number. It counted down the 12 days before Christmas with a small gift in each.
We have done this alternating doing it for each other each year since. This year it was his turn so the girls helped pick gifts for me.....Sing the son when you read it...it makes it more fun...
On the 12 Days before Christmas my True Loves Gave to me..
12: going to bed early
11:a beautiful ponsettia
10: a blue coffee mug
9: hawaiian smelling candle
8: Santa Christmas socks
7: Ironman movie
6: chocolate covered almonds
5: 5 car air fresheners
4: Mummy 3 movie
3: Christmas fleece throw
2: new faucet for the kitchen
1: and gift card for a Back massage!!!!!
Avery of course said Lydia and Rachel helped pick out the gifts which make it even more special!!!!

Christmas Parade

It was so much fun at the parade. All the kids did so good. They got out some and walked while throwing candy. Joann did an awesome job on the clown costumes for the girls! Hats off to Josh and the Jaycees truck for picking up a Raggedy Ann who got away from the bus!!! Next year we can add Bert to the bunch!!

I've been tagged!!!

I got tagged. RULES: Go to your picture file. Choose the 4th file....then the 4th picture. POST it and explain the picture.

O.k. Deana....Here's the picture. It is Rachel in Sept 2006. She is laying on the chair and I'm taking the pic from above her. She is wearing shoes that Lydia wore. I loved those shoes!!

O.k. I'm tagging 4 people.

Mama

Jennifer Pasalakis

Sondra Stephens

Jenn Jacobs

Hope to see the pics soon!!!!!

Babies Growing Up

Time flies. The girls love their feet pajamas. Lydia especially loves hers and wants to wear them every night. Our hardwood floors are finally finished. Thanks to Mama for letting our family stay with her for a couple of days. It felt good being in my old house and spending the night and getting ready there. It brought back lots of memories.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday season!

Day at the Park

The girls had a good time. Weather was perfect that day. They were acting silly! They are so cute. I guess I am partial though.

next week starts our hardwood floor installation. I hope it is a good experience. This weekend is rip up carpet and get it ready. The real hardwood with sanding , staining, sealing kind. it will be a mess but better than the sippy cup spill mess of a carpet now!

Brighton Emersyn Stovall

Welcome baby Brighton to the Stovall family. We are so glad Misty and baby are doing well. Little Brighton's belly has been giving her problems but prayers that it is not too serious. I know Misty is glad to have her Mom and Dad down from NewYork to help spoil the baby. The jury is still out on whether she resembles Misty or Seth more. I think she is a perfect mix!

Camping Fun

We were able to go camping. We hope to some more before it gets too cold. The girls loved it of course. I have found out that fire smoke keeps mosquitoes away! We will have a fire from sun up to sun down! Things went a bit smoother with knowing a little more what was needed and to make sure the camper was stocked. This about as much of roughing it as I want to get. The most fun was the visits from family. Mimi and Don came by and Grammy and Papaw came by in the bus and brought cool glow-in -the-dark night sticks! Having others to share in the fun was the best! Anyone who wants to join us in camping....let us know!!!!

Tumbling Class

The girls are in Tumbling class once a week. Lydia is aBig Dipper and Rachel is a Little Dipper. They jump, tumble, flip, balance...etc. I tried to get Lydia into soccer....she said no....tried ballet/ tap....no...so this was a yes !

I tried to help Lydia with her cartwheels at home but only put a big scrape on her face. Oops!

Lydia is in the pink/ black bottom outfit!

DIXIE STAMPEDE !!!!!

If you have never been to Dixie Stampede it is a must! The girls were so good the 2hours we were there. You get served in a different way and there is no utensils!! We got a ticket for Rachel so we would not have to hold her in our lap the entire time. It is money well spent!

Family Vacation

We went to Gatlinburg for a quick get-away! We stayed at the Rocky Top motel. This motel is where I stayed at every year as a child. It was very clean but was obviously from another era.

The girls didn't know any different. They had fun at the aquarium but the best was Dixie Stampede.( a must go to in Gatlinburg)

Eatable Playdoh

I got this recipe off of the Jon and Kate plus 8 show! I did not tell them it was playdoh. I don't want to associate playdoh with eating. We called it yum yum doh, lydia heard me say playdoh and strated calling it Playdoh. I did not realize how much I made and had to throw alot away.

Recipe:

equal parts: honey, peanut butter,and powdered milk. I liked to add some flour to make it not as sticky and easier to handle.

Water Park

We met Jennifer and Molly Kate at the Smyrna Water park for some fun. Lydia took right off running thru the water. Molly Kate and Rachel were happy at the edge splashing their feet. We had a great picnic lunch. The best thing about it.....it did not cost a thing to get into the water park!!! Of course gas to get there....so it did cost an arm and a leg to drive there! Ha, ha. Now more than ever I wouldn't mind the compact fuel efficient hybrid car vs. gas guzzler SUV.

Picnic Fun

We had a picnic outside. It is funny the simple things that get kids excited. Same lunch just eaten outside on the picnic table. I just wish we had more trees to shade the yard. Lydia and Rachel had a Fundip also. Do you remember those growing up.......flavored sugar and you used a candy stick to dip it!!! SUGAR HIGH!!!!

More of Paris

There were so many beautiful things. There are stained glass in the Notre Dame 400+ yrs old. We really enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere of the gardens. There were lots of people but was blocked off by trees making you feel like you were there alone. The night scene is of the Champ Elysses( Rodeo Drive of Paris) Lots of expensive designer brand stuff.

We loved the mass transit subway/ train system. We never missed a car while we were there. I could see myself living in Paris. The language barrier would be the worst.

PARIS

Bonjour(hello),

We are still in Paris . It is Sun at 6p.m.(11a.m. in Tn.) We are so tired from being on the go but the city is beautiful. I thought I would share some pics we took!!!

pic1: Notre Dame
pic2:Arc de Triumphe
pic3: Eiffel tower
pic4: the Louvre
Pray for our safe return and girls WE MISS YOU!

It's Kin foke!

Don't you love it! Family fun! I was looking at some pictures taken recently and couldn't help but feel that these pics deserved some recognition. I won't give names to protect identity.

Love ya!