First Game Ever!

Just look at this little cutie in his Briarlake basketball uniform! Yesterday was Evan's 1st basketball game EVER! He's only in kindergarten and they all looked so little out there on that basketball court! At five, most of them have no clue what they're doing--but you have to hand it to them--they gave it a good try!

During the game, Evan and Celia(his friend from church) were having a little conversation about "who knows what"!

Notice the armbands. It seems that the armbands are used to signify who they are supposed to guard. Red guards red, etc.

Celia and Evan were having a break--as they sat on the bench and waited their turn to play again.

Yeay! We won! Not a bad start! (I thought I'd document Evan's First game so that, when he's a big basketball star, we can say, "we witnessed his very first game EVER!")

Little Sister was very patient during the game, but now that Evan is getting tips from the coach, she is "over it"! "But wait--Oh, they're having a snack and said I could have some, too! Not bad!"

Pizza and Parfaits and Other Fun Things

Since Christmas, we have had some quality time with both sets of our grandchildren. Will and Abby spent the night with us, and we did some of our "favorite things". They love pizza and ice cream parfaits, so we did both! Will also got out the train set from deep in the toy closet. He used to play with it all the time, but hasn't shown much interest recently--until now.

Abby loved adding her own whipped cream--as her "Bitty Baby" looked on.

They both really got into those parfaits!!

Abby and her "Bitty Baby"

We all had so much fun playing Chinese Checkers! Of course, Will was the winner!

Ralph and I found this cute backpack for Pressley quite awhile back, but had to wait until recently to give it to her--we needed to find something special for her brother, too! (By the way, there's a little surprise for Will and Abby, too, when we see them next.)

I found this little Lego neckless for the girls on a blogsite that I read. McMamma had bought one for each of her children, and shared with her readers that the man who makes these is going through cancer treatment-- and his daughter suggested that they make them to help with his expenses. I just thought they were so cute! And it's also nice to be able to help someone in the process.

Evan liked playing with this little car, but really had fun with the Batman figure we found for him! He has a Batman Castle at home, so we thought he'd get a charge out of this figure.

Go Batman, Go!

After-Christmas Fun

Since Will and Abby were still out of school for the holidays, Ralph and I and Beth took them to the Atlanta Botanical Garden to see the trains a couple of days after Christmas. We have a yearly membership there and take the kids fairly often, but they never seem to grow tired of it. The Botanical garden is great about having a variety of things going on. The Moore exhibit is still there, but they also added the train show for during the holidays. They have a train like this one above the kids can ride, as well as the model trains in the orchid house. Will is quite the "train buff", but they BOTH enjoyed it thoroughly.

There were beautiful poinsettias everywhere!

And here are the model trains!

Then, on New Year's Eve, we had Evan and Pressley with us while their Mommy and Daddy went to the Chick fil A Bowl with some friends. Poppy and Evan built this bird out of K'Nex. Evan was very proud of it!

Then, the two of them went to Sam's and bought this huge box of Tinker-toys. Ralph always enjoyed tinker-toys when he was a boy, so he thought our grandsons would enjoy them, too. He was right! Evan really got into it! The set has 225 pieces!

In this picture, they were watching "The 3 Stooges". Evan and Poppy thought it was really funny, but Pressley wasn't so sure! As you might imagine, though, Poppy was VERY happy having his "angels" in his lap! They are all such blessings!

A Christmas Day to Cherish

I was so excited when Christmas Day finally arrived!!! The build up to it just seems to last forever! This year, like the past few, we planned to go to Lynn and Tut's place at the lake in the afternoon. But, Amy and Corin had asked us to come over to their house that morning to see what Santa had brought the kids--and to see Corin's parents and his sister. They also were kind enough to ask us to eat "brunch" with them. We thoroughly enjoyed that--and enjoyed seeing Evan and Pressley, still in their jammies, playing with their toys Santa had brought! The theme of Pressley's Christmas was definitely "Princess"! Just about everything she got was "Princess". She got a princess make-up vanity, a princess cape, crown and microphone. She was one happy little girl! Evan, very much the "boy", received lots of Lego things.

Later in the day, we were all off to Lake Hartwell to spend the afternoon and evening with the whole family. It is always so much fun seeing my nieces and nephews that I don't get to see often. Also, we don't get to see Amanda, Matthew's daughter, very often since she moved to Florida with her mom. Below is my sister, Lynn, and her family(Left-right-Tut, Lindsay and Jeffery). Their house at the lake is so nice, and very open. It's perfect for a large group to be together.

Below is Sydney, my niece Melissa's daughter, and my very grown-up great-niece, Amanda.

Here's Amamda's dad, Matthew. Matthew is Debbie's son.

Debbie's daughter, Melissa, is in this photo with her husband, Jake, and their baby, Michael.

Granny still loves to take part in the cooking. Here she is showing Lindsay and Jeffery how to make her popular "Brown Rice" and gravy( no one can make gravy like Granny can).

Will and Evan love Christmas at the lake house! Will got his very own digital camera for Christmas, and had a great time taking pictures of everyone.

Pressley and Sydney both got a Magic Light Brush. They didn't get it from the same person, but were excited, never the less!

Here is the whole "fam-damnly", as my Grandmother used to say! What a great group! We are so blessed to still have our "matriarch"(Granny) still with us! She has had a rough year, having had a major surgery in April. But, she has come back to us fully, and for that , we are extremely grateful!!!!! Praise the Lord!!!!

Catching Up on Christmas Memories

Well, here I go again! I'm so far behind with my blogging, but I really don't want to miss the opportunity to share with you the special times our family experienced at Christmas. On the evening of December 21st, we celebrated with our own children and grandchildren and exchanged gifts with them. First, we went to Aldo's, an Italian restuarant right here in Tucker. We had talked to all four of the kids before going, about how important it was to behave in a "nice restuarant". I don't even remember what we said, but something must have been right, because ALL of them were " perfect little angels". Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they had played outside and expended a lot of energy before we left!

See the little angels! Posing for this picture is the only time they left their seats! In the past, let's just say, that has NOT been the case.

After eating, we returned to our house, had some dessert, and had fun opening gifts. I think the kids were pleased with what they received! GranNan & Poppy gave Pressley a Leapster because we had heard she was using Evan's a good bit. When she opened it, she exclaimed, "Oh, look--I have my very own!!!! And it's PINK!" She is always so expressive--and, needless to say, her pleasure pleased her GranNan & Poppy very much!

Pressley & Abby both got Paperoni sets.

Abby really liked her Liv doll!

Pressley and Evan changed into their jammies before they left-in case anyone fell asleep on the way home( but no such luck, said Mommy).

On Christmas Eve, we had a wonderful evening, too. It was a busy evening, though! We went to Beth and David's church for their Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. All four of them sang in the service. Will & Abby sang with the Children's Choir, and Beth & David sang with the Praise Team. In the picture below, Will & Abby got to sit with their cousin, Jonathan, from the Kendrick side of the family.

The Lord's Supper was part of this special service.

Their Christmas Eve Service was at 5:00, so afterward, we all went to dinner together. At Chili's, Will and Abby got to see Santa! He was eating his dinner with Mrs. Clause before continuing his journey to children's homes. The next morning, they had a note from Santa, saying he had enjoyed seeing them at Chili's--and he hoped they would be nicer to each other during the new year. WOW! They were so excited that he remembered them!

Then, it was back home and on to Briarlake for our own candlelight service at 11:00. As I said, it was a busy evening, but a very special one.

Next, I'll post a few pictures from Christmas Day.