Moore Family Christmas

Saturday we had our Moore Family Christmas and what fun it was!! My baby cousin, Chad, who is now a tall 17 was our baby for the longest time...then Josie came along 2 years ago and this year...we added a whopping 3 babies to the mix!! WOW! We had the best time all sitting around watching the kids open gifts...well, Eli slept thru most of it as he is still itty bitty and doesn't play with much yet. Josie had such fun and looked super cute in her pink glittery boa! Sim and Millie were sitting up and playing with everything they could get their hands on. Food was incredible as always...the family favorite always being Mema's Mac-n-Cheese! We missed Lauren, Meghan, Jason, Jenn and Amelia but hopefully next year everyone will be there. Here are some photos from the day...hope you enjoy!! Coming up next...Colbert Family Christmas on Sunday!

The Moore - Copeland Family 2008

The Copelands - Eli, 3 months

Cass and Melinda

The four boys - Dan, Doug, Jeff and Ken

Another picture of Dad laughing with Eli - two peas in a pod!

Lee drawing with Josie - he loves doing this!

Ken, Elaine and Chad Moore

Uncle Jeff playing with Sim

Justin, Millie and Kristin

The Bentons

Josie and the two Danielle's - DeeDee and Andelle

Cousin Kristin clipping Eli's fingernails for the 1st time - I am scared to do it!! She was the pro and Eli just sat there and sucked on her hand - completely oblivious to the clippers! :)

DeeDee with Eli - look at those lips!

Millie and Sim playing with their new toys.

Too stinkin' cute! Sim likes to kiss everybody!!

Sisters

All the little ones...Sim (11 months), Josie (2 1/2 yr), Eli (3 months), and Millie (8 1/2 months)

Mommy's Little Turkey

Eli had a wonderful 1st Thanksgiving! We take turns every year with our families and this year we were with Lee's family. Since his little brother had been sick with a stomach bug we didn't chance going by his dad and stepmom's on Thursday. We spent the day with his mom, brothers, grandmother and his aunt/uncle/cousins who were here from Louisiana and Tennessee. We had a great time!

One of my best friends, Nicole, was here as well and we got to see her twice which was wonderful! She lives in Jackson Hole, WY so we only get to see her once or twice a year. Last time she saw me I was only 17 weeks pregnant with barely a belly. She missed the whole big belly, swollen feet, whiny stage - haha! It was great to see her with Eli - they were both in love I think. AND she brought him back the cutest little moccasins you have ever seen!

On Friday, we went and had lunch with my grandparents, my uncle Jeff and my cousin Lauren. Lauren is in school at College of Charleston so she had not met Eli yet. He loved her! He was all smiles...except for the occasional gas issue! haha It is crazy for me to see Lauren holding him - I used to hold her and play with her when she was a baby and it just doesn't seem right for her to be old enough (or me to be old enough to have a baby) to be in college and on her own. It was a great visit!

We had dinner with my parents on Friday night since my dad finally made it back from Montana. He had been gone for two weeks hunting - he killed a whitetail deer and a big ole elk! We had the most fantastic elk burgers - they were yummy!!! (best thing I have EVER put in my mouth and so good for you - much leaner than beef or deer)

There must have been something in the air because my dad and I both woke up Saturday with a cold. UGH! I stayed in bed all day on Saturday and on Sunday...just miserable and tired of sneezing and blowing my nose. I am trying my best not to get Eli sick...I know it is inevitable that he will catch a cold but I am holding out for as long as I can. Since I was sick, Lee took Eli to his dad's for a couple hours to see everyone since we missed them on Thursday. I hear that Papa Lou never put Eli down! So cute! Lee also killed a deer on Sunday night - he was so excited! Cass and Melin have been wanting a freezer full of deer meat so this one was for them. I wanted to get a picture of Eli with Lee and the deer...Eli was NOT happy about having his hat on...he has recently started this. He looks so super cute in them (see picture below too) but he usually cries until I pull it off. He better get used to it...they aren't going anywhere at this point since it is so cold outside. (mean mommy!)

Anyway, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and hope everyone else did as well. We have so much to be thankful for in our lives....our health, our children, our families and our friends. Love you all!

my stinkpot turtle...

When Eli was born Lee started calling him a stinkpot turtle...cute name but what really is a stinkpot turtle??


The stinkpot turtle is certainly properly named, and if you ever have a close up encounter with one you will find this out rather quickly. The yellow like solution they secrete is so foul smelling it is likely to induce nausea in a person that is not blessed with a strong stomach.


Well, if you have been around Eli you will know that the boy has some gas and LOVES to poot!! Now they don't really smell but the nickname and the poots go hand in hand....I mean, look at this cute face...he does look like a little stinkpot doesn't he? And lucky me...He is MY stinkpot!

Two Month Pictures

Here are some pictures I took on Eli's Two Month Birthday - hope you enjoy!

Happy Birthday Mema!

**I did 3 posts tonight - make sure you read all of them!!**

Sunday was my grandmother's birthday - what a grand day! The family got together at my parent's house to celebrate her and then went to church with her that evening. She was so happy! Here are some pictures....

Martha Ellen - our rock!

Josie telling Mema all about the deer in the backyard

Uncle Cass and Auntie Melin with Eli

Me and Josie singing Happy Birdle Daydle to Mema! (our secret family song - Josie couldn't get enough of it - haha!!)

Eli with his great-grandmother Martha Ellen - one lucky boy!!

Uncle Ken - the quiet one of the bunch! Rare in this family!! (her 4th boy - yes, she had her hands full with 4 boys!)

Uncle Doug with Mema (her 2nd boy)

Dad with his favorite new little guy! They ADORE each other!! (dad is her 1st boy)

Grandpa Bob and the Queen of our family

Simpson trying to get Eli to play with him.

Mema with Uncle Jeff (her 3rd boy)

Thanksgiving with Friends

For the past three years we have celebrated one of my favorite holidays with our closest friends. Saturday night was our 3rd Annual Thanksgiving with Friends - what a fun night! The first year we tried cooking the entire turkey/dressing dinner but it was too much and we ended up worrying more about the food than enjoying each other. The last two years we have done stews and soups with cornbread and rolls. YUM! We had Veggie Beef Soup, Creamy Potato Soup, and Mexican Tortilla Soup - all were so good! Cornbread and jalapeno corn muffins were our sides and then came the Better Than Sex Mousse and homemade cookies w/ vanilla ice cream. We had some good food!! Lee built a fire out in our chimnea and everyone huddled around and had a great time. My favorite time was when the whole group (minus 2 couples who shall remain nameless!!) played Catch Phrase. We sat boy girl and played Boys against Girls - you would have thought we girls could beat the boys - but NO! they beat us by a point. Some were quite obnoxious about the entire game....LEE...CHAD...no names though! :) All in all, we had a fantastic time and missed those who couldn't be there.

Some of the girls - Me, Mary, Amy and Melin

The boys after their win - Lee is impersonating Eli! He makes this face when he is being rotten - one of our favorite things! Not so cute on Lee though. haha!

Kate, Tommy, Brooke and Grant having fun!

TROUBLE!! These two were mess pots all night!

Here are some photos of how I decorated the house - on a budget but tried to capture the fall season!I usually hang my Christmas cards on these ribbons in my kitchen. Originally, I was going to hang up pictures of each couple with us but I don't have all of them printed out (all on my computer). So what I ended up doing was writing a little "thankful" note for each couple and attaching with a mini clothspin and adding a colorful leaf from our yard. Turned out cute!

This was our dessert table - added a ribbon and some cedar to my pig menu holder. We have a ton of our wedding napkins left over - chocolate brown w/ our name on them. Perfect to use for dessert at parties!!

We were using paper bowls and plates to save on clean up so I decided to dress up the silverware. I wrapped each silver spoon in a napkin (white or brown) and then tied it with a coordinating ribbon (brown or green). Perfect!!

Our fireplace in the den - went to my mom's house early in the day and got some greenery from her yard. Used cedar branches, pinecones and mini pumpkins for the mantle. I always have a ton of pinecones to use during the holidays - did a whole arrangement (w/ votive candles) in the actual fireplace. Add the pumpkin that Kim and Lou got us last year and the look was complete!