Thankful

We have a lot to be thankful for! This week as Thanksgiving came and went, I was reminded of the many blessings that I need to thank the Lord for. I am blessed with a wonderful family and not a day goes by that I am not grateful for the family God has given me!

What a great Thanksgiving week we had. On Thanksgiving Day we made a trip to Kernersville for lunch with the LaRues. It is always good to see my extended family. It isn't often that we get together so when we do, I really enjoy the time we get to spend together!

Tammy and Emet

Jon and Ava...notice the remote...oh, how he loves football. So does Ava...especially APP!!!

Angela, Mom and my aunt Linda

Ava loves to eat!

Ava and Clara playing puzzles!

Isn't she beautiful?

Cooper, Bob, Clara and Ava fed the fish in the pond.

Our Family Photo

Us With Mom and Dad

The LaRue Gang

Taking a big family picture is quite the ordeal...when did it get this difficult?

Emet missed his nap...so when he ate again he was very sleepy! He fell asleep in Pops' arms right after his bottle!

Emet and Mommy

My beautiful babies...oh, how I love them!

What a great Daddy...he is so good to our kids!

Do they look alike?

On the Road Again...

We always enjoy spending time with our families over the holidays. Late Tuesday night we drove to Hickory to spend Thanksgiving week with my parents. We have had a great time with them. Here is a glimpse of our day Wednesday. Ava enjoyed riding her tricycle in the driveway. Pops was a good helper! Granna and Emet enjoyed watching her ride. She really got the hang of it!
We also enjoyed dinner at Kellie's house. Leigh Ann came up and brought Davis. Eli, Davis and Ava enjoyed playing and Emet wasn't quite sure what to think. It is always good to see my friends and even though our time together is short, it is always special!

Post Halloween Pumpkin Carving

The ELC at church had a Pow Wow today for the pre-school kids and their parents. Jon spoke at at the Pow Wow and used carving a pumpkin as an illustration. Last night Ava helped him carve the pumpkin and get ready for the Pow Wow. We never got around to carving our pumpkins for Halloween, but at least she got to help Daddy last night.

Getting Ready...

Not sure what to think of the pulp!

Pumpkin Kisses!

Smile!

Auntie Amy

Oh how Ava loves her Aunt Amy! We had the chance to get to see Amy on Saturday. She made a quick trip to up for a visit before heading to London for Thanksgiving. When we pulled up into Don and Scarlet's driveway Ava said, "Amy's car, Amy's car, yay!!!" We had a Thanksgiving meal with Don, Scarlet and Amy on Saturday. Ava enjoyed getting to see Amy and Emet enjoyed being fed by Amy. What a fun morning!

Amy gave Emet his bottle.

Ava helped Amy feed Emet his applesauce.

Painting Toenails!

Hurricanes' Hockey Game

Friday night we took our youth to a Hurricanes game. I had never been before and neither had Jon. It was a first for our family. Ava borrowed a cheerleading outfit from the Marshalls. She loved it and was a pretty good cheerleader I might add. She got the hang of "Go Canes, Go" by the end of the night. We had a blast and would love to go back...it is hard to believe we have been here in this area for five years and this was our first game. It won't be our last!
The game itself was very exciting. The Canes were actually down but came back to win 5-2...the last of the two goals the Canes scored were scored in the last 2 1/2 minutes of the game. Their first three goals were all made by Eric Staal. It is called a hat trick when the same person scores three goals in one game...immediately after his third goal people started throwing their hats on the ice. There were probably around 100...we wondered what happened to those hats after they got picked up off the ice...who knows?!

Ava is ready to cheer the Canes on to victory!

Mommy and Ava

Brook, Emet and Ava

Chelsea, Brittney, Emet and Jamie

Our Little Man

Go Canes, Go!!!

Our Family

My kids were so tired, but of course, they fought sleep!

All By Himself

Last week was an eventful week!!! Emet is sitting up on his own now. As of Wednesday, he has semi-conquered the art of sitting alone. He is stable and can sit but will sometimes still lose his balance...so I have to keep an eye on him. Here is a glimpse of Emet's first time sitting alone!
Ava is enjoying the fact that Emet can sit up. They can interact more now and she thinks he is ready to play with her!

Happy To You

Quite possibly one of the cutest things Ava has ever said to me is "happy to you Mommy!" She leaves out the birthday, but it was so sweet to hear those words from her today! We had a great day today. Gymnastics, naps, Granna's visit, shopping at Southpoint and dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Birthdays don't get much better!
It was great to have Mom here today to celebrate with us. We had a nice dinner and of course, cheesecake! Ava was excited about going to The Cheesecake Factory for Mommy's birthday. Earlier she said she wanted cake with cheese...I think she was a little confused!
After dinner we came home and Jon gave me a present that was not only from him, but all of our family (both sides)! Thanks everybody! He surprised me with a flash for my camera! I had no idea and was thrilled! Now, I have some studying to do...I've got to learn how to use this new flash! What a great gift!

Dinner at The Cheesecake Factory

Ava was excited about giving gifts...she gave me some gum and gummy worms!

Quite the little helper!

Socks, Crocs and Sitting Up

This morning I was getting ready to take Ava to gymnastics. She was dressed and ready to go except for her shoes and socks. I told her to go and get her shoes and socks out of her closet. She came back with her red crocs and tan socks...which did not match her purple sweatsuit. She put them on herself and pulled her socks up to her knees. When I asked her who wore their socks like that she said "Daddy and Papa." How cute...she wants to be like Daddy and Papa.
We have been working with Emet to try to get him to sit up. He did a great job day today sitting with the support of the Boppy. He also enjoyed playing with Ava's ball!

Get Up Kiddos

We all know that kids will repeat anything they hear. Our little Ava is no different! Jon and I pray with her each night before going to bed. She gets under her covers and we each lay on either side of her while we pray. Right after we said "Amen" the other night, Ava immediately looked at us and said "get up kiddos." We got a good laugh out of this!

Operation Christmas Child

We are blessed with a wonderful daughter. We love her in so many ways. One thing I love to see in Ava is her giving spirit. Last night we took her shopping to buy things for Operation Christmas Child. OCC is designed to send gifts to needy children all over the world. As we were walking through the store Ava picked out so many things that we couldn't get them all. She knew she was shopping for someone else and it was a joy to watch her pick out things she would like knowing they were going to a little girl in another country! We packed our box tonight and will take it with us to church in the morning.