Before the World Stopped {January 2020}

When I think back to January 2020, I had no idea how quickly this year would change.  We were just carrying on business as usual celebrating New Year's, Eddie's birthday, Maggie's first birthday, and making preparations for Eddie to begin his new job which would lead to our moving to South Carolina.  Now, we are in the middle of a global pandemic, quarantining in our homes with most businesses shut down.  It is a crazy time of life, but we have been trying to utilize our time together to rest and prepare for the more hectic times ahead.  It has forced us to all slow down, and for that, I am thankful.  Besides that, I am ready for this mess to end!  Here are the highlights from our January: 

We celebrated New Year's while we were still in the mountains with our family and friends.  I found a cute little banner for pictures at the local Dollar Store. 

We all wore our party hats and blowers.  This was Maggie's 1st New Year. 

Big brother Evan just adores his baby sister.  He is such a wonderful big brother! 

We even got a picture with Cocoa wearing a hat.  

Our little cabin was nice and cozy as we toasted in the New Year with our sparkling juice.  

Mrs. Kiki and Mr. Cory are looking forward to a really amazing year as they await the arrival of their little boy.

Papa would not take his hat off to put on his party hat so we improvised.  We watched fireworks shows from around the world.  Paris's looked really fun.

Eddie took a picture of the Christmas sign in the little town where he works. Miss Maggie was being so sweet playing with her big brother's hand while he slept.  She really loves him! 

The kids could not wait to play with their new bubble machine when they got home.  

Evan's youth group at church went ice skating in Savannah so Brody and I tagged along.  Brody was very brave as he was learning for the first time.  It was a very crowded rink. 

Evan skated like a pro. 

Evan took Brody out for a spin around the rink.  While the shot was blurry, it is a priceless moment to remember.  The whole group got a picture together before we went to eat a late dinner.  Brody was giving me some sweet hugs in the restaurant. 

Evan enjoyed hanging out with his buddies at dinner while the adults sat at a different table. 

Brody helped his Cub Scout troop with a community service project to clean up the church yard. 

He also worked on getting his whittling chip by practicing on a piece of soap.

Miss Maggie loves her sunglasses.  She always tries to steal Mommy's glasses so we have to give her some. 

The boys wanted to drive through and see the local park decorated for Christmas before the lights came down.

Sweet Mattox fell asleep before Daddy's birthday celebration. 

We had a little family celebration for Daddy's 42nd birthday with a homemade brownie cake. 

One of Daddy's babies was missing as Mr. Mattox had fallen asleep after we got home from dinner. 

His babies made his day feel extra special. 

Maggie was really starting to enjoy playing with big brothers. 

And exploring her little playhouse. 

Just a Friday night family dinner date.  

Grayson was enjoying his mashed potatoes and shrimp. 

We love our family time. 

Miss Maggie had her one year check up and was finally showing up on the growth charts.  I only had one brother with us because the rest were in school.  Boy, that feels nice.  

Miss Maggie definitely looks sweet in purple. 

The girls hanging out while Daddy made a quick run to Wal-mart. 

We enjoyed one of our pizza lunch dates with Daddy. 

Mattox was so excited and proud of his new Lion King shoes.  He also made "Mattox's ark" with all of his animal figurines.  

Mattox and Grayson both got lots of new figurines for their birthdays and Christmas.  Mattox got Lion King and Lion Guard characters, and Grayson got PJ Masks characters.  I love watching them play and act for the characters. 

After church selfies in the car and lunch at the Mexican restaurant.  Man, I miss those days.  Sigh. 

Mommy and Maggie were made into pirate princesses by our resident pirates. 

Avast, ye land lubbers!  We're here for ye treasure!  They love playing pirates. 

Brody hijacked my phone to take some pictures of us and of me as a cute dog.  He's a mess! 

Obliging October {2018}

October had its fair share of good times and some sad times as we said goodbye to our beloved Grandpa.  Our days were filled with a lot of outside adventures as we traveled more with two kids in sports and traveled to be with family.  Sometimes, I really appreciate these more mundane memories that would get lost in time amidst the more impressive memories of vacationing and big life events.  If not for my posts about these random moments, I would likely never remember them again.  When I look back at such posts as these, I always smile fondly remembering what I have forgotten.  I am so thankful that I can memorialize these memories for my future self if for no one else's pleasure.

We captured some family pictures as were dressed semi-nice for Grandpa's funeral visitation with family. 

I love those boys! 

Mattox's cute expressions get me every time. 

Big brother Brody is his hero.  He copies him picking flowers or doing anything Brody does these days. 

Playing with big brother Evan is fun too. 

These boys are learning to work together to accomplish some big tasks.  They were spreading their blanket on the ground during big brother Brody's football practice. 

These sweet boys are basically inseparable.  They come as a pair. 

We practiced our snorkeling with some special masks we received in our kids' meals. 

Yes, we still enjoyed a random beach day because October can be the best month for it here.  It is considerably less hot and less crowded than the summer months. 

Just building sandcastles together. 

Evan guards his sandcastle fortress from the tide. 

Just a couple enjoying the beach together even with five kids playing nearby. 

Grayson is a shoe thief.  

Daddy watches Brody carefully while he practices his wave riding skills.  

We love afternoons at the beach in the setting sun.  

I love those little toes in the water. Mattox wanted to ride the boogie board too. 

I just love the look of sea oats swaying in the ocean breeze. 

All of the boys enjoyed this little firetruck while we waited for a store to open. 

Grayson is such a cute little driver. 

We were having a movie night at home, but I forget which one.  I think we also picked up some Krispy Kreme doughnuts on the way home, but I didn't get pictures of those. We just can't resist that hot doughnuts now light. 

I just love hanging out with these sweet boys.  Grayson's smiles are the best! 

Another rainy day in Georgia.  I think Brody has soap bubbles on his face like a beard, but it is hard to see in these pictures.  Haha! 

Mattox got his hearing aid on this day.  He acted like such a big boy and really wanted to wear it. 

We took him to eat pizza at his favorite restaurant to celebrate.  Grayson points at the pizza man on the wall. 

We commemorated Mattox's big day getting his hearing aid. 

We had parent teacher conferences at Brody's school, and the little kids loved this little fall pumpkin display. 

Pumpkins are so exciting, you know! 

Dinner out with all of our boys. 

I wish the picture of Evan wasn't so dark because I love his big smile. He is so silly sometimes. 

These two cute little boys practiced putting their baby to bed in preparation for their new baby's arrival.  I just love pictures of my sleeping babies. I really see some similarities in Mattox's face here and mine and my brother's faces at that age.  I always say he looks like Eddie so I am surprised to often see myself in him. 

These silly boys were playing in this little shaded playground during one of big brother Evan's soccer games. It was such a hot day! 

Mattox liked this little swing that was a very comfortable size for him. Grayson preferred playing in the dirt. 

I really thought this little memorial to the people who died on September 11, 2001 was touching and very well done.  This was in a very small, rural town in southern Georgia.  

I was attempting a pregnancy selfie in the mirror as I was terrible about documenting my pregnancy with Maggie.  I just didn't feel comfortable much of the time, but I do want her to know that Mommy loved carrying her.  I also appreciated a good bubble bath then and cuddling with my baby boy in the bed.  He gets as close as he can when he is sleepy. 

All four boys eating breakfast together is rare these days. 

My little pirate pumpkin.  Grayson enjoyed playing in Grandma's yard during our visit.  This yard hasn't changed much since Eddie's Grandma was alive.  The house is now the primary residence of Eddie's mom.  

Cocoa was enjoying playing with her brothers in the yard. 

Just enjoying a seat on the front porch. 

The boys love pretending to be pirates so they loved these little masks cutouts from a kids' meal.  Big brother Brody made Mattox a little treasure box to hold his pirate treasure, and it is seriously one of his favorite toys.  Almost a year later, he still has it and plays with it. I know it may seem like trash to most people, but I cannot bear to part with it because it really is so sweet how they play with it. 

These boys and I rest and watch some Lego Scooby Doo adventures. 

He's just so cute!  

We voted as Georgia residents for the first time.  I didn't do it the first year we were here because I didn't feel I knew the candidates well enough.  I still left some blank if I didn't know them. 

This purple dinosaur at a park somewhere in rural Georgia brought back some big memories of our time in Charlotte where almost every park had one of these.  Our boys love it! 

Grayson definitely loves dinosaurs. 

I had to make a comparison to when Evan and Brody used to ride at about the same age. 

Grayson is learning to play at the park like a big boy. 

I made a big pot of homemade vegetable soup because what could be better in the Fall?  Grayson is so silly and loves riding on his daddy like a horse and pretending to play on my computer. 

In preparation for Halloween, I prepared a little comparison of all of our past Halloween costumes.   

Of course, the first four belonged solely to Evan. 

Brody wore two costumes his first Halloween, and in 2011 and 2013, we started doing themed costume sets.  

I really loved the Ghostbusters, Harry Potter, Pac-Man, and Doctor Who themes we have done in previous years.