Ten Things In Indiana

The day after Christmas we took a road trip to Indiana to visit family. Here are ten things that happened on this trip.

1. We met Avonlea Jane! She is the newest addition to the family at six weeks old. What a sweet little bundle...we were thrilled to meet her. It was also great to have all the great-grandchildren together. And to see Liv and David (Justin's cousins) since becoming new parents. We wish we had more time to spend with them.


2. We played Euchre and my team won. This is exciting to me because Euchre is obsolete here in Georgia. And me with my Michigander roots needed a little Euchre fix.
3. I learned something new about Brolin. He is very talented with words.
4. Everyone exchanged jokes in the kitchen. Well, I can never remember jokes so I just listened and laughed.
5. Lane and I took a walk.



6. We ate all kinds of food and snacks.
7. We drank wine.
8. Memaw shared some old photos. One in which she looks exactly like Evelyn.
9. We cherished our time with the family especially with Pawpaw.


10. We said goodbye. This was the hardest.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with our family.

Christmas

Christmas was extra special this year mostly because Evelyn Ann celebrated her first Christmas! And also because we have a home of our own. What a wonderful feeling to have our complete family waking up together in our new home on Christmas morning. Truly a dream come true! We are blessed to have our hearts filled with such joy, love, hope, gratitude and peace.

Evelyn opening her first gift on her first Christmas.


Lane thrilled to find all the gifts left by Santa.





All gifts opened, now it's time to play.


Christmas day at Brolin and Megan's house. Their beautiful tree!


Lane couldn't wait to open presents. He was very excited this year. Photo by Justin.


Evelyn received her first baby doll this year for Christmas from Grandma and Papaw. Photo by Justin.


We all enjoyed the festivities and the company of family this year. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

A Smooth Move

We've made the move. It is now day three in our new home. The move went smoothly, thanks to all our family's help. We have been busy for the past week with packing, moving, unpacking and now we are still doing a little unpacking, but mostly getting settled and adjusting/enjoying life in our new space. Here are some highlights from the move.

We had lots of fun packing. We found stuff we had thought we'd lost and some stuff we forgot we had, like these bouncy seats that the kids loved and enjoyed them one last time.


Lane even found a hide out in an empty drawer.


And I even found my red hat that I'd been looking for and missed so much.


Moving day was tiring, but we had lots of help from our family. Thank you very much to everyone that helped, we couldn't have done it without you!


We had a peaceful first night and here the children are enjoying their first breakfast.


Lane unpacking the closet box and trying on all the hats he has found.


We even found some time to decorate the tree, thanks to Grandma Whitaker's help.


Evelyn enjoying the quiet reading area in the playroom. What an angel!


It's really starting to feel like home around here.


We hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this peaceful and joyous time of year!

Setting Up Farm Animals

We went to the craft store yesterday to get a few gifts and Lane got a plastic tube full of farm animals. He loves these animals and has been carrying them around with him for the past two days. He loves to set them up (even on my leg) and count them. He even puts them on his school bus or fire truck and gives them a ride. And of course he has to take them with him when he takes a nap or goes to bed for the night. Yesterday he set these farm animals up and asked me to take a picture. I was thrilled that he asked and was thinking about a picture. So I ran and got my camera and took a picture. I love that Lane is thinking about pictures and also that he loved his animal set-up so much that he wanted a picture. He is so sweet!

Cleaning Until It Hurts

Project 365 Day 7, Cleaning
Originally uploaded by ewhitakerphoto

Justin and I spent a whole day cleaning the new house. We cleaned so much that our fingers are still sore a day later. The house is very clean and after the carpets get cleaned on Thursday, the house will be move-in ready! We also got our appliances ordered and scheduled a delivery date for Saturday. We are so excited to move in this weekend :) Justin's comedic side is showing a bit in this photo, scratching and cleaning. He's a multi-tasker.

Mailing Christmas Cards

Mailing Christmas Cards
Originally uploaded by ewhitakerphoto

This year I decided to make our Christmas cards. The process was fun from the Christmas photo shoot of the kids and the designing to the final printing. It was very rewarding seeing all the elements come together. I'm already thinking of ideas for next year's cards. Lane mailed them today, so look for some Whitaker Christmas cheer coming your way.

Project 365 Day 6, Sending
Originally uploaded by ewhitakerphoto

2008 Christmas Card
Originally uploaded by ewhitakerphoto

Visiting Santa

Santa
Originally uploaded by ewhitakerphoto

Wednesday Tori and I took the kids to visit Santa. Lane was very excited to see Santa in person. Before he even got to his lap he had already told him that he wanted cars and treats for Christmas. Evelyn was ok with Santa at first but as soon as I got out of the way so the elf could take the pictures her mood changed to, who is this guy? Mom please rescue me...NOW! The picture was snapped a moment before she started to cry. Both children have been good this year and I'm sure Santa will be happy leave them lots of goodies and treats under the tree.

We Did It!

We bought a house today!  As you can see from the photo, we are extremely happy.  We can't wait to get in there and make this house a home, our home.  Over the next week we will be getting the house move-in ready and hopefully be completely moved in by next weekend.

Project 365

Yesterday I started a new project.  I was a little apprehensive about starting it because the project will last a whole year.  The project is titled "Project 365" and I will take a photo everyday for a whole year.  And at the end of the year, I will have a whole year with each day documented in pictures.

I heard about this project through flickr, there are thousands of people doing it and their photos and stories inspired me to join.  I will be keeping all these photos in a set at my flickr website, if anyone is interested.  Here I've posted my "Day 1" photo.  I had a hard time choosing one, so I made a diptych.

Ok, so there's more.  We have scheduled a closing date on our new house for tomorrow at 2pm!!!  We are thrilled and full of excitement and joy...it's like being a kid again at Christmas time :)  We have much to do before we move, but we are planning on moving next weekend.  We are thrilled to be in our new home by Christmas day.  What a wonderful gift.

A Christmas Tree Tradition

Saturday morning Lane went with Justin and John to the tree farm.  They chose a beautiful tree and Justin took some great photos of the whole experience. Lane participated in the actual sawing down of the tree and he looks so proud in the photos.  When the guys returned with the tree, we enjoyed some hot chocolate and marshmallows.  The hot chocolate and marshmallows is very much part of this tree getting tradition.  Tori and John have kept the tree/hot chocolate tradition going for 30 years!  The tree is now fully decorated and filling the house with that wonderful fresh Christmas tree smell.  

Play Dough Snowman

This morning Lane and I made a batch of play dough.  Lane mixed all the ingredients together and I cooked and stirred.  Once it was done, I handed the large ball of play dough to Lane.  As I cleaned up I noticed that Lane was making a snowman.  He must be in the Christmas spirit!  I gathered up a few odds and ends for him to incorporate into his creation and his final snowman was very innovative.  Then we got out the cookie cutters and made Christmas shapes.  I had just as much fun as he did.  I really enjoyed kneading the dough, a surprising stress reliever.  Maybe I should start making bread dough that requires kneading.  I greatly enjoyed watching Lane sculpt the dough, it's nice to see him so focused.  I love the way he uses his little hands.  And much satisfaction was had observing his use of the odds and ends and cookie cutters.  We were both so proud of his play dough creations and enjoyed the whole experience together.

The play dough was very easy to make.  I found the recipe here 

http://www.instructables.com/id/EQLL3OUMSUEUN32O14/

Have a great weekend everybody :)

Teething, Teething and More Teething.

Evelyn has been teething for quite sometime now.  Her two center bottom teeth sprouted months ago and her top center teeth are oh so close.  It appears that these top teeth are right below the surface and will emerge any day.  She has been drooling constantly and gumming everything.  Her spirits have been up and she is still so happy in the midst of all this teething.  I patiently await for those sweet little tooth buds to sprout.

A First Thanksgiving

This year's Thanksgiving holiday was filled with firsts.  Evelyn Ann celebrated her first Thanksgiving, Tori made her first Thanksgiving dinner, the men folk fried their first turkey, and I also tried my hand at home made pie crust.

Evelyn is a big fan of mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, green beans and dumplings.  She really enjoyed the feast.  Lane is a bit more picky, and didn't touch anything on his plate.  Although the next day he did sample the pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and ate the whipped cream and left most of the pie on his plate.  Both babies enjoyed the company of family and each other.

Tori's dinner was delicious and we all enjoyed making a contribution.  I personally enjoyed working so close with her and learned a lot about what goes into making such a feast.  Tori taught me the secrets to making a pie crust, which isn't as easy as she makes it look.  Also, she didn't spare any creativity on her table setting, or tablescape as we like to call it.  It was stunning with fall colors, candles, pine co

nes (chosen by Lane), specially folded napkins and completed with fall accessories l

ike baby corn, apples and even a small pumpkin.  It was beautifully created, but not over the top.  A perfect setting for a Thanksgiving feast.

The men folk (John, Justin, Brolin, Lane and Bowzer) contributed to

 this Thanksgiving of firsts by frying a turkey.  There was s

ome major male bonding going on during this activity including beer and cigars.  The turkey turned out to be very juicy and delicious.  A successful first attempt at frying a turkey.

There is so much to be thankful for

, not just on Thanksgiving bu

t everyday.  Over the past several days I've had this overwhelming feeling of gratitude for life.  Life is full of infinite possibilities.  Life gives you the opportunity to love and be loved.  Life is truly beautiful. I am so grateful to be alive!  

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is enjoying the start of the holiday season!