Christmas Day

Christmas day for us was a bit crazy but wonderful this year. We are living about 4 hours from "home" (Birmingham) so we decided that this year we would wake up in our house and do Christmas here then head to Birmingham to do Christmas with my family (the Ramsays) then over to the Redmonds - yes....all in one day. Our kids had present over load. EC began asking for skates about 5 months ago. In all honesty I thought she would forget but she didn't. It was the main thing she kept asking for. The look on her face is priceless. She was sooooo excited (more pictures on this gift later)

Knox was not quite sure what to make of everything but he got into the unwrapping thing quick. Later that day he would try to unwrap EVERYONE's gifts not just his. He didn't even care what was in the package. He just wanted to rip the paper off.

More pictures to come................ we did 3 separate celebrations remember.

Happy Birthday Jesus

On Christmas Eve we made a birthday cake for Jesus. Like so many other parents we want to do all we can to bring the focus of Christmas back to the birth of our Savior. So we celebrated His birth with a party. EC and Knox helped make the cake. OK, EC helped break the eggs, pour in the milk and even held the mixer. Knox just helped lick the beaters. That's the best part anyway. EC was so proud of her cake!!!

Merry Christmas

All the parents out there can relate to the dreaded Christmas picture. I have to prepare Matt a day in advance when I plan to get the kids ready and TRY to get the picture for the card. This year I tried a few times on my own. I must have taken 100 pictures. These are not the worst ones (I deleted those) but here are a few that I liked for one reason or another.

Here is the one I used. Not sure that it was the best but at least they were both looking. We hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!!

Emma Caroline Sings Her Favorite Carols - This is for the grandparents

Just lunch

It's not finger paint, mudpies, markers, paintball or even war. It's just PB&J and cheese puffs. It's just lunch.

1st Black Eye

First but I am sure not the last black eye this rowdy boy will have. That's what happens when you try to pull a toy off the top shelf in the nursery.

Christmas Parade

It's that time of year again. In Greenwood, MS we start the Christmas season with a parade down Grand Blvd. It is our families favorite day. We gather with lots of friends at the house of a church member who lives on Grand. We eat, talk, eat some more and watch the parade. Then after all of that we walk down to the river for a fireworks show that would rival one in any big city. It is such a fun time. And when you live in a farming community you have REALLY big tractors in the parade.

Knox didn't sit still much but here he is in a rare moment. He loved the parade but wasn't so sure about the loud fireworks. He did clap when they were over though.

Here I am with my dear friend Lori. Many of you have prayed for her so I thought I would include this picture. She is doing great and I am so thankful for her friendship!!!

No pictures for Thanksgiving

What's a holiday without the stomach bug??? We hardly know anymore. But as anyone with kids knows, if there is a bad time to get sick, that is when you get the worst. We were in Birmingham for Thanksgiving and looking forward to stuffing ourselves twice, once with the Ramsay side and once with the Redmond side. However, Wednesday night Emma Caroline came down with the dreaded stomach bug. For those who know us you know that we have quite a history with the dreaded stomach bug. Almost exactly 2 years ago Emma Caroline spent 2 nights in the hospital because she became dehydrated. Well, I was up all night with her and she was doing better in the morning. I have to say a very big THANKS to Matt's best friend Jonathan Head who called in a prescription for us all the way from Iowa on Thanksgiving morning. Head - you are our hero!!! Needless to say we got no pictures on Thanksgiving and I was so exhausted I hardly remember my turkey and dressing. Oh well. All I can say is I hope Christmas goes a lot better.

Here's to Fall

At the Redmond home we are blessed with lots of shade in the Summer and LOTS of leaves in the Fall. We have raked the front yard 2 weekends in a row and within an hour you can't tell. That is because we have 6 HUGE oak trees (3 in the front and 3 in the back). But it is hard to complain when your kids beg to jump in the pile. Emma Caroline started asking in July when she could jump in the leaves. It's even more fun when Mama and Daddy act like kids and jump in too. So here's to Fall.

Snow White and Elmo

This year for Halloween Emma Caroline was Snow White and Knox was Elmo. Before Halloween our church has what is called the Hallelujah Hoedown (not sure who chose the name or why) but it is a night of fun for the kids to play games and get lots of candy. The best part, in my opinion, is the hay ride at the end. Last year Knox slept through the whole thing. This year he did do some of the games but prefered staying in the nursery and eating popcorn with the nursery workers.

He was a real trooper to keep the Elmo head on. It didn't seem to bother him too much.

On the hayride

The Pumpkin Patch

Emma Caroline got to go to the Pumpkin Patch with her K4 class. They got to go on a hay ride, pick out a pumpkin, pet a lot of farm animals, have a snack (including pumpkin juice aka orange koolade) and get up on a bunch of old tractors and 4 wheelers etc... They had a blast!!! The funniest thing she said that days was when she saw an emu they had on the farm and she said "that is a really tall turkey". Her class
Sheer joy on the hayride

Out in the pumkin patch

In my name?

When we put Emma Caroline to bed each night she says her prayers. Sometimes though she asks us to pray. Tonight was one of those nights. So, I prayed for my sweet girl and ended with "in your name I pray. Amen"

Emma Caroline turned to me, with question in her voice, and said "in my name you pray?"

Harvest

One of the things I have enjoyed about living in Greenwood is Harvest time. The cotton fields look like snow. It really is beautiful. Well, it it that time of year so we took the kids out to get some pictures.

In the picture below you can see what looks like 2 big trucks in the field. These are what picks the cotton. Really an amazing thing to watch.

Wet n' Wild

OK, I know it is October and I should be posting things about pumpkins and falling leaves, but when you live in Mississippi it is still 90 in October. Matt needed to wash the car so the kids helped. The following pictures show what happens when you teach your 4 year old how to work the nozzle on the hose. I don't even know how I got these pictures because I was laughing so hard. Even though there is not one of me getting soaked, I just want to say that I fell victim to her attacks as well.

First week of 4K

We had to count down the last 3 weeks of summer because Emma Caroline was so excited about going back to school. She is back at First Presbyterian for K4. Here she is about to leave for her first day. On Friday they got to dress up like cowboys. Daddy was in charge of this costume. I think he did good. She wasn't so sure about it at first but then once she saw everyone else dressed up she got excited.

DRAW

Indoor Slide

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago when we were in the 100's for what seemed like days on end. It was too hot to go outside for even a little while. So, with 2 little ones stuck inside, you have to get creative. What you are seeing is an air matress propped against the sofa. It doubles as a giant indoor slide. This was hours and even days of entertainment. Sometimes it just doesn't take much to put a big smile on their little faces.

Vacation

Matt and I were able to get away just the two of us for a few days (thanks Grandparents). So we took the kids to Birmingham and then we headed on to Nashville for a few nights. For people who live in the country going to a big city for a few days is a blast. Then we went back to Birmingham to spend the rest of the week with our kids. Of course, they wanted to go to the park and their favorite park is Homewood Park. So here are a few pictures of them having a great time.

First Trip to the Dentist

Our sweet girl was amazing. Darla, our hygentist and friend from church, could not believe how good she was. Darla turned on some cartoons and EC just sat so still and was not the least bit afraid. Best of all NO CAVITIES!!! Darla gave her gloves and a mask so she could "play dentist" at home. I had no idea what a hit that would be. She puts on the gear then tells me to lay back. She gets a flashlight and looks all around in my mouth. Too cute.

Recent Pictures

The last time we were in B'ham we went to Portrait Innovations to have the kids pictures taken. These people are miracle workers. If you had been there you would be as amazed as I am that we got such great pictures because my kids were EVERYWHERE. But here we have them looking like 2 little angels and 40 years from now I will swear up and down that they were always as sweet as they look here.

Summer Fun

I got nostalgic as I watched my kids playing in the pool in the backyard on a hot summer day. All a kid needs is water and they are having a blast. My 2 played and laughed like they never had before as they actually played together in the pool. They LOVED it and I loved watching them.