Where to begin...

After a LONG hiatus we're back... I promise! Things have been SO busy since Thanksgiving. We spent Christmas in Michigan with Cor's parents, and then headed out to Connecticut to celebrate Christmas and New Years with my family. We had such a great time with both families. I am so overwhelmed with how far behind I am in my updates so I will break them down. We survived the subzero temperatures (record breaking ones I must add) this past week. Spring can't come any sooner!!! I am sure we all have spring fever...

Thanksgiving in the South

Yup that's right... we headed down to good ole' Mississippi to visit our dear friends Jim, Mitzi, and their daughter Mia. They moved there from Chicago a year ago because Jim took a job at Ole Miss. We were quite brave for embarking on a 10 hr straight car ride with a year and a half old, but Addison did great. We stopped and let her run around and invested in a DVD player to try to occupy her when she really got restless. We went through Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, and finally Mississippi- it was quite an adventure! I have to say that we were pleasantly surprised with Oxford, MS. It is a really cute town and the people there are all so nice. I was called Mam! Ha ha ha. We had a great time enjoying Thanksgiving together, going to the Ole Miss football game and tailgating, going downtown and shopping at the Square, the guys got in some golf, and it was even warm enough to sit outside and enjoy a fire and have some smores. We had such a blast. Thank you Jim and Mitzi for having us, we'll be back for another game! We miss you already!

It was so interesting to see how much people LOVE football in the South. I am not a huge football fan, but I must admit- after being in that environment it is really fun. The families all come out to the grove on game day and set up tents with elaborate spreads... I mean chandelirs, flat screen TVs with satellites, silver platters, flower centerpieces, pots of chili, grills, etc. This is the real deal! The women get all dolled up and wear the cutest dresses to the game! No sweatshirts and jeans here... People are rebel fanatics... I saw embroidered rebels on pants, smocked dresses with rebels, Ole Miss paraphinelia was everywhere. It was quite a sight to see... If you ever get a chance to go check it out, it is well worth it!

Going back to Thanksgiving- We truly do have so much to be thankful for! We are SO blessed... thanks to all our family and friends who truly do enrich our lives!

Addison's 18 months!

We have a 1 1/2 year old!!! Addison is becoming more and more of her own little person each and every day. She is one independent little girl who knows what she wants. This is a good and bad thing... We have been trying to take advantage of each "warm" day left before it is too cold to go to the park... Grammy & Pappy came out to visit for my birthday and spoiled Addie with their love and attention. She got quite accustomed to her daily Starbucks run- thanks Mom and Dad for helping her to develop expensive taste at such a young age! I know we're in trouble with this one because she is OBSESSED with shoes and purses. She continues to learn new words daily, is a pro at feeding herself with a spoon, loves music and dancing, looking at books, "talking" on the phone, and pushing her dolly around in her stroller. She has fallen in love with Elmo, not by watching TV, but from seeing him on her diapers. She is a true joy and we are so blessed to have her little sparkle in our lives daily. We are about to embark on "time outs" so wish us luck!

Addie was delighted to have Grammy & Pappy out here visiting... She loves being the center of attention, so loved every moment of it. Mere and Natalie also came down for a weekend, which was such a blast. If only you didn't move to Mich... Addie wasn't so sure about having to share her turf, toys, and Mom with Natalie... I have to work on this! She is quite protective of me around other kids :)

(I had this saved since Nov. 17 but never got around to sorting out the pictures, so here we are... a few weeks late!)

A real tear jerker...

"Dear Eliot" is a moving story of two parents unconditional love and selflessness for their child who had trisomy 18- a terminal condition. They were told their son would probably die in utero, but he beat the odds. This story gives us hope that God is always moving... even in times of pain, uncertainty, and hardship. May God richly bless Eliot's sweet parents, and may we never take one day for granted!

First haircut!

We FINALLY did it!!! Gone are the mullet wearing days for Addison! We took her to Kidsnips last Saturday and figured it would be fun (although unnecessary since we could have done the few snips at home) to take her in for her first official haircut. Well- it turned out to be rather tragic for poor Addison. We walked in and she was terrified from the start. She wouldn't sit in one of the cars, wouldn't wear a little cape, could care less that Elmo was on, and wouldn't sit still for one split second. I had to hold her and she cried on my shoulder the whole time- bless her heart! It made for an interesting photo op I guess. The good news is that instead of being charged $20 we were only charged $5- because she "has no hair!"

Pray!

I was on the Bring the Rain blog and came across this amazing way to pray for your child(ren). There are seven verses to pray over your child through out the day all prompted by daily activities- waking up, getting dressed, eating, going out of the house, bathing, going to bed, and sleeping. How cool would it be to pray for your child seven times a day for a week??? Click on the 7x7 picture on the right and it will bring you to the verses. I encourage you to take this challenge on!!!

VOTE!!!

It's obviously not my place to tell you who to vote for (although I wish I could), but please get out and vote. This election is really important and many crucial issues are at stake. Every vote counts! And a little perk... no pun intended- you get FREE Starbucks coffee if you vote! See the video below: