Christmas Parties #2 and 3!

Thursday morning Derek and I went to Anna-Kate's school party! They started with a magic show. The reactions were so funny! Anna-Kate was really into it! 

After the magic show, they ate lunch and we got to visit. Anna-Kate was really excited we were there. It was fun. I love getting to see her at school! 

Sunday, we stayed here in Searcy for church and then this afternoon we headed over to Derek's parents for a family Christmas party. Each side of family draws names of the other sides children. (Does that make sense?) So, we have two children so we drew two names. Then the adults do a white elephant exchange. Each adult brings a gift and we draw numbers and pick or steal a gift. It's always a lot of fun! We have a traveling diva pig cookie jar that returns each year too! 

We brought the game Catch Phrase and then a Pyrex dish with Pioneer Woman's homemade cinnamon rolls!! (I might have sampled a pan of them last night right after I made some. You know- just to make sure they weren't too awful... haha) They are delicious! 

We all had a lot of fun! Thomas and Anna-Kate wore themselves out!

Derek and I have a few more people to buy for here in Searcy but we are almost all done! I can't wait for Christmas! Anna-Kate is really into it so I think it's going to be a fun one!

Picture-Packed Weekend!

Weekends have quickly become even more special for me now that I'm working. I cherish the moments I get to share with Anna-Kate and Thomas. 

Last Thursday Anna-Kate told me that she missed me which absolutely broke my heart! I was extra good this weekend and took lots of pictures! :) Aren't you proud of me? ;) haha. 

I threw in the first few pictures from last week because they were too cute to resist! 

Wednesday nights we host Bible study while Anna-Kate and Thomas go to church across the street. Derek's parents usually walk them over to us and then chat and stay for a few minutes. I walked into Anna-Kate's room and found her in her 'Fancy Nancy' dress up outfit! It was so cute! 

Anna-Kate also has a new rug, isn't it super cute! Thanks to Nini and Granddaddy!! 

Thomas enjoyed a special treat- sausage balls! He loves them! 

After everyone left, we played in our jammies for a few minutes! 

Growing up, Frosty always hung on the wall in our kitchen around the holidays! I love sharing him with my children! 

Anna-Kate decided to leave on her leggings and shoes and wear the dress OVER her nightgown! haha! 

Friday Morning I made Thomas some pancakes before work! He was very happy about them! 

We got invited to a Christmas Party Friday night! It was so much fun! 

He's such a cutie! :) 

Anna-Kate wore her cheerleading uniform because her school made it to the State Play-offs! :) More on that in a second! 

I know this is going to make me sound so lazy but Saturday morning we all slept until nearly 10!! It was great! After we got ready we grabbed lunch at a pasta place in town! 

The waitress brought Thomas his own marinara sauce and he loved it! He wanted to dip his own bread! 

Thomas and Anna-Kate shared tortellini. It was so good! Thomas ate most of it though! 

After we ate, Derek took Thomas for a nap while Anna-Kate and I had a special "girls only" movie date to see Tangled! 

She was so excited! Although once we got in she did point out all the "daddies" and say that it was girls only! haha! 

She liked the movie a lot but I think it was a little scary for her. She wound up falling asleep just over halfway through! Poor thing! 

After the movie, Derek went to the play-off game in Little Rock! We decided that it would be too cold for the kids, so I stayed at home with them! 

We played for a while... 

and attempted watching The Polar Express. Then we ate dinner and took baths and the kids went to bed while I did some online Christmas Shopping! 

Our team lost, but Derek said they played really good! 

Sunday we went to Lepanto and I taught Sunday School! 

Anna-Kate was probably telling me how I don't do things like her other teacher... haha. She's a good "helper." 

Poor Thomas had to wear his jammies through class! :) 

Thomas was WILD during church! It is so hard to keep him from distracting everyone! He was putting the attendance cards in and out and then he'd reach up on his tippy toes and look in. After church, I tried to catch him doing that but he was not cooperating! 

After church Sunday night, we made the drive back home! 

I know it's not super exciting, but we had a good weekend! 

Grandparent's Day

Last week was a busy week! I feel like I'm settling into a new routine and trying to find the balance between doing the things I would have gotten to do if I was at home and doing the things I can do now that I'm working. It's hard work! 

 I had two days that were just crazy with the juggling! Wednesday, we dropped Anna-Kate off at school, then dropped Derek off at work and then I took Thomas to Amanda. Then I headed back across town to help with a party at Anna-Kate's school. Friday was her student teacher's last day at school, so they threw her a surprise party on Wednesday. I brought made-from-scratch-brownies and then helped set up and stayed for the party. THEN I headed to work! 

I know that it was a little crazy, but I honestly LOVE being able to help out as much as I can at school. I love making fun little treats or just getting to set up the parties. I've always wanted to be really involved in my children's school activities. But I think that I'm just surprised how hard it really is! 

Friday was Grandparent's Day at the Academy and Anna-Kate's class was performing after chapel! I COULDN'T miss that! Despite it being a bit of a crazy morning, I was worn out from the week and slept a tad late! Thankfully, Derek's parents loaned us their truck and so Derek was able to drive Anna-Kate to school while I got ready! So after the morning scramble to get Anna-Kate out the door, I fed Thomas and got us ready. Then we headed to Harding and got to see Anna-Kate perform! I even was early enough to visit with Derek's parent's and his grandmother and then sneak over and say hi to the girls! 

They always make me laugh! 

I got to sneak up to towards the front and see them perform! I have a couple of funny videos but I can't upload them!! 

I had to bolt out of there after her performance to catch the baby sitter, but I left my camera with Derek's parents and they took pictures for me! 

So after Anna-Kate and Kristen sang, Ryne was VERY excited to perform! 

Can't you tell?? ;) ha! 

This is Anna-Kate's new thing, she does this and then says "I'm going to eat you up!" ha! She's really so goofy! 

So I dashed out of Anna-Kate's performance, met the babysitter and then rushed to work! I'm telling you, this scrambling thing is tough work! I know I'm going to get the balance eventually. Until then, I'll have to deal with the craziness!  The fall seems extra busy anyway, with the holidays and parties and all, so I'm sure that's not making things any easier! It really makes me even more grateful for my Grandma- I can't imagine how she managed me and my sisters! ha! 

On a positive note, Derek and I have gotten good Insurance news! Our car was totaled (who would have thought that'd be good news) and since it was, we don't have to pay on our loan anymore. Plus, the value of our car exceeded the loan and we are getting that back! So we are relieved that things have worked out well. Hopefully we'll be able to save up for another car soon. I'm thinking of getting a super cool mini-van! Seriously, all that room seems SO nice after driving my corolla around!

I've been looking forward to this week! I love my job, but I'm excited because I have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off! I'm planning on doing a little craft project with my friend Amanda and doing some extra holiday baking! I can smell the pumpkin bread already! ;)

Anna-Kate has a half-day on Wednesday too, so I'll get some extra time in with her! Thursday is MOPs and then we are leaving for a trip to Franklin to spend some time with my family!

I know that God is taking care of us! It's so nice to have a good week and another great week to look forward to! 

Weekend In Franklin

Last Friday was my grandmother's 88th birthday. We all call her Nani. She's amazing! She was born and raised in Germany, was a nurse during WWII, met an american soldier, had 8 children and then moved to the United States! I always love talking to her because she has such strength. I feel like I grow so much, just from spending 5 minutes with her! Sadly, when I visit Franklin, I don't get to see her much because she lives in Nashville! She hadn't even met Thomas yet! So I knew I had to see her for her birthday!

Derek couldn't take off work to go see her so I headed out Friday morning with Thomas and Anna-Kate! It's a 5-6 hour drive there, so I was NOT looking forward to my drive! I tried to time it so that they both would nap along the way. Thomas fell asleep pretty quickly and Anna-Kate fell asleep about 30 minutes into the drive. They both woke up in Marion so we stopped for lunch. I had SUCH a wonderful time eating lunch with them! They were both in really great moods! They ate really well and then we all headed back to the car so I could nurse Thomas. We made a bathroom trip right before we left and then we headed on our way! Anna-Kate fell asleep right as we were getting into Memphis and Thomas slept off and on. They both did so well on the last part of the drive! I got very lucky with two great travelers!

We got into town on Friday around 4:30 and met my sister at my grandparent's house. We just all visited for a while and then went to meet my dad and other sister for dinner. Then we walked around Target a bit. Anna-Kate loves Target! Haha!  When I got back to my grandmother's we were all tired but we stayed up visiting a little more. I think I was dreading sleeping because I was afraid Thomas would do terribly!! Thomas totally surprised me when he crawled up on top of me and fell asleep just a few minutes after laying down! It was so sweet! He slid himself off pretty soon after and slept so great the rest of the night. Anna-Kate slept with my grandmother.

Saturday, I met my sisters at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Anna-Kate and Thomas were still sleeping, so I got to go alone! I didn't hardly know what to do with myself! haha!

My sister and her baby came back to my grandparents house and I got to show her how to make baby food for her son! It was really fun sharing that with her!

Then we all went around town to run some errands and to get my Nani a birthday gift. It was a little crazy, but we managed! Anna-Kate only got like a 30 minute nap, so she was really, really sleepy!

After that I went to pick my older sister up from work and we drove out to my Aunts house for my Nani's birthday party! It was SO nice to see all of my family! I think all the noise and the people scared Thomas a little bit but he warmed up to it. Anna-Kate had fun playing with everyone too!

Sunday we all got up and went to breakfast. My older sister came over afterwards and gave me a sewing lesson while she hemmed some of my pants! I'm so excited to try out a new pattern soon! Plus, I've got some fabric for some pillows for my sofa! My Aunt came over with her 3 children while we were sewing, so it was a good distraction for Anna-Kate. Greer gave Anna-Kate some of her Fancy Nancy things she had outgrown! It was really sweet! Anna-Kate had so much fun playing with Greer!! I was glad she wore herself out! After my sewing lesson, I packed our stuff up and loaded the car.

This was so cute! I'm glad my sister snapped a pic! I was feeding Thomas water out of a straw and then Anna-Kate picked up her straw and started doing the same! She's such a sweet big sister! 

Anna-Kate was asleep before we got out of the neighborhood! She slept until I got to Memphis, which was good because since I was meeting Derek in Lepanto, I only had an hour to go! Thomas woke up because Anna-Kate was loud but he didn't really fuss!

I was so glad to see Derek in Lepanto! So glad that I let Anna-Kate ride back to Searcy with him! Ha! She's great in the car but she's quite the chatter box!

Yesterday, I spent most of the morning trying to get things unpacked but I got distracted with uploading all of my pictures- imagine that! ha! Then I spent the afternoon tidying up the house for my first ever Bunko night!

I had a very small crowd but hopefully next month we'll have more! :)

Today I'm trying to get all my chores and blogging done because Anna-Kate has a half day! I'm picking her and Kristen up at 12:15 and then grabbing Ryne at 12:30. Then we are going to the County Fair! I've been in Searcy 6 years now and have yet to go! I'm really looking forward to Anna-Kate seeing all the animals! Then this evening we have our first parent teacher conference!! I am really excited to hear what Anna-Kate's teachers think of her!  Then, tonight is the premier of Parenthood!! Derek and I love to record shows and watch them together! A lot of our favorites are coming back so we are really excited! Tonight is just the start of the fall premiers!!