Merry Christmas!!

This was Olivia Ann's first Christmas! I know she is only 3 weeks old, but it was still an exciting day. Zack and Lily came over at 2 and will be with us until they go back to school so we are excited to have this time to spend with them. Christmas has a new meaning when you have kids. Watching them open their presents and get so excited is the best thing!

Always a good time!

We had our annual party with Jan, Steve, Blake, and Kelsey. It was so much fun as usual! We do Chinese Christmas with them every year and this year it seemed like we went with a kitchen theme. This family is so special to us and I am so grateful to have them in our lives.

1 week old!

Olivia Ann is 1 week old today! I can't believe it has already been a week. This week has been wonderful! I love waking up to that sweet face. We spent the weekend trying to figure out a schedule that worked for her and on Monday Zack and Lily came. They both love their little sister. Lily didn't want to leave her side and always wants to hold her.

She's here!

Olivia Ann is here and we are already so in love! She was born December 3 at 10:30. She weighed 8lbs 11 ounces and was 21 inches long! So far she is a very mellow baby and already loves to eat!

The Holiday Season has begun!

This weekend we got our Christmas tree, Izzie came back, and we went to the Meadow Lights. The Parrish family is in the Christmas spirit!

Picking out and decorating the Christmas tree was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed looking at all the ornaments they had made and hanging them on the tree.

Izzie our Elf came back to see us on Friday. She is already up to her mischievous ways!

We went to see the Meadow Lights on Friday night. I feel like everybody else in the area decided to go there too. It was PACKED! We didn't end up riding the train because the line was so long, but we did see the lights and get some candy.

We are still patiently waiting the arrival of Olivia Ann. She is due this Thursday and we are all ready for her to be here!!

Acolyte and Church Shower

Today we had our shower at church. Zack was also the acolyte for the first time. What he does is light the candle at the beginning of church and put the candles out at the end. He really enjoyed doing this and was grinning the whole time.

After church we had our shower. The kids helped open the gifts and really enjoyed it. We are very fortunate to have such a loving church family. They have always been so good to us!

Turkey Trot 5K and Fun Run

TJ's school partnered with Flower's Plantation and had a Turkey Trot. The first and second place runners won a turkey in the 5K. They also had a fun run for the kids. Zack got second place in the Fun Run! He then caught up with TJ and ran a majority of the 5K with him. The boys did great!

Halloween 2013

For Halloween this year, Zack was a ninja and Lily was Dorothy. Lily wore the same Dorothy costume I wore when I was younger. It was a little big on her but we made it work! The kids had a great time getting dressed up and getting candy! Olivia Ann even had her first costume...I made her a pumpkin costume. She was captive and couldn't do anything about it! :-)

Go Outside and Play Trick or Treating!

On Monday we went to Go Outside and Play with Taylor and Lisa. The kids got to play for a little while and once it got dark, they had trick or treat spots set up. It was a lot of fun!

Pumpkins!

Today Lily and I decorated our pumpkins. We decided not to carve them this year. She was super proud of how they turned out!

Dale's Walk and Horne Creek

This weekend we went to Pilot Mountain for my 10 year class reunion and Dale's Heart Walk. On Saturday morning we had Dale's walk and on Saturday afternoon, mom and TJ took the kids to Horne Creek.

Dale's walk was wonderful. There were a lot of people there from the class of 2003 which was great! Dale's walk is always a great time to remember a fantastic person!!

I remember going to Horne Creek when I was younger and it was always a lot of fun. The kids shook corn, sawed a log, made apple cider, listened to a storyteller and Lily rode a pony. It was a little messy, but I think overall a great day!

Clayton Baby Shower

We had our shower at our house this weekend. Mary Margaret, Stephanie, and Anna did such a great job! The food was amazing and everything was put together just right! I can't put into words how grateful I am for these 3 girls. I am so lucky to have them in my life! So many friends and family came and it was great to see them all. Olivia Ann got a lot of neat things and she is going to be one styling little girl!

Homemade Pumkin Pie

When we were at Hill Ridge Farms, Lily decided that she wanted to make a pumpkin pie. I knew it would probably be easier to make it out of a can, but I felt like that might ruin Lily's dream of a real pumpkin pie so I went out and bought a pumpkin. This weekend we made 2 pumpkin pies out of a pumpkin, not the can! At first we couldn't cut into the pumpkin so we had to enlist TJ's help. Once we finally got into the pumpkin it was downhill from there. They turned out pretty good for our first experience!!

30 Weeks!!

So we are already at 30 weeks which is CRAZY! Time has flown by!! We are trying to get everything ready for when our little one arrives!

Pilot Mountain Shower

We had our shower in Pilot Mountain this weekend. It was WONDERFUL! Vicki, Ginger, Bess Jane, Emily, Lynn, and Martha always do such a great job when they do things and this was no exception. TJ and I are so blessed to have these people in our lives. Olivia is one loved girl already!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to Hill Ridge Farms with Lisa and Taylor! The kids had a blast. They went through a maze, played in a shed filled with corn, pet the miniature ponies, and went on a hayride. We also went home with 4 pumpkins! The Parrish family is ready for FALL!!

Baby Ty!!

On September 12 sweet baby Ty was born!! Amber and Rocky are very lucky he is PERFECT! I know they are over the moon with excitement and will be the BEST parents ever!!! Ty is also very lucky because he belongs to these two!

Happy Birthday Steve!!

Sunday we celebrated Steve's birthday! It was a fun afternoon playing corn hole and hanging out with family!! 

All About Lily

It is Lily's turn!! She had her first real day of Kindergarten today. Lily went Thursday and Friday with half of her class but today she was there with everybody. Lily's teacher's name is Mrs. Mozingo, but she tells everyone her name is "Mrs. Pazingo."

I asked her on Friday what her favorite part of the day was and she told me "EP." I wasn't quite sure if this was a reading group, or a center, or what she was talking about so I kept asking her questions. She finally tired of my questions and said "gym!" That cleared everything up for me!!

Her teacher seems wonderful so I'm sure she will have a good year. TJ said he did good dropping her off today. I know it wasn't easy for him!!

UNC Game!

I have to warn you there is about to be A LOT of Carolina blue on this page!!

Saturday we went to the UNC game. Steve and Anna had bought the whole family tickets and we were really excited to go. I was pumped too even though I may not be a UNC fan or a Middle Tennessee State fan, the college football atmosphere is always exciting!!

We tailgated before and the weather was PERFECT! We were in a shaddy spot which I'm sure helped. The boys played corn hole and Zack and Lily enjoyed running around in the grass. They threw ball, blew bubbles, and played tag. We of course had Bojangles for lunch!!

The game was a lot of fun too. It was really hot though so we had to spend some time in the shade. Overall it was a fantastic family day!!

All About Zack

Zack had his first day of Third Grade today! He was very excited to start the new year. We had gone shopping on Saturday and I told him to go to the boy's section and pick out a shirt. He picked out the shirt he is wearing in this picture. If you know Zack you know that he HATES to wear anything with a collar so the fact that he picked this out just shows how excited he was about his first day. He wanted to look his best even if it meant wearing the kind of shirt he hates. Last night I asked Zack what he wanted to be when he grows up. When I have asked this question before he has said a teacher so I was interested to see what he would say this time. He said he didn't know...then he said maybe a professional basketball or baseball player. He said he didn't want to be a fireman because that would be too hard!

He had a great day at school today and when we asked him what his favorite part of the day was, he said he got to be the bathroom monitor. It is so funny how the simplest thing for us means the world to kids!

Nursery

So we have been working a little on Olivia Ann's nursery. Zack and Lily decided to help this weekend by helping me paint something for her room. I put the tape down and the kids did the rest. I LOVE IT!! It just makes the room!!! Here are a few pics of the nursery, Zack and Lily painting, and the finished art work!