Back to Normal Life...YAY!

Well first, I want to say how proud I am of Brian! He is absolutely wonderful in every way. Although it has been a tough year, now that Brian has graduated, it seems like this year has passed quickly! Brian graduated with his EMBA on Friday, December 11. Brian's grandparents, parents, and mother-in-law were all able to come up to Knoxville, TN to see him hooded. Thank you all for being so supportive of him while he went through school. There are no words to express all the sacrifices and changes several of you committed to while Brian was at school. We love you so much and just want you to know that we appreciate your kindness and generosity over this last year. We could not have survived the year as well as did without family and friends helping us through it:o)

Today, we simply enjoyed relaxing without thinking of anything else! It was so nice! We stayed home all day and played with the girls, watched movies, and cleaned a little! The girls are so glad to have Daddy home but we are definitely challenged with getting back to our regular routine. Let's just say, we were ready for 7:30 to come so we could put the girls to bed. Hopefully they will get back into the routine quickly!

We don't know what is in our future but we know that this next year will be an amazing year, full of opportunity in all aspects of our life! The Lord is our guide and we are spending this year really listening and embodying His truths. He holds our future so I know that it is bright!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

We woke up this morning to a telphone call from Brian. He asked us what the weather looked like. I had not even looked outside. When we did, it was pouring down snow! The girls were so excited to see the snow! I was too. The ground was covered and we wanted to get out there before it melted away. So we got bundled up and headed out! Here are a few pictures of the girls in their winter wonderland!

On their way outside!


Ella jumping and loving the snow! She didn't want to go in!

Ava was a little unsure about stepping in the snow, but once she saw everyone else walking through, she decided to venture in and love it!


The cat seemed to enjoy the snow too!

"Jingle Bell Jingle Bell Jingle Bell Rock"

On Saturday, Brian and I bought are first fake Christmas Tree. It was sad and exciting all at the same time. One tradition ending and one beginning... Last year, our tree made all of us sick so we decided to go the fake tree route. After looking at several stores, we found one for a decent price. We are probably out of the loop, but we thought it was the coolest thing when it came in just three pieces. On Sunday the girls and I decorated the tree. Kids really make the season that much brighter. They lit up like a Christmas tree when we turned the lights on. Ella caught on quickly as to how to put the ornaments on the tree. She stuck with it almost to the end with a few breaks for dancing to the Christmas music playing in the background! Ava's fine motor skill just haven't quite reached the hanging ornament phase so she lost interest real fast, but she loved dancing with her sister to the music. We are remodeling our basement and our furniture has not come in yet. The girls had the whole room to run and dance and they sure used it. It was such a nice memory of decorating for Christmas. We just wished Brian was there to share in the memory too.

My mom came and suprised us on Sunday! The girls had a blast. We went to Target and Ella and Ava got to pick out an ornament. Ella picked out a Tinkerbell ball and Ava picked a bright pink star! They had so much fun. Then we went and looked at some of the Christmas lights that were up. The girls just squealed with delight whenever they would see a house all lit up. It was wonderful!

The Never Ending Story Ended...but lives on!

I really had good intentions of keeping a blog and actually using it and update it regularly. However, priorities change and as life gets busy, blogging falls on the bottom of my list. I am going to attempt to start over and keep the blog updated but I am not promising anything:o)

I am going to start from the most recent events and then back track from there. Brian left today for his last and final residency period and UT. YAY! The next time I see him, he will be a graduate. I will finally have him back in the evenings since there will be no school assignments to complete. Although it has been a tough year, the Lord has had his hand over us daily even when we didn't deserve it. He has brought us closer as a family through good times and not so good. He constantly reminds me that He has complete control over our minor and major events going on in my busy life.

It makes me grateful to have an incredibly large and blessed family. Of course we have the Lord on our side! That is stating the obvious. We have had family and friends help us get through a trying year. For that I thank you and am so grateful for. Sometimes I think we get so caught up in all the details, that we (I know I do) forget the many blessings that the Lord has for us. It is a way Satan distracts us from what our purpose is for our life. Thanksgiving was a wonderful reminder of God's love for each of us. He has covered me and our family from things that could be potentially dangerous for us but he blankets us and hides us under His wing.

Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving celebration.

Here is my twin.

Maddie was Ella's best friend on Thanksgiving.

Breaking the bread, a tradition done for years and years.

Our entertainment for the night!

All the kids wanted to help sing Happy Birthday and blow out Gramma Teri's cake!

Fire Fire!

We had an exciting evening. Tonight, I was cooking dinner. Our light in our oven hasn't worked for months. Brian and I were talking in the kitchen and all of a sudden I see this bright light coming from the stove. I was thinking it was our light coming on randomly but i was definitely wrong. Our stove was on fire!!! I flipped a little while Brian tried getting it out. As homeowners, we have never had anything major happen and have never made our house stocked with things that could be used in case of a fire. We were unsure of how to get the fire out. We turned the stove off and poured water on it, which we were told was a big no no!!! So then, we were told to put salt on the fire. We thought that worked. So we got ready to leave and go out to eat since our dinner had been ruined. Brian checked it one more time after we had gotten the girls in the car and THANK GOD HE DID!!! It was still on fire!!! So then we were told to try Baking Soda and Flour. Our friend came over and helped out with the situation and once they got it out, they took the whole oven and set it on the back deck! We went and got fastfood and went to Lowes where we learned that we could replace the coile and our stove would be fine! We are so blessed to know that the Lord was taking care of us tonight!

Ava's Birthday Party

Ava's 1st birthday was a big hit. Thank you to everyone who helped us out. I was a little stressed before the big event. It was quickly put together, but everything went well. Ava opened presents first. The first present she opened was a set of twin baby dolls. She was done after that! She carried that baby doll around for the duration of the party. She came back every so often to rip the wrapping paper apart!

"Happy Birthday to Ava, Happy Birthday to you!"

Then it was time for the cake! She was a little unsure about it at first but once she realized she wouldn't get in trouble, she dug into that cake! It was hilarious, which you can see by the pictures.

Ella thought Ava needed a little help blowing out the candles. Mommy thought Daddy was going to burn Ella's face off!

Ella enjoyed it too and she got a big sister gift so she wouldn't feel left out. At 2 years old, she just didn't understand why all the attention was on Ava.

All in all, Ava's first birthday was a hit!!!

A Few Things Put Together

It is amazing how one minute life is right on track, you feel confident in what you have accomplished and then the next minute your mind is so jumbled with load put on your shoulders, you begin shutting down.

Brian came home almost two weeks ago and it was so great to have him back at least until May. Ella remembered him saying he would take her and Ava to the park when he got home so we went, even though Brian and I were exhausted! They needed that time to play with their daddy. The girls had a rough couple days going back to the office after that. We could see that the girls had a hard time with Brian being home when Ella started having multiple accidents (back at square 1!) and wanted to sleep with us...every night! Ava was just real fussy. But I believe we have just gotten back on track which is so nice. I will no longer have a head trying to push me off the side of the bed!

Brian and I got to have a weekend to ourselves last weekend up in Pigeon Forge. We went on a marriage retreat with our Sunday school class. It was nice to get away after Brian had been gone the last two weeks. It was nice to spend time with each other and our friends. And Mom was so great to come and watch the girls. They had a good time with Mimi, however, I am sure Mimi was glad when we came back too!

After having a nice weekend away, I went back to work with an unbelievable work load and it was almost unbearable. I am still feeling so stretched with little time to do anything. And the time I do have, I am unproductive because there are too many things to do and I don't even know where to begin! So here I am, finding myself on the computer, ignoring what I should be doing!