It's officially over - Christmas, that is.

As of this afternoon, it's officially over.  Stockings were taken down, tree was put away, and other decorations were stashed into boxes until next Christmas.  I always dread this day because it officially means that another Christmas is behind us, not to mention the house looks so empty!  But ... it was time and 2013 was a wonderful holiday season!

The days leading up to Christmas, Cookie (our Elf on the Shelf) visited us, surprising us with different antics and sometimes treats.  Abby loved it just as much as last year and of course Levi jumped right in.  It didn't take him long and he was looking for Cookie each morning right along big sis.  We visited Santa a few times ... each trip a happy one for everybody!  Abby climbed right into his lap to tell him exactly what she wanted and Levi sat still, taking it all in, yet smiling the whole time.

As much as we love Cookie & Santa, we also spent a lot of time remembering the real reason for the season.  Abby is always full of questions, but the true Christmas story is falling into place for her. There is no denying that her little heart is full of love for Jesus.

Christmas morning was perfect.  Abby excitedly woke up (not too early!) and rushed into our room.  I heard her stop by the tree and say "Oh. My. Goodness." and then she proceeded to come and wake us up.  We took our time opening gifts, teaching the kids to take turns and watch everyone open their gifts.  Even stopped midway to take a breakfast break and then continued right back into the fun. Sipping on hot cocoa, staying in pajamas until lunch, and playing with new toys made for a memorable morning. :)  Friends of ours came over in the afternoon for a nice dinner and the kids enjoyed some playtime, so much that all the kids crashed here for a bit! It was so nice to spend that time together.

The day after Christmas, the family started rolling in.  YAY!  First up, the Lamb Family.  I was so excited to see them and have them here.  Having the house full of family is what the holidays are all about and I had been counting down the days for weeks!  A couple days later, YaYa came to join in the fun.  And fun it was ... We were busy shopping, baking, swimming, playing pool, playing board games, going to Busch Gardens, the beach, the movies .... Wow. So much fun!

Then it was time for them to head back home and more family arrive.  Chris, Melinda, and the girls came for some more fun!  Abby was thrilled to see her cousins that she hadn't seen in over a year!  They played ... and played... and played some more.  It was like they hadn't even been apart.  So sweet!  We soaked up some sunshine in the pool for a couple days, headed to Hundsader Farms one morning, and went to the aquarium.  Loads of fun!

As much as I dislike "packing" Christmas away until next year, I'm so thankful that many memories were made, with such amazing friends and family.  Love you all! xoxo

Abby's Christmas Program

As many of you know, I absolutely love this time of year.  One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is the music.  The day after Thanksgiving, expect to find the Christmas station preset in my car, carols coming from the kitchen while I cook/bake, and evening dance parties with the kids.  And don't think for a second that you can't have a good dance party to O' Come All Ye Faithful.  Don't knock it 'till you try it. :)

So today being Abby's Christmas Program at her preschool, I was super excited.  Nothing better than watching little kids sing their hearts out ... and they did just that.  It was so cute!

Abby's class came on the stage first (along with each class) and as soon as she spotted us in the audience, she started waving and smiling away.  Levi was equally as excited and kept screaming "Abby!!!!" Those two melt my heart with the simplest things.  

After the program, we had lunch and the kids played together.  We took some silly photos, since the kids were all sugared up from the cookies.  :)

Levi photo bombed what could have been a super sweet picture of Abby and her friend, Nickolas.  It turned out funny anyways.  That boy!

And .... here it is.  This picture sums up our attempts at a family photo.  

Hilarious.

Merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday - Big Boy!

I just can't stand the cuteness of Levi's big boy undies.

Without much warning, it looks like potty training is happening in our house.

And some video just because ... 

Oakland, are you ready for us?!

One of the reasons I love keeping this blog is because it's almost like a diary at times, a personal space that I can share my emotions and feelings with the people that mean the most to me.  I've been wanting to sit down and write for the past week or so, but didn't have the time.  Or perhaps it was because I just wasn't ready yet.

As many of you know, Jim was traded to the Oakland Athletics at the beginning of the month.  It all started with a day of rumors swirling around the television and different social media networks.  I didn't read too much into it at first ... after all, there is always "talk" and most of the time it's nothing.  Then as the day progressed, the rumors kept on, and I was starting to get anxious.  More anxious than usual ... so much that I called Jim (who was on his way to California for the MLB Union meetings) and asked if he had heard of anything.  Of course he told me what he always does, told me not to worry and that everything would be okay.  But this time, I was still worried.  I couldn't fall asleep.

Then it happened.  I heard the news.  I was in shock and the tears started.  I wanted nothing more than to be with Jim as he learned of this news, but unfortunately he was all the way on the West Coast.  Couldn't even give him a hug ... couldn't even be together to tell each other it would be okay.

Everything came flooding into my mind at once.  I don't think I've ever had so many mixed emotions.  Jim started his career with Baltimore, so it's really all we know.  We've experienced so many things during this part of the journey.  Began dating, got married, started our family.  Jim put down some major roots both in Baltimore and Sarasota, going out into the communities and doing some amazing things to help people.  I began to get involved with a charity that really stole a piece of my heart.  Baltimore was easy to call a second home for us.  We had such wonderful support from my family and many friends who lived in the area.  The team itself felt like a family and I met so many wonderful wives and families along the way.  I made friendships that will surely last a lifetime.  Most importantly, I grew deeper in my faith during this part of our baseball journey.

So I must say that when we heard such shocking news, I felt like our life had been turned upside down.  And that makes me sound so ungrateful.  But a lot of change had happened at once.  Big changes for our family.  Now spring training isn't at home.  Less family time.  Needing to find two other places to live.  Luckily, as all these emotions took over, family and friends reached out with some of the most helpful advice I've ever been given.  I finally realized that we had a choice.  We could either be negative about this situation or we could be positive.  Make the most of it.  From the words of a sweet friend, "It is so hard to not focus on what you think you are losing, but soon you will see that because it is God directed, it is the only journey you want to be on."  Such simple words made me change my whole outlook.

This will be a good thing!  My sister sent me this quote ... "Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."  It won't be easy to leave so many people we love in Baltimore, but I'm ready for this next part of the journey.  It will be a challenge and won't come without more tears, but it will be exciting.  Our family will get through this ... together.  And while we are enjoying the ride, we'll be cheering "Go A's!" the whole time.  Who's with me?!

Celebrating 6 years ... island style :)

After celebrating our anniversary in Costa Rica last year, we decided to travel again for this years anniversary.  What better way to celebrate six years than in the islands?  It just so happens that our anniversary falls at a time in the year when the hubs and I are in need of a break.  Following a long baseball season, it's always good to reconnect, take some time to relax, and just enjoy time spent together.  

Our trip to Turks and Caicos was the perfect little getaway.  The resort was amazing ... pool and beach were beautiful, staff was super friendly and accommodating, spa was quite relaxing, and the restaurant had great food.  During our stay we ate at some great local spots, met some belongers (natives) that were full of knowledge about the island and other interesting stories.  :)

We spent our days on "island time" with no set itinerary.  We're so used to the everyday hustle and bustle that it was such a good feeling to just go with the flow for a few days.  Relaxing on the beach, by the pool, and curling up on the balcony with a good book was simply the best.  We snorkeled, went bonefishing, played some golf, enjoyed the fish fry that the belongers put on each Thursday night, relaxed by a bonfire, went shopping, and drank way too much wine. 

Turks and Caicos, you definitely showed us a good time!  The setting was beautiful, some of the skylines were the most beautiful I've ever seen.  Happy Anniversary to my sweet, thoughtful, and handsome hubby!  Here's to many more ...

Halloween, did that really just happen?

Just like any other holiday, Halloween came and went super fast.  This year it totally crept up on us, leaving little time to plan our family costumes.  I guess it worked out better this way since Abby knew she wanted to be Sofia the First, a Disney princess.  Gone are the days of Mommy and Daddy conspiring together to plan coordinating family costumes.  Duck Dynasty surely would have been a huge hit! 

We had thought about dressing up as a royal family, dressing the little man as a prince.  But we simply ran out of time and truthfully I got a little lazy with costume hunting.  So for 2013, Abby went as Princess Sofia the First and Levi went as a dragon.  The hubs and I ... well I guess we went as ourselves.  So boring! 

Same as in years past, some of our friends joined us for dinner and trick-or-treating.  Abby was super excited this year, knowing exactly what to do, and anticipating how much candy she would receive.  Needless to say, the kids were NOT into picture taking and were ready to RUN!

Seriously... RUN.  Out of 8 adults, none of us could get our children to stand still for a picture.  There were no cute photo ops this year, no pictures of Abby and Levi together ... just pictures of kids running around in circles and they hadn't even eaten any candy yet.  Ugh.  This Mama was sad.

The kids first house.  Abby, Nick, and Isla ran to the door with giggles and shrieks of excitement.  And with a quick thank you, they took off for the next house ... and so on.

Unfortunately, Levi was grumpy.  He wanted to run, not ride in the stroller.  Scary, tempered dragon!

After trick-or-treating, these two party animals were ready to live it up.  (just like their Daddies ... uh hummm...)

Levi has the biggest crush on this sweet girl.  Aubri is just precious!

Who wants candy?  These kids were just happy to eat Fritos late into the night! :)

Thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed the evening with us.  Hopefully next year we can snap some more photos and have less mosquito bites by the end of the night. ;-)

Preschool Trunk-or-Treat

Abby's preschool hosted it's annual "Trunk-or-Treat" event yesterday.  Being new to the school this year, this was our first time participating.  The hubs stayed home with the little man so that I could volunteer in Abby's classroom for the day.

It felt really good to get back into a classroom (especially as Abby's Mommy) and I just loved hanging out with these sweet kiddos! Parent volunteers decorated their trunks and the kids went from trunk to trunk collecting treats.  It was so cute and some of the parents really went all out decorating for the kids.  It looked so fun that Jim and I may have to be on trunk duty next year! :)

As you can see in the pictures, Abby is dressing up as Sofia the First (princess) this Halloween and amongst her class we had a waitress, ladybug, ninja, hotdog, Ariel, witch, cat, and a skeleton.  All adorable of course!  Abby talked the most about Collin's costume (hotdog), even weeks before the actual party.  All the kids thought it was hilarious.

After trunk-or-treating was over, the class headed back into the classroom for some fun.  Another parent volunteer and I headed up some Halloween activities.  We played "Pin the Broom on the Witch", made spider hats, and the kids enjoyed yummy spider cookie treats made by Miss Abby herself.

Once the Halloween festivities were all done, it was time for chapel.  It may have been my favorite part of the day.  Seeing all the kids come together, sings songs, and learn a lesson from Pastor Steve made my heart smile.  Abby is learning the most valuable lesson of all ... the love that Jesus has for us all. :)

It was such a fun day!  I'm so happy that we love the school, Abby's classmates, and the things she is learning.  It's such a perfect fit. :)