Our Thanksgiving

Here are just a few pictuures from Thanksgiving this year.  Believe it or not I didn'T have my camera out much.  I hosted Thanksgiving this year and it wasn't the hosting or the preparing or even the cleaning up afterwards that took up my camera time.  I really just enjoyed spending some time with family.  Something about sitting and talking and visiting with the people you really love just can't be replaced even by a picture.

From our family to your's Happy Thanksgiving!

Like mother like daughter, how proud am I!

Boy does Caroline really love these boys!  Aubrey and Tucker are so patient with her since they are "too big" to play with her much.

Just one of our many blessings!  A close family where cousins grow up like brothers and sisters!

Family

What could be better than a fall day spent with family enjoying nature and all God blesses us with

Our family

Yes we never got a picture with everyone smiling

Patrick and Juliana

Tucker, Aubrey, Christi and Christian

Daddy and Momma

And we can't forget Heidi

It started with the list...

Adventures with Santa.

It started with the list. Now that Caroline is learning how to write and can in fact write most anything just not in perfect form we wrote letters to Santa. We got out all the toy books we had collected from the mail and cut and glued and made the cutest letters. Then off to see Santa. Lists in hand and first in line, we sat and patiently waited for Santa to arrive. Caroline walked right up there handed over her list and after thorough discussion turned to make sure Carson got included in handing in his list. They did great for pictures! Not a tear shed and both smiles. Truly a great Santa picture experience this year. I highly recommend an early visit before the hustle and bustle of the season begins.

Caroline can hardly wait to get her list to Santa.

Here Carson, give Santa your list too!

That look of pure belief!

What wonder and amazement the eyes of a child hold!

Kids who can't wait to see Santa = our pictures turned out great! Thanks Santa!

So the season is upon us. And now my list has begun. One week until Thanksgiving. The gifts are bought, though not wrapped. One final week to enjoy my fall decorations and then my favorite season of all begins. Trees to decorate 4 in all or will I put that 5th one up? Lights to hang, gifts to wrap, Christmas card pictures to snap. I can hardly wait!

3 Birthdays in one!

This year for my birthday weekend we had a party compliments of Aubrey and Tucker having their birthday on the 12^th of November and mine being the 15^th. After many tears over their birthday last year they decided they would rather just invite family instead of friends. So Sunday the 14^th we had their party at momma and daddy’s. Chili dogs and cake, YUMMY! And because my birthday was the very next day I got a cake and presents too. After opening all their presents, Tucker hugged me and when I asked him if he had a good birthday he smiled and said “ I got everything I wanted”. More than anything I think Tucker and Aubrey learned that you can always count on family.

 

Now of course I love having birthdays so I draw out my celebration as long as possible. However when you grow up things like work always get in the way. So after my 12 hours at work I come home to a pitch black house. Only to hear Surprise! When I open the door and see a cake ablaze at the table and Caroline, Carson and Brad singing their little hearts out. Now that’s a perfect birthday present! I blow out the candles and when Brad starts to cut the cake he looks at Caroline and says “UhOH we got the wrong kind of cake momma doesn’t like chocolate” And her simple response puts the icing on the cake. “ We didn’t get the wrong kind of cake, I don’t like the kind of cake momma likes, I like chocolate.” What a HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Just the Two of Us

Brad and I recently had a weekend away just the two of us. It started with Brad’s 30th birthday in September. I got him tickets for a UT game. Neither of us had ever been to Neyland Stadium. So that was the plan. This was our first time away from the kids for the whole weekend and though we missed them like crazy it was wonderful to spend some time together just the two of us with no worries or cares.

Oh the funny things they do.

Oh how they make things funny...

This is what I see coming through the living room when I say “Caroline please put your shoes where they go” These are the days I love when that silly laughter fills the house.

Halloween at the Hooper's

Halloween was a strangely calm event for us this year. After church Sunday morning we came home and the kids napped. Around 5pm we decided to start getting ready. Trick or treaters were starting to trickle in. This year Caroline wanted to be ladybug girl and Carson though he said he was going to be a pumpkin ended up being a dragon. Somehow my 2 and 4 year old talked me into doing face paint. Not easy to put on or take off at that age. We took the kids out through our cove of our neighbor hood , came home and loaded the kids up for happy meal run. With that much candy around it takes a good bribe to make something with any nutrients sound better than candy. While we were gone I set our huge bucket of candy on the front porch and needless to say when we returned all the candy was gone. We turned out the porch light and called it a night. What a wonderful family night together!

Yes that is a roar you hear Carson the dragon making and Caroline is Ladybug girl

Snapshots with daddy

And now snapshots with mommy who is usually behind the camera

A quick pose with Jack that is jack-o-lantern

Pictures at our neighbor Nathan's house with his pumpkins the kids have been mesmorized by all season

We even saw Caroline's best friend Sydney

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin carving time. I love tradition! I think it comes from having a wonderful childhood but whatever the reason it is so important to me that our children grow up with those same traditions that make such fond memories from childhood. This year our pumpkin was the friendliest looking jack-o-lantern I’ve ever seen but what is important is that the kids had such a good time carving it.

Time to cut him open

And pull out all the guts

Ooh gross mommy look!

Carson's turn

Hello Mr. Jack - o - lantern

Central Baptist Fall Festival

This year our church had a fall festival the Friday night before Halloween. We had the absolute best time. There was a hayride, goat feeding, cakewalk, face painting, many carnival games and even a real carnival ride. Not to mention the hotdogs, popcorn, snow cones, and oh so yummy funnel cakes. Best of all this was all free the public even the food. It was part of our church’s ministry to reach others about God. I am so blessed to have such a good church family and that God has blessed Brad and I with the ability to raise our children to see the importance of knowing God and showing others his love.

Our hay ride

The cake walk

Fishing for God

Face painting

Carso loved feeding the goats

And Caroline loved having the goats try to feed on her

The carnival ride was the biggest hit