Snow Days

I can't speak for anyone else, but our little crowd sure got excited about Winter Storm 2010.  Between wanting me to check the weather, constantly running to the windows to look outside, and asking if it was snowing yet, I'm surprised we had time for anything else.  It finally started snowing Friday evening before the kids went to bed, enough that the ground was already starting to look white.  By Saturday morning when they woke up, it looked like a winter wonderland.  We got about 5 inches of the white stuff, but by the time the sleet was done it was probably close to 3.  It was so cold yesterday--really too cold to be outdoors, what with the wind and sleet.  But the kids gave it a try.

Well, all except Paige.  She wanted to go out and she made a valiant effort to get out there, but her mean parents said, "No."

She put on these Spiderman boots that were at least 6 sizes too big, in hopes that we might let her out.  It didn't work, but she sure looked cute in her gown and boots.

Once outside, Merry Grace immediately laid down and made a snow angel.  Keep in mind it is pouring sleet down at this point.

Elise tried catching some on her tongue. It wasn't hard--pouring sleet, remember? :)

This was Paige, looking out the kitchen door, while the other kids were outside.  She hadn't quite come to terms with being left inside.

Max thought the snow was fabulous.  He ran around like a crazy dog.  He was so rambunctious, the only picture we could get of him was with Elise holding him.

Ian was about as excited as Max.  It was hard to get a picture of him because he was running around so much too--even thought it was sleeting like crazy.

Eventually, Paige recovered from not being able to go outside and even had some fun wearing these sunglasses.  Who cares if its winter?  If it looks cute, go for it.  And it definitely looks cute!

Now, today was a different story.  It wasn't sleeting at all and the sun was out and it was really nice to be outside.  It was nice enough we even let Paige out. :)  She loved getting all bundled up, especially her boots.

Ian and Paigie--pretty much she just ate snow the whole time she was outside.  Here she is just sucking on her makeshift glove.

All four kiddos, posing for a picture.  Oh my, what a cute bunch they are!

Because of all the sleet on top of the snow, it was almost impossible to make a snowman.  But Elise drew us one on the ground.  It looks pretty awesome. :)

Paige saying "Cheese".  Aren't her gloves just precious?  We did actually find one mitten and one glove, but she wouldn't keep them on.  So we opted for socks, but even those were mismatched.  Oh, but she's cute!!!!

Cory played a little snow golf.  

Ian copied Cory, by doing a little golfing too.

Merry Grace was making an upside-down snow angel.  There's a strategic reason for this...

You can make a snow angel and lick snow all at the same time!!!

Paigie having fun in the snow.  (And proof I was actually around, too. :))

Paige and Daddy

Ian crashed on the trampoline.  He looks like he might have been attacked by a snow monster.  The kids loved jumping on the snow covered trampoline.

Ian found a huge chunk of snow.  Pretty cool!!!

More trampoline jumping.  It looked oh-so-cold, but lots of fun!!!

Merry Grace and Max running.

It was a super-fun day out in the snow.  I was glad it had warmed up a little today so we could enjoy it a little more.  It was nice to have a couple of days where we had no where to go and nothing we had to do.  Its so nice when everything shuts down and we can just enjoy being together.  The kids are out of school tomorrow, so it looks like we might have one more day of relaxing. :)  Is there anything better than a snow day?

The Girl with Hoop Earrings

Merry Grace got her ears pierced a long time ago.  Way back in 2008.  Since then, she hasn't wanted to change them out.  The first time we tried, she was traumatized because they were on so super, super tight that I thought we might have to get the jaws of life to pry them off.  After that she was done.  Completely done.  So we've just let it go.  I mean, really, is there some reason she needs to change them?  Well, one day this week, she decided that she was going to give it another try.  And guess what?

SHE DID IT!!!  Here she is in her second pair of earrings.  Since then, we've changed them every single day and she LOVES it!  (Now I just have to keep explaining to her why she can't wear my big, dangly ones. :))

Splish Splash

One night last week, we were doing our nightly bath routine.  Paige had finished first and I had gotten her PJ's on and her hair neatly combed.  I brought her with me back into the bathroom to get the other kids out.  I thought she was right beside me while I got towels out of the bathroom closet, but in that split second, she made her move.

I guess one bath just wasn't enough for her that night.  She decided to go for round two.  The kids thought it was hilarious, and truthfully, it was.

Let's just not make a habit out of it. (I'm pretty sure my getting the camera, while we all burst out laughing really sent that message home. We run a tight ship around here. I'm sure she'll never try that again!)

Why We Love Winter In NC

We had a couple of beautiful days last week.  After the bitter cold (hey, its cold for us!!!!) of winter, a couple of days in the 60's were like a breath of Spring.  It was wonderful!!!  As soon as school was out, we'd play in the yard until dark.

Elise decided to rake (or sweep) some leaves.  We have a lot of leaves.  I know it's January, but we've been a little too busy too get all our raking done.  I think it may have something to do with all these kids we take care of. :)  But apparently, if we wait long enough, we can get our kids interested in doing it.

They love riding the jeep.  This is one of the best investments we've ever made.  The kids love this!  And shockingly, they can all ride in it at once.

Ian got out his skateboard out and rode it down the hill.  (That is, if he could make it though the leaves.  Elise had better get to work!!!)

We love being able to go outside without jackets!  (Have I mentioned how cute I think these girls are?)

It is almost impossible to get a good picture of Sweet Baby Paige.  She won't look at the camera for more than a split second, she won't hold still and she makes goofy faces.  But Elise grabbed her and held her still for just long enough for me to get a picture. 

When we bought this tonka truck for Ian several years ago, I imagined him playing with it in the dirt and sand. This past week, it also doubled as a riding toy.  They each took turns riding down the hill in it and even let Paige sit on their laps and ride down.  

My four cuties.  What more can I say?

The surprise breath of spring was short-lived--most likely a cruel joke by Winter--as the temperature dropped twenty degrees overnight.  But it gave us the hope of warm, sunny days--which hopefully come back soon.  If wishing them back would do the trick, they'd have been here yesterday. :)

Why its Fun Being the Baby

You get the share popsicles with your brother...

And your big sister....

And your other big sister!

Your sister will take you on rides in her jeep.

Your brother will give you rides down the hill...while your sister pushes you...

And he will let you ride on his skateboard.  (Look closely, you can see Paigie sticking her little arm out to the side.)

You get to ride in the wagon instead of pulling it.

Sometimes you don't even have to walk, because there's always someone around to carry you. :)

You only have to sweep the porch after someone else has already done it.

If your car breaks down, you get to sit there while someone else pushes it.

There may be a down-side to being the baby, but from what I'm seeing it looks like its pretty great!

New Year's Day

On New Year's Day, Cory's Grandma (affectionately known to our kids as "Little Grandma") fixed all his siblings a New Year's feast.  We made the trek to her house and were not disappointed in the least.  She had a turkey, chicken and pastry, yams, butter beans, collards, potato salad, deviled eggs, cornbread, dressing, and several more dishes to top it off, not to mention dessert.  My, oh my, we ate some good home-cooking that day!  After dinner, we spent the day visiting with family.  Beware!  There are a bunch of pictures of these cute cousins together, but they are just too cute to narrow it down.

Merry Grace "running", (or shall we say, "walking fast") through Grandma's living room.  She's better be glad Grandma didn't catch her, or she'd have gotten an extra job.  Although, its possible she'd have gotten out of it from sheer cuteness.  This may or may not have happened before. :)

Elise and Emmy (left and middle) love it when their Louisiana cousin, Katie comes to visit.  They got lots of good bonding time in this trip.  We all just wish the bayou were a little closer to NC than it is...

The two Graces--Merry Grace and Sarah Grace.  Sassy and sweet and nothing but trouble!!!

Ian and Merry Grace posing with Katie.  We sure miss those kids.  Wish the holidays were longer or the distance were closer.

Katie holding her cousin, baby Charlie.  He is the cutest baby!  He's only four months younger than Paige and has been on the move for a while now.  (Just wait until he starts climbing!)  Don't you just want to give him a big ol' smooch?!

Grandma got lots of love from her grandkids.  Here she is with a few of her 19 grandchildren (with number 20 due this summer.) L-R: Sarah, Emmy, Charlie, Grandma, Katie, Merry Grace, Elise and Ian

 Cory's sister, Lynetta, with her cutie patootie, John David.  This little guy and Merry Grace share the same birthday, the only two on Cory's side of the family to do so.    

Uncle Jacob and his little man, Ethan.  

Sweet little Parker is getting so big.  I think she may be giving Paige a run for her money, if Paige doesn't start growing a little faster.  This little girl is nothing but love, though.  Sweet as sugar!!!

Little Grandma (the cook and host for the day) with her namesake, little Parker Ella.    Did I mention Parker was named for her great-grandma? ;)

I love the cute smile from this little darling.  She LOVES lipstick, chapstick, lipgloss or anything that might look like it could possibly be used as such.  She really should have been my child.  I feel the same way about lipstick.  I just can't live without it.  Ally knows me well, though.  Almost every time she sees me she'll walk up to me and say, "I need lips."  Lucky for her, I keep mine close at hand and am happy to share my "pretty lips" with such a cute little gal.

Can you get much fancier than huge glowstick earrings?  I don't think so!

Julian is about the hardest kid to get in a picture.  The two pictures before this were of him ducking his head and then one of him sticking out his tongue.  But I got him anyway. :)  He is the cutest thing.  He's just a month or so younger than Merry Grace and has the most adorable accent you've ever heard.  I don't think there's anything he says that doesn't sound cute when he says it in his cute little voice.

Nothing but sugar and spice.  Oh, how I love these girls!!

After dinner with Little Grandma, we decided a family picture was in order.  After figuring out the timers on the camera, a few test runs, and a possible bribe or two, we got a pretty good family photo.  What a good looking group that is!  We sure do enjoy the chance to all be together.

The day wouldn't have been complete without a stop by the cemetery.  I think the loss hit us all again, as we gathered around together.  Sometimes, what is a reality, doesn't seem like it should be a reality.  Once again, it makes me so grateful for eternal families.  We feel such a loss to not have Cory's dad physically with us.  But we are doing our best to keep him in our hearts.  Our children are doing a wonderful job of helping us remember and remember with happiness and joy.

We capped off the evening with a delicious cake made by Lynetta (it was soooooo good!!!) in honor of our cute niece Victoria celebrating her thirteenth birthday.  She is such a sweet, good girl.  I hope all her wishes come true.

New Year's Eve Fun

A few days before New Year's my family came down and spent a couple of days.  The first evening we met at my brother's house in Durham and had a delicious dinner of pulled pork sandwiches.  (Thanks, Lois!!!)  Afterwards we read our traditional new year's predictions.  Every New Year's Eve (or somewhere thereabouts) we make predictions about the new year, and read off the ones from the previous year.  Some are serious, some silly.  Last year I predicted Merry-Grace would change her earrings.  (She's terrified for anyone to mess with them because they are in there so tightly.)  Needless to say, I missed the boat on that one--she recently told me that she'd change them when the earrings fell out on their own.  Not likely to happen. So I predicted again that THIS will be the year she changes them.  We'll see.  Its a fun tradition to see what we "thought" would happen from one year to the next.  That night everyone crashed at our place and we got up the next day to sign the tablecloth.  Another Jarrell family tradition that dates back to Logan's first New Year's, 17 years ago.  We sort of summarize the highlights of our year and then my mom blocks it off, so each year has its own space.  Its fun to reminisce as we read the previous year's entries.  I enjoyed reading from the year I first met Cory at EFY and other entries from when I was younger.  We laughed at Logan's entry when he was just a kid, about loving the Christmas present Cory got for him.  After his glowing review, we all wondered what Cory had gotten him.  He somehow left out that detail.  But whatever it was, it must have been great.  My how we've all changed and grown up!  It's a fun tradition, though.

The afternoon of New Year's Eve, Cory's brother Eric, his wife Sherry, and their two kids came over and hung out with us for a while.  It was really fun, because we don't get to see them and visit as much as we'd like.  We played the wii a bit, visited, and just enjoyed being together.  The kids had fun playing, too.

Here are Ericka, Elise and Merry Grace.  They were a lot easier to pose for a picture than Ian and Julian were.  :)

That night, we all got together at Cory's sister Melissa's house.  We had such yummy finger foods to snack on and when we got there we tried out our new fondue pot and made both chocolate and cheese fondue.  Cory's mom had an unfortunate run-in with the cheese fondue.  She accidentally picked up a slice of lemon, thinking it was a piece of crusty french bread, and dipped it into the cheese.  One good bite quickly told her something wasn't right, but she thought the bread was just disgusting.  Upon further inspection, she realized her mistake and everyone got a good chuckle out of it.

We spent most of the evening gabbing (something we love more than just about anything!), having some wii competitions in which the loser of each game would rotate out and a new player would rotate in as the new challenger, and just lots of fun family time together.

For the first time, almost all the kids stayed awake to see the ball drop on New Year's Eve and got to have some fun with sparklers.  I can't think of a better way to start the New Year off, than with family.

dre

Making Money

You might remember this post about Elise selling things to Ian.  Well, now Merry Grace is making money off of him. too.  He is such a sweet, loving, kind child. So sweet and so kind that I think he just got ripped off again.  The day before yesterday he came into the kitchen and proudly held up a large, blue marble he had just bought from Merry Grace.  It's probably the size of a jaw breaker, so while its bigger than a regular marble, it isn't huge.  Guess how much this purchase set him back?  Two dollars.  This from a kid who has no income whatsoever.  About this time, Merry Grace came up to us and said, "I let Ian keep my giant marble and he gave me two dollars."  So Ian chimes in, "Yeah, she said to give her only one dollar, but I gave her two."  Oh, he was so proud. I wonder if he can make a career out of philanthropy?

Cousins Sleepover

A few weeks ago, Cory promised Elise and Emmy that we'd host a cousins sleepover when their out-of-town cousins came in for the holidays.  So the Wednesday night before New Year's was the big night.  The kids started coming in around six.  We had taco salad fixed for them and then they got right into playing.  The girls LOVE playing school and had fun having so many friends to play with.  The boys preferred the wii, and conquered several sports before the evening was over.  They all played with play-doh for a while and then watched a movie on the projector and had some yummy snacks.  All in all, we had 11 kids over (although 2 left around midnight because they weren't feeling so well.)

Here they were snacking and watching a movie. (l-r: Charles-Allen, Ericka, Sarah, Merry-Grace, Marleigh, Elise & Kyleigh)

Right before bedtime, they wanted to act out one of their favorite stories from Cory's dad's childhood.  My sister-in-law, Lynetta wrote about it on her blog:

"When we were kids, we loved for my Daddy to tell us the story about one Christmas Eve when he was about six years old. He and his younger brother, Joe, were in bed and supposed to be going to sleep. But as most kids are on Christmas Eve, they were too excited, and having a hard time settling down. When all of a sudden they heard a knock at the door. They heard their mom go to the door and say, "Hey Santa. Let me go check and see if the boys are asleep." They hear their mom coming, and my Dad said, "Joe, make out (pretend) like you're asleep." She opens their bedroom door and asks, "Russell, are you asleep?" Dad doesn't make a sound. Then she asks, "Joe, are you asleep?" "YEP!" he proudly proclaims. So she goes back and tells Santa that he'll have to come back later. We laughed every time he would tell us that story, and now we are sharing it with our children and they get a kick out of it too."

This is the kids' version of the story.  I think they acted it out marvelously and I feel certain their Grandpa would get a kick out of them doing this.  In fact, he probably already has.

The next morning, we had a yummy breakfast and the kids played for a little while before their parents started picking them up.  We had such a good time with all the kids and loved having them over.  They are the sweetest, funniest bunch of kids and we just love them to pieces.

Waiting

On Saturday, I took Elise, Ian and Merry Grace to the Primary Activity Day at church, while Cory stayed home with baby Paige.  I think this might be the first time the two of them had had some alone time, without the other kids.  I think she missed everyone.  Cory said that as soon as we left she walked over the door and kept knocking at it and fussing.  She knew where'd we'd left from and wanted to come too.   While she fussed at the door, Cory was cleaning up the kitchen (I know, he's awesome!).  When he peeked around the corner to check on her, this is what he saw.

That sweet little girl was asleep by the door, just waiting for her family to come home.  Isn't she the cutest thing EVER?