These Days

December was wonderful and I'm a little sad to see it go, but am looking forward to a new year and all that it will bring!  

We started off December with a trip to see a beautiful Christmas lights display.  We let the kids all pile in the front seat with us while we watched the show.  

After we watched the show one time through (I think the whole thing is 3 songs) the kids really wanted to get out and dance around, so we let them do that for a few minutes.  They loved getting to see the lights close up!  I actually did too....I love Christmas lights!  

Bert got this picture of Hannah and Abby sitting by the fire one afternoon.  Abby calls Hannah, "Hanny" and asks for her often if she is not in the room.  

A friend from church gave the girls some new art supplies and they had fun playing with them one afternoon.  

I took a picture of the girls when they were 6 weeks old in the same robe, on the same blanket.  I've been looking for a 4-picture-frame that can sit on my bathroom counter since Abby was 6 weeks old (I had a 3-picture-frame), but haven't had any luck. I finally decided to buy individual frames for each one and I love it!  Seeing those sweet babies makes me happy as I'm getting ready each morning.  

Emily has turned into a reading machine.  Seriously. She reads all the time.  I catch her reading when she's finished her dinner and is waiting on me to bring her fruit and at other odd times like that.  This day she was reading a Little House on the Prairie book that was almost 300 pages.  There have been a few times when she's finished a book and I didn't think there was anyway she could have read it that fast, but when I go back through and ask her questions she can answer every one in detail.  It makes me so so happy to see her curled up enjoying a book.  I love to read now, but didn't really start loving to read until I was closer to 20.  I say the earlier the better....read on baby girl!  

I leaned over the pass through between our kitchen and playroom to get this picture of Bert and Claire playing with the doll house one day.  Claire LOVES it when one of us plays doll house or blocks with her.  Precious girl! 

One cold afternoon we all enjoyed some hot chocolate in breakable Christmas mugs....I'm brave! :) 

We were able to go to the Moore Family Reunion (my dad's mom's side of the family) in Anderson one Sunday afternoon.  The reunion starts at 12, so we were the last ones there by the time we drove there after church, but really enjoyed seeing everyone!  My Dad's mom was the oldest of 5 kids and her name was Ressie.  She died when my dad was 7 years old, but her 4 siblings are still living and doing well!  We love getting to see them at least once a year.  It's so special for them to see our little Ressie running around.  I love hearing stories about my grandmother, Ressie.  It sounds like she was a wonderful wife, mother, sister and daughter and I wish we could have known her, but I'm thankful we're still so connected to her wonderful family.  

Hannah  had a field trip to the Hyatt in downtown Greenville to look at all the Christmas trees and then to the downtown branch of the public library.  The field trip was super fun!  They split the chaperones up with several kids a piece so that we could walk around the Hyatt and look at all the trees.  This was my group and they were so cute and excited!  

Harper, Hannah and Emily.  

At the library they had story time, played some games and then learned all kinds of stuff about the library as they took a tour.  

A lady from church, Rhonda, was so sweet to keep the girls so that I could go on the field trip with Hannah.  I was a little nervous about them breaking an ornament from her beautiful tree, but she said they did great and didn't break a thing!  

We had a tea party one Sunday afternoon while Abby was napping and Bert was working.  

Someone took this picture of Abby while she was playing in the nursery at church and I thought it was cute.  She loves playing with her friends! 

Both of the girls dance classes had a pajama day where they got to wear their pajamas and have a fun snack.  

Bert and I celebrated 10 wonderful years of marriage with a date night to our favorite restaurant in Greenville, The Peddler!  He surprised me while we were there with a book of some pictures and his narration of the highlights of the last 10  years. I don't cry that easily or that often, but reading this book and seeing the pictures made me cry in the middle of the restaurant.  

I love him more today that I did 10 years ago and I'm so proud and thankful to be his wife.  

Abby and Claire with some friends from church!  

Abby was annoyed about something one morning, but I thought she looked super cute.  

Abby had a double ear infection earlier in the month and I had to take her back for a re-check on her ears just before we left for our trip to Jackson.  We had fun playing in the room while we waited on our doctor (we usually wait about 5 minutes for her once we are in the room).  We LOVE our doctor, nursers, other doctors in our practice, and office staff.  Seriously, they are wonderful.  I'm almost never at the doctor's office for more than 30 minutes total.  They get us in and out and take such great care of our girls.  They have SO many patients.  I know so so many people that use them but they run the office like a well-oiled machine and I'm just thankful that we are there.  

We've been trying to do some fun things this week while the girls have been out of school.  One night we roasted hotdogs.  

After we went in to eat, we came back out to roast s'mores!  Yum! 

Two different nights this past week we've let the girls (E, H, C) have a spend the night party in their sleeping bags on the floor in their room, and one of those night Bert built a huge blanket fort that covered their room.  They think sleeping on the floor is the biggest treat ever...ha!   

December was fun and busy!  January starts our birthday train with Claire's coming in just 8 days!  She's super excited about turning 4 and we can't wait to celebrate her!