Christmas with the Stovers

 Merry CHRISTmas!  Today, we celebrated with my side of the family.  Katie and Sai drove up from Charlotte to spend some time with us.  We missed Andy (currently deployed to Qatar), but it was still a fun time together.

 Family Photo

 Jacob loves this book

 Mr. Sai plays with Emmaline's new puppets 

 Bangles from India (Ellie likes to call them "shingles")

 Fraggles

 Little House on the Prairie books 

Who doesn't need more Legos?!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Thankful and Then Some!

 Happy Thanksgiving!  We spent the day with both sides of the family at my parents' house.  It was so nice having only one place to celebrate today and not having to drive to multiple locations.  This was the first year we tried this and it went swimmingly.  The kids had a blast spending the day with both sets of grandparents and Mema.  Katie came up from Charlotte for the weekend as well.

So thankful for my sweet family

Turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, green beans, and other yummy things to eat

Time to eat

Dessert

Getting pedicures from Aunt Katie

Andy Turns 26 (a few days early)!

My brother, Andy, turns 26 on Saturday, but since he deploys to Qatar tomorrow and won't be here for his actual birthday, we celebrated tonight at my parents' house. Mom made the family favorite, chicken pot pie, and then Andy's favorite cheesecake for dessert. Present time was fun, as well. We finished the evening off by watching episodes of Psych, one of our favorite t.v. shows.

Katie decorated for the party with monkey stuff, which has to do with Andy's nickname

The Kids Table: Emmaline, Jacob, Colton, and Ellie

Ellie and Papaw

Yay!

Monkey Cheesecake

Happy Birthday, Uncle Andy!

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for...today, it is family and food! I'm thankful that we live close enough to celebrate with our families (both sets of parents live within a couple of miles of our home). I'm thankful for the food God provides for us to enjoy on this day (and for a husband that works hard to earn the money to purchase said food). I'm thankful for a warm home to celebrate this day. I'm also thankful for a mom who loves to cook for her family!

Sai and Katie

The Dinner Table

The Kids' Table

Emmaline snuggled in for a post-meal nap with Mimi

Sai turns 30!

Today, Katie's boyfriend, Sai, turned 30! He lives in North Carolina, but flew up to spend Thanksgiving with her. After she picked him up at the airport, she brought him back to Mom and Dad's house for a surprise party. He went to college in Massachusetts, so he is a big Boston Celtics fan. Katie ran with that theme which was evidenced in the mints, cake, posters, and balloons. We had a fun time celebrating a really great guy!

Emmaline gives Sai a birthday hug

He had never played "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" before (apparently, it's not popular in India...who knew?!), so guess what we did for a party game?!

Jacob's 8th Birthday Party...

My Jakey-boy turns 8 tomorrow! Not sure where the time went, because it seems like just yesterday (or at least a couple of weeks ago!) that we brought him home from the hospital. He is all boy and chose "camouflage" as his party theme. He had a party with friends this afternoon and then a family party at dinner time.

Playing "Pin the Tank"

Gabriel, Chuckie, and Jacob

Noah and Collin

Mackenzie, Ellie, and Mikayla

Jacob planned the menu: Subway sandwiches, veggies, egg rolls, deviled eggs, meatballs, hummus w/ pita chips, and grapes. He did a good job covering all the food groups.

Jacob loves his new books.

These are both books that I sell with Usborne. Have I mentioned how great our books are?!

Aunt Katie and Mr. Sai

Me and the Birthday Boy

Happy Halloween!

Tonight was Halloween, so we did the traditional soup dinner before the kids headed out for Trick-or-Treat. Both sets of our parents and Nathan's grandma joined us for the occasion. The kids wore the same costumes that they did to AWANA, but the girls decided to trade dresses. For Ellie, the highlight was getting her princess make-up done by Aunt Katie.

Jacob

Ellie, all made-up

Emmy Kate

Family Photo

Katie sorted the candy for us