Snow Dance!

We were very excited to hear that there was an 80% chance of snow on Thursday. Could it be!?! We came home from church Wednesday night and Chloe read us all the book Snow Dance. Then Eliott led the family in a snow dance--complete with cotton balls (our symbolic snow balls) flying in the air and wearing his silly elf hat-- as he, Chloe and Millie dance around and chanted "let there be snow...let there be snow!" And in case that wasn't enough we all (yes, Jeff and I did participate in this) wore our pajamas inside out. I am not sure how that is supposed to make it snow, but we were willing to give it a go.

We had so much fun I didn't even care if it snowed the next day!

Well...a little snow would be nice...

And we got it!

We woke up to a beautiful Winter Wonderland. The kids were so proud because felt they were completely responsible for the big snow. Everything was white and snowy, and even though there was still a slushy mix of snow and rain coming down, we bundled up and went out to play in it. (We didn't work this hard to stay inside and look through the window, and who knows if it will all be gone by noon!) Chloe and Eliott threw sad little wet snow balls at each other while Millie ate ice and said "mmmm". They loved every minute of it and I truly enjoyed just watching them. I can remember how much I loved to play in the snow when I was little and I don't think we have had enough of it in the past few years---we still don't even have enough for a snowman, but I will at least be thankful for a few snowballs.

After about 20 minutes in the mess of wet snow we spotted Lukie and Bekah and invited them over for hot chocolate. Millie's little fingers were starting to freeze and we needed to thaw out.

We spent the rest of the day inside with absolutely nothing to do. It really is nice to have a day off from the rest of the world every now and then. Of course I am definitely ready for school to be open tomorrow...PLEASE! Is there such thing as a "no snow dance"?

Wooten Family Christmas

I am a little bit ashamed that I am just now getting back to the blog. These pictures should have been posted weeks ago! I couldn't leave out our fun time in Tennessee with the Wooten side of the family...never a dull moment when there are 17 people sleeping in one house---you definitely have to watch your step at night since a good amount of those bodies were on the floor! Grandpa spent a lot of time reading in the living room since someone was always in his favorite chair in front of the T.V.

We had our Wooten family Christmas in January this year... we have always felt that the best time to celebrate is not December 25th, but whenever we can be together...and this year that was not until the first weekend of January. Regardless of when we get together, we always seem to have a great time eating too much, just being together and laughing at each other.

It was great to have our "Colombian" Wooten's home for the holidays. I can't believe how tall the girls are getting! Chloe, Eliott and Millie had so much fun playing with Kristina and Ulany and we all enjoyed visiting with Bryan and Ubeny too. We missed the "Maine" Wooten's this year and look forward to the next time we get to see them. And of course there was a significant void without Bill there, but I am so thankful for all the past Christmases we had together and for Susan and JR, who are such a special part of our family, being with us this year. And the Murrays made it in from NY after a short visit in Mississippi and helped keep the floor occupied and McKay's in business.

Everyone enjoyed their presents...of course!

the gift that always fits just right...Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Special books assembled by Susan filled with letters we had all written to Bill and even a few pictures...What a great gift we will always treasure!

look at the beautiful runner Ubeny painted for me...Such talent! I have a little creative competition in the family.

and here's the cool gift the Murrays made for JR...pictures of his trip to NYC mounted on a NY subway map. Very creative and special!

and Aunt Susan enjoyed Eliott's new robot boots. They fit her quite well. Unfortunately she had to give them back!

Eliott got an airplane and Grandma and Grandpa got a quilt (probably came in handy with so many house quests!)

And here are some future super models ready for their runway debut. They seem quite comfortable with the camera.

BEAUTIFUL!!!

What a blessing my family is. I am so thankful for my unique, thoughtful, creative, loving, and a little bit crazy family. And here's a little quote I found that sums up my family quite nicely: "Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts." ~Author Unknown :)

and even better than that one is this...

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you."

Now that is truly the best gift of all.

Christmas isn't over yet!

We left for Charleston the day after Christmas to see Jeff's family. It is fun to extend the holiday and the kids were so excited that there were more presents! (As if they didn't already have enough!!!)

We had a great time with Jeff's family eating yummy Vietnamese food, opening presents and visiting downtown Charleston. Oh yeah, and laughing...a lot!

Best Buddies for life!!!

Funny faces....

Eliott looks like he's about to make himself throw up, but Cole--that is about the funniest face I've ever seen!

More presents?!?...These kids are so rotten! Eliott has been shooting that thing ever since he got it and "little miss artist" is loving the super art kit. Millie just wants to take everyone else's toys away, but we're working on that! Jeff's brother and sisters always give the best gifts. I am afraid they have created some very high expectations in my kids!

We had fun in Charleston walking around Riverfront Park (trying to keep the kids out of the fountain), walking through the market and eating at Sticky Fingers.

Sweet little Hannah Rae slept through most of the experience...what a life!

What a great day!

I have such fond memories of growing up and playing with my cousins and I am so glad that our kids have that same opportunity. They love their cousins so much!

..

Merry Christmas...a little late!

Well, it's only one week after Christmas and I am finally posting about our wonderful holiday. We left town right after Christmas, so this is the first chance I have had to get on the blog. We had such a great Christmas this year.

We had fun Christmas Eve dinner at the hacienda del hirst . No, that's not a Mexican restaurant--We ate at Steve and Kay Lynn's house and had a great meal...Texas style! Chicken enchiladas and cheese enchiladas with beans and rice. She even topped it all off with a Mexican chocolate cake...I ate so much I thought I was going to pop! The kids had a blast, but this was the only night we have ever been able to leave without the kids putting up a fight. They knew they got to open a present when they got home. :)

And after we got home the hard part was picking which present to open--there were just too many to choose from

Millie had a really hard time deciding!

We topped off the night with hot chocolate around the fire (we actually had to turn on the air to need a fire, but it did create a nice setting for drinking the hot cocoa!) and a round of the 12 days of Christmas. We set out a few cookies and some milk for Santa and even a little reindeer mix in case the crew needed a snack, and then we headed for bed.

Christmas morning was very exciting. Chloe was the first to notice that there were some green packages around the tree that had not been there the night before

....those had to be from Santa!

So after jumping up and down on Daddy for quite a long time we all finally got out of bed and headed down to check it all out. There were 3 eager little ones waiting very impatiently for Daddy to get the video camera ready!

Hurry up Daddy!!!!

It was only a matter of seconds before they were tearing it all open....

Chloe was very happy to get the Barbie furniture she asked for. Now Barbie actually has a place to eat, sleep, cook and do her laundry!

Eliott got the pirate ship he wanted...Complete with pirates, cannons and a plank! AARG!!!

And sweet Millie actually made the good list. (we were all a little bit worried! just kidding!!!)She got lots of stuff (too much!)--Elmo, aqua doodle mat, computer games and a Baby Einstein book about animals and animal sounds...just in time since I asked her just a few weeks ago what a duck says and she mooed!

Oh...there's a camera...Chhheeeeese!!!

What a fun day! Christmas isn't over yet...We head to Charleston on the 26th!

Home for Christmas

It is getting really close to the most amazing day of the year! My kids are sooo excited they can hardly sleep. And I admit it...me too! I have had so much fun watching them pick out presents for daddy, and each other and their cousins Cole and Hannah Rae. Of course they have lists that are a mile long and want everything they see in commercials, but they are also enjoying the act of giving too and that really warms my heart. It just shows how much they really love each other...that's hard to see sometimes when they are fighting and fussing all day long, but they really do!

Eliott sang his precious little heart out in his pre-school Christmas program. He was a statue last year, but what a difference one year can make! He sang every word and did every motion. I guess this year he actually liked the songs.

Now school is out and we are loving our time together as a family---Jeff is even off work. We have been shopping together and wrapping presents and painting gingerbread houses and people (...and Millie painted herself!). I am truly having so much fun this year. Tomorrow we will be baking cookies for Santa and getting ready for the visit and opening one present before bed. I can't wait!

My little artists!

I am so glad that we are in our own house enjoying this time without the stress of packing and traveling to another state. This year we finally have the chance to make our own traditions. I just hope Santa actually knows where we live since this is the first time he has had to deliver our presents here (who am I kidding...he's magic!). Being home for Christmas is great. We might just have to make a habit of it!

Let's catch up

Let's face it when your computer is totally contaminated with viruses it takes more than 24 hours to get it right again! I am not sure it is really right, but at least I can blog with out 500,000,000 pop ups. (that might be a slight exageration)

Since I haven't made a real post in months there is sooo much to catch up on and I have the pictures to prove it.

We raised almost $1,000 for ALS research right after my last blog. Our friends (and favorite babysitters of all time) Mr. David and Ms KiKi walked with us and we had a blast. Chloe and Millie were proud to walk for Uncle Bill even though they actually rode most of the time!

and Jeff was very excited about all the free stuff!

How many Vitamin Waters did you get?!!

Then of course there was Halloween.... Chloe was a Wake Forest cheerleader, Eliott was Spider Man and Millie was a precious little lady bug (can you see that little face in there?). We got way more candy than we need, but seem to be putting a pretty good dent in the candy bag.

During the week of Halloween (and Chloe's 7th birthday--WOW!) Jeff was in Vietnam visiting family. Eliott was very impressed with Daddy's picture on the motorcycle. Jeff had so much fun riding it that he decided he wanted one to ride around Winston Salem...please do not let there be a big sale on motorcycles the day after Christmas!

In November we were able to go home to Chattanooga for Thanksgiving and had the great pleasure of stopping in Huntsville, Alabama to see the Scales We were only there for about 1 hour, but it took all of our strength to drag Eliott out of there! They all had such a blast playing with Gabe and Ansley and I loved seeing my friends--even if it was too short.

We were actually on the way to see my 95 year old Grandmother (Great Gransie). We got to spend several hours with her and my children would have made any mother proud! What better test of manners and behavior that a retirement home. They were so polite and quiet and did what I told them...It was like a dream and in the dream I had someone elses children! :) But of course they were back to their old ways as soon as we hit the road! It is good to know that when it is neccesary they do actually know how to behave VERY well. I know my grandmother loved the visit and we did too! She looks amazing for 95--doesn't she?!

After Thanksgiving we headed to Charleston, SC just in time to be at the Mall by midnight. I am not sure how I agreed to that after a 7 hour drive, but I did get a few new things to show for it. And of course, two weeks later I am still tired from it. I think my age is finally catching up with me! We had a great visit with Jeff's family and ate so much yummy food. And we finally got Mrs. Trinhs secret family recipe for Pho. Somehow I doubt my will taste just like hers, but I am certainly going to give it a shot!

Now it is December and we are fighting the lines at Toys-R-Us and the mall to get all the things our children want and really don't need by the 25th. Our secret basement closet hiding place it overflowing and I think I am almost done...and it's only December 10th! Can this be true!?!?!?

We met the Hirst family at their pre-school yesterday to take pictures with Santa and let me tell you...this was Santa...He was the best one I have ever seen! Millie was a little bit scared, but at least she didn't cry.

And I think we actually got a Christmas card picture of the whole family! That was quite a challenge, but KL was willing to take it on! Thankgoodness for friends.

And with that I leave you with these sweet little friends. It just doesn't get much cuter than that!

Don't worry, I don't plan on making it a habit of blogging once every 2 months---it really just takes too long!

just one more day!!!

Ok...I know I am on the blogger bad list, but it's really not my fault! I am having computer whoas and can't seem to get it fixed. Give me 24 hours and I will be back in the swing of things. And just to tide you over I am attaching a beautiful photo for your viewing pleasure.

Have a great day and come back soon. :)