Stories that I don't want to forget...

~ Driving around town are some of our best conversations. We were picking up Girl Scout cookies from a friend's house and they wanted to learn about girl/boy scouts. When I explained that our friend Reese was a "Daisy" girl scout, Abigail said that it reminded her of Daisy Duck. Then she asked, "What are the boy scouts called, Goofies?"

~ Again, driving around town, Abs asked what God's last name was and George answered "Holy Spirit". Ha!

~Saying goodbye to our beloved neighbor and G&A's adoptive grandparent Mark Lambert has been gut-wrenching. If I ever wondered if the kiddos understand death, I think these two illustrations sum it up.

After we told Abigail that Pa Mark was dying in the hospital, she quietly sobbed in a way I have only seen a few times. After the tears slowed, she said so sweetly, "Mama, what is Nana Millie going to do? She will be so lonely." Ugh.

George shows his feelings differently than his sister. He made a card for me to take to Mark in the hospital and when I questioned his choice to glue two strips of paper to either side of the card, he replied "those are the wings for the card; it's a flying card that will go to Heaven with Pa Mark." Wow.

Later, he wanted to talk about Pa Mark and expressed his sadness. He asked if we could put flowers on his grave to say goodbye (our family did this nearly a year ago when we buried Oma). Before, I had hesitation of taking them to the funeral, but this clearly shows that attending will help him to have closure with his Pa Mark.

To end with a funny story...
~ Me to Abigail as she chooses her clothes for the day, already dressed in her dance costume: "I'm thinking you need to put on..."(pause for contemplation of something to cover her legs)
Abigail: "High heels?"
Oie.

Going backwards into Fall...

Glimpses of this past fall activities...couldn't let the memories slip away unrecognized...they were too fun!

Love our little Cleveland County Fair.

Petting Zoo, George holding a baby chick.
Abs with a sweet baby bunny.
George with the much handled bunny.

They still love fire trucks!
Miss Dare-devil...front row, no hands!

Mr. Brave rode this all by himself, go George!!
Nascar "Don Deere" Tractors!


Making homemade pizzas and sporting their cool new aprons...thanks Aunt Nay Nay!

Both George & Abigail played soccer this Fall on the YMCA Blue Jays team. George loved having his sissy on the team and Abigail...well, let's just say that she played so she could eat team snacks!

Time out Hugs with favorite twin friends Asher & Cache.
George steals the ball!
This was Abigail's preferred spot during soccer games!
But she rallied and got in the middle of the mix!
This is hilarious as she would sometimes only play if she could be Coach Matt's "helper." She liked being in a position of "power." Boy, are we in trouble! ha!
Scrambling with friend/teammate Jake Chapman.
We had the longest drought and hottest Summer on Oklahoma records. So when this wet stuff fell from the sky, George was super excited to put on his new rainboots and use his Spiderman birthday umbrella! It was barely a trickle...we had to search for puddles to jump in.
TEXAS/ OU weekend!!! Grammy & Grandpa came up to watch the game with us! Definitely a house divided....

George & Abigail went on their first field trip with their preschool to McFarlin's Pumpkin Patch and had snacks and story time. They got to pick a pumpkin and paint it back at preschool. What fun with their Pumpkin Shell friends!


Last soccer game of the Fall season. George gave Coach Matt a high-five after scoring his first goal!! Yay George!

Dancing a little jig mid-field.

Our cheering section...sweet friends Travis, Suzanne, Campbell & Hudson Brown, Daddy, Casey & Leah Wall- Pollan, and Nana and Pop.
Lovin' on her Pop.
Nana came out shortly after her shoulder surgery to root for her two favorite soccer players.
Lining up for congratulating the other team.
Sideline wrestling with A&C.
Proud Abigail to receive her medal.
And Happy Mr. George to receive his medal.
YMCA Blue Jays Fall 2011.

George & Abs had a blast at their buddy Hudson's 4th bday party. I caught these two off sneaking a peek at the birthday loot!
Riding Rowdy! They loved the horses.
One of our favorite things to do in the fall is go to TG Farms. They have cool slides & hay rolls to climb on, a petting zoo, hayride, & pumpkin patch. And Abigail had to wear her Halloween socks.
The Pollans came with us, and the kids loved feeding the animals.

Yes, George has a thing for tractors.
"Mommy, it's Snoofy!"

More fall pics to come later....

Deck the Halls with the Martin Mob...fa la la la la...

I am basically postponing the Fall and posting Christmas 2011 because it's seems more fun at the present moment. I'll go back later for record-keeping purposes....

Right before Christmas, we had a great playdate with our sweet friend Camden. This picture was just too precious!


We hosted the Martin Family this year...our first Christmas with everyone together in many, many years. Mom, Dad, Sherry, Doug, Laura, Kevin, Cliff, Evie, Kirby, Brad, Carrie, Matt, George, & Abigail. And Tori, Boomer, Anna & Louise. We had a house-full but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way! The cousins loved being together...our house was VERY LOUD for 4 days!

Started off the vacay with a trip to OKC Snow Tubing at the Ballpark. The big and little twins and I rode the tubes while everyone else watched from the stands in the warm sunshine.

Here comes our little dare-devil, backwards of course...

Yes, we were the parents that forgot their coats, so we improvised!

Even Mr. George took part this year, and LOVED IT!


Whee Evie!
And you know I can't pass up the fun!

We attended Christmas Eve services at McFarlin after Chef Matt's big jambalaya dinner and then returned to our house for opening Christmas pajamas from Aunt GoGo and Uncle Kevin.

Off to bed....then to awaken to SANTA!

Abigail's response was hilarious, totally zombie-like, repeating the mantra "Santa, Santa" as she spied her new toys from Santa, including her requested Disney Baby Princess Tiana with a carrier! George jumped right in with excitement, immediately playing with his requested Shark Ship! He loved that Santa put the diver in the belly of the shark! They both couldn't believe how Santa knew they were almost out of toothpaste, needed new toothbrushes, and that they loved Pez. Too cute!

Nana & Pop gave Miss A a princess nightgown & slippers that she wore for 3 days straight. Had to beg her to put on regular clothes to leave the house...

We all received lots and lots of treasured gifts this year, more than we could count! With 14 people in the house, our cozy little living room was covered with mounds of great gifts, wrapping paper and smiles and laughter! We ate yummy food all weekend, napped with full bellies, and enjoyed each other's company while the kids all enjoyed their new toys. George was a bit obsessed with the boxes that his toys came in...to date, he is still stockpiling them in his room and will not throw them away. Yikes! And Pop had the most fun of anyone with assembling the toys....

George's new Thomas Zipline Train set

Even Boomer was exhausted after all the fun!

Brad illustrates the "peacefulness" of the season!

Tech junkies Cliffy and Doug with their new grown-up toys.

On the day after Christmas, Brad departed for Houston and Sherry & Doug left for Lubbock, but the rest of us drove down to Pauls Valley and shot skeet over the Washita River! Nothing like blowing up a few things after lots of family fun! Nana and Aunt GoGo sat/slept in the car while Pop, Kevin, Matt, me & all the kids went down to the river bank. George & Abigail loved exploring and shooting their first shotguns (with adult help, of course!). It was nice to be at the river and after covering ourselves in Oklahoma red mud, we visited Aunt Bernice in Pauls Valley (don't worry, we left our boots at the door!).

I love this picture....

Christmas has always been a special holiday for us, but since George & Abigail were born, it has taken on a whole, much more intimate meaning. It is hard to imagine that God gave his only-born son to live and die for our sins. But God also gave Matt and I TWO gifts on Christmas, forever reminding us of his grace and insurmountable love. Christmas will never be the same for us again....and we will praise His name every year!