It All Started with a Little Skittle...

I thought we would give you a glimpse of some of the silly things Mr. Elfis (our Elf) did Christmas Eve before returning to Santa Claus.  We went to Dallas on Monday and luckily our elf (who Gabby named Snowball, then Snowball Snow Flake, but whose name is really Mr. Elfis) hopped in a car seat so he could make the journey safely to Grandma and Grandpa's and meet Ralphie, Emma and Brody's Elf. Here are the shenanigans they got into while waiting for Santa to arrive and while we were all asleep: Proof that the elves took these photos all by themselves.  If you look closely between the first two photos you can see Mr. Elfis' hand move pushing the button.   Snacking on the kid's gingerbread houses. Drinking Gabby's milk hanging upside down. What were they thinking?! Soaring with the eagles (Gabby's favorite bird). Ralphie riding a horse. Ralphie sneaking in a stocking. Mr. Elfis sliding down the banister ...

Christmas Eve was a day filled with fun, giggling, and excitement.  We woke up extra early so I could watch Brody while Aunt Sharon and Grandma went to work.  Gabby and Emma played upstairs all morning occasionally allowing Brody to join in the fun.  Then, we helped them make gingerbread houses, which they all made with very little help and all turned out great.  After they finished their gingerbread houses, we bundled up, and headed to Chick-Fil-A.  The kids played for over an hour while Michael, Grandpa, and I visited and watched the kids play.  Brody's on the left and Gabby's on the right Emma's gingerbread house Once we arrived home Grandma and Aunt Sharon were home from work and there was more playing (of course).  Then  it was time to get dressed for church.  The service was wonderful, Gabby and Emma loved it! They got to sit up front for a part of the service and watch children do a play and sing songs.  The se...

Since we were going to Dallas to celebrate Christmas with Michael’s family, we had an early Christmas with Grandma, Papa, Nanny, Uncle Patrick, Great Aunt Ellen, and Aunt Kasey stopped by.  It was a quiet celebration but very fun.   Grandma, Papa, and Aunt Ellen arrived early and soaked up a little time watching Gabby excitedly run around impatiently waiting to open gifts.  They ate gumbo while we waited for Nanny and Uncle Patrick to arrive.  Nanny and Uncle Patrick drove from Shreveport and directly to our house that day to have Christmas.  As soon as everyone arrived, we unloaded all of the gifts flooding the living room and then, without giving Nanny and Uncle Patrick a moment to breathe, began opening Christmas gifts.  We laughed and opened gifts for about an hour….well Gabby opened gifts that long, we all enjoyed watching.  Gabby racked up getting money for her college fund, a personalized Doc McIlroy doctor’s lab coat, doc McStuffin’s to...

Thanksgiving Day we all with to Grandma and Papa’s house to enjoy a traditional Cajun dinner and it was delicious.  Gigi, Blakeleigh, Brandy, Nanny, Uncle Patrick, Grandma, Papa, Aunt Lisa, Aunt Christine, and Keith were all there to celebrate with us.  Gabby enjoyed the day immensely playing with Blakeleigh the entire day and even trying to snuggle with her during her nap time.  Gabby made everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to Mommy and she blew out the candles Then Brandy and Blakeleigh spent two nights with us.  We had lots of fun going to Mud Pie to make handprint Christmas cookie plates and hanging out at Grandma’s house.  Gabby enjoyed very much singing Happy Birthday to Mommy with the family and blowing out my candle.  The night of my birthday Gabby spend the night with Grandma and Papa and Nanny, Uncle Patrick, Mommy and Daddy went to the movies together for the first time ever.  It was a very fun weekend.   T...

Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sharon, Emma, and Brody all came to visit the weekend before Thanksgiving.  We had a wonderful time visiting (even though I didn’t get to be there as much as I would like because I had to go to a baby shower). Gabby and Emma were, as usual, inseparable and constantly giggling about one thing or another. All of the kids went with Aunt Sharon to visit her friends and they had a blast playing with other kids.  Then, once all arrived back to the house we went out to dinner at Zio’s one of our favorite Italian restaurants.  After dinner Aunt Sharon took the kids back to the house while we stopped at the store on the way home to get a drink for me.  Once we arrived at the house and opened the door I was greeting loudly with “Surprise!” by Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sharon, Brody, Emma and all of my friends! The first thing I saw and heard when I walked through the door was sweet little Gabby front and center, holding her giant black framed n...

Officially as of October 29 th  our family is DEBT FREE! After many years of sacrifice and hard work we have paid off all our debt including my monster of student loans.    It was a tedious roller coaster of emotions trying to pay off student loans which seemed impossible.    Gabby my dear, our sweet little family is debt free and very excited to teach you how to live this lifestyle.    We do not intend to ever go back and we expect you to go to college with no debt and to pay cash for all things you want in life including cars.    Our lives being debt free will be free of a lot of stress and worry that other families endure due to over extending themselves.    Since we no longer have those emotions filling up our lives we can instead fill those voids with more love and laughter that you give us every day.    Hopefully making your life fun and memorable and helping you to achieve your own goals and dreams as you grow up. ...