Monster Jam!

Jeremy and I gave Thomas tickets to the Monster Jam for Christmas. He has been so excited about this! He slept in his monster truck pajamas last night, and woke up with a huge smile on his face. I think he was a little overwhelmed by all the trucks. He didn't know what to look at first, but eventually decided he liked looking at the model trucks the most. I think he did better since they were more his size!
He brought his Lightning McQueen Pit Pass from Santa to get us down on the floor before the show. He was so intent on gaining access for all of us with his pass. :) He didn't understand why they didn't ask to see it when we walked in. I love his heart!



It took some cajoling to convince Thomas to get on the ATV, then he was sad that his hands didn't reach the handlebars.


Thank you, Shawn, for the great headphones. They worked so well! We were only three rows back, and it was LOUD! Thomas waved his checkered flag and "hollered" like the show relied on it. He truly believed the announcer when he said, "The louder you yell, the higher the trucks jump!"




Shawn and Lindsey sent this amazing Georgia Bulldog monster truck for Thomas to have at his first Monster Jam! He grinned from ear to ear when Steve and Debbie handed it to him before we went to our seats!

Playing Together at Home

Thomas and Lily are really starting to play together a lot. It is so much fun to watch them work on puzzles together, play babies, chase each other in circles, and drive cars side by side.





We went to preschool storytime at a local elementary school the other day. It was great! They read three books about mice, watched a video, made fingerprint mice, and got these hats...

Lily pretty much wants to wear the hat every minute that she is awake.




Asa loaned us some headphones for the Monster Jam. We decided to test them out on the travel DVD player. Of course, Lily had to get in on the action if her big brother was doing it. She sat so still and just looked back and forth between the screen and Thomas...constantly giggling...


This is the first fort Thomas has ever built...


Lily still wants to drive the Ford. For now she is content to pretend she is driving when the battery is out.

Snow Day!!!!

Yes, that's right, Florence actually got snow! And a good bit of it! By the end of it all we probably had about an inch and a half of accumulation. It was the first time both kids have seen enough snow to play in here. Thomas has seen it in Montana, but not really enough for him to remember.

After many layers, rain boots, and a very generous donation of gloves and a coat from the Millers, we headed out to play. Lily loved looking at the snow from the steps and sidewalk, but wasn't too keen on playing in it until she saw Abi and Thomas making snow angels. Then, she was willing to venture into the grass. They played for over an hour, went through one pants change each due to wet snow, and had lots of giggles!







Thomas and Erika built this great snowman! Don't you love the eyes made of Matchbox cars? Erika has much more snowman building expertise than the rest of us - she is from PA. Which also explains where the sled came from. Thank you for being our muscle, Mr. Lee!


Can you tell Lily was beyond cold, and ready to go inside?

Super snow-drenched pants and gloves make for one frigid boy...

Faith's first time playing with the snow. She only stared at it in Pennsylvania.

From the Mouths of Babes....

Grab your tissues….I’m going to share an amazing moment with Thomas…

In case you haven't heard, Asa's cancer has spread from his lungs to many of his bones. They are no longer treating it, and we are all still adjusting to this devastating news and trying to find which way is up. I thought I would let Thomas in on things a little tonight, and here is what he let me in on...

So, we obviously pray for Asa every night during prayer time with Thomas. Tonight he asked God to please help Papa. After he finished his prayers, I asked why we pray for Papa.
Thomas: Because his lungs are sick.
Me: And his bones are sick, now. They have cancer, too.
T: Why do they have cancer?
M: We don’t know. Sometimes people get sick even when they don’t do anything wrong.
T: Like when I don’t eat anything bad, but still throw up sometimes, and get a stomach bug.
M: Yes, but you get better when you have an upset tummy.
T: Papa isn’t going to get better? Will he always have cancer?
M: Yes.
T: Even in heaven?
M: Well, no, he will be completely healthy when he gets to heaven.
T: Then, that isn’t forever, Mommy. He will be better when he gets there.
M: (somehow managing to hold back tears) You’re right, buddy. What do you think Papa will do when he gets to heaven?
T: Run around and play. Just some boy things.
M: Do you think he will hang out with some old Georgia football players?
T: Yes, he’ll play football with them.
M: Do you think he will bowl with God, and it will sound like thunder down here to us?
T: What?!
And, from there he digressed to a discussion of thunder, lightning, tornadoes, and Lightning McQueen.




I thought this was an amazing reminder that Asa will not ALWAYS be sick, as we sometimes think of it, he will soon be healthy and whole. Not a perfect consolation for those of us that don’t get to go, yet, but some solace. What an amazing lesson from a four-year-old that loves his Papa, and is excited to know that he won’t, in fact, have cancer FOREVER.

Lily at Work and at Play

Lily was very excited to wear her big brother's work gloves to help pick up pine cones.

Can you tell she's proud of herself?



She gets upset when she realizes she can't drive the Ford - one, because she's way too young; and two, because she can't reach the pedals. We can sometimes distract her with the ATV, though.

Thomas Rides His Bike!

Thomas has really started riding his Cars bike from Santa lately. He loves it, but does still ride a few times then decide he wants to drive his new Ford. We're working on it...





He looks so big, doesn't he?

New Year's Eve

We were having so much fun in our insulated world, that we decided to make New Year's Eve a family affair. Jeremy and I took the kids to Stefano's for an early dinner. They were so well-behaved, ate a ton of food, colored, then got party hats and horns at the end of the meal! They were so excited about this - especially since the waitress unknowingly brought their favorite colors.



Then, we came home, put pjs on with hats, and headed outside to watch Jeremy light bottle rockets in the backyard. The kids loved Lily's first firework show!


After bedtime for them, Jeremy and I watched movies and hung out.
I hope you all had an amazing New Year's Eve with the ones you love!
Two days later, the party hats went on again, and the kids took turns calling Trace to tell him Happy 7th Birthday!

Back at Home

We really enjoyed having Jeremy home with us between Christmas and New Year's. The kids enjoyed the crazy warm weather while we cleaned out the garage. They rode in the Ford, Lily drove the ATV, they cut the grass with the bubble mower, and they turned fun noodles into car washing utensils and pressure washers. It was great!



Thomas played with his dealership a lot, while Lily played with his voice changer fire helmet and water hose.

Christmas in Augusta

All of our Christmas parties in Augusta were different, and all amazing! It was so great to have such variety, and such fun family time!

First Christmas Party in Augusta - Kim's House


We went to Kim and Stan's house Friday with Dad and Bailey. Favorite gift for Thomas? Lightning McQueen rainboots!

Lily's favorite gift? Cardboard box!

Food: T-Bones - can't beat a great steak, appetizers, and sampling everyone else's fare! Funniest moment: Watching the boys try to be as excited about opening clothes as they were about opening toys.

Second Christmas Party - Coni's House

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures. I guess we were just having too much fun to pick up the camera! Aunt Les, Rachel, Bailey, Coni, David, Chloe, Abigail, Stan, Kim, Trace, Davis, Jeremy, myself, and our kiddos all got together for doughnuts, gifts, and play time. Favorite gift for Thomas - UGA clipboard with Cars pencils. Favorite gift for Lily - princess clipboard that she can 'olor (color) on. Funniest moment: seven kids eating doughnuts - some licked off just the icing, some inhaled theirs, and others only ate a little because they had to get back to playing.

Third Christmas Party - Steve and Debbie's

The remaining part of Saturday was spent at the Merzlak house. We hung out, drank mimosas, and snacked while we waited for Lily to wake up from her nap. She fiiiiinally woke up so we could go downstairs and open gifts. Lily actually opened all her gifts herself! She has turned into quite the pro. It was great to have time to hang out with our family, open gifts, eat, and not be rushed. I think the ideal way to spend Christmas is with one family per day. We are trying to teach the kids to have grateful hearts, and I read somewhere that making them take turns opening gifts will help with patience and gratefulness. I definitely think it is a great idea! They were genuinely excited for each other at all the houses we visited.
Favorite gift for Lily - clothes! Everytime she opened clothes, she would grab them up, hug them, and say "want it"! Scary, but funny!



Favorite gift for Thomas - Ford F-150 - personalized blue with blue flames and his name!


Funniest moment - Lily opening her clothes!
Food - ham, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, pumpkin pie, povatica

Fourth Christmas Party - Mom and Asa's house

Mom got the stomach flu in the middle of the night between Christmas Eve and Christmas day, so we had to reschedule for Sunday. I think everyone was much more rested this way, though. We met mid-morning at Mom's with Kim and her family (Robbie, Kelli, Walker, and baby boy on the way - surprise - they're due May 27 were with Kelli's family in Disney World) for gifts then out to lunch. It was a great time!

We love you, Papa!!


Favorite toy for Thomas - Publix container truck
Favorite toy for Lily - the digital camera Thomas got - she ran around telling everyone to say "Cheeeese!"

Funniest moment - Davis telling everyone to pose for their pictures. "Now, Thomas, hold your truck right here. Now move it like this so it looks like it is bump-bumping along the road!"
Second runner-up - Kim giving me my cheerleading trophy from 1982.

Food - Delicious Mellow Mushroom pizza and meatball appetizer. Thomas dropped his brand new snow globe on the table and broke it, though. He was devastated! Thankfully, Gran had a back-up in her gift closet.