I LOVE my "in-laws"...Thanksgiving, continued...

The word "in-law" has a negative connotation with most people, but certainly not with me! I LOVE my in-laws like I was born into their family! This Thanksgiving was spent with tons of Axelson in-laws, not only for Turkey Day, but for Nanny and Da Axelson's 60th Anniversary celebration! We spent Thanksgiving morning baking and cooking at Heidi and Aarron's house (The men actually contributed GREATLY! Thanks hubbies!), before joining the whole crowd for a late Turkey Dinner at the Axelson homestead!

Alison, making her famous banana cream pies...YUM...

Heidi and Josh makin' the rolls...

I don't have any pics of the actual dinner, but we stayed in the local Hampton Inn that night and got ready the next morning to take family pictures...always a blast! I had made matching shirts for the girls and me, so we were the "maroon" part of the family...

Here's one of them getting ready! As you can see, Phoebe was pleased as punch to be held tightly around the neck by her big sis, but she sure looked cute with her miniature pig tails!!!

Pictures were made at Furman University. Such a beautiful campus and a lovely lake area!!! Abby looked so grown up posing for me!

And Sweet Phoebe is definitely a daddy's girl!

I took this one! It's obviously not the best, but I couldn't resist Will's pose (all the way to the right!)

This picture just cracks me up! I have no idea what Josh was laughing at, but I love Dad's expression, Mom's squinty smile and the tilt of Alison's head!!! So cute! Just such a happy picture!

I wanted to put one of the whole gang on, but I think the file is way too large! Maybe I'll try again when I'm patient enough to wait. Aren't families great?

And one of those pics became our Christmas card!!!! Merry Belated Christmas everyone!!! More to come...

Grove Park Inn Gingerbread Competition

Thanksgiving was so fantastic this year!!! We started out the fun with a trip to Asheville, where we visited the annual Gingerbread House Competition at the Grove Park Inn. Our nieces, Madilyn and Zoie, decided to enter a gingerbread house in the youth category this year and their theme was "Goldilocks and the Three Bears...Share Christmas". They were so creative and ended up getting in the Top Ten! Their house was also first on display in their category, and we laughed when we saw how every viewer of their house held up the long line trying to catch every little detail they put into it! It was so fun and the inn was BEAUTIFUL!

Award-Winning gingerbread house!!!



...The beautiful grounds

The whole gang

Old-fashioned phone "booths"

Abby LOVED the phones!

All tuckered out!

Sweet Phoebe

Cool tree bench!

It was a long, but very fun day in a gorgeous place!! Congrats, Madi and Zoie!

Just to compare...

Beautiful Fall?...Summer end?...Fall?...Whatever!

This past week and a half, we have had some absolutely beautiful weather in Flo-town! One day, it was just too beautiful to stay inside...I said to Abby, "Let's go outside and enjoy this weather!" She looked at me like, "Mom are you for real?", probably because my normal reaction to going outside is that I have too much to do and don't feel like it! (Sarcastically speaking, I am SUCH a good mom, huh?)

Here's our little monkey, swinging on the tree!

Abby's picture of me reading on a blanket with Phoebe attached at my hip...literally!

My view looking straight up...

And here's sweet sweet Phoebe Jane...

Sweet, cute girls...

We were outside for the better part of two hours! One step into the backyard for many moms...one LEAP for Erin! If we had more days like THAT, I'd be out there WAY more often!

Tutus, tutus everywhere!!!!

Josh's sister, Alison, has been busy making tutus for the little girls (hers and mine!) Phoebe got a pink one for her birthday, Abby got a Halloween one the same day and her daughter Emma has a few as well. I decided to make some for our nieces on the Harvey side for Christmas, so Abby was able to wear my first completed one at Nana and Poppy's Ward "Trick or Trunk" (Okay, trunk-or-treat--inside joke with the Axelsons...)

Then Abby wore her Halloween one to school on the 30th...It was technically "Favorite Sports Team" Day at her school...Halloween was never mentioned...but thankfully, Clemson colors and Halloween colors are the same--on her cheek is my weak attempt at a Clemson paw, so it wouln't technically be a "Halloween costume"...

The next day, she wore her actual costume, which of course consisted of a tutu of sorts...

Phoebe had hers too...

And just a treat for you all...a pic of Baby Emma in all her tutu glory...

On to a more positive post...

Just thinking today about how blessed I am to be a mom to 2 beautiful little girls! I get so frustrated sometimes, when Abby talks back hatefully or when Phoebe slaps the spoon full of smashed green "booger peas" out of my hand. (My sister-in-law, Amber, uses that phrase regularly and I laugh to the point of crying when she actually says it in normal conversation...Anyway---I digress!) I get down on myself a lot, worrying about the future and wondering if my girls are going to turn out to be completely disrespectful and moody. And asking myself why I have two of the most STUBBORN children on this earth! But recently I've been thinking about the time that we live in, where there is so much around us that could lead us away from the things that are right--those things that can make us truly happy. And I've realized that ALL the children coming to this earth right now HAVE to be stubborn---if they aren't, they can't stand up for themselves and what is right--OUR privilege, as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers and leaders is to guide that stubborness and strength in the right direction, so our kids can be strong forces for GOOD, instead of going the other way! And especially in Phoebe's case, she's gonna NEED that stubborn attitude to get through the physical limitations that she will have for awhile!

So bring on the strong-willed kids! I can take it if it means they will be good, honest, hard-working members of a society that they will actually contribute to...I can take it if they will have the guts to stand up for themselves and what is right...I can take it if it means they will live happy lives because they know how to push through tribulation and be successful...HEY! I guess that means I'm stubborn enough to get through these tough and joyous times raising children! Go figure! You learn something new everyday...

What gives?!!

I am SOOO annoyed right now! Abby just brought me her school picture order form and instead of an awesome, full color picture on real photo paper with the word "PROOF" across the bottom in big white letters--a photo that I can fully steal and scan into the computer and make perfectly good, beautiful copies of for FREE, I get this grainy thing printed straight onto the order form-- something almost completely unusable!!! (How dare they? You'd think they actually wanted me to BUY a package so they could actually MAKE MONEY? (What do you think?)

It's okay, though, because in true 4-yr-old fashion, instead of this smile...

...or even THIS smile....

...Abby gave THIS smile...

Seriously, Josh will not even know it's a school picture without the "PROOF"!!!;0(