Finishing the year at Dollywood

We decided to wrap up our year riding rides, playinWe decided to wrap up our year riding rides, playing games, watching shows, and having FUN!! Dollywood was SUPER CROWDED!! As fun as it was, we may have to find another fun way to finish out the year. I don't know if I can handle that kind of Dollywood crowd again. It was so crowded people were parking at Splash Country and they were busing them over.

On a super happy note....Cooper is almost able to ride the rollercoasters and Sissy is just a smidgen from the next step up!

Christmas with the Cookenour crew

Bryan practicing his massage skills on my grandmother!

Chistmas with the Cookenour crew!! I cherish the moments with our family.

Christmas with the Davis crew

I love Christmas! Yes, I am a self-admitted Christmas-aholic. Some of my best memories are of waking up Christmas morning with my brother, Dana, and opening presents. Now that I think back it is hard to remember the presents, but I remember the laughs, giggles, and time spent together. I love that we all still spend the night at my mom and dad's house on Christmas Eve night and wake up together Christmas morning. One night a year we are back at mom and dad's and it's just like old times...with a few additions :)

Sad but true...by Chritmas morning this was our 4th present opening, so apparently I was a slacker with the camera and only took a few.

Uncle D and Aunt Abby helping open presents

While we were opening presents, Cooper dissapeard. I found him sitting in the kitchen floor playing his DS. I asked him if he was okay and he said he was "overwhelmed." He absolutely had the most tender heart! He wanted to know why he had so many presents when there were kids that would not have any at all. He said he didn't need them all and we should give them to a boy who didn't get any presents. I am in awe of how the Lord is working in his heart. In just a short year, he has gone from crying because "that is all I got" to the "Christmas is about LOVE not presents" kid!! I am so proud to call this amazing child my son! God is working in his life and I am excited about the work he has in store for Cooper!

Brylee adores her Auntie Ab

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! We are so blessed to have each other! We had an amazing morning praising the Lord for our many blessings and all he has done for us. What an awesome God we serve! I am so proud of my children for knowing the true meaning of Christmas. Of course, we had a super fun time opening presents, too!

Daddy's pictures for his new massage office!!

Love my babies
Brylee always loves her Holiday Barbie (I have bought her one every year since she was born)

Oh My Golly, Mom!! Santa really did bring me a Nintendo 3DS
Merry Christmas!
Christmas morning!
Lila, gaurdian of the Christmas presents :)

and Bingo was his name, oh!

Santa left an extra special surprise for Cooper and Brylee at Gaggy and Poppy's house on Christmas Eve night!! B-I-N-G-O!! The kids have a new chorky-poo to spoil absolutely rotten!

Christmas with the Reynolds crew

We started our Christmas family events with the Reynolds crew! So much fun and so much love!!!

Coop

LOVES GAMES!

Brylee was so excited about her princess dress up kit that she had to put it on as soon as she opened it!

Sooooooo excited!!

My Loves!

Our tiny dancer

Brylee's first dance. Her dance studio put on a little Christmas performance for the parents. You can tell by the ever present smile exactly what she thinks of ballet....she LOVES it! I see many, many years of dance class in this little princesses future!

Happy 6th Birthday Cooper!!

An interview with the birthday boy!

My favorite food is: pizza

My favorite sport to play is: baseball

My favorite show on TV is: Jake and the Neverland Pirates

The coolest person on Earth: God

My favorite thing to learn about in school: math

My favorite thing to learn about at church is: Jesus songs

The thing I do the best at is: tag

If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to: "winter, spring, or summer?? Florida"

My favorite color is: red and pink

When I grow up I want to be a: ninja

My favorite song is: Silent Night

My favorite book is: Skippy John Jones

Three words that describe me are: light skinned, nice, I have green eyes like Mrs. Booher

When I was little I used to: play more

My favorite season is: winter

My favorite place to visit is: Mimi and Papaw's house

My favorite snack: Doritos

My favorite drink: red Gatorade

One food I really don't like is:

My best friend is: Peyton W.

If I had one wish it would be: to have two more sisters like Sissy

My favorite thing about Daddy: he plays a lot with me

My favorite thing about Mommy: you are really sweet

My favorite thing about Sissy: she gives me a lot of things

My favorite thing about Cane: he likes to wrestle with me

My favorite thing about Lila is: she sleeps in my bed with me

What I like to play with the most: cars and monster trucks

My favorite movie: Robots

Mommy & Daddy's nicknames for me: Chief, Bubba, and Coopey-D

Conversations with Brylee

Brylee: "Momma, I like you."
Me: "Punky, what is it about Mommy that you like."
Brylee: "I love your heart."

Whew! I am soooooo very blessed to be this kiddos Momma!

Today was a good day because....

* Brylee gave me the biggest hug and said, "Momma, I want to hug you like this for a million years."

* Cooper told me he couldn't wait to be at my school because "we will be together all the time and that will be the best thing ever."

*Cooper, Brylee and I had a conversation in the car about "Crazy Papaw." Sadly, Bryan's dad passed away before he met either of our kids. I know he is their Guardian Angel but it still breaks my heart they never got to meet him. Brylee started crying and said, "Momma, I don't want Crazy Papaw to be dead. I want him to be here with us." It's so hard to explain to a three year, but I hope she understands that she will see him in Heaven. It just makes me so sad that a man who would have adored them so much will never get to spoil them rotten. I can't help but think of how things might be if he were still here to be a part of their lives.

Cooper is a GRADUATE!!

How blessed we are!! Cooper's Pre-K graduation was this evening and it was so sweet! They marched in to the Mickey Mouse theme music and his class sang several songs. I will admit I was a little teary eyed when they sang "Goodbye, My Friends." It's hard to believe his preschool days are over and in a couple of months he will be starting kindergarten. Time really does fly by so quickly. He was super proud of his report card and his teacher told me that he has gained two years of academic growth!! I am so excited to see what the future brings for our little graduate!

Bryan and I with our little graduate

Uncle Hayter Dee & Ninja Cooper

I love the excitement in his eyes...I pray he always has it

Marching in, he told us later he had "stage fright"

Coop and his friend, Hunter

Poppy and Gaggy are so very proud of their 1st Grandbaby

Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you Chief!

The New Brylee

So, as many of you know by now Cooper has recently learned his future is not in cosmetology. On Saturday Bryan brought the kids home from soccer and they were ex-haus-ted!! So Momma thought, hey let's pile up on the bed, watch a movie, and take a nap. You guessed it, Momma fell asleep and the kiddos did not. Brylee woke me up saying, "Momma, look! Bubby cut my hair." Instantly, my heart sank to my toes. I saw the back and thought, okay, it's not that bad...we will do a short little bob. Then Brylee turned around and my heart jumped out of my chest. Cooper had cut her hair on top, too. There was not a hair on her poor little head that he had not touched. He managed to give her a mighty fine mullet. Her hair was completely chopped all to pieces. In panic mode I called my mom and begged her to come. Bless her heart, I know I scared her to death but I was in pure PANIC mode. My babies beautiful blonde locks were gone. Luckily, mom was close by and rushed over. Dad was smart and offered to take Cooper home with him so his Momma couldn't kill him. Mom and I took Brylee to get what was left of her hair "fixed." The sweet lady at the salon could only offer to shape it up and give her a short, spikey pixie cut. There are still super, super short sections but like I have been told a thousand times since that day...it's only hair and it will grow out. My poor brother tried to make it better and said, "one of these days you will laugh about it." My response, "maybe one of these years but definitely not any day soon." She loves her "rock star hair" and has the spunk to pull it off, but I miss her pony tails and braids. At least it's nice and cool for summer!!

First Hike

Wow Weeeee!! What were we thinking?? Bryan and I decided to take the kids on their first hike in April. He said it was a three mile hike...I'm thinking a mile and a half there and a mile and a half back. WRONG. It was a 6 mile hike total and totally worth it! I was absolutely amazed at how well the kids did. They loved every second of it. There were a few times on the trail I was literally saying to myself, "what in the world are we doing?" but both of the kids were such troopers. They kept pointing to things and saying take a picture of that. I have a gazillion pictures of tree stumps and random bugs. The end result was a waterfall that makes you say "Wow, look at God's amazing creation."

Amazed by the beauty of God's creation!!

Now that is excitement!
Really?? Does it get any sweeter than this?


Fun, Fun, FUN!

This hiking thing is hard work!!

One of her proudest moments

Yes, she is absolutely proud of the crazy mess she made!!