December Fun...Part 2

Another fun excursion we took in Gatlinburg was to visit the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokey's. The kids love going and to be honest, so do the adults!








When David was growing up and his family went to Gatlinburg they would go to this little sandwich shop in The Village and ever since we got married, we make sure we go everytime we visit Gatlinburg. Hopefully our kids will be able to take their families too. The shop is called The Hofbrauhaus Restaurant and it sits on top of The Cheese Cupboard in The Village. They have the best sandwiches. I always get the turkey and David always gets the Reuben.



This picture went in our Christmas cards this year!



We decided to drive up to Ober Gatlinburg instead of riding the tram because it was really cold. There was a lot of snow up on top of the mountain but the kids couldn't really play in it because they had the ski lift closed so we just looked at all the pretty snow.



The morning that we were getting ready to leave, I opened the door to our room because I was hot so the kids decided to go out and take a look at the scenery. We kept hearing them laugh and asked them what they were doing....




...they were watching the "steam" come out of their mouths. SOOO CUTE how their little minds work!

The city we live in had their annual Christmas parade and I love it that they do it at night. All of the surrounding cities do theirs in the morning and to me, you can't see the lights on the floats as good as you can at night. Here are a few pics from that night.











Yes....she was actually dressed like this for a Chirstmas parade. She was promoting a "ball" that our city was going to be hosting at the library...needless to say..we skipped that "ball".

For those of you who know me and know what state I live in...only in our state would you find monster trucks in a Christmas parade. Still not sure what they were promoting....if anything at all.



Here comes Santa, what the kids were waiting for...

December Fun..part 1

I wanted to start out by saying thank you so much for your prayers regarding my grandmother. She has had some rough days the last week but one good thing, I actually got to talk to her and hear her tell me that she loves me. She hasn't been able to hardly talk but one day last week, she was having a good day and was actually able to sit up in her wheel chair and talk to everyone. I was so excited. Please continue to keep her in your prayers as every day is a struggle in itself, but God is good!

WOW! I thought November was a busy month, but I think December has been more busy! We started out the month by taking a trip to Gatlinburg. I highly recommend you going to Gatlinburg the week after Thanksgiving! The traffic coming out of Gatlinburg was horrific, but for us going towards Gatlinburg, it was a breeze. I'm not kidding, the traffic was backed up all the way from the interstate entrance ramp in Sevierville, all the way through Pigeon Forge and into Gatlinburg. I am soo glad we didn't have to sit in that traffic. It was a great time to go because the hotels were extra cheap which allowed for us to stay an extra day than planned and we didn't have to wait in line for anything. Also the stroll up and down the streets of Gatlinburg was nice because there was hardly anyone there so we didn't have to worry about holding on to dear life to our kids because of all the people. Our first day there was a little rough because it had rained on us the whole way there and the kids were couped up in the van and unable to release their pint up energy so when we got there things didn't seem to get any better but God was good and answered my prayers that the rest of the trip would be wonderful! We had a blast! It snowed while we were there and for some reason, they have BIG chunks of snowflakes that fall...not like our itty bitty flurries we sometimes get around here.

The picture below is my favorite picture from our trip!



Boogs was helping daddy drive through Cades Cove.

We saw lots of deer including an 8 point and 10 point bucks. That was neat!

The snow was absolutely beautiful and we even saw some wild turkey's.




After we left Cades Cove, we decided to take the kids to the Dinosaur Museum. The boys love dinosaurs so we thought that would be something neat to do. It was interesting to go through, but I don't think we will spend the money to do it again.






This next picture was taken outside of the Knife Works store. We parked right outside of the front door and were covered in snow by the time we got to the door. Notice the flakes and how big they are...it was so beautiful coming down!


Thank goodness for hotels with indoor pools!!


In case your're wondering, Meggy was not crying. That's just how she chose to smile at that moment.

OOHHHHH and I really started to feel the baby move on this trip! That was exciting! I tried to explain to the kids how it feels....by holding up my hand with fingers closed and palm facing my other hand. Then I would lightly flick my palm with my fingers from the other hand...the kids loved it and just giggled! I can't wait until they can actually see and feel the baby move! :)

Urgent Prayer Request & Thankful Thursday

I would like to ask you to please keep my grandmother in your prayers. It is my mom's mom. She fell a week or two ago and completely shattered the ball part of her hip and because she is 94 years old (95 on Dec. 27) the doctor's advised that they would not do surgery. So she has basically been in the bed and in pain ever since. She is not doing well and my uncle and aunt(whom she lives with) thinks that pneumonia has set in. Things are looking grim and my mom has gone to be with her.

I know that God is the giver and taker of life and everything happens in His perfect timing, but I would just ask that you pray for my grandmother to be peaceful and pain free and that God would show mercy and go ahead and let her go home instead of continuing to let her suffer. And also please keep my mom's family in your prayers as they struggle through this difficult time. Thank you in advance for your sweet prayers!

Thankful Thursday~Now for the exciting news. Boogs (my youngest who has showed absolutely NO interest in using the potty) started pee-peeing in the potty yesterday!!!!!!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am about this. I have been asking God to please help him be interested and at first it was a struggle but he has been using it ever since. Of course we still have the "poo-poo in the potty" issue that we haven't come across yet, but hopefully he'll be interested in obtaining that goal as well. I have wanted to get him potty trained before the baby comes because I would really like to have only one in diapers as I have done the multiple children in diapers thing before and it's NOT fun! But with him not showing any interest and pitching a fit every time I made him go in there, I knew he wasn't ready and I didn't want to scar him forever of learning how to use the potty, so I haven't pressed the issue. BUT PRAISE THE LORD, he started yesterday!!!! I am hoping this new found independence will continue and the training part will be quick and a breeze. So, please say a prayer for us in that manner as well.

I went to the doctor on Tuesday and got to hear the baby's heartbeat briefly. It wasn't long enough for her to be able to record the beats to see what the heart rate was, but that was ok with me. Just to hear it was exciting because of not being able to hear it on my last visit. We get to go back on January 6th to find out if it's a boy or girl. I am so excited and can't wait!!!!

I still have pictures of things that we have done this month to post, but just haven't had the time. It has been a very busy month so far and the rest of the month promises to be just as busy. I'll post soon though!!

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family! :)

Loves!