Spa Day at the Marine's

We have a special drawer downstairs that has some of Maddie's favorite things....Things like nail polish, crayons, construction paper and a "ped egg".  She will pull her shoes and socks off and hand me the polish or the "ped egg" several times a day.  Well, Grandmother came for a visit, and Maddie decided she needed a little TLC, too. I don't think Grandmother knew what was happening when Maddie began taking her shoes
 and socks off......

After she finished her feet, she thought her knees needed a little work, too!



Helping Grandmother put her shoes back on (without the socks)!

Now, she decides to do a litle walking in Grandmother's shoes!

There's never a dull moment when she's here, and we love it!

Hanging With Uncle C

Uncle C and Maddie enjoyed spending a little time together this weekend.  She is saying "C" all the time now.  Every now and then we hear something that sounds a little like "Uncle".  Either way they had a ball being together!


Uncle C got a few turns helping her up and down the hill................

Brooke and Caleb watch as she plays with her sidewalk chalk

She loved having her body traced....

Coloring with Uncle C

Brooke and Uncle C leaving to go hunting.......

And on a different note-Marnetta came by bearing gifts. 

Maddie got a precious outfit.....

 And we got this super delicious chocolate chip pound cake!!!  Thanks so much!!

We had another great weekend.  Hope you did too...................

Merry Christmas!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa made a quick trip to Aliceville, and luckily Maddie was here. We ventured down to have her picture taken with him.  That proved to be easier said than done.  She liked him, but would NOT sit in his lap.  After an hour of trying, we gave up.  However, I want to say that both Santa and the wonderful photographer, Ashley were so very patient and never gave up.  Ashley has been taking a break from photography since her daughter was born.  She does a terrific job taking pictures.  Below is a brief example of our attempts.  She may not be in his lap, but we definetly made some memories!

We took Santa ornaments....

We took him stuffed animals.......

We looked longingly out the door.........

But this is as close as she would get......

Nevertheless, we promise she's been a good girl Santa. 

Merry Christmas!!

Friendship Circle

A friend is one who strengthens you with prayers,

blesses you with love and encourages you with hope.

I love our Friendship Circle group from church.  We only officially meet 4 times a year, but we have such a great time when we get together.  I hosted the Christmas Party again this year.  Everyone brings a choice of appetizers, and we have an ornament swap and devotion.  If you hear any vicious rumors about me stealing ornaments during Dirty Santa, let me assure you they are all lies.......Lauri is actually the villian this year.  She stole the ornament from me that I stole from Phyllis that she stole from Sarah - or something like that. 

Everyone brought something delicious to eat!

Susie, Cathy, & Virginia

Lauri and Phyllis

 We took care of business, and had our Christmas devotion.  Now let the game begin!! Celeste drew the wonderful last number. But, she was so nice about it.  I'm going to have to give her lessons on how to play!!

 Lauri opening her 1st ornament.  I think Sarah took this one.

I think this is her second one.   Guess who ended up with this one?

Oops!  This one had a little accident!

Lori had 3 ornaments in her bag!!

                                                              Susie also got 3 ornaments!

Phyllis actually took the ornament from Lauri that she brought. 

She said she only took it back because it was broken.......

                                                           And Lauri gets another one.......

                                                                    Enjoying the fun!

Notice the ornament Lauri actually got to keep.  Guess who she took that from?

                   

  (The last picture was taken with the timer on, and it was a little blurry.)


Thanks for coming ladies.  I had a ball.  If you weren't here, we missed you!  Merry Christmas!

Making the Most of Our Time

We pack as much fun as possible into our visits with Maddie.  Below are just a few of the fun things we did on her last visit.

 
We put on Nana's sunglasses and act goofy.....


We put on a precious dress and go TRY to have our picture taken with Santa.  (More on this later.  Also, this picture was taken before we fixed her hair.)

We ride the horse-AKA Pop!!

And have a ball on that horsey!!

We bundle up and go down the hill lots of times!!

 Giving Pop a helping hand.

So much fun!

Pop teaches me how to blow a whistle!

We go out to eat!

Nana and I paint ornaments! (And ourselves)

And we play until we literally fall asleep in our tracks!!

Lindsey and Josh have another wedding next weekend in Gulf Shores, so guess who's coming back?? 

Merry Christmas!