Extended Family Christmas'!

I know I know...I've been in a blog funk and posting ALL the pictures from Christmas has felt like the dreaded biology term paper that is looming over me. That coupled with the fact that my laptop just died on me a couple days after Christmas has left a few holes in the pictures I took for Christmas. For the sake of having a complete family record I may add a few pictures once we can retrieve all the files from my old laptop, but for now here goes!

The first weekend in December we headed down to my sweet Grandma Ruthie's house at the Lake for a wild day of Christmas. I say wild because there were over 20 of us plus 5 kiddos all under the age of 4!!! Pure pandemonium, but all in all a wonderful time!

Left to Right
Caleb, Carson, Will, Reagan and Miss Lucy!

What I LOVE about this picture is that we have this exact same picture on the same swing with all the parents of these kiddos which is so neat!

The next extended family Christmas was on the 18th at Aunt Virginia's house in Burlington. Also a lively crowd and a super fun day of yummy food and wonderful time with family. Will especially had fun since Aunt Virginia has a horse!

What a great time we had celebrating with both of our families and how blessed we are to have both of our families in state!

Picking out a Christmas Tree

So the Saturday after Thanksgiving the three of us set out first thing in the morning to the NC Farmers Market to pick out our Christmas tree. This year I was super excited for all things Christmas because last year the whole Holiday season was a blur with having a newborn who was NOT sleeping for us. It literally was a haze for both Zak and I. That said, this year I wanted to start early and soak up every minute of it.

We were overwhelmed by all the vendors at the market and so we quickly went booth to booth to price compare. Quickly, we found a great deal on a 8 foot tree and headed home.

My attempt at getting a family shot....swing and a miss! 

Bass Lake...

Earlier in December, we set out as a fam to Bass Lake in Holly Springs to take a few pictures in hopes of getting a good Christmas card picture with the help of our dear friend Carrie. Unfortunately, all the pictures Miss Carrie took were on our laptop that dies on us this past weekend so I only have the ones from our camera. Unfortunately, with the wind and the fact that everything was overcast and grey it wasn't quite the look I was hoping for so we wound up using a picture from Thanksgiving! But we still have a really fun morning seeing friends and chasing around our wild toddler. Carrie wound up bringing husband Chad and her little peanut Jack who is roughly 6 weeks older than Will. 

I just love love love this picture I took of my little monkey  rocking in the big rocking chairs! Be still my heart!

 I just can't get over how big my little man has become. He officially looks like a toddler...

When we got home we managed to rig our camera to take a few shots in front of the Christmas tree. It is always disappointing to me how cameras never accurately capture the glow of a Christmas tree. 

  My two favorite men!

My 29th Birthday

Well it's my last year in my 20's and I must say, they have been very very good to me! Well, better said is that the Lord has been very good and blessed me greatly. Graduated college. Got my first job doing what I loved. Met an amazing man. Got married. Found out we were expecting. Had the greatest joy of my life- Will. Became a Mom. All in all, this has been a very satisfying decade and I must admit, I'm even more excited about the next 10 years!

We started off my birthday by meeting Dada for a special birthday lunch at Cafe Carolina  and it was wonderful! I love seeing my main squeeze for lunch dates! 

Then that evening we met up with my whole fam at Lucky 32 in Cary for a delicious birthday dinner! I could not possibly have felt any more loved!

....and then when I got home Zak had another special card with the cutest coupons that he made for me with things like, "An afternoon out of the house" and "One long foot rub" it was soo kind and thoughtful! ...and then he brought out these four obnoxiously large cupcakes that he had picked up before dinner! To say I have a keeper is the understatement of the year! 

I wish I had taken some pictures, but the Monday following my sweet Mother in law had us over for a special homemade dinner complete with delicious fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and one of my favorite deserts!

Here's to another GREAT year!

Thanksgiving Take Two!

The Friday after Thanksgiving we headed over to CeeCee and Pop's for a wonderful day of Thanksgiving fun! We played outside, swung on Pop's ridiculously big swing, enjoyed a yummy meal and I had the joy of battling the worst cold ever! But all in all it was a LOVELY day!

Just a few quick family shots!

Me and my sweet big sister Kelley who is due in March with their 2nd little girl! We can't wait!

 No family get together is complete without a good ride on Pop's shoulders!

Thanksgiving Take One!

So this year for Thanksgiving we celebrated with The Shipman's Thanksgiving night with all the cousins and kids at Zak's Aunt Penny and Uncle Greg's house. With three little one's running around there was certainly lots of excitement and PLENTY of great food! Unfortunately though, we didn't take a whole lot of pictures- next year, I'll do better!

 Just hanging with my Aunt Miranda!

Trying to hold a one year old for a pictures is like wrestling an alligator! 

Everything is better with Grandpa!