First 100

When a new Chick-fil-a opens, it's a big deal to be the first 100 customers.  We found this out a few days ago.  I'm the one in-line under the big green arrow.

We found out that if you're willing to show up at 6am the day prior, you'd be entered into a drawing for 52 free meals (one per week.)  Since our oldest didn't have school, she wanted to do this.  I agreed to stand in line with her.

Apparently, luck wasn't on her side.  Out of 136 in line, only 100 names and 10 alternate names were drawn and chosen to camp out all night in 10 degree weather.  We did receive 4 free sandwich coupons for our trouble of waiting an hour, but I'd say we were the lucky ones. 

Christmas Spirit

There are lots of Santa's this time of year who relay the messages back to the North Pole.  But every now and then you come across the real Santa, and we were blessed to see him when he stopped in South Carolina.

Only my girls were willing to talk with him, so they received a special ornament.

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Birthday #8

Our little one had her special day that is always 12 months in the making!  This year was a little backwards in how we did things, but all the components of our family tradition were there.

We began her celebration with a party of girls coming over from 1-5pm.  The movie was at 3pm, so we did cake and presents first before heading to the theater.  It was a LOUD drive to the movies and back, but they all seemed to have fun.

Next on the birthday agenda was a family outing.  She chose Outback despite her siblings trying to convince her to go elsewhere.

That night (before her birthday), we decided to open family presents since her brother had a wrestling match the next day.  She loved her birthday shirt, earrings, cards, Justice trinkets, and a big stuffed animal from Frozen.  Thank you for all the wonderful, sweet gifts!

On her real birthday morning, we made her breakfast in bed with waffles, fruit, and milk.  Look at who photo bombed the pic!  Happy Birthday little one!

Flower Girl

Our youngest was asked to be the flower girl at her cousin's wedding!  At first, she was excited, but then became shy as it got closer.  After the rehearsal, though, her confidence grew and she was great.

First, we had to be at the church by 10am for the hair stylist.

Then prior to the ceremony when the coast was clear of the groom, the bridal party took pictures outside.

The little one looks so cute.

 She said she saw the bride and groom kiss.  They kissed a bunch during pictures. 

Back at the reception, our son had a great time with his cousins.  He was recruited to be an usher during the ceremony.

The next day, we enjoyed a walk along the River Walk.  It was a wonderful quick trip to see family.

Thanksgiving 2014

My youngest "indian" helped set the table before our Thanksgiving meal.  

Since we weren't quite ready to eat, the kids occupied themselves by decorating a gingerbread house.  It looked so good that we ate it for dessert an hour later!

The next day, we put up the tree and got the house ready for Christmas.  Although our youngest is almost 8 yrs old, she still loves to play with the nativity set.

Wonderful Advent blessings!

Wrestling Tournament

Our son decided to try wrestling this fall.  Although a freshman and new to the sport, he made varsity.  As his mom, I feel a little better that there are weight classes, but he'll be still be up against more experienced wrestlers.

The conditioning and meets are a great outlet for teenagers since they come home exhausted!  The coaches are also fabulous about building strong character values.

State Meet

Last weekend was the SC State Cross Country meet.  Our school had both our boys and girls varisty qualify for this race in Columbia for Division 2A.

The gun went off.....

The sandy hills were unexpected for our oldest as she struggled to keep up with those more experienced with this course.  We later found out that spiked shoes was the key to performing well.

Our daughter finished 27th overall, and the team came in 6th place!