A First We Were NOT Eager to See

Allison sleeping in her crib

The picture above is the last picture I took of Allison sleeping in her crib. We had her twin bed set up in her room for over a month before she started sleeping in it. She would talk about sleeping in a big girl bed, but when it came time to either nap or go to bed at night, she wanted to get in the crib. We were happy to keep her in the crib as long as she wanted to stay there.

On October 1st she slept in her twin bed for the first time! She was sick that night and I thought if she couldn't sleep and I needed to be with her, it would be easier if she was in the twin bed. Well, she slept all night that night and has continued to sleep in her twin bed every night since then. The amazing thing was that until today, she never got out of twin bed when she woke up. Whether it was nap time or in the morning, she never got out of the bed until someone went in to get her. Now sometimes she would cry for me when she woke up, but most days she would wake up singing, or just calling out Mommy! Sometimes she would call out Lauren!! But she never got up until we went in to get her.

During nap time today I was on the computer and I heard a door open. I thought it was Lauren's door because she was in quiet time. I thought she was coming in my room to tell me she needed to go to the bathroom or ask if she could come out. When I looked up from the computer, I was shocked to see Allison standing beside me instead of Lauren!

I guess three months of staying in the bed is something to enjoy. Hopefully today was just a fluke and she'll continue to stay put until we get her. That's a nice thought......don't really think it will happen though!:)

Allison's first night sleeping in her twin bed.

Happy New Year

I know I am getting old, but it really does seem like just yesterday we were getting ready to ring in the year 2000! And in less than an hour we'll be ringing in 2010!
We spent this New Year's Eve with Cindy, Mike, Will and Sam. (We have a little tradition in the making here.....two years and counting:) We went bowling and then came back to our house for pizza, salad, cheese dip and chips, Puppy Chow, Chocolate and Butterscotch pies! It doesn't get much better than that.

Bill, Lauren, Mike and Sam

Bill, Lauren, Cindy and Sam

Allison bowling....I love her face in this picture

Allison, Cindy and Will

Sam's turn to bowl

Sam and Lauren


During the year 2010 we hope to get our house sold and find the perfect home for us settle into. I can't believe that Lauren will start Kindergarten in the year 2010. Allison will start preschool in the 3 year old class and I am hoping to maybe teach at that preschool with my good friend Cindy.

I am looking forward to what God has in store for our family this year. Happy New Year!!!

A Few Christmas Pictures

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas celebrations. These first few pictures are of Christmas Eve celebrating with Bill's side of the family.
Uncle Jared getting ready to try on the Santa hat.

Allison, Lauren and Parker on Christmas Eve.

Lauren and Allison opening presents on Christmas Eve.

Allison gets some new floor puzzles.

Lauren with her new baby doll from Aunt Jen and Uncle Dave.

Parker and his new bulldozer. He sure loved it!

Waking up Christmas morning at our house

For Christmas Lauren asked Santa Claus to bring her a scooter, a baby doll, and new clothes. She never asks for a lot. Allison asked Santa to bring her a new baby doll with hair and new clothes.

Opening presents on Christmas morning.

Lauren gets her favorite book Pinkilicious from Santa. She wants to check out that book every time we go to the library, so I thought it would be nice to have her own copy!

Allison wanted a skirt for Christmas. Lauren has been wearing her skirts while playing dress up and the only skirts Allison had were for summer.

Lauren with her new hat and gloves.

Allison opening a present from our neighbor Mrs. Maxine.

Lauren with her scooter! She loves scooting around the kitchen.

Christmas Day at my Mom and Dad's House

Allison get the book Martha Doesn't Say Sorry from Granny and Pawpaw.

Lauren gets the book Purplicious from Granny and Pawpaw.

Lauren with her new clothes.

Lauren gets a third book, Goldilicious from Uncle Bill.

Allison posing with her scarf and mittens.

Lauren posing with her scarf and sweater.

Lauren helping Daddy open his new pants.

Let the Celebrations Begin

Well tomorrow will begin the Christmas celebrations for our family. We are cooking dinner for Bill's family tomorrow evening (Christmas Eve). Bill received a 21 pound turkey from his work and he is in charge of cooking that big bird! I think he is quite excited about the task. His mom is making the dressing and green beans, Jen is making Broccoli Casserole and I'll finish out the traditional dinner with mashed potatoes and rolls. I am also making Banana Pudding. I told Bill that is not very Christmasy, but it is his brother's favorite dessert so I will make it because my sweet husband asked for it.
I have enjoyed making all the goodies of the season. I tried a few new ones that I have not made before. Tonight I made Puppy Chow for the first time. I think that may become a regular for us. I have made two batches of sausage balls, one that Bill took to work last week and then a batch for us this morning. I made Peppermint Bark and homemade hot chocolate for teacher gifts. The girls and I baked sugar cookies and Christmas M&M cookies. And I have made several batches of Holiday pretzels. (Those are one of my personal favorites!)
On Christmas Day after we have our family Christmas we will go up to my parents and spend a couple of days with them. On December 26th Bill and I will celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary.
This year we have really enjoyed the Christmas season with our beautiful girls. I think from the time we saw Santa arrive in Knoxville at West Town Mall we have been celebrating all the fun of the season. The girls actually wanted to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas this year. We got a great picture of that first.
Lauren's favorite Christmas book and movie has been How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The first time I read the book to her she was very disturbed by how mean the Grinch was but was happy with the outcome of the book. However, the next night after reading the book, in Lauren's prayer before bedtime, she prayed that no one would take our Christmas presents.
Allison knows the words to more Christmas songs than I can count. That sweet angel amazes me with her singing. She is just like Lauren in that she wakes up in the mornings singing in her bed. There is nothing more precious than hearing that sweet voice in the mornings.
I truly feel that if I did not open one Christmas present this year, that this would be a perfect Christmas with all that we have enjoyed so far. I do look forward to seeing the girls on Christmas morning because they have been so excited for Santa to come.
So I'll cherish these next few days and enjoy my family and all the blessings God gives me each and every day.
Merry Christmas!

Privacy Please

This morning Lauren was going to the bathroom and Allison needed to go also. We do not usually let the girls go in the bathroom together because they end up playing or making a mess, so I was trying to get Lauren to get her hands washed so Allison could go to the bathroom. As Lauren finished washing her hands, Allison got on the potty and said very matter-of-factly,
"I need some privacy." That just cracked me up coming from my 2 year old's mouth. I have used that word before when I was using the bathroom, but this was the first time Allison used the word for the same reason.
Another funny thing about the privacy was the fact that we do not even have a door on the hall bathroom because Bill is replacing that door because it has a hole in it. Since putting the house on the market, we have had to replace two doors because they had holes in them from being pushed too hard against the little thing that keeps the door from hitting the wall. Don't know what that thing is called!:) That task has been much harder than it should have been because the standard door does hot fit in the frame. It is just a little too big, so Bill has had to shave a little bit off the end of the door to make it fit! Seems like the simplest projects always turn into something major for some reason or another! Oh well!

Just a Minute Mom

Last night we were sitting in the living room enjoying the Christmas lights while Grandma was here. We started singing and the girls were running up and down the hallway being silly. Lauren ran down the hall in the middle of a song and before going in to her room she looked back and said, "Pause it, Mom!". She wanted me to stop singing the song until she could come back and sing with us.
Sometimes when Lauren is watching a movie, she'll ask me to pause it if she needs to go to the bathroom! Now she thinks she can pause me! That girl is too funny.
It might be nice if I could actually pause her sometimes.:) I'd settle for even just slowing her down. She is quite a busy little lady!!!

Tis the Season to be Busy

This is the first year the girls wanted to sit on Santa's lap! They have talked about doing that since we saw Santa arrive at West Town Mall back at the end of November. This past Wednesday we went to the mall and both girls asked to go see Santa. When we got there, I asked them if they wanted to go sit on his lap and they both said yes! Without hesitation they went up and sat down on his lap and began telling him what they wanted for Christmas. I bought the picture they took there and was able to snap a couple of my own pictures with my camera. This is one of the shots I got. Not bad for the first time to sit on Santa's lap.

On Saturday morning we woke up to a Winter Wonderland!! We had the most beautiful first snow of the year! After our traditional Saturday breakfast of pancakes, Bill took the girls out for a little fun in the snow. Lauren just wanted to catch the snowflakes on her tongue. Allison was content just being outside! After a short stay outside, we decided it was time to get the girls some boots to wear in the cold weather. Last year we had a hard time playing outside in the snow because they only had tennis shoes to play in. So I decided it was time to go ahead and get them some warm shoes for this season.

By the time we got back home from boot shopping, the snow was mostly melted, but they were able to break in their new boots at the Powell Christmas parade that evening. We enjoyed the parade but it was indeed very cold!! The girls loved the parade and waved at everyone going by. They especially loved all the candy they collected!
Lauren catching snowflakes on her tongue.

Lauren cleaning the snow off the van.


Today we enjoyed a Christmas brunch at church. The girls always love getting to eat at church. We also enjoyed a Christmas program performed by our Children's Church and Bible Basics groups. The program was precious and I took several videos during the show, but all of them are too long to upload to the blog. I have not learned how to edit the videos, so I'll just have to wait to post any of those.

During the brunch, our preacher Mark was presented with a surprise gift of all kinds of hats from members of our congregation. Tomorrow Mark will undergo surgery to remove a brain tumor. We are praying for a very successful surgery and a quick recovery.

Our preacher Mark showing off a few of his hats.

After the Christmas program the children were treated to a special visit from Santa Claus. Here are Allison and Lauren standing in line to talk to Santa.

Allison, Santa (aka Aaron Tomlinson) and Lauren

Here is a video of the girls singing you a Christmas song!