Merry Christmas

From our family to yours.....Merry Christmas!!

Our own Oompa Loompa

AnnaBeth recently starred as an Oompa Loompa in the Appalachian Childrens' Theatre's production of Willy Wonka. She loves to be on stage performing. They performed the show 8 times. It was a marathon theatre experience. I am learning to be the perfect "stage mom" lol!!! The local news station came to do a piece on the show and Anna Beth was on the news singing her "Oompa Loompa" duet with her friend Hope.

This is a picture of Taylor, Hope and Anna Beth (left to right). They had so much fun waiting for the shows to begin.

My Sweet Girls

All of the girls were dressed in coordinating dresses for church. It was so cute that I had to take a few pics.

WHEN I GROW UP

This morning I had Anna Beth and Sam in the car. We were headed to my office. School was on a snow schedule and the plan was for them to hang out at the office for an hour until time to go to school.

As we are driving along Anna Beth says "Sam what do you want to be when you grow up?" Sam replies, "A firefighter or a lawyer". Anna Beth questions, "Why a lawyer?" she goes on to tell him that Jason ( my bro-in-law) is going to be a lawyer and it requires that you go to "law school". Anna Beth knows that Sam is not fond of school. Sam replies "Lawyers make one million dollars a year."

This one is for you Jason!! When you make your first million Sam and Anna Beth would appreciate a small percentage for their unwavering faith.

Our Black Friday Experience

At 3:30 a.m. I drug Chris out of the bed because it would be un-American to miss the biggest shopping day of the year. The three oldest kids spent the night at Grandma's, so it was us and little baby Ava. She seemed puzzled when I woke her, changed her diaper and dressed her. Anyway, we loaded up and headed to Bristol. Why Bristol? We wanted to go to Wal-Mart and Target and avoid Tennessee sales tax, so Bristol was the obvious choice. At 5 a.m we were in Wal-Mart with thousands of other people that did not want to miss out on the "great" deals. The shopping carts were bumper to bumper, people were not friendly, babies were crying (including ours), and everyone there acted as if the world would come to an end if they failed to get the items they wanted. Chris gave up and took Ava to the car, I loaded the shopping cart with all the "great" deals and then trudged over 1/2 mile to the car with my purchases.

As if we did not learn our lesson we then headed to Target. It was a much more pleasant experience the people were friendly, Ava was happy and we got a few things that we really needed.

The early rise and marathon shopping caused us to need a big breakfast so we headed to IHOP for the world's best pancakes. They were delicious!!

We returned home exhausted, broke and determined that we would not be sucked into this idea next year!!

Long Time.....No Blog

There are several very legitimate reasons that I have not updated our blog.........!!!! Regardless, so much has happened in the last few months. I am going to attempt to capture a few of the memories!! Our sweet Ava is growing like a weed, she has learned to sit up by herself and she now eats lots of different kinds of baby food. Knowing that she is our last baby :( makes everything that she does seem so special.

My wonderful (and very generous) husband bought me a new camera for my birthday. While I have admitted that I am no professional photographer, I love to take pictures of our kids.

Check out these cools gals on the tram to Dollywood....

We went to Dollywood with Nay Nay and Jason and a crew of Jason's family. It was lots of fun!! The girls loved it. Maddie is now big enough to ride several of the kiddie rides by herself. Anna Beth is getting brave and attempting the bigger rides.

Our fun filled summer had inevitably come to an end. The holidays are quickly approaching causing us to take time to count the many blessing that we so selfishly take for granted on a daily basis. We are thankful for our children and the thousands of smiles they bring to our face everyday. In this life of chaos and rush we often forget to be thankful for the little things that bring so much joy. We are blessed with a very caring family and lots of great friends. We are fortunate to have jobs that we enjoy and to do work that makes a difference in this crazy world. Most of all we are blessed to have each other. From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Birthday to CHRIS

We celebrated Chris' Birthday with our friends the Phipps. They have 3 little girls too. When all of the girls are together they have a blast.

Everybody loved the cake and ice cream.

Happy Birthday Daddy-O!!!

On our way to watch the HOKIES play!!!

Chris and I met Nay Nay and Jason in Blacksburg to watch the Hokies play.

This marked Chris' first Virginia Tech football experience.

Nay Nay and I are not much on football, however we tried out everything available at the concessions stand. It was weird to be somewhere with no kids to keep up with.

GO HOKIES!!!

After the game we were off to Buffalo Wild Wings. Chris ordered the hottest wings on the menu. They were so hot that they came with a warning label!!

In fact, they were so hot that tears were involved.

It was a day filled with lots of fun and laughs. We love you Nay Nay and Jason!!

All about Chris

I convinced Chris to contribute to the blog, so here it is:

I am: patient to the point of passiveness.
I think: lawyers are for the guilty.
I know: global warming is a Democratic platform.
I want: a vacation home, garage, hayabusa, outdoor kitchen…
I have: everything I need.
I wish: I could be a stay at home dad.
I hate: Valero.
I miss: days when cops were at donut shops…not schools.
I fear: Obama will be assassinated (if elected).
I feel: underwhelmed with a sense of urgency.
I hear: some but ignore most.
I smell: like Lee Hyde.
I crave: Cherry Coke Zero.
I search: for humor in life.
I wonder: how ugly parents have beautiful children.
I regret: nothing.
I love: my Kimbo.
I care: for people who try their best.
I always: tell the truth.
I am not: quick.
I believe: dessert should be eaten first.
I dance: whenever I can.
I sing: when I know the words.
I don't always: eat it all because it tastes so good.
I fight: when I have no other option.
I write: memos.
I lose: at all games against my kids.
I win: when I initiate a bet.
I never: say something false to make someone feel better.
I listen: when necessary.
I can usually be found: on the toilet reading the Bible.
I am scared: of driving after 10pm on Friday and Saturday nights.
I need: to be more accepting.
I am happy about: where I am, what I’m doing and who I’m doing it with.

All about Kim

A friend of mine had this on her blog and I decided to fill in the blanks. Enjoy!!

I am: Kimberly, Kimbo Mommy, Referee, Cook, Maid, Counselor, Nurse, etc.
I think: I may have a nervous break down at any moment =)
I know: that my life is very blessed
I want: my children to always be healthy
I have: four great kids that sometimes drive me crazy =)
I wish: the work week was only 3 days long
I hate: mean people
I miss: my mom and dad =(
I fear: free time
I feel: overwhelmed and happy
I hear: kids screaming
I smell: pumpkin, the new scent in our kitchen
I crave: chocolate (but I am NOT pregnant)
I search: for good in everyone
I wonder: what life will be like when the babies are big
I regret: not having 10 kids =)
I love: Chris Austin
I care: about the future
I always: kiss my hubby good night
I am not: super mom
I believe: in planning for tomorrow
I dance: with the kids and Chris in the kitchen
I sing: all the time
I don't always: make the bed or put away the laundry
I fight: with Anna Beth over hair bow selections
I write: love letters on occasion
I lose: everything and Chris finds it
I win: every time I bet with Chris
I never: want to take my life for granted
I listen: to Kid Rock lately and I love it
I can usually be found: work, home, dance class, soccer field, theater class, piano lessons
I am scared: of my calendar
I need: lots of love
I am happy about: all that I have been blessed with

Anna Beth's First Day of Kindergarten

The long awaited first day of Kindergarten was inevitable!! Anna Beth was excited and more than ready to go, I was nervous and anxious.

She looked so cute, decked out in Gymboree from Head to Toe!!

Nay Nay and Jason were here for the big day. Nay Nay was our personal photographer for the event.

She walked into the classroom, picked out a picture, found her seat and began to color. She appeared to be very at home and comfortable with her classroom.

How precious!!! I can't believe 6 years have gone by so quickly, she will always be my "baby"!!

Chris spent most of the morning providing his usual comic relief. I think he was also assessing my mental health condition, waiting for the big breakdown :)

Vacation Time

Our vacation began in Williamsburg. We drove to Jason, Nay Nay & Halle's house on our way to the beach. We spent 4 lazy days at the beach splashing in the pool and play in the sand. Maddie thinks the beach is one BIG sandbox. She loved it!! AnnaBeth and Sam loved the ocean and I stayed a nervous wreck fearing that one of them would drown. I guess that is just the mom in me =) !!! Ava slept through most of her first vacation!!