Busy Busy Busy!

I cannot believe it has been almost an entire month since the last time I had an entry. Each week, I make a to do list for that week, and "blog entry" has been on my list every week in the month of November. It seems almost impossible to remember all the things we've done this past month, but I want to try. I really hope that one day Trip and Mady can look back at all these entries and have a full picture of what their childhood was like. One of the main reasons I've had trouble finding time to keep the blog updated is that I started a new job with Young Life ministries. My official start date was November 1st and I have really enjoyed my first month back in the work force. It is nice to know that my brain still functions and can solve problems other than how to clean up Mady's latest mess or what to make Trip for lunch! :-) God has really protected and opened up my schedule, giving me plenty of time to do this job and do life. But, enough about me; let's talk about the kids...that's really all my readers (family) want to hear about.

Trip Highlights for the last month :

1. Trip started the month with his last soccer game and first basketball practice. Trip smiles the whole time he plays either sport. It is so fun to watch him! I LOVE his enthusiasm!

2. All 4 of us enjoyed his school's Thanksgiving Feast on the 9th! The food was actually pretty good!

3. For Veterans Day, the Elementary School honored the veterans with a breakfast and performance. We invited my dad to join us and it meant so much to all of us to have him there with us and to get to honor him that way!

4. Trip's school hosted a movie night as a fund raiser and showed Cars 2! He and Mady brought their sleeping bags and ate their way through the entire movie. We helped the school raise LOTS of funds that night. :-)

5. Trip finished the month of November by shopping for us and his cousins at the school's Secret Santa Shop (another fund raiser...jeez!).-Trip's teacher convinced him that after he'd bought gifts for everyone on his list, he could buy something for himself. Who do you think got the most expensive gift? HMMMM!!!! I cannot wait to open mine (TJ laughed his face off when he saw it) and to hear all of the cousins' reactions to theirs. Still though, he did have a fun time shopping for everyone and wanted no help from my friends that were working the shop. BIG BOY!

6. Today, Trip and TJ ran in Trip's school's fun run: The Jingle Bell Trail! TJ let Trip set the pace and I was shocked at how well he did! He ran the whole time and finished in 10 minutes! I think maybe we have a future track star in our family! Mady and I cheered them on from the sideline and Mady can't wait to join in next year!

Mady Highlights for the last month:

1. Mady started the month with her first appointment at the dentist. She did so good! I think watching her big brother set such a good example for her helped to alleviate any possible fears.

2. TJ and I joined Mady for her school's Thanksgiving Feast on the 17th! She had corn on the cob for the first time and loved it so much that she had three servings! This encouraged my to make it for the whole family later this month and it was a big hit!

3. Mady and the other kids sang to the ladies at our bible study one Friday last month. The last time Mady got to sing, she did not stay up front and ended up sitting with me the whole time, so on the way there, she promised she was going to stay up front and sing really loud! After the first song, Mady looks at me and at the top of her lungs says, "Mommy aren't you proud of me for singing so loud?!" Oh yes, and I am very proud of you for pointing it out to everyone else there. :-)

4. Every Monday is Mady and Mommy Monday because it is the only day of the week that we have no where to be after we get Trip to school. This past Monday, it was cold and rainy, so Mady and I stayed in our PJ's and watched Miracle on 34th Street! I love sharing these girlie things with her. I seriously cannot wait for her to be old enough to go see the Nutcracker in Atlanta!

Family Highlights for the last month:

1. The weekend before Thanksgiving, we took the kids back to the sweet, small town I grew up in. My church was having it's 100 year celebration, so we went down with my parents to go to the celebration and catch up with old friends. It has been 20 years since we moved away, but it still feels just like yesterday to me. I swear, it's like time has stood still in that town (in a good way). We spent the afternoon and evening with a dear friend of mine and her family on their farm, riding their Gators and having s'mores by the bon fire. And, then we got to reconnect with so many sweet people on Sunday at church. I am so grateful to have grown up in such a wonderful town and to have the chance to share it with my kids.

2. The day after we got back from Alabama, we flew to Wisconsin to spend Thanksgiving with our family up there. The kids are getting so great at traveling. TJ and I both got to read books on the flight! Such a simple pleasure that you lose when you start traveling with infants and toddlers. Our time in Wisconsin was so fun, as it always is. The kids are all getting so big and really love seeing each other and playing together. This was the first year in a long time that TJ and I just got to hang out with adults and not have to monitor every little move Trip and Mady were making. And, they both tried some new things on their plates this year! My favorite part of the trip was taking all the little ones to see the new Muppet movie. I LOVE the muppets and it is so fun to share things from our childhood with our children. It made me feel like a kid again, seeing the muppets sing the same songs and make the same silly jokes.

Now that it is December, I know life is not slowing down anytime soon. 3 family birthdays, plus a new one sometime in December, Christmas parties and celebrations, fun times with friends and family, the list goes on and on. My prayer for my family and yours is that Jesus will be at the focus of all that we do this time of year and always!