Happy Birthday Uncle Fred

The birthday of the day is my Uncle Fred's. I hope you have a very special birthday!! We love you!!

Happy Anniversary

Today my cousin Jill and her husband Ben celebrate their anniversary. I don't remember exactly how long they have been married but I think it is around 18 or 19 years. I pray the LORD will bless you with many, many more years together and that each one will be even more precious and wonderful than the last. We love you!!!

Happy Birthday Wanda!!

Today is the birthday of my sweet dear friend Wanda, whom I miss VERY MUCH!!! I hope Chris and the kids make it very special!!!! I love you!!

Nathan's Birthday

Today is my nephew Nathan's birthday. He is turning 10. Man, that is hard to believe. Seems like just yesterday I was holding him in my arms at the hospital for the first time. Happy Birthday Nathan!!!! We love you!!

Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Today is the day we celebrate the birth of our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thank you God for sending your Son, Jesus, to us. He is the best gift I have ever received. If you don't know my Jesus and would like to meet Him, please let me know. I would be very happy and thrilled to introduce you to Him. (And I know He is waiting for you, too.)


Happy Birthday Jesus!!! I, and my family, love you very much!!!

Two More Birthdays!!!

My friend Julia and her husband have birthdays that are two days apart. So, I decided to mention their birthdays together in this one post. Julia's birthday is today, December 23. David's is December 25. Happy Birthday you two!!! Hope they are wonderful!!!!

Happy Birthday Stephanie!!

Today is the birthday of my friend Stephanie. I hope God shines down on you extra special today. You deserve it!!! Love you!

Happy Birthday To Me!!

Today is my birthday!! I love birthdays because I love the attention. It is such a fun time of year to celebrate. Everyone goes all out on the decorations, some even decorating the outside of their houses with beautiful light displays. Isn't it neat? So, Happy Birthday to me!!!

Happy Anniversary!!

Today is Dick and Daphne's anniversary. They are celebrating seven years of wedded bliss. Congratulations you two!! We love you!!!

Happy Anniversary!!

Today my sweet dear friend Stacy and her husband Barry celebrate their anniversary. I can't remember the exact number of years they have been together but I think it is about 18. Congratulations you two!!! May the years you have had together so far be just the tip of the iceberg. May you continue to grow closer to God as you grow closer together. I love you!!!

A bunch of birthday posts

For those of you who are unaware, the months of December and January have a TON of birthdays and anniversaries of family members, dear friends and loved ones. So, you will be seeing A LOT of "Happy Birthday" and "Happy Anniversary" posts on this blog. If by chance I have forgotten one (and with this many it is very possible), please accept my apology now and let me know. I will make sure it gets a shout out.

Budding Artists and an Absolute Beauty

Below are some pictures the kids drew in Art Class at school. I am amazed at how good they are. They must get it from Melanie.


This is Will's picture of a monster. When I asked him if the teacher helped, he told me she drew the black outline of the monster. He traced it in brown then filled in the rest. He even did the eyes, eyebrows and mouth. I think he did a great job.

This is Hannah's art project. It is called "Toucan." She pointed out the other animals: a frog, caterpillar, spider, butterfly, and bumblebee along with the toucan. There are also flowers, leaves, branches and a sun. Hannah mentioned that it was done in chalk pastels. You first outline the item. To fill in the item, you take your finger and, using the chalk on the outline, proceed to color in the item. (Will told me this last part.) It amazes me just how much they are learning about the different mediums. Didn't she do a great job?!

This is my niece Alyssa. She was in a pageant at school and had her picture taken. Isn't she absolutely beautiful!!

Pictures from the Enchanted Forest

Some of you may remember going to the Enchanted Forest at Goldsmith's Department Store in Downtown Memphis as children. When Goldsmith's Downtown location closed, they moved the Enchanted Forest around to a couple of different places. The last few years it has been at the Pink Palace, which I think is the perfect place for it. It was as much fun as I remembered as a child. Melanie and I would go to work with Mom on a Sunday during the month of December. While she worked, Melanie and I would do our Christmas shopping and visit the Enchanted Forest about a hundred times. The pictures below are some of the ones I took when Andrew and I went with some friends. When you first go upstairs, you are greeted by the Festival of Trees. They are Christmas trees that have been sponsored by different groups and/or companies and each has a unique theme. You then enter the Enchanted Forest area. It was great and the kids had a good time. I can't wait to take Hannah and Will to see it.

The Kindergartners at the kids' school took up money to purchase a penguin. When enough money was raised, one penguin goes on display at the Pink Palace and Enchanted Forest while another goes to a child at LeBonheur, the local children's hospital. These pictures are of the one Will's class bought.

There were a total of four penguins bought by the Kindergartners.

A sea of penguins that had been donated by individuals and local schools.
(This picture only captured a portion of them.)

Andrew

Will Gallagher looking at one of the Enchanted Forest exhibits.

Kindergartners from Hernando Elementary School were there while we were.

Another exhibit at the Enchanted Forest

This tree was called "Wings of a Dove"

This tree was called "Under the Sea"

Peppermint tree

Brownies in Wonderland

(sponsored by a local Brownie troop)

This is the tree topper on one of the trees celebrating children

We liked this one. It was entitled "God's Greatest Gift"

Mele Kalikimaka

(Merry Christmas in Hawaiian)

Andrew and me

Andrew and me as you look down the row of beautiful trees

Ruth Phan, Tracy, Will and Seth Gallagher

Santa talking to one of the groups of Kindergartners

The tree beside him was sponsored by the Memphis Grizzlies.

Happy Birthday Alyssa!!

Today is a VERY special day!!! My goddaughter/niece Alyssa turns 18 today!!!! It is hard to believe she is 18. I still remember the first day I met her. She looked like a cherub with her blonde hair and blue eyes. Happy Birthday Sweetie!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Happy Birthday Laura!!

Mike's cousin Laura celebrates her birthday today!! I hope you have a great one. We love you Laura!!!

Flowers and Gingerbread Trees

My dear sweet husband bought me these flowers after church on November 4th. They kept their beautiful blooms until just last week. I finally threw them away on November 25. Aren't they beautiful!!

These pictures are of the Gingerbread Christmas Tree the kids and I made on Saturday. We did one last year and the kids had a blast. When I saw it in the store this year, I picked one up. The gingerbread houses required way too much detail for the kids but this one was perfect. Plus, Will is making a gingerbread house at school this week.

Andrew, Hannah and Will posing with the tree

The kids posing with the tree

Hannah being a big ham!!

Will is so proud of the work he did!!

Andrew wanted to share his banana with everyone.

LOTS and LOTS of Pictures

The pictures are out of order. The first set were taking at CJ and Carla's wedding reception on November 15th. The second set were taken at Toccoa Falls on November 16th. The last set were taken while we were at the park on November 4th. Enjoy!!

Andrew, Will and Hannah

Annette (in the black) and Lanell (in the red)

Ashtyn and her dad JT

[When Ashtyn and Hannah were younger, they looked like an opposite set of twins: Hannah had the red curly hair with dark blue eyes and fair skin. Ashtyn had the dark curly hair with dark eyes (so brown they are almost black) and dark skin. They always play together really well when we are in North Carolina and seem to pick up where they left off from the last time they saw each other.]

Joe, Sharon and Rich

JT, Carla and Annette

The stream coming from the Falls

Mike and Andrew at Toccoa Falls

Mike and the kids at Toccoa Falls

Toccoa Falls

Toccoa Falls as you walk up to the end of the trail.

The boys hanging out in Will's bed before bedtime.

The changing leaves at Central Park near the house

Andrew and Will on the slide

Gracie

Hannah

The weather at the first of November was warmer than usual this time of year. The kids wore short sleeves the day we went to vote. Because they were good while I was making my choices in the voting booth, I took them all to the park to play.

Thanksgiving Day was busy but fun. Will woke up just before 7 a.m. and came running into our room. He started shaking me yelling, "Mom, it's Thanksgiving!! Mom, it's Thanksgiving!!" If he is this excited about Thanksgiving, imagine how he will be on Christmas morning. The family and some friends came over between 12 and 1 to eat. We had about sixteen people here. All of the food was wonderful. Here is a list of everything we had:

Turkey, dressing, deviled eggs, corn casserole, Lima beans, green bean casserole, sweet potato souffle, cranberry sauce, jello salad, potato salad and rolls.

For dessert, we had Mississippi Mud Cake, Strawberry Pizza, Pecan Pie, and Key Lime Pie.

Needless to say, we were all stuffed. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and a very Happy Holidays as we get ready to celebrate Christ's birth!!

Happy Anniversary!!

Today is my dad and step-mom's anniversary. They are celebrating 14 years of marriage. Congratulations you two!!!

We're back!!

We are back from a quick trip out of town. Mike and I took the kids to Mike's cousin's wedding in Toccoa, Georgia. We got to see all of Mike's family while there. I have pictures to post once I get them downloaded off the camera. I'll also post more information about all of our "goings on" at the same time. It is late and I'm ready for my own bed. The hotel room was nice but we had two double beds for four people. Andrew was the lucky one; he slept by himself in his crib. Lucky duck.

Happy Birthday Uncle Jim!

Today is my Uncle Jim's birthday. Hope you have a great birthday!!! We love you!!

Still Here

The reason for the lack of posts on our blog is because things have been busy around here. Even though soccer practice and games are over, life hasn't slowed down. This past Saturday was spent giving the house a good cleaning, something we haven't been able to do since soccer started. Sunday, Hannah and I went grocery shopping while Mike worked and Will watched television. Andrew was taking a nap and trying to get rid of a fever of between 101-103 degrees.

The kids are looking forward to this weekend. Friday we are leaving to go to Mike's cousin's wedding. Since it is about an eight hour drive, we are checking the kids out of school early so we don't arrive in the middle of the night. The wedding is in a little town NE of Atlanta.

While we are there, we are going to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. For the last five years, we have gone to Mike's aunts and grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. Since CJ was getting married two weeks before the holiday, we all decided to celebrate while we were together. It is weird planning to spend Thanksgiving here at home. We started going to NC when Will was six months old.

I am really proud of Hannah and Will. They both have done very well in their conduct at school. Hannah is the only one in her class that has not flipped a card and gotten off green light. [The teachers use a color code to determine their level of behavior. Each child starts off on Green light (which is good). If they do something that is wrong or has to be corrected, the child has to change their card and color.] Will is also doing great with his conduct at school. He has only gotten into trouble once. During the third or fourth week of school, he squirted juice on another child at lunch. Doing this caused him to get a yellow light (which means they did something wrong. No other punishment is needed.) Their grades are also very good.

I have to tell some stories about Andrew. He has been talking up a storm (except at school). He is like a mynah bird: he repeats just about everything he hears. At night while we are trying to get the kids in bed, Mike and I start singing the "High Ho" song from "Snow White." You know, "High ho, high ho, it's off to work we go." We substitute bed for work. Mike whistles part while the rest of us just sing "Do do do do....." Anytime during the day or night whenever you mention the words "time for bed" Andrew starts singing "Hi Ho" and "do do do do..." It is hilarious!!!!

Tonight after dinner, Andrew climbed into my lap and was trying to get down. I asked him, "What do you say?" thinking he would ask for permission to get down like the other two do. Instead, he looks up at me with the biggest, cheesiest grin on his face and says "PEEEAAASSSEEE!!!" I couldn't help myself and started laughing.

Last Saturday, Mike and I took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese because they had done so well at school. Now, every time we pass Chuck E. Cheese (or anytime he thinks about it), Andrew starts saying, "Hannah go Chuck E. Cheese." "Will go Chuck E. Cheese." The problem is he says it over, and over, and over, and over and over etc.

Something else he does that is funny is he wants to know what you are doing. One day I was emptying and reloading the dishwasher. He walks up and asks "Doing, Mama, doing?" I tell him "I am emptying and loading the dishwasher, Andrew." He asks me again, "Doing, Mama?" I tell him the same thing. This goes on for about five minutes; each time my answer gets shorter and shorter in length. Finally, he asks me about three times, "Doing, Mama?" and I answer "Dishes." He then just walks off and starts playing. It was really cute.

Happy Birthday Marines!!!

Today is the birthday of the United States Marine Corp!! They are 232 years old. Happy Birthday Marines!!! Semper Fi!!!

Very Sad News

We received some very sad news today. A friend I have known since I was in the Singles Sunday School class at church, Chaelson Andre, committed suicide yesterday. I don't know all the details. Chaelson leaves his daughter Hannah, his wife Elizabeth and step-son Luke along with his ex-wife Stephanie. Understandably, they are all having a tough time. Please pray for this family.

Parties, Festivals and Soccer Games

This blog will be long because I have a lot to catch up on and a LOT of pictures to post. Hope you enjoy it all.

The soccer games in the pictures below were played on Saturday. It was their last one.

This is Will's soccer team, the Tigers, in action. Mike is their coach.

Here is another shot of the Tigers in play.
They are the ones in blue.

Mike the the team are lined up waiting for the ball to be thrown in.

This is Hannah's soccer team, the Lady Wildfire, in action.
They are the ones in the blue shirts.

Hannah and her teammate are going after the ball.

Hannah and Kylie

Hannah and Emily

Andrew is dressed as a soccer player for Layne's costume birthday party.

Andrew and Jonas

Andrew

Hannah is dressed as a Snow Princess for Layne's party.

Hannah is reading beside her bed before Layne's party.
She and Will both LOVE to read. I hope they stay
interested in books like Mike and I are.

Layne (the birthday girl) and Andrew

Our friends Susan and Todd.

Aren't they a cute couple?

Will dressed as a baseball player for Layne's party.

Will and Andrew

Regina's vehicle at MOPS Trunk or Trunk

Amy's vehicle at MOPS

Jamie's vehicle at MOPS

My van at Trunk or Treat
The boys loved the trucks and construction toys I had decorated with.
They played with them almost the whole time we were there.

Cole, Bennett, Brady, Hudson and Andrew
at the MOPS Trunk or Treat

The boys enjoying some of their candy.

Andrew in his lion costume.
He wore it during a trip to Sam's Club.
Everyone there just had a fit over him.

This costume has been worn by Nathan, Will and Andrew at Halloween.
Hannah is the only one who didn't get to wear it.
It was too big for her on her first Halloween and too little on the second.

Andrew and Michelle at our church's Fall Festival.

Michelle is wearing Hannah's crown.

Andrew at the MOPS Trunk or Treat.

Andrew again.
Here, he looks like Nathan when he was this age.

Hannah doing the cake walk at church.

Melanie

Nathan and Hannah doing the cake walk.

Will, Nathan and Hannah

Will, Nathan, Hannah, Melanie, Michelle and Andrew

As you can see, we have been busy but having loads of fun.