Precious Time

Where, oh where, does the time go? It's a new year, and a new month! In fact, it's the second month of this new year and I haven't even blogged once in this new year. So many things are going on around here and I'm sad that I haven't even sat down to write about them. I haven't even been good at keeping up with my calendar this year! Christmas and New Years have come and gone. We had a good Christmas, it was more relaxing this year. I'm not really sure why that is except that I didn't stress over the little things. We didn't go to a tree farm and do our traditional tree search/cutting down. Nathan wanted colored lights, so we just used our artificial tree with colored lights. I didn't bake as much as I normally do, I didn't make edible gifts for certain family members like I normally do, so that helped make things not as hectic.

Nathan had his first speaking part as the innkeeper in his preschools Christmas program. He did great! My heart swelled up with pride as he remembered every word of his part, and my eyes swelled up with tears as I so proudly watched him.

Nathan started a gymnastics class, which he loves. We are going to do it until T-ball starts in March. He had to tryout for t-ball this year, and he did a good job. We still don't know what team we're on, but hopefully soon! But the big tear inducing event that we just completed was signing him up for Kindergarten!!!! Oh how I cannot believe he will be starting kindergarten in the fall!

I am trying to prepare myself, but I don't think that's possible. I thoroughly enjoy being a stay at home mom and getting to witness so many firsts, and watch him grow and become this sweet 5 year old. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Our dog Hobbes who will turn 13 this year hasn't been doing good. He has really bad arthritis in his hips/legs, which is causing him to fall a lot and not be able to get around good. He lost his hearing about a year ago, and now his cancer (lymphoma) has returned. He isn't in great health so we decided not to do chemo this time. It breaks our heart to see him not feeling well. He is such a huge part of our family. We are just enjoying the time we have left with him and making him comfortable. I really can't believe he will be 13 this year. I remember when he was just a little puppy and I took off work to take care of him for a couple of days to get him adjusted to his new family. It seems like just yesterday.

Precious time...oh how it goes by so fast.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

My child is just like me. He woke up this morning and the first thing he did was look out the window to see if it snowed more overnight. He was disappointed...just like me. I know we live in Georgia and it never snows here in December, but there were a lot of flurries yesterday, so we were hoping! Oh well, we managed to get ready and make the carpool line, so I was happy. It's the little things in life that make me happy. Finishing my cup of coffee while it's still hot makes me happy as well, but lately that just isn't happening for some reason. I get distracted a lot during this time of year. One minute I'm watching Regis and Kelly drinking my hot coffee, the next minute the phone rings or I start working on my "list" for the day, or unloading the dishwasher. By the time I get back to my coffee it's already cold.

Even with cold coffee, it's still the most wonderful time of the year!

I can't wait for Nathan's Christmas play at preschool this week! He has a speaking part this year, and he doesn't seem nervous at all. I will be nervous enough for the both of us when it comes time for his line.

I teach four and five year old Sunday School at our church. Yesterday I read "What God Wants for Christmas" and had them each open the boxes to set up the Nativity set that comes with the story. It made my heart so happy to see how excited they were to see which person for the nativity was in their box. They couldn't wait to see what God wanted for Christmas! When they found out the answer was them (you), they all smiled so big.

Like I said...it's the most wonderful time of year!

Fall Fun!

Picture heavy post!!! =) Fall is my favorite time of year! We get outside more, play more, bake more, watch lots of football, and have lots of pumpkin spice lattes! We've had fun going to our favorite Pumpkin Patch, farms, apple orchard, Amicalola Falls, attending fall festivals, and just enjoying the outdoors and the beautiful colors. The below pictures show some of what we've been up to.

Nathan "hiking" in a wooded spot off a golf cart trail.

Fall Festival at Pre-K

enjoying a hayride with his friends at the Fall Festival

making a "magic pumpkin" at the festival

on the hayride at Southern Belle Farms with our MOMS Club

Annual trip to Southern Belle Farms-"Braves Night"

Nathan enjoyed Disney on Ice "Toy Story 3"

BIG tree at Amicalola Falls State Park

Amicalola Falls

Apple picking in the North Georgia Mountains at Hillcrest Orchards

enjoying The Great Georgia Air Show with friends

one of my favorite pics from my husband's trip to Africa..lol

Just for us...

Last Thursday night we went to the local fair with some friends of ours for a fun night out that included hand squeezed lemonade, dizzy dragons, and lots of squeals! Nathan rode his first little roller coaster and his first Ferris wheel. He loved all of it, including the swings that went pretty high and fast! The local paper only advertised the fair would be happening on Friday, Sat., and Sun. But at the last minute the fair officials decided to open up a couple of nights early...just for us! (or at least that's what Nathan said! ) There were no crowds, no lines, no waiting for anything. We could ride as often as we wanted! He overheard me telling my friend on the phone that no one was there and we had the place to ourselves. So Nathan thought they opened up just for us! Too funny! I'm not sure how many times we climbed the steps to go down the "Fun Slide", but it was a lot...and fun!

It's almost Fall...

...and I haven't blogged since early Summer! Summer went by WAY TOO FAST! Where did it go? But, my favorite time of year is upon us...Fall! I can't wait for cooler temps, leaves changing colors, picking apples, football, and visiting different farms for all of their fun pumpkin patches and hayrides, etc!
We had a great summer! We went to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN for a small vacation with my family. Nathan loved it! He got to ride Go-Carts for the first time, and absolutely loved it! We also visited Point Mallard (a waterpark)in Alabama (where he went on his first big waterslide by himself!), went tubing in Helen, visited Alabama to spend time with friends and family, had lots of fun visitors come see us in Georgia, had Nathan's 5th birthday, and did a lot of swimming! All the fun stuff that Summer is made for!
Nathan's Pre-K started in August. It was sad for me because I knew this was the last year before he starts to "big" school...you know, the school you have to be on time for and not miss any days, homework, etc. Oh well, we will survive when the time comes! But right now we will make the most of Pre-K and enjoy it fully! He is loving his teachers, and being with his friends everyday. I'm definitely having a harder time with him going 5 days/week than he is. I miss our lazy mornings making pumpkin french toast and cuddling in pj's.
Our Mom's Bible Study at church started back up a few weeks ago and I am loving our new study! It is "One in a Million" by Priscilla Shirer. It is so great, if you haven't done it, you should! It is geared for everyone!
OK..so that's all for now. Hope everyone out there in blogland is doing great!

New Dinner Plan!

I am so excited about our new dinner plan we are doing! It is a great way to save money, enjoy new dishes, and stress less about "what's for dinner". You should check it out!

"Look mom, no training wheels!"

Nathan told us last Sunday he was ready to take his training wheels off. We asked him if he was sure, he said yes. He did great! We both stood on each side of him and helped at first, but then he got to going and we let go, and he just kept going! We were so proud of him! He is loving his bike right now, he's very proud of himself too!