Way Back When-esday...First Snow

When I woke up this morning...after taking off my extra fleece blanket...I couldn't believe the temperature outside--in the 30's... Brrr! I live in Florida, right? It brought back so many memories of my childhood in Southern Indiana. It really feels like it could snow here. Which made me think back to Emma's first experience seeing snow.

I still remember how excited she was to play in the snow. She still asks when we can go back to Indy during the winter. Although the snow is so pretty to look at, I'm just not so sure we're ready to drive in the ice.
December 2006...

I just checked the weather forecast for this weekend...Looks like it's going to be almost 80 degrees and beautiful! Gotta love Florida!

Makes My Monday: Mary and Joseph

Seriously who needs to pay for entertainment when you have these two around...
Emma and Max decided to play "nativity scene" and have been dressing up as Mary and Joseph(or as Max says Jofes) all weekend. It is absolutely precious and they have been singing their little hearts out too...Max's favorite: We Three Kings and Emma's favorite "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" It it so precious. Don't you just love baby Jesus's stroller and little lamb?

Play along with Cheryl at Twinfatuation: http://twinfatuation.blogspot.com/

Dad's Birthday and the Spectacle of Lights

This past weekend we celebrated my Dad's 56th birthday with a Robbins style bash. We had a great lunch at my parent's house and then headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios for the Osborn's Spectacle of Lights. I just love going to see all of the Christmas lights and I love spending time with my parent's, brother, and sister, and their families...all 17 of us had a fantastic time!!
The"original" Robbins 5
Aunt Brooke and Emma

Aunt Melissa and Nathan

The cousins dancing in the street to the Christmas music

checking out all of the lights

Max and his boys-Nathan and Joshua

Papaw and Hannah

Me with Max and Noah in their matching shirts!

Nathan showing Max how to build with Legos

Mamaw and Mom

Me and my lil' sis

The cousins trying out the nutcracker

Gram and Papaw trying to get a pic with all 9 grandchildren

Santa Claus is coming to town...

Christmas is even more magical when you have a 3 and 6 year old. They are just so excited and can hardly wait. I feel the same way! I just love spending time with family and friends, hearing Christmas songs on the radio, teaching my kids about Advent and the story of Jesus's birth. Decorating the tree and pulling out my most favorite ornaments and remembering the stories behind each one. Baking cookies...and the delicious smells of the season! I also love pulling out our Christmas story books and reading them over and over again.Another favorite tradition is going to Bass Pro Shops to visit Santa. They haven't always been excited..there have been tears shed in years past. But they had a great visit with Santa this year. They made sure to tell him how good they've been!! Emma asked Santa for a desk and a sewing machine. Max asked him for a remote controlled car and transformers. I just can't wait to see their faces on Christmas morning!

Mommy and Me Monday

I can honestly say I have no idea where last week went. It was such a busy week. Fun, but busy! I am sooo looking forward to being off the next two weeks and enjoying every minute as we prepare for Christmas. I still have a ton of shopping to do but I actually enjoy it so that won't be a problem. I also cannot wait to do some more baking. Today I am focusing on snuggling and enjoying being home with the kids, getting the house cleaned, laundry caught up, Christmas crafts made, the kid's haircuts, some more gifts wrapped, and actually cooking a home cooked dinner. I just hope I can get it all done! I'll probably be up until midnight! We went to Disney's Hollywood Studios over the weekend to celebrate my Dad's birthday. Here is a pic from the Spectacle of Lights. More pics to come...

Way Back When-esday

I had planned on sharing some of my favorite pics of the kids with Santa from years past but I came across these and couldn't resist. As much as I love to share pictures of my adorable children...this week I had to share some pics of Emma's debut Christmas performance on a stage. And I must admit...they are not too adorable! She cried throughout the show and for about an hour after the show as well. Her school put on a beautiful Christmas program telling the story of Jesus's birth and Emma was a duck. Even at 3 she knew what was going on and there were no ducks in the manger. She wanted to be an angel like the 4 year olds. I'll never forget that day. My whole family, mom, dad, brother, sister in-law, their kids, my sister and brother in-law all came to see Emma in her very first program...and she cried like she's never cried before!
If you know my Emma now...you would never believe she had such stage fright! She loves to get on a stage. She sings, dances, and loves to perform! She was such a shining star at her preschool end of the year program last year. It's so funny to look back and remember those times. It just goes to show you...that you never know what will happen with kids.
I'm looking forward to Max's Christmas program tomorrow night. I'm hoping that the only tears shed will be from this proud Mommy!

Christmas program 2007-Emma with her teacher after the show and still crying!
This is a terrible picture(not sure if I knew how to zoom), Emma is the 3rd from the left...her teacher was trying to console her.

Play along with Cheryl at Twinfatuation...it's so much fun to reminisce!

almost Friday...hooray!

Where oh where has this week gone? Oh where oh where could it be? (I'm singing a little tune in my head right now---I tend to do that all the time when I say things, especially with my own children and when I'm teaching. Not sure why but I guess I think I'm funny!)

I cannot believe how incredibly busy this week has been. It seems I blinked and now it's minutes away from Friday. I truly love this season. All the hustle and bustle makes me happy. Tired, but happy! As I sit here and smell the fragance of pine from our Christmas tree, I am smiling! Life is so good and I am feeling especially blessed! I am enjoying this beautiful weather we're having right now in Florida...it really feels like the season has begun. I also just had a burst of energy and cleaned the kitchen, bathrooms, vacuumed, picked up, removed some carpet stains, and am contemplating folding some laundry at 11:15 pm! All this after working a full day teaching energetic, excited, and talkative six/seven year olds, spending precious quality time with my own kiddos and hubby, visiting a tree farm and picking out our most beautiful Christmas tree yet, a trip to Wal-mart for pancakes and chapstick-(weird, right?) We also picked up some potting soil and another poinsettia(my dad gave me a really pretty one the other day) and a few odds and ends.

One of my most favorite moments tonight was when I was putting Max in his car seat at the tree farm and he started saying "Ho, Ho, Ho Merry Christmas!" and singing "We three kings of orient are, bearing gifts, we traveled afar"...the whole song with hand motions. Seriously, it was too precious. Last year before his Christmas program I kept asking him what song he was singing and he would pick a different Christmas song like Jingle Bells or We Wish you a Merry Christmas and on the night of his program he came out playing a drum and singing The Little Drummer Boy. It was adorable! Damian even told me today that Max's teacher, Ms. Lynda reminded him about the program next week and wanted to make sure that Max would be there. She said he is the "music leader" in the class and is the one who knows the song and movements and gets very excited when it's time to practice. I can't wait to watch my sweet boy on the stage next week. Max's school really does an amazing job at their Christmas program--they tell the Christmas story through songs and it is beautiful! I love that he is at a Christian school. (although it's not perfect and I've had my moments this year-I know that Max loves his school, is learning so much, and has fun with his buddies!) They teach bible verses and sing songs.(one of Max's favorites is still Jesus Loves Me-he even started singing it in Wal-mart tonight and this older lady had a big smile on her face when she walked by our cart.) They also do bible related crafts and pray before their snacks and meals. This is something that is important for me and my family.

We have a big weekend planned and I am beyond excited! My parents are coming over on Saturday for Emma's gymnastics holiday show and to visit us! Emma will also be in our town's local Christmas parade that evening. She is beyond excited to do cartwheels in the street. :) We will be spending some time with some good friends too! I am looking forward to some fun times during this season of joy.

O Christmas Card, O Christmas Card...with Shutterfly

One of my most favorite things to do at this time of year is pull out my Christmas cards and take a trip down memory lane. I love to not only look at my own Christmas cards from years past, but the many sent from my family and friends. My favorite cards are those with pictures and handwritten messages. Which is why I've chosen to make my cards on Shutterfly this year. I first used Shutterfly for Max's 3rd birthday invitations in August. I loved being able to incorporate his picture in his Buzz Lightyear costume in his invites. Their birthday invitations (http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/birthday-invitations )are terrific! Sorry I don't know how to just write the word so you can click on the link. I tried a couple of different things that didn't work. It seems I need another blogging lesson from my friend Heather. It's also getting late and I've spent my day teaching 6 and 7 year olds.

I'm so glad I discovered Shutterfly, my only regret is not finding them sooner. The selection is so much greater than other photo sharing sites . I am going to have such a hard time deciding on my Christmas card this year. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Like I mentioned above the selection is unbeatable. I think it may take me days to go through each card to decide on the perfect fit for my family. I will definitely be checking out this link often. http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards . (It's already on my favorites!)

I've also decided to make a few gifts on Shutterfly this year. I've never made a calendar for the grandparents before, but I know they would love a 2011 calendar with pics of their favorite kiddos and important dates. http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars
I might even make one for myself! Especially this week since they are having amazing cyber week deals. I also love the photobooks. I will never have too many photos of my sweeties!

Shutterfly's Christmas promotion for bloggers:http://bit.ly/sfly2010 is a fantastic way to spread some holiday cheer.

Mommy (and Daddy) and Me Monday

It was so wonderful to have the whole week off last week.(Although I would have liked to have blogged a little more to keep a better journal--just got busier than I expected) I had such a fun time with the kids and Damian--he actually only worked half days Wed. & Fri. and was off on Thanksgiving & the weekend-this is very rare for him. It was so great to relax and spend quality time together. It was nice to get caught up on housework and laundry too. We did a little shopping, playing, visiting with family(my sweet new nephew) and friends. We saw the new movie Tangled and the kids LOVED it! Emma keeps asking if we can go again! We also traveled to Daytona Beach to visit our friends Jon and Cathy. I love Thanksgiving but sometimes get a little overwhelmed having to travel to celebrate with both families in one day. However, as the years go on it is getting easier for me and I look forward to seeing everyone and making new memories each year.
Here are some of my mommy(and daddy) and me pics that my mom took on Thanksgiving. I wanted her to take a few photos for our Christmas cards and here are a couple of my favorites:

Mommy and Me Monday

I just love this time of year! I am so excited to be celebrating Thanksgiving this week. Not to mention it's also our fall break from school. So we are off for the e-n-t-i-r-e week!! It has also been a very exciting time in our family...my sister and brother in-law welcomed their first son Noah William on November 18, just in time for turkey day. His big sister Allie is also pretty excited!! We just love babies in our family(who doesn't, right?!?) This is the 9th kiddo in nine years in just my family. I cannot wait to see him again tomorrow!
This is the time of year where I reflect on what I am truly thankful for and remember to count my blessings...which I try to do every day but especially now!
Here are a few of my favorite mommy and me moments over the last month:
Emma and Mommy at Emma's Thanksgiving feast
At the pumpkin patch with my sweeties

Emma and Mommy at Cracker Barrel for Emma's 6th birthday

Six Year Old Saturday

Well, it's official... we have a six year old! Emma has been quite the busy little girl over the last couple of months. She's still loving kindergarten. I honestly can't believe how much she's learned over the last few weeks. I love listening to her read and watching her write her stories. She loves to come home and play school too. She has even told us that she is asking Santa for a desk this year...I love it! For her actual birthday on October 27, we celebrated with dinner at Cracker Barrel with Damian's parents and a trip to Toys 'R Us for her to spend her birthday money. She had a blast!! Today we are having a double celebration with her cousin Nathan. His 9th birthday was November 10. Emma is so excited to be sharing this party with her cousin. I know it will be so much fun for all of them! We are also planning on taking her to Bippity Boppity Boutique at Disney to celebrate in true princess fashion. There will definitely be tons of pics to share. In the meantime, here are some pictures of Emma from her first ballet and gymnastics performance for this year at downtown Zephryhills fall festival. We are also planning on her being in the Christmas show and parades in December. She has been really practicing her gymnastics and is loving it!

Way Back When-esday

I have been thinking about getting our family picture done for our Christmas cards this year. So with that in mind I am posting some way back pics of the kiddos at Christmastime.

I really want to get professional pics of our family done at an outside location. We were supposed to over a month ago but plans didn't work out. So I am going to try my best to schedule and get it done within the next couple of weeks. I can't believe I'm planning that already but it is the second week of November...I feel like I'm already behind! Plus....every time I turn around I see Christmas decorations! I personally like to celebrate Thanksgiving before I even begin to think about pulling out my decorations but I do love the holiday season!



Emma-Christmas 2006(when she was an only child!)

Max's 1st Christmas-2007---I love, love, love this pic of my boys!

Our family 2007

Emma-December 2008

Max-December 2008

December 2009