Faithfulness of a Child

I know that parents are suppose to teach their kids, but many times I find myself learning from the girls. Yesterday, Tiffany and Ben came for a visit, and we ended up at McDonalds. This particular McD's has an awesome outdoor playground. Now, allow me to digress. Abby has a little fear of heights. It makes her very nervous to be up high, especially when she can see the ground below her. It just so happens that this playground has a lot of such places where one can see the ground. After going through the "treehouse" once with Josie and me, she went through again with Ben! She then decided she wanted to go through once more. Ben was not interested. Abby looked at me and said, "I"m going." I said, "Okay, but I can't come get you this time." (Looking back, I realize I was trying to talk her out of it. I'm glad she's stubborn.) She did great until the long bridge in which she can see everything. She started to get nervous. Then, she started saying, "I am not afraid. I am always brave. God will take care of me," over and over until she was across. It made me very proud of her that she not only made it across but that she knew she could depend on God to help her. Later, I was thinking about the "treehouse." I realized that she did exactly what I often forget to do.... rely on God. Life may be busy and tiring. Life may not always go exactly how we want, but Abby is right. . . "God will take care of me." Thank you for the reminder, sweet girl!

My guru :D

December to Remember

I know. I know. It has been a while. A long while. However, I will try to catch you up on the goings-on around here.

December began much like December 2009. . . SNOW. Before winter was even officially here, we already had a significant snowfall (about a foot on our end of town). This made for great fun (and the beginning of a very snowy winter). Abby experienced her first snow day. She cried when she found out her school was closed. We were afraid it was going to put a damper on their Christmas party; however, we were very fortunate for the snow to melt in time for the kids to put on htier show and have their special party.

The kids did a wonderful job singing. Abby (middle of
the shot) belted out the songs with pride. We were so
excited that Steve was able to watch the program.
Abby was thrilled!!

The snow may not have been epic, but it was certainly fun. We were excited to get the girls out to play, especially since it was Josie's first real chance of playing in the white stuff. :D

Let the Christmas Story jokes begin.

Our angel making angels.


She's a Daddy's Girl without a doubt.


I just thought this is such a perfect "Josie" look.

Snow fun w/ Daddy!


The girls started to get tired and Steve's
hands were freezing. Therefore, our
snow man was three feet high.
We then decided to honor Bamps
with a snow Bamps, much to
Abby's delight. :D

The snow afforded us a chance to do a photo shoot to prepare for Christmas! Good times!

"Why is the bear bigger than me? Not cool."

Abby is still trying to come down from her Christmas high.


Holiday hilarity in a box (literally) with hats!

I promise to update soon with a Truly White Christmas and Snow Daze. Until then, please enjoy Abby singing "Happy Birthday, Jesus" from her Christmas program. Do NOT adjust your volume. (You will thank me in about 30 seconds or so.) Please watch until the end when Josie tries to "help." :D

'Nanners

That is the best way to describe our life right now. Abby is in school and keeping her up with her hectic social schedule, and Josie, well, Josie is everywhere. She is walking and talking and having such fun adventures. It is amazing to watch. I know I say this in every post, but I wish I had more time to blog about all the fun we are having.

Girl loves her Aunt Debbie!

Uncle Tom is a sucker for a good story, too.
Not sure is Mathew is convinced, though.


Bring it on, Winter!


Fun times!!


Watching leaves fall in October.


Dancing. In pjs. At school.
Not sure it could get any better.

OH, wait!!! It can. Dancing in pj at school
WITH FRIENDS!!! :D

Re-creating the first Thanksgiving.


Little Blonde Talks A Lot
would be her perfect name.


Proud big sister


A friendship feast

Yummo!

Halloween 2010

This year for Josie's first Halloween, we were in Asheville since Steve had to work all weekend. It was great, though. We got to trick or treat on both Saturday and Sunday nights at local churches. Abby (aka Jessie) and Josie (aka Miss Ladybug) both had a blast.

She was unsure at first, but she seemed to get the hang
of her costume. (It was really cute when she crawled around!)

Abby LOVED her Jessie costume. She still wears it
just for fun.

Abby, Sophie, and William collected lots of loot
at the trunk or treat. . .

. . . Josie couldn't handle the excitement and

fell asleep before we made it back.

No Excuses

I have neglected the blog lately. However, it is not without reason. I am still trying to get this whole "mom of 2" bit down. When Abby finally settles down (which some days doesn't happen at all), Josie sees it as her time to shine. :) It is a fun time for us. Please, don't mistake that. I just have not had a lot of time to sit at the computer lately.

Abby is doing great in school! She loves it and has made many new friends. She recently had a Harvest Party with her class. They got to wear their pjs, so of course, Josie and I volunteered to be there that day. It was so fun seeing in her with all her new friends. She also recently had her first school program. It was so fun!! Loved every minute of it.

As for Josie, well, that is a string of blog posts, my friends. She is doing great. She's talking up a storm. Right now everyone is "Bob," but we are also known as "Momma" and "Dadda" sometimes. There's been some new stuff happening, too, but I will let the pictures and video do the explaining on that one. My goal is to do one post a day for the next few days to catch you up. Until then, know that we are still here and doing good.



No excuses, but there are two good reasons!!

First Day of School

Abby started school at Bent Creek Baptist Pre-School at the end of August. She goes Monday, Wedneday, and Friday mornings. She is having a wonderful time with her new friends and her teachers, Ms. Jamie and Ms. Tricia. ( She has a hard time believing Mommy was a teacher before she was born. ) Her favorite part is the large playground they get to hang out on every day. They sing songs, have story and sharing time, and much, much more. She is so independent. On the the third day of school, she said to me on the way there, "Mommy, I got this. You can just drop me off." I was so proud and sad at the same time.

This is the backpack she picked out.


Believe it or not, she also picked out the matching
lunchbox. (We were shocked, too.)
She usually takes pretzels, juice, and a mix of different
fruits for snack time.


She was so excited. It's hard to believe
how old she looks in this picture.

The pack is huge, but she loves
to carry it.


She was dancing around everywhere.


You can almost see the joy and
excitement.
(Note: "White bunny" stayed in the
car when she got to school by
her own choice.)

Our Scholar.



Here is her peg outside her classroom.


She went inside and started to play. I didn't really
even get a "good-bye." (Yes, I cried as I drove away.)

After school, we went to Chick-fil-A for a
celebratory lunch. She was still riding on
the excitement (and the fun rides).


All scholars need their sleep. She has the best naps
on school days.

Family Vacation

I have been so bad about blogging lately. There seems to always be something going on. I will do my best to catch you up on everything that has been happening. (It may take a few posts.)


After working 60+ hours a week for a while (and continuing to do so), Steve was able to take some time off for a mini-break. So, where else would we decide to go, but home. We hit up Tennessee for a week of fun and relaxation before Steve had to go back to work and Abby started school. (Yes, she's old enough for pre-school. I'm in denial. ) So, here's how it all went down:

We drove over on Saturday to see family who we don't often get to see.

Here are the Hensley Kids–
Mom, Uncle K.B., Aunt Roberta,
and Aunt Dot

Abs got some quality time with her Great Uncle KB.

Some cousins got to spend some time together.
(Here are Debbie, Ann, Brenda, and Darlene.)


Abby suckered Mamaw for some ice cream.

It was wonderful to see family from all over. It was also great to introduce them to Josie. After we said good-bye to Mommy's side of the family, it was time to head to Mimi and Bamps for rest and relaxation.

Abby had lots of fun with Mimi. . .

While Josie showed off her new sitting up and playing trick.
She apparently also was trying to catch up on her phone calls.

After a restful day with the grandparents, we headed to Gatlinburg to see what our friends at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies were up to.

A busy day at the coral reef.


It's one of Abby's favorite things to watch at the aquarium.

Daddy and Abby loved shark-watching
in the tunnel.


Of course, we had to say "hello" to the clown fish
and tangs, better known as Nemo and Dory
in our household.


Daddy helped Abby play with the horseshoe crab.


Abby does not seem to want to give the shark
a dental exam.

Unfortunately, my camera battery went dead before the penguins. We had lots of fun crawling through the tunnels with them. Alas, we had to head back to Mimi and Bamps's place to rest up for the big surprise the next day. . . the ZOO!!!

Abs loved seeing all the different animals
from all kinds of different vantage points.

This funny guy is out to play after playing with friends in
the elephant playhouse. He seemed to be the class clown.

Speaking of, we had a couple of other jokesters with us.


Josie enjoyed the ride as well and kept pretty comfy
during the walk between exhibits.



"This is my lion friend, Mommy."


I love giraffes. They always remind me of
one of best and oldest friends, Aimee.

The great thing about vacationing in Tennesse is you
never know who you might run into. Ben and TeeTee
were able to meet up with us at the zoo. We were so glad
to have the extra time with them!



And Abby was delighted.

The toddlers had lots of fun with
a Chimp who loved the attention.


Abs is trying to ge ta better look
at the lioness with the help
of Daddy.


Josie is trying to get caught up on her sleep.
(Note the foot. Abby used to do the same thing!)

The zebras are always my favorite. On our second trip by
their area, they were up playing.

So fun to watch.

I think the gorilla knew Abby loves cantaloupe.
He's right to be on alert. Abby will
stop at nothing for her yummy fruit.

The red pandas are always so peaceful and sweet.

Josie likes to ride in style.


Abby posed for some shots for
the pre-school bulletin board.

Thanks to TeeTee for taking
the first picture of the four of us.

The zoo was so fun that we took the next day to rest. We did have a visit with Mamaw Bivens, but for the most part, we just relaxed and enjoyed being in Tennessee.

Josie and Abby put their decorating touches on
Mamaw's house.

We rounded out the week with a visit to TeeTee's for Abby and a doctor's appointment for Josie (more on that in another post). Then, it was back over the mountain for us so we could get ready for Abby's school's open house on Friday. We were rested and ready for school after a great week at "home." We will post her first day pictures soon!