the wii

look at that form!

playing some tennis with daddy after church

loving the balance board

oops...might need to hold on to the controller

we are slightly addicted to the wii around here...john is officially a pro at tennis and i just reached pro status on bowling. aren't you super impressed??? anyway, we've had a lot of fun. apparently, all this playing is rubbing off on susanna :)

love it!!!!!!!!

at pickup today from school, caroline's teacher mrs. kampen leaned in the car to tell me a cute story. she said they've been studying the book of ruth this week so today she had a little quiz and asked the kids who ruth ended up marrying. she said she could see the little wheels turning in caroline's head and caroline proudly answered "bowtie"!!! i died laughing!!! how cute is that? for those of you who know caroline well, she always gets name/words mixed up and it is so cute and keeps us laughing. this one is one of the best and i had to write it down!

love these conversations....

caroline: do you love Jesus, mommy?

mommy: what do you think?
caroline: i think you love Him a lot
mommy: you're right, i love Him more than anything
caroline: me, too...i love Him so much, more than the whole world. i love His ceration (she meant creation, but it came out "ceration")
mommy: i do, too. He did such a great job!
caroline: yes He did!!

new year's at the fortney farm...and the end of all these chrismas posts :)

susanna's close up :)

susanna's version of four wheeling

this look is so caroline...my sweet baby!

aren't they sweet?

this is a more accurate picture!

susanna with her fav part of the farm, the dogs...petting max

the men of the farm

at a gas station stop on the drive home

we spent new year's up at the farm with the fortneys...it was so relaxing and fun! we had tons of yummy food, i swear i eat twice as much there for some reason :) we enjoyed cozy fires, lots of playing inside and outside and lots of sweet time together. john is most relaxed and content outdoors and doing something physical so the farm is like heaven to him. he can hike, go four wheeling, chop wood, etc...to his heart's content. i can do all that, too, or lay on the couch wrapped in a cozy blanket by the fire reading a magazine!! this wrapped up our time in georgia...a perfect ending to a wonderful christmas!

shaw cousin fun

caroline and grammie baking cookies together

some of their beautiful cookies :)

hanging out at laurel park

andrew and susanna - she plopped right down in his lap

cute pic, but i could so tell she wanted to get in that water

sliding

my sis and her kids came and spent the day at my mom and dad's between christmas and new year's while i was still in town with the girls. it was so nice to hang out and enjoy the beautiful sunshine at laurel park and get some play time in with the cousins! after the park, my parents took sarah, luke and caroline to the movies where they all stuffed themselves with popcorn and had a blast. kristen and i took the babies home to nap and got some sister time in, too...we were both so tired we pretty much fell asleep on the couch talking. christmas with our 5 kids wore us out!!! the next day grammie baked some cookies with caroline, who is always ready to help out in the kitchen :)

taliaferro christmas

mimi with her grandkids and great grandkids...missing only 2, ashley and kelli

double trouble...andrew and susanna (love their dirty shirts)

playing on the trampoline - mikey, will, anna, sarah and caroline

susanna on the swingset

LOVE the smile and the fat rolls :)

susanna got to play on the trampoline, too!

the saturday after christmas, we celebrated with the taliaferros, my mom's side of the family, at my aunt kate and uncle billy's house in kennesaw. their house is an absolute dream for kids (and adults for that matter)!!! we decided the kids had enough toys so we just enjoyed an awesome lunch together and lots of fun and playing. once again, i was lazy and didn't take enough pictures of everyone hence the few shots above. the highlight of the day was that my mimi was feeling well enough to join us!!!! she is in a nursing home now and the physical energy it takes for an outing is so exhausting for her. she was such a trooper, though, and hung in there with all the chaos. it was such a joy and blessing to have her there. just her presence made it so very special. we love you, mimi!!!!

fortney christmas

susanna hanging out in anna's infant carseat

the dinner spread

a little excited about presents

she got ruthie!

and susanna got her own bitty baby

laying one on her :)

danny and his girls

she LOVED her lawn mower

could those eyes get any bigger?

self picture by kaitlin

sittin' in caroline's doll hair styling chair

let's sing happy birthday to Jesus again :)

abby wii snowboarding

caroline cheering for her!

after a full day, we made our way to the lake to celebrate with the fortneys on christmas night! we had a delicious dinner and then it was on to presents...the kids held strong for a long time opening and then went back and forth between playing with new toys and opening gifts :) we stayed up late and enjoyed being together and celebrating the birth of our Savior! john got wii and wii fit so that was hooked up in no time flat and he disappeared playing. eventually, we all piled into joyce and sonny's bedroom to play, laugh and cheer each other on! thank you joyce and sonny for a wonderful christmas!!!!!