Life with the Pulleys...: February 2010

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

A change of hair color & another haircut

Soooo...I'm now back to being a brunette! I've debated for a while turning back to my natural brown, but decided to finally do it recently. I really love it and Patrick's getting used to it now too!

And, Will got his fourth...yes, FOURTH haircut not too long ago as well. I have cut it twice myself, and he has gotten it cut by my sweet hairdresser two times. I had her cut it shorter this past time, and more like a "lil' man hairstyle". It was just adorable if I do say so myself! His Daddy just melted as well when he saw it for the first time. And believe it or not, it's grown SO much since! It's already started hanging back over his ears and even down his neck some too. I am definitely realizing now JUST HOW MANY haircuts we have ahead of us during his lifetime! : ) But, I love it!

A memory of Christmas 2009

A humorous memory of our 1st Christmas as a family of four revolves around our Christmas tree.

Even though we've never put a ton of emphasis on the tree in our household (due to the lack of its' importance pertaining to the real reason for the season - the birth of our Savior), we do enjoy decorating the tree together each year.

Well...let's not lie...Kennedy and I enjoy decorating the tree each year. : )

Patrick can't stand how incredibly large our tree is, nor how long it takes to put it together branch by branch. He also doesn't quite "enjoy" the 1200 lights it takes to light the tree either. But, he sucks it up and helps w/ it every year thankfully! Kennedy just loved putting the ornaments on last year, but this year made for an interesting situation.

B/c we left the wknd. after Thanksgiving for Phoenix (normally the wknd. we like to put up all of our Christmas and Winter decorations) and didn't return until the day after New Years...our tree was lucky to even get up this year! If we knew even partially a/b what the next month would hold for us, we probably wouldn't have worried a/b getting it out of the attic and setting it up at all. But, we did get it up b/f we left for AZ. And we sure did take it back down (undecorated) after we got home from SC.
At first, I was a little upset each time I thought a/b not getting to decorate it together this year. However, I got over it...accepted things as they were...and took a picture so we would never forget this Christmas! What a memory!

IT'S ALL PART OF THE JOURNEY, RIGHT?!

The month of December in review - Part 3

After a busy several days in Ft. Smith celebrating Christmas w/ the family, the 4 of us traveled w/ P's parents to South Carolina to visit my father-in-law's side of the family. His mom (Grandma Pulley) and all of his siblings live near each other, so we're able to see everyone each time we visit. We drove through the night to SC on Sun., spent each day @ Grandma's & each night @ Uncle Larry/Aunt Nancy's, celebrated New Year's Eve for the first time w/ this side of the family Thurs. night, ate a New Year's Day lunch w/ the entire family Fri., and then drove through the night again Fri. night (...sigh) to finally return home that Sat. And to add to the craziness...we celebrated Christmas w/ P's immediate family out in Huntsville immed. after returning home Sat.

The kids did awesome on the drives through the night, and slept both times until we would stop for breakfast. We were pretty surprised it went as smoothly as it did since we had already been on the road for SO long (AZ) leading up to this SC trip. Will did get pretty frustrated Fri. afternoon @ one point when he was struggling falling asleep in the carrier once again. We didn't blame him ONE BIT! However, after a short time out of the carrier to stretch his legs and play a little...he was good to go again! And, I believe we only made one extra stop TOTAL for Kennedy to go potty - besides the usual breaks of course. Way to go girl! She's been potty-trained for an entire year this month & we're so proud of her.

We spent majority of our week in SC just catching up w/ family, cooking, and playing games. And just like last time, Kennedy loved "riding" around the house on Grandma's walker. : ) She would even sit on it while eating meals @ the dinner table too. Pretty funny stuff! But, it was extra special since we got to introduce Will to Grandma for the very first time. Will's middle name, Monroe, was taken from Patrick's Grandpa Pulley who passed away when Patrick was only a/b 6 years old. His name was Harvey Monroe, and we looked so fwd. to sharing Will's name w/ Grandma immed. after he was born in May. We're thankful and so happy that we got some good children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren pictures w/ those who could be there b/f we left (...smiles were not easy to achieve by all. ; ) Ha, ha!).

It was a great week, and we cherish the time we got to spend w/ everyone! And, Grandma's health is failing her...so every day we got to spend w/ her was even more special.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The month of December in review - Part 2

After we returned home from AZ the night b/f Christmas Eve...we set out again the following day around lunch to celebrate Christmas in Fort Smith, AR w/ all of our family. And a white Christmas @ that! We did the usual hop & skip b/w Patrick's Mema's house, my Mamaw Hobbs' house, and my Nana/Grandad's farm - all located in Ft. Smith. It makes for an incredibly busy several days each time we're there, but don't get me wrong...it's COMPLETELY and utterly worth every minute! We feel very blessed to still have so many of our grandparents alive and both have family that live in one place. We have such great family who love us unconditionally.

Plus, it was indescribable to just relax for four straight days w/ family. This year was even a little unique compared to previous years, b/c Patrick's Mom's side of the family as well as my Mom's side of the family BOTH decided to start doing a "themed" Christmas meal. Both meals ended up falling on Christmas Eve...which equaled a LOT of eating and feeling miserable afterwards. : )
And, interestingly enough, both sides ended up choosing Italian food. They were both delicious and fun for a change from the normal "Thanksgiving" foods that were normally prepared again @ Christmas. Have I mentioned what wonderful cooks we have on both sides of our family?! So different in some aspects, but the same in others. Wow!

This year was obviously extra special as we now have two precious joys in our household. Will turned 7 months just 5 days b/f Christmas, so this was obviously his 1st Christmas. He was ALL a/b tearing up the wrapping paper and tissue paper. It was hilarious! He loves to "drum" on everything, so he would certainly beat his hands on each and every gift b/f ripping it to shreds. : )

And, Kennedy understood a little more this year a/b what the true meaning of Christmas is all a/b. We pray that she begins to retain some of the knowledge she's learning and that she continues to enjoy learning and understanding more a/b our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We also want our children to remember Christ's birth all year long, and not just during the month of Dec.

And after Christmas, we were able to attend church w/ my Mamaw as well as my Nana/Grandad @ the church my parents grew up in. It's the church my sister and I attended from birth until grade school (when we moved to OK), and not a whole lot has changed from what we remember a/b it. It's special to be able to attend church w/ 2 sets of grandparents every now and then, as well as see old friends who still attend there. And b/c Sun. afternoon was my Mamaw's 90th birthday party, she requested that her 5 sons sing together at least one more time. They did a great job and I always cherish the times growing up when I listened to my Dad and my 4 uncles sing together on special occasions. It was a beautiful Sun. celebrating her marvelous 90 years of life and seeing just how many people she has touched or even led to the Lord. Mamaw has always been one of the strongest Christian role models in my life, and I am so thankful for the beauty that she embodies inside and out. Kennedy is actually named after my Mamaw, for those who don't already know. Kennedy is Mamaw's maiden name, and holds quite a special meaning and past. Such an important day made me miss my Papaw even more though, but I'm so thankful that he's in such a better place. Happy birthday again Mamaw! I love you w/ all of my heart! And I'm thankful for everything that you've done and continue to do to ensure that each member of our family (all 2000 of us - ha!) know the Lord as their personal Savior and grow in their relationship w/ Him.

Some of Mamaw's grandchildren that were able to make it to her 90th b-day party (aka - first cousins)

Majority of Mamaw's great-grandchildren @ the party

Dad (the 2nd to youngest of 9 kids) and all of our family w/ Mamaw

IT WAS A VERY SPECIAL HOLIDAY SEASON FOR OUR FAMILY! THANK YOU LORD FOR ANOTHER YEAR!

Kennedy finding her "puppy" that she asked Santa for - Christmas morning