November Little Things

November went quickly and we enjoyed our Thanksgiving break so much!  It's hard to believe we're heading into December.  2020 will be over before we know it!

Eden enjoyed getting to go to her friend Virginia's birthday party with lots of her friends from school and church.  They painted, made slime, and played ping pong.

Parker and Lily drove over to Mansfield to watch one of Ryan's football games while I was getting my hair cut one Saturday.  

Parker earned 8th grade Star Student for the 2nd 6 weeks!  We are so proud of the effort he puts forth at school.

We got Parker's cross country pictures back.  When did he go from my little boy to a grown man?!?!

Cory and I snuck away for a two night getaway at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine.  We haven't been anywhere together in a really long time and it was so nice to have a few days without kids.  We ate some incredible food and got some Christmas shopping done.

Just when we thought our dog drama was over, two weeks after Maggie was released from the vet after her surgery, she started limping on her surgery leg again.  After a few days of her not putting any weight on her leg, I finally decided to take her in to make sure nothing had gone wrong with the surgery.  An X-ray showed that she had fractured her patella.  They didn't want to put her through another surgery so they said for the next 4 weeks, she had to be on a leash any time she went outside.  I am so ready for this chapter in our lives to be over!

A broken kneecap didn't stop her from begging for her favorite snacks!

And not being able to go outside on her own meant lots of extra snuggle time with me and Parker!  She's a mess but we sure do love her!

2020 has been such an interesting year for so many reasons.  I can't say I'm sad to see December arrive.  Only one more month to go!  Maybe all this craziness will finally settle down in 2021!

Thanksgiving 2020

Thanksgiving looked a little different this year because The Rowlands got to join us.  Jon had to work the day after Thanksgiving so they had to come home early from Longview.  We waited until Saturday to celebrate so they could be there with us.  As always, the food was delicious, especially mom's dressing and the mac and cheese!

The kid's table

The grown up table

Granna planned some fun games for the kids to play after dinner.

Parker entertained the triplets with his trumpet.

Holland- Thanksgiving 2018 vs Wryn- Thanksgiving 2020

It was a fun, family-filled day and now we can look forward to the Christmas season!

Happy 12th Birthday, Eden

Yesterday we celebrated Eden turning 12!  Only one more year before we have two teenagers in our house!  It was our last day of school before Thanksgiving break and Eden was excited to be at school on her birthday.  We started the morning with presents before school.

Eden and Lily are obsessed with making slime right now so she was excited to get a slime making kit.

Eden loves listening to music so she was very excited to get some wireless earbuds.

I ordered a birthday sign for the yard and Eden loved it!  I can't believe she is 12!

After dinner, I took her for an ice cream treat.

Tonight we met the cousins for her birthday dinner at Rosa's.  She asked for a cookie cake this year and of course she wanted it to be blue!

Eden is saving money for a phone so she was excited to get money from Aunt MerMer.

Aunt MerMer, Holland and Wryn got to join us for dinner.

More slime!

Happy Birthday Eden!  We hope this is the start to an amazing year!

12 Years Old

Eden-

I look at this picture and think "Where has my little girl gone?".  You have blossomed into a beautiful young woman right before my eyes!  As you start a new year of life, I pray that you will continue to grow in confidence and self worth.  Here are a few of the things I want to remember about you this year:

- You had a huge growth spurt this summer and are almost as tall as me (5'7'')!  You are the tallest in your group of friends and you don't like it at all.  You tell me all the time that you hope you will stop growing soon.  I know you don't like it now, but one day you will appreciate being tall!

- You LOVE middle school!  You came home beaming on the first day of school and love everything about it!  You love changing classes, not having to walk on the second square in the hall, and having lunch with your friends.   I miss not having you at Gerard with me but I am so glad you are flourishing this year at SmithMS.

- You love band!  After trying all the instruments, you chose to play the oboe.  It is one of the harder instruments to learn but you are picking it up quickly. Your piano background has helped you a lot because you went in knowing how to read music.

- You are still a picky eater but have been more willing to try new things.  You still have a strong dislike of fruits and vegetables (except applesauce) but will usually take one bite if I ask you.  Your favorites are chicken alfredo, pizza, chicken nuggets, yogurt, peanut butter/honey sandwiches, and any type of dessert.

-After a little bit of counseling this summer, you have learned how to handle your anxiety in a positive way.  And middle school has given you a confidence that I've never seen before in you.  You just gave a speech in front of your leadership class without any tears.  Last year, just the thought of giving an oral presentation would have led to many sleepless nights.  The counselor and I even put a 504 plan in place for you at school that allows you to not have to give any presentations if you don't feel comfortable.  But you faced your fears head on and were so proud of what you accomplished!

- You love listening to music.  You would stay in your room listening to your favorite songs all night if we would let you.  You even go to sleep listening to music.  You like all kinds of music except country music.  You always ask me to turn it off if I start playing it in the car!

- You love playing Roblox on the computer.  You have also started playing Fortnite with Parker and Daddy a little bit.  

-You are just as obsessed with slime and watching slime videos as Lily.  I hope this phase doesn't last much longer- I'm not sure if I can take any more clothes or carpets being ruined by slime!

-You have had to deal with a little bit of girl drama at school this year but have dealt with it in stride and made some new friends along the way.  You have enjoyed getting to be in classes with some of your church friends who went to Coleman like Blaine, Jordan, and Virginia.  You still enjoy being with Reagan, Laila and Lacey and have also reconnected with Grace.

- You are doing well in school and have made the honor roll all year.  You didn't like PreAP Math but are excelling in all of your other PreAP classes.  You still don't like to read on your own but have read several books in ELAR that you have enjoyed.

- You love being outside riding your scooter/bike and I'm pretty sure you swam every single day this summer.  

- You are still very affectionate and generous with your hugs.  Physical touch is definitely your love language and you can't go to sleep at night or even leave a room without giving me a hug!  You are compassionate and worry about the feelings of others.

I love you, Eden, and am so proud of everything you've accomplished this past year.  I know that great things are ahead of you and I am so thankful that I get to watch and guide you as you experience more and more new things.  Stay true to yourself and don't let others change anything about the kind, thoughtful, loving person you are!  I hope you have a wonderful birthday and an even better year ahead!  I love you to the moon and back, Mom

Family Pictures 2020

We had family pictures taken at the end of October.  Our previous photographer had just had a baby so we had to find someone new to take our pictures.  I didn't love the results as much as in previous years but we did get a few good ones.

I loved this one of Cory and the kids!

 

Lily's Birthday Party

All Lily wanted for her birthday party was a sleepover with Jery and Ellie.  After we finished quarantine, we were finally able to fulfill her wish!  

They wore their matching pajamas from last year's sleepover.  

They made slime, got in the hot tub, and watched movies.  It wasn't fancy but they all had fun!