Snow Days

Snow days in Georgia..... why yes, we've had a few. The kids of course love it & although there are times when I was thinking oh my goodness can't we get back to our normal schedule, I loved having the time with the kiddos playing in the snow. Here are a few highlights of our snowy fun filled day :)

Greatest grandpa you could get & I got him

there is no one I would rather have to be my kids great grandpa & my grandpa than the one God blessed us with. He is an amazing man & no matter how much he doesn't agree with things you may do or say he supports you no matter what. I don't know the exact story but somewhere around 3 years old I may have gotten mad at him & told him "I don't love you." I think I broke his heart but have done my best my whole life to let him know that I was only 3 & I do truly love him with all my heart. no one makes me laugh or feel loved quite like my grandpa. Happy 80th Birthday Grandpa 

80th Birthday Party

My family is very blessed. One of those blessing was celebrated this weekend in the form of a surprise 80^th birthday party for the greatest grandpa in the world. It was a lot of hard work put into it but to see his reaction was well, well worth it. The goal was to not slip up & let him know about the party (which we did have a close call on that one once didn't we Jill? Hehe) but he was genuinely surprised, I don’t think he could have faked the way he walked into the door threw his arms in the air & went running back out J
          It was a great day all around. Getting to see family we hardly ever see, getting to see my kids run around & play with cousins they didn't even know about, and of course like my cousin Bobby said, it is great to see a new generation taking care of the clean up.
          I know there were a lot of people that couldn't make it but we know they were there with us through stories & in spirit. Can’t wait to do it again at 90.
I added a video link to him walking into the party. enjoy

The Entrance

chore charts

This is the year that I’m going to actually put my pinterest page to use. There are a few things we've tried here & there but mostly it’s still just electronic hoarding. Well, many moons ago I pinned some chore chart ideas but never did anything with them. We also implemented a token system into play with the kids. At the beginning of the year we decided we needed to revamp how we distribute the tokens since the kids are, sniff sniff, getting older. I decided to blend the chore chart with the token system. They of course can still earn tokens by making the right decisions, being helpful, being thoughtful and the like. In the same way they can still lose them by being mouthy, rude, & disrespectful. But now in addition to that they are learning that when they apply themselves to being a part of a family and help one another as well as focus on learning they will earn even more tokens. So far this is working amazing. As soon as I printed the charts out today Xavier wanted to mark off what he had done & asked what was next on his list J
When I told him after his “school work” he had to lay down for nap time without complaining and he would get another token he asked if he could watch tv. I told him that no it was time to rest and if he wasn't tired he didn't have to take a nap but he did have to rest with no tv & no lights for at least 45 minutes. I was surely expecting him to start throwing a fit right them. But he instead asked, “so if I lie down and be calm I get a token?” and my response, “yes.” He laid right down and within 10 minutes he was asleep. Although this is only day 2 of our new system in full working order I’m super excited about it and I think the kids are too. Having their own charts to follow I think is going to be really helpful for them as well as me.

Thanks to a great friend for the layout of a chart she had given me once before to get myself in some kind of organized fashion, I decided to just turn it into charts they could use. 

2014

My family had a very great Christmas & I’m so thankful for all the blessing we have. We also have had a great start to the New Year. We started our new year off in a way that I wouldn't have ever thought. If you had asked me just a few years ago if I ever thought my kids & I would be spending New Years Eve with my dad I would have told you that you were out of your mind. If you told me years ago my dad would even be staying with us for a few days on Christmas break, once again I would have reminded you how absolutely crazy you were. But both of these things happened and I’m so thankful.  My kids are still very young so they will never really know that their mommy & papa only really just started having a relationship. When they are older and things come up in their lives that make them ask any types of questions about it I’ll be more than happy to answer. But as for now, they have their papa and they couldn't be happier. I have a dad & although it’s a bit weird still to think sometimes, it’s nice.
We had a great new year’s eve. The kids stayed up till midnight. Well I guess not everyone. X fell asleep about 3 minutes before the ball dropped. We did an activity every hour and they loved it as did mommy. After such a long night we all slept in like crazy on January 1^st. so when I woke up at like 11:15 I figured what better way to start the new year than with a big ol’ brunch. I cooked breakfast while I let everyone just kinda wake up on their own. My mom even came over both times. It was pretty cool for the kids I think to have their papa, their gramma, and their nana all here. (although, both the kids kept asking why their granny couldn't come visit with their papa)
all in all it’s been a pretty good start to 2014 and I just hope it continues.