The Start of the Season

Carley and Corey cuddling under the Christmas blankets Alyssa got them watching Polar Express. There really isn't a sweeter way to spend a Saturday night.

Thanksgiving Week

We have had a busy week. The week started with Cody out of town for 4 days because he had a conference. My SWEET, AMAZING, KIND, and GENEROUS parents kept the kids on Monday and Tuesday for me so they could have the entire week off of school. The kids loved staying at Papa and Nana's. I went over there each day after work and stayed until both kids were in bed and then I went home. My parents were so sweet and they pointed out several times that my kids are perfect and precious so if they have trouble at my house, the fault is not with the kids. :) Carley loved staying on her sleeping bag in their room and Corey loved all the attention and kisses. Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday I just camped out at mom and dad's unless I needed to run an errand or get the kids out for awhile. It was great to get so much TLC. Wednesday night Cody came home and he enjoyed their warm home on Thursday with us too. It was such a relaxed Thanksgiving. Of course, my mom cooked the best food on the planet!

Here are some highlights of my week in no particular order.

1. We got out my My Little Pony Castle from 1984 that I had when I was a 6. I loved sharing it with Carley and she loved it too. It was so fun to play with again. I love that my mom kept so many of our toys from when we were little.
2. Corey kept grabbing my mom's decorative pumpkins, yelling "ball", and throwing them around the house. We found pumpkins everywhere!
3. Corey was all over my mom as always, but he has become a huge fan of Papa too. He called his name a lot this week and loved getting in his lap and playing.4. Carley and my dad picked pecans and shelled them. She now wants to be a firefighter and a pecan picker when she grows up.5. Corey turned the fireplace into his own chair. He was constantly hopping up there with a toy, a book, etc, and then hopping down to grab more. He is becoming SO busy!

6. I got to see 2 movies over the break! Cody and I saw Harry Potter 7 Part 1 Wednesday night and on Thursday afternoon we took Carley to see Tangled which she LOVED!

7. Mom is amazing. She was everywhere taking care of everyone. I want to be like her when I grow up.

8. Cody brought the kids really cute EMS and Fire Dept shirts from his trip. Carley loves her pink EMS shirt and the guy who gave it to her!
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too. I am so thankful for the Risen Savior and the eternal feast that awaits us in Heaven. What a wonderful day to celebrate His graciousness to us with family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving.

Corey's 1st Haircut

We had been told by several people that Corey was starting to look like Chris Farley in Tommy Boy because his hair was so long and crazy. We just loved his sweet curls and couldn't imagine cutting it. Then I started to think of my friends whose little boys hair looked silly to me because it was so long, but they didn't cut theirs, and I decided to bite the bullet and do it. This week on Thanksgiving break, my mom cut Corey's hair and he looks like such a big boy!

Before: Look at those sweet baby curls
Phase 1: Starting to cut. She worked on it for quite awhile then Corey got tired
Phase 2: Finishing up after Corey had a nap and a snack.

My big boy with his big boy haircut and my dad. :)

Thankful

“Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.” –Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." -Oprah Winfrey

"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses." -Allophones Karr

"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." -Charles Dickens

"Without gratitude, we have no wings. The highest and last freedom is to feel ever-increasing gratitude." -Laura Teresa Marquez

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Carley's Thanksgiving Feast

Cody and I loved attending Carley's Thanksgiving lunch. Last year she was a Wedding Girl (a.k.a. Pilgrim) and this year she was an Indian Princess. She loved it all, especially making her calls. The feast was so cute and sweet and we loved that we got to sit with the Lawlers, Crawfords, and Haynes families. We decided not to get our little turkey boy from the nursery for lunch because it would have been so hard to get him to go back. Here is our big girl!

November Notes

The last 2 weeks have been a blur. Little Corey continues to get sick and get well each week! Poor little guys is SO happy and such a trooper, but it continues to amaze me how he gets sick so quickly and so often. He eats tons of fruits and veggies, drinks only water and whole milk, but still catches everything. Part of it is his age (everything goes in his mouth), part of it is daycare and the church nursery, and part of it is just fall allergies and the way our little guy was made. We are praying that these cooler temperatures help with the allergies.
Onto happier thoughts: Corey says several animal sounds now moo, quack, roar, baa, and the money sound. He also says more words each day. My personal favorite is Book. I love that both of my babies love to read at this point in life. He also walks like a pro now. It breaks my heart just a little to see my 15 month old act so big!

Carley continues to live up to her nickname of "Sparkle". Her favorite thing to do right now is read. It amazes me how far she has come in the past couple of months. She read a Dora book to me last night. I couldn't believe it. Her handwriting is improving too. She also loves Financial Peace Junior and has just started working for check marks that are each worth a nickle. This week she earned $2.75. She gave $1 to church, saved $1, and marked $0.75 for spending. She wants to save up to buy a pink and orange minivan to drive when she is 16. The past week she has had trouble staying in her bed at night. We go through this every couple of months. She gets lonely, scared, or has a "night manor" and wants to see us. We have tried everything (rewards, loss of privileges, spankings, ignoring it) and really it all comes down to her. When she is secure, she stays in bed. When she is not, she gets up. It is really hard on me sometimes, but I think it is just a phase. Something will trigger and she won't do it for a couple of months, and then we will have a week like this one and we will see her every night. Oh the joys of motherhood.

My dear friend, Dalak, came to town weekend before last. We love it when he visits our family. I am so thankful for him and our friendship of 10 years. Mostly I love that Cody and the kids love him and enjoy his weekend visits.

Cody is busy, busy. One thing I love about Cody SO much is that our kids adore him. ADORE him. Carley talks about him nonstop and he is probably Corey's favorite person right now. This weekend we mostly hunkered down as a little family of 4. We stayed in pjs, cuddled, and cooked food so we didn't leave the house except for church. Love days like that! Happy Fall to you, blog land. Hard to believe Thanksgiving is a week and a half away!

Halloween at Alyssa's

We had such a good time Trick or Treating while the boys were at the game. When we got there on Saturday we went to a carnival at a branch of the church Alyssa goes to. It was great to let the kids run and play and enjoy some fall fun. I also got to see several of my college friends that happened to be there, which I loved. Monday I got some cuddle time with my two favorite four year olds before heading home. Sunday we went to church and then waited for my parents to join us for the evening. The girls did Jack O'Lantern Papa Murphy's pizzas and my cousin Joanna and her son Jack joined us for trick or treating. Corey was glad Jack was there to counteract some of the estrogen. I am so thankful our kids love being together. Alyssa is set to have Addison Joy in just about 5 weeks, which is unreal to me. It was so good to see her before she became a mom of 3! Can't wait for the holidays and to be together again!

Fall Festival

The kids had so much fun at the fall festival at their school. We are so thankful for our children's school. We wouldn't trade it for the world. Every Fall they have a festival at their school on a Saturday. It is SO nice because the kids come in costumes, but you don't have to worry about them wearing costumes during the school week and tearing them. Also, it is fun to see them interact with their teachers and the other kids. Here are the Princess and the Frog making their rounds.

Carley loved playing all the games. Her favorite was getting to put a pie in the director's face. She was so excited to cream Mr. Bill!


Corey and Nana won at the cake walk!

Corey loves his teachers, Ms. Brittany, Ms. Jennifer, and Ms. Charity

Carley and her teacher Ms. Laura

Carley and some of her best buddies, Alexis and Nadia

World Series

Cody got to go to the World Series Game where the Rangers played the Giants. He had such a great time with Dad and Clint. It was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity! Too bad the Rangers lost, but it was still a great day of baseball.