There's just so much going on!

First of all, let me apologize for my deliquency in blogging lately. With Thanksgiving and Christmas and everything in between, we've just been so busy! I know, I know...that's no excuse. How about I'm just so darned tired at the end of the day?

God has been so faithful to provide me with wonderful friends for my girls...and for me! Right after Natalie was born, a friend that I made at Lee University (in Campus Choir) showed up at my church, and I found out that she and her husband had moved here so that he could do his residency at Duke University. Well, as God would have it, she had a 2 year old son (1 month older than Ella) and a new baby girl (2 months older than Natalie)! I had prayed for a friend that was in the same place in life for so long, and rather than making a new one, God dropped an old one into my life! We have playdates with the kids at least once a week, and this is Natalie and her friend Charity playing and 'talking.'

Then there was Thanksgiving...which we did in our usual tradition at my Aunt Janice's house. Gerry and I do the turkey and some fixins, and we all meet up at her house to devour the food.

Papa thought it would be cute to see what she would do with a turkey leg. If she'd had her way, it would have been sucked to death!

Ella had the pleasure of sitting next to her Great-Grandma Sloan, and they enjoyed talking back and forth about the yummy food. Ella particularly like the deviled eggs, which will make her Aunt Beth very proud!

Natalie had her fill of baby food sweet potatoes, which ended up mostly on her sweet face! Who could say no to a face like that? She was pretty tired after all was said and done, and took quite a nap!

While Ella finished up her lunch, Ya-Ya and Great-Grandma played with Natalie. Ella was glad to be eating and Natalie loved all the attention.

Then there was Ya-Ya's (what my girls call my Aunt Janice) pumpkin pie. Ella had her first taste, and it was oh so fun to watch what happened next! Enjoy these pics of her experience...

There was so much going on that day that Ella never did get a nap. She was a real trooper and did great, but here was the sight when we got home that night after a very busy day...

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we drove down to Goldsboro for my dad's annual family reunion. We were able to spend a few hours with he and Pat, and actually got a decent picture out of it! The girls really enjoyed hanging out with their Granddaddy and Granna, and I enjoyed the break of having someone else corral them for a while!

The video below is not for the faint of heart! Natalie absolutely LOVES her veggies, and has yet to meet one that she wouldn't gobble up without any fuss. Fruits, however, have proven to be just the opposite. She loves bananas, but has had serious issues with the others...applesauce in particular. I don't know if it's the texture or the tartness, but here's the general reaction:

The last few pictures are from our trip to the Christmas tree lot to pick out this year's winner. It was really cold, but the girls had a ton of fun...that is, until Ella saw the massive inflatable snowman and totally freaked out! To calm her down, we sang Jingle Bells repeatedly until she had learned it! We found a great tree, and no one lost their mind in the process!

Look out soon for our Christmas post...it promises to be lots of fun! Merry Christmas everyone!