Smile Fridays - week 26

Well, as we wrap up November I am smiling because this month marks my most successful with Stella and Dot!  My sales were up (a lot) over my best month, I added a couple of great gals to my team and I was this.close. to my next promotion!   It was a tad crazy since I basically try to do my work while the kids nap and occasionally in the evenings...my house is showing the neglect, for sure!  But when I compare the amount of hours I put in and the $$ I got in return, it's pretty awesome.  I just couldn't be happier that I took the plunge with this incredible company!  Thanks to all of you that are so supportive of me!!!

We started getting out our Christmas decor on Monday and I finally finished up today.  It's basically impossible to decorate with a certain little 15 month old around.  We just love our Fisher Price nativity scene!  

Family Time

Lots of family time during our week in Kansas...

 No denying these boys are family and guess which 2 are participants of no shave November :).  They were smiling watching this...

 After Thanksgiving the kids got Christmas PJs from Grandma and Grandpa.  These 2 will have fun this Christmas, they were pretty darn excited to tear these open.

 Thank you hugs for Grandpa

 Here they are in their PJs.  We were playing the blanket game...know that game?? You know, the one where you get a blanket, put a kid in it and swing them?  The babies scream when it's not their turn so we threw all 3 of them in at once :).

 Storytime with Uncle Brock

 Gator ride with Mama on the farm.  Coop was a little unsure at first, he told Mama, "I don't think this is a good idea."  :)  He got over it.

 Laney got some lovin' from Ava-Grace.  We don't get to see this sweet girl and her brother very often because they are so stinkin' talented and busy with their dance/sports.  It was great to hear all about school and their activities.

 Doodles was loving on Braeden and very intrigued by that phone.

Early Christmas Present

Aunt Alli always threatens to get the biggest and most obnoxious toys for our house...well, this time she got the biggest!  When we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house, she and Uncle Rusty had this ready for the kids...

 Yep, a bounce house and it's a perfect fit in Grandma and Grandpa's basement.  All 3 of the kids absolutely loved it!  If we were upstairs and Laney heard the sound of it starting up, she would go crazy with excitement.

Man, Aunt Alli and Uncle Rusty really know how to show these niece and nephews of theirs a good time!

It kept them busy and totally wore them out.  No lie, a tiny part of me wishes Santa Claus would bring one to put in our dining room...I mean who needs a table if you could have a bounce house instead???

Thanksgiving Day

We spent Thanksgiving Day at my Grandma's house.  The weather was nice so we were able to spend lots of time outside, in fact I rarely saw Cooper all day!  Here are pics from the day.  As always, have a mental list of group pics I wanted to get and didn't do it :(.  Maybe next year.  However, I did get lots of the kids and their cousins, enjoy!

 This girl loves animals.  She had zero fear getting on this horse.  The minute her bottom hit his back, she was rocking back and forth just like our pretend horse at home :).

 A couple days before this Cooper wanted no part of this horse.  But, after seeing his baby sister and cousin up there, he gave it a shot.  

 He fed him carrots picked straight from Grandma's garden.

 My little cowgirl 

 Love this pic of sweet Gunner.

 Cooper adores his older cousins.

 Uncle Greg treated us all to a hayride thru the farm.

 He couldn't stop smiling, in heaven.

 This kid is so darn photogenic and has the most beautiful skin like his Momma.

 So sad that Doodles was napping, she would have loved it!

 Church is right across the street.  We all were baptized here, including my kids and married here...full of family tradition.

A perfect Thanksgiving surprise.  Yay, I am going to be an aunt again in June and Gunner will be a big brother!  We are so happy for Bryson and Tara and Gunner!  Of course we have known for quite some time, so I am happy it's out in the open now :).

Happy Thanksgiving!

I started this post on Thanksgiving night...then I fell asleep :).  So here it is almost a week late.

Happy Thanksgiving 2012!  Another year with so much to be thankful for.  I feel you all know what I am thankful for as I write about most of it on this blog.  

Last weekend I had the privilege of volunteering with a friend and an organization she is a part of, Food for the Soul.  It was an incredible experience.  Families were wrapped around the building.  We got matched up with families and helped them shop for clothes from the donations and sent them home with a complete Thanksgiving dinner and a bible.  How great is that?!  They were so thankful and gracious and just ordinary people.  I just hate the thought that they probably wouldn't have a Thanksgiving dinner without this.  I wanted to take them all home with me to feed them, bathe them, bake them chocolate chip cookies and send them back home with bags full of clothes, food, toiletries, and toys.  I couldn't have enjoyed my couple hours there more and can't wait to work with this organization again.  If you live in the DFW area and want some more info, message me, ash4545@hotmail.com.  I will put you on the email list!   

On Thanksgiving day we had full of plenty to be thankful for...good food and lots of it, family, beautiful weather, the list goes on and on.

Just because I love these pictures...they aren't from Thanksgiving, actually from last month.

kisses!

Catching Up!

Everytime we go visit family on the holidays I swear I'm not going to get behind on the blog...clearly I failed again.  We were in Kansas for Thanksgiving last Sunday thru Saturday and the week before that Adam's parents were here.  All so much fun and busy that I didn't set down routinely to edit pics and update here.  I will update tonight!

That being said, I have had help/entertainment with the kids for almost 2 weeks!  These 2 are going to be pretty bored with just Mom today and I am going to miss the help like crazy :).  It will actually be nice to get back in our sleeping and eating routine...the lack of sleep and sugar highs were wearing on everyone!

It's Cyber Monday!  Are you shopping, I sure am.  Amazon is my new favorite place to shop, so I can't wait to shop the specials today, woo-hoo!  As you can see, Stella and Dot is taking part in the fun too.  Email me at ash4545@hotmail.com if you have an order and I will take care of your shipping ($5.95) today only!

Southlake Holiday Lighting

Papaw joined us for the weekend...we weren't too exciting, just normal everyday stuff.  But Saturday night we were pretty excited to head to Southlake Town Square for the holiday lighting ceremony.  It was a beautiful night out!

 This picture cracks me up!

 They even brought in snow for the event!  There was snow tubing hills.  Cooper was so excited about it but the excitement dimmed as he got closer in line :).  We saw a couple kids Laney's age go and we just knew she would love it!

 Check out Cooper's face, he had quickly changed his mind about wanting to tube but no turning back at this point. :)

 Sorry Coop, but this makes me laugh.

 Doodles was all good.

 She loved it so much she went down a 2nd time...her brother did not.

 Along with the tubing snow hills, they had fake snow falling in the town square, and ice/slush buckets to build snowmen.

 Such a fun night!  Thanks for visiting us Mamaw and Papaw, we had tons of fun!

Doodles was over it!

Mamaw Visits!

Last week we were lucky enough to have Mamaw in for the week!  We showed her some of our favorite things to do, I cooked some good dinners, and we played a lot!  It always nice to have another gal in the house because that equals 2 more hands always cleaning/picking up.  :)

Another November picnic!

 Mamaw, Dad, and Coop saw Wreck It Ralph in 3-D!

On a regular trip to feed the ducks, we saw a fire truck!  These small things can make our day, well Cooper's day and let's face it, Happy 3 year old, happy house :).