J is for January

New Year's Eve!  The boys&I were able to have a lovely trip to visit my sister Michelle in Columbia, SC to ring in the new year.  We had the best time!  Darcy&her girls met us from Atlanta, so we took the kiddos to the Children's museum & got to sit&chat&watch them play all day.  We ate good food & we watched the Clemson tigers win.  It was really good to see my little sis and spend some time together.  We haven't seen her recently, so we had to take the party to her!  Hope to see you again soon Michelle!

Our NY Day lunch where we considered the collards&black eyed peas, but ate brunch instead. haha!  We forgot to take a pic when we were all cute at the museum, so we decided any pic of us is better than no picture! (or maybe that was me who decided? but anyways my sisters were good sports!) And baby David?  He, as always, makes all our hearts feel lighter.

We got back into the swing of school, and we didn't have to wait long before James' birthday had arrived!  We decided to push his birthday party back one week this year, so we could spend the long weekend at Disney World with the boys!  January is a great time to go, because of the weather and not as many people visit this time of year.  So we started his birthday celebration off with cake & gifts from us, and we continued with a party later!

James, you are the sweetest 7 year old.  You seem to be a young soul, full of innocence & naivety, and I am so thankful that you are not full of worldly wisdom, yet.  You love playing games with your brothers, you're not 'too cool' for anything yet.  You love to laugh, and you like to laugh at your own jokes (sorry, got that from your momma!).  You love to make others happy, and you don't mind being the servant.  Your red hair still gets attention most places we go, although I have to admit, most people just comment on how we don't have any daughters! haha, and thankfully, no strangers have tried to rub your hair for good luck this past year.  You are doing amazing in the 1st grade, and I love being able to sit in your class to see you in your element.  You are a fierce friend- you are loyal beyond what is due- you are too rough with everyone when you are excited- you are excited most of the time! haha, you are a great joy in our lives, and we are so proud of you.  You are doing great at reading, and your math is awesome.  You are a rule follower, though you tend to forget anything you didn't really want to do in the first place. (selective hearing? from momma too?? sorry again!)

James Prose, we love watching you grow.  Happy birthday my darling!

Our Disney adventure!  Minnie Mouse kissed James for his birthday, and Mickey got a little jealous.  It was adorable, and to top it off, James turned red! haha, gotta love Mickey&Minnie!

These boys of mine, I love catching these glimpses of what our life looks like.  All the personality, the silliness, the happiness, the craziness.  It's lovely, chaotic, and glorious.

My favorite, the Hayden photo-bomber was born on this walk down main street on his daddy's shoulders.  Yes, arms up & tongue out.  He thought it was absolutely hilarious.

Most surprising part of our trip was how awesome Hollywood Studios is!  We had an absolute blast there with all the Star Wars things to do&see.  James even got to see some Jawas, which was special because of his halloween costume last year!

The Star Wars characters were so much fun, and honestly? Kylo Ren was pretty scary in person!! haha, you can kind of tell that the boys were a little unsure!  I didn't even stay for the pic! haha, so much fun.

I'm sure the highlight of the whole trip was the Jedi Training where the boys got to practice fighting like a Jedi knight.  It was so much fun to watch them!

Some more Magic Kingdom love.  The Mickey Mouse on Main Street was so awesome; I had no idea that he actually talked and has a moving face!  The boys were really surprised!  Glad we decided it was worth seeing two different Mickey Mouses.

We cannot get away without eating some Mickey ice cream!

Back to our normal routine, and the weather was unusual this year!  Our Japanese Magnolia usually blooms in the late winter, but really bloomed in January this time around.  I adore this tree- I cannot help but take pictures every year.

As our front door & porch project came to a close, I was able to do some new finishing touches on our foyer, and I love how it turned out! Definitely felt like a brand new space, and time for a refresh!

We all caught the stomach flu and had to postpone James' birthday party by a week.  Thankfully, most of his friends could still attend, and Mimi was still able to make his cake!  James had been asking for a Chuck E Cheese birthday party for quite some time, and we decided 7 was a great age.  He had an absolute blast!

Check out Mimi's awesome cake!  James really wanted a Nexo Knight cake, and as she does, she did an incredible job!  He couldn't have loved it more.

We finished up our 6 months of gymnastics lessons in favor or pursuing soccer this spring, and it came a great time.  David just started insisting on being down on the floor during class, and he had a hard time watching his brothers through the window.  He would bang on the glass and cry, "buh buh!!" and cry because they didn't come! It was a combination of adorable and heart breaking!  I was really thankful that we could enjoy that activity, but give it up at a good time.

Our porch and front door, finally finished after 4 months!  We are so pleased with how it turned out.  Yay!! I'm excited to take new pictures of our kiddos on this porch in the future.  It was one of my favorite spots before.

Thank you Lord for a lovely start to a new year, despite how we hurried through.  It seemed that January didn't 'slow down' this year after the holidays were finished, but was packed full of birthday party planning & family vacation & activity.  Lord thank you for all we were able to do&see together.  I pray that we can use our time&energy&money wisely as we raise our kids & serve our community.  Thank you for all you allow us to do, and continue to stretch us to give more away.  Thank you for continuing to challenge me & continue to equip me to do all you've given me to do.  Thank you for this new year & all that it may bring. Amen!