December 2011: Part 1

I thought I'd share a few of our December pre-Christmas memories before the picture frenzy from the holiday celebration is uploaded.

The month has been sprinkled with a few note-worthy events, both Christmasy, and some not so Christmasy.

To start off, we've begun the remodel of our new {1957} house.  It's going well, and Russ is doing a fabulous job!  I am continually impressed with his "handy-man" abilities and am so proud of all he's done thus far.

We are still living with his parents, but spend a lot of time there working, cleaning, riding bikes, playing, etc.

Lawson has proven to be very helpful most of the time...

The green carpet will be removed once the painting is complete.

Here are a few of your first peeks...

There was wallpaper in a few areas, and thankfully it had been sized meaning it was very easy to remove...

 

We've got a long way to go.  There were very few light fixtures in the house as they used lamps which were wired to light switches meaning Russ' job was a little easier... thank you, Lord, for the existing light switches.  With that said, none of the bedrooms had lights, nor did the living rooms, therefore Russ is currently installing lights.  And at this point in time, the three downstairs bedrooms have lights, and he hopes to "see the light" in the front living room and in the mile-long hallway today.  We never expected to be so excited about lighting! :)  I took a few before shots and will post the afters sometime soon.

Onto some Christmasy things...

As mentioned in the Dear Santa Claus posting, we visited Santa's Village here in Martin one Saturday morning.  It was so pretty. The parking was atrocious, but the crowd inside was thin so we were only there for about an hour which was plenty long enough.

An overview in pictures... lots of lights, Enchanted Forest, Christmas music with entertainment, petting zoo, giant slide, carousel, Santa's Lap, train village, and much more!

The petting zoo was a hit with the boys, of course.

A funny memory not captured by pictures... As we were walking up to visit the camel, it stretched it's neck out over the fence, and snatched the cup of feed right out of Lawson's hand. :) He laughed and laughed. I think it startled us more than it did him.

And once again, here they are with Santa.

***

Remember the bike riding mentioned above? Well, here you go... one day we were at the new house working when I heard Emmitt laughing in the other room.  I walked around the corner to see them riding together on Lawson's bike.  It was adorable!  Lawson told me, "I helped him up and then I just started peddaling".  It made my day!

Yes, there is more green carpet...
Green was Mrs. Julia's favorite color.

***

On another Christmasy note, we enjoyed Lawson's Christmas program the middle of December.  It was a sweet program, and as always, watching children sing simply warms your heart.  It was a very "crowded" program so the pictures are not great, but hey, we did capture a few moments from the big night.

Granny got to go and Emmitt wanted to sit with her... she loved that, of course! :)

And that's that.  

A short and sweet thirty-minute Christmas program with sweet boys and girls.

***

The Christmas tree went up and immediately little hands were amidst the ornaments... three broken up to this point. 

So thankful for Mrs. Jane's understanding of toddlers and for her laid-back personality.

Fully decorated Christmas tree pictures to come in the next post.

***

Free Freeze returned this year.  And yes, his name changed as our determined three year old insisted that his name was Freeze and not Free.  So, Freeze it is.  Who knows what next year will hold for this little guy.  In case you're wondering, Freeze had very little influence on Lawson.  He wasn't a very big believer in Freeze, although he liked him, and when we would remind him of Freeze's presence, he quickly told us that he coudn't see/hear him.  What to do?

And so we don't forget - Lawson and his daddy decided one night at bedtime that Freeze has three elf brothers named Icicile, Snow Flake, and Frosty. Funny boys.

***

The last portion of December 2011: Part 1 involves Martin's Christmas parade.  Now let me tell ya... this was a fun night, the kids loved it, it was cold and drizzly, and we brought home coat pockets of candy, but... I couldn't help but notice how different this small town parade was in comparison to the "big town" parades in which we've become accustomed.  It was kind of funny.  Every fire department and police department in the county was there, daycare groups, boy scouts, motorcycle riding groups, horses, bands, and a few floats.  I mean what else could you want?  The important people in this little community were recognized.  It was neat, and once again, memories from my childhood were brought to light.  And through the eyes of a child, it was magical! :)

That's all for now... I hope to post more Christmas tonight. 

Thanks for reading!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Dear Santa Claus,

Mailed to, and published in the Weakley County Press; Martin's local newspaper.

Dear Santa Claus,

My name is Lawson Bragg and I am three years old. I have been a good boy this year and would like for you to please bring me a few surprises.

For Christmas, I would like to have a new gun, a train table, a new big boy Bible, and if you make hockey goals, hockey sticks, and pucks, I would like some of those, too.

I also have a little brother named Emmitt. He is one year old, and he has been a good boy, too. Please bring him a train table, a little boy Bible, and a chair with his name on it.

We are very excited about Christmas, and we thank you for remembering us! We will leave you and your reindeer a snack so that you will be strong when you fly your sleigh on Christmas Eve!

Love,

Lawson and Emmitt Bragg

***

So, Martin has brought a new light to the holiday season... 

Our boys have experienced traditions from our childhood and are making many of the same memories that Russ and I made as children.  It has been very exciting.

A sneek peek into those memories... we visited Santa's Village and Lawson shared his wishes with the jolly ol' man.  And although Emmitt was scared, it was a lot of fun!

I am excited about the upcoming days as we celebrate Christmas and share the spirit of the season.

More Christmas memories to come real soon.

November Happenings

Well, hello there...

I'm still here although it's been a little over a month since my last post.  There has been a lot of change over the past few weeks, and for some reason the blog has been the easiest to move to the back burner.  I have a few things I'd like to document and a few pictures to add to our memories here on the blog...  

First off, we are officially residents of Martin, Tennessee.  Last Friday consisted of new drivers license, and address changes, which made us official here at 38237.  It has been a whirlwind of a move, to say the least, but we are happy to be here and are slowly adjusting. 

As to the whirlwind of a move... I had to check the date of the following pictures to remember when we actually moved as I just can't keep up with the dates any more.  Staying at home will do that to you, but during all of this, it seems as though we've literally flown by the seats of our pants. {I can't believe it is December 9!}

So, we departed from our Columbia home on the evening of November 10.  It was a long day of tying up loose ends, and loading last minute things.  We will be forever grateful for our realtor, Paul, and our neighbor, Trae.  We couldn't have made it without them.  They were truly blessings in our move.

 

In an effort to save money and not have to stay in a hotel, we stayed the last night in our house, and the boys slept in our room as their beds were already packed.  We left our bed as one of the final things to pack... they were so sweet, and slept like babies.

The next day consisted of Paul, Trae, and Russ loading the final pieces of furniture amongst other things and us cleaning for the new family that would move into our house.  They are from India, and it is a part of their culture to have a relationship with the ones in which they are doing business, so we got to know them really well. :)  Thankfully, they were extremely nice people.

And here we are ready to pull out... the boys thought the moving truck was very cool!

:)

We were only in Columbia for a short time, {12 months and 1 day to be exact}, however I've decided that it is never easy leaving your safe-haven-of-home no matter the location or situation.  Pulling out of the drive way with a few honks of the horn, as if to say farewell, caused a mixture of emotions which surprised me.  We headed East and spent the night in St. Louis before finishing the move the next morning.  In case you're wondering, the boys and I followed Russ in our van.

I believe that sums up our move to Martin, and overall things are going well.  We closed on our new house here last Thursday, December 1, and are continuing to live with Russ' parents as our "new 1957" house needs quite a bit of updating.  I will post the "before" pictures soon. :) 

***

On to Thanksgiving...

It was nice to celebrate Thanksgiving without having to travel, although it was a stressful day for me for some reason.  We had three locations to visit during the day and it was just a little much.  Or a lot much, to be honest.  We began the morning with the Macy's Day Parade which Lawson enjoyed more this year, then headed to my Grandmother and Granddaddy's for lunch at 11:00, my Mama B and Daddy Denton's for lunch at 12:30, followed by lunch here with Russ' family around 3:30.  It was a busy day, but hopefully next year will be different.  My main struggle with holiday marathons like that are the lack of quality time spent with family on such a special day... it feels like we eat and run to the next place.  I have some hopeful ideas for next year to remedy that... we'll see! 

Here are Russ and the boys watching the parade.

And a cousin shot at Mama B's... 

Maddie, Lawson, McKenzie, and sweet baby Jenna Kate with an unhappy Emmitt.

It was truly a lot for Emmitt who slept through eating with the Bragg family.

I did, however, love watching Maddie and Lawson play together.

Don't they look happy?!

Although Thanksgiving was slightly overwhelming for me this year, we truly have SO much to be thankful for.  I don't want the overwhelming emotions to overshadow our gratefulness.  God has blessed us with more than we deserve and we praise Him for each and every day we spend enjoying our life here on Earth. 

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1

I hope you and yours enjoyed a blessed Thanksgiving.

Halloween 2011

It's hard to believe that this week began with Halloween.  As I was going through the pictures, it seemed as though Halloween was forever ago.  It was a fun night and the boys, especially Lawson, had a lot of fun.

Lawson was a cowboy... and he was the most handsome one I've ever seen.

He shot many bears, coyotes, birds, squirrels, raccoons, and the such that night. 

And if you're wondering, the cowboys that live on our farm are also hunters. ;)

I love this.  It makes his mama's heart smile so big.

I know I am way biased, but he really is the cutest big brother in the whole wide world!

And then Mr. Emmitt... he didn't enjoy his costume so much.

Do you see him?

He is in the dog stage right now.  The stage where he is learning the different animals and the sounds they make.  Dogs are his fave.  Hence, the dog costume... he wasn't digging it.

{And for our memory, Russ' parents have a Jack Russell named Parker.  Just this week he is saying Parker very clearly.  Exciting!}

So, I didn't push it.  He just wore his costume without his ears... and he was an adorable little puppy, wasn't he? :)

As Russ and I were looking through the memories from the night, I got to this picture and said, "if only he weren't trying to pull his hood off!"  And Russ' response... "that's the perfect memory for this year... that's how the night went.  If the hood was up, he was pulling at his ears."  He is right. 

Halloween 2011 was Emmitt, the puppy dog, "scratching" at his ears.

Sweetness...

...I could eat him up!  Definitely the cutest little brother in the whole wide world!

And a quick family picture before the trick-or-treating began...

It was a fun night.  Lawson is at the perfect age to thoroughly enjoy himself... both the costume and the trick-or-treating.  Sadly enough, he's had the croup so we visited family at a distance to prevent the spreading of germs.  Our trick-or-treat stops began at Mama B and Daddy Denton's where we met up with my dad, Mrs. Anita, and Abby.  Next, we visited MeMaw and PePaw.  And we finished our night up at my mom's.

We returned to Russ' parent's house for a warm bowl of chili and a boo-licious dessert!

Introducing the Flaming-eye Ghost! 

He was uber-cool, fluffy, and so yummy!

I expect him to become a family tradition, reappearing each year.

And that sums up our Halloween... Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend!

Last Day of school + A play date

Today was a bittersweet day, to say the least.

Moving brings on a mixture of emotions... excitement, anxiety, hesitation, hope, fear, happiness, thanksgiving for answered prayers, and more.

The thing I struggle with most when it comes to moving is the fact that we are leaving an area where we've made friends, where our children have made friends, and where our family has grown and experienced new things, and when we depart from an area, I {we} recognize that we may never see those influential people again.  This is very hard for me.  I just can't block that thought from my mind when it comes to moving.  Every time we've moved I have struggled with this, and this time is no different.  Tears are rolling down my cheeks as I type this.

We will miss many people here in Columbia, Missouri.

With that said, today was Lawson's last day at school.  I felt pretty good as I was on my way to pick him up, but when I got there I couldn't help but cry as we said our "see you later's".  If you remember, I mentioned in this back to school post, that our favorite teacher here in Columbia was retiring and that I was extremely sad; those feelings returned today as I hugged his teachers and told them I'd see them later. I just can't do "good-bye's".

So, anyway, {sniff}, we will move on with new teachers and friends in Martin and new memories and attachments will be made.  We've been extremely fortunate with the care of our children, expectations have always been exceeded {remember Mandy in Evansville?!}, and I expect nothing different at his new school. 

Here is Lawson and his friend, Ben...

Pick-up is so busy, and Ben was the only one that I could convince to sit still long enough for a quick picture...

And here is Mrs. Stephanie whom I grew to like... she did a great job with Lawson!

And the "sweet" part of the day was another play date with Jorah and Lyla. 

Lyla's mother so generously invited us to their home and it was SO enjoyable!

These girls have great moms and the kids play so well together.

I DO hope we will get to see them again some day.

-Emmitt, Lawson, Lyla, and Jorah-

Does Emmitt look like a big boy, or what?!

And to close the night, these boys are enjoying another Cardinal's game with their daddy.

Awww man... they just lost. :(

This is not the end so we'll keep cheering them on!

This is the scene around here these days...

Batting helmet, farm batting gloves, baseball bat, Cardinal shirt which is dirty, and dad throwing the ball.

This combination equals one happy little boy!

I will be sneaking the shirt into the washer while he sleeps tonight.

Thanks for taking this picture, Dad!

Thanks for reading... another play date scheduled for tomorrow followed by the packing of the first boxes!

Should be a FUN FRIDAY!

Lawson's first day at his new school will be November 3 which I am hoping will be a "sweet" day.

More pictures coming soon!

We've been BOOED! and Go Cards!

When we got home from church tonight, we noticed a surprise on our front porch... we've been "BOOED"! So exciting!  The boys acted like it was Christmas as they tore through the treasures in the pumpkin.

Can't wait to BOO two of our neighbors in the next few days!

Martin friends and family... "Booed" is coming your way next October!

***

I am sure {at least I hope} you are aware that the Cardinals are playing in the World Series.

And I am sure you recognize that we are fans from the header picture on our blog.

Lawson loves the Cardinals and Emmitt just wears what we put on him. :)

Lawson is old enough to understand the game, therefore he is enjoying every minute of watching the game with his daddy, even if it is an hour past his bedtime.

Go Cardinals!

The Bragg Household supports you ALL THE WAY!

And #5, Albert Pujols, you are our favorite!

Lawson has finally learned to say Pujols correctly. :)

It was really neat to see the Cardinal fans at church tonight sporting their red... we will miss living in Cardinal Country!

Fall Fest

Two weeks ago, our church held their annual Fall Fest at Mr. and Mrs. Osburn's farm.

It was so enjoyable for everyone!

I captured a few memories...

-Boys and girls of all ages enjoyed the swing-

When we arrived, approximately 20 girls and boys, actually teens, were playing a game of football... Like the kind of game, where you will get run over if you get within two feet of their "area".  And wouldn't you know that our Lawson, who is often confident beyond our belief, just walked right over to one of the younger teens and asked if he could play with his football... and he said, "yes".

So our boys then had a lime green and black Nerf football all to themselves. 

What should we do with him?

This is Grant.  He is our preacher's middle son. 
Lawson thinks that each and everyone of their children hung the moon.  He speaks of Justin, Grant, and Mark at least once per day, and they are so sweet to humor his obsession with them.

I love this!

Here are Lawson and his friends...

Cash, Lawson, Aliya, and Cameron

Emmitt wanted to sit on the boat, too.

The pond was so peaceful, but far from peaceful all at the same time.

I was a nervous wreck the whole time.  People were just letting their kids freely roam and it was all Russ and I could do to keep up with ours so that they didn't decide to take a dip.

It was a soup and chili potluck, complete with the fixings of corn chips, cheese, and sour cream... all followed with yummy desserts.

We sang songs of praise, and had an encouraging devotional.  Worshiping outside always seems so refreshing to the soul.  Maybe it's just me, but it was very enjoyable and uplifting.

The night came to a close with the annual talent show which was so entertaining. 

Our kids even sat still and quiet!

This is our friend, Brei and her little boy, Cash.

Here are Grant and Mark.

Lawson was totally into their comedy act of "Who's on First?"

They did an awesome job!

Pretty Ragan...

And mischievous, but handsome Emmitt...

A few more comedy acts...

These were a little more serious...

This group of geese flew over during the talent show and were so pretty in the setting sun...

Introducing studious Elora.  We love her family... her mom loves our boys, too.

Pretty dedicated, isn't she?  It left me wondering what teacher assigned homework on a weekend?

{I'm not a fan of homework...}

That concludes the memories of the Fairview Road Church of Christ Fall Fest 2011!

***

I decided to add a few other fall memories...

Our friends, Ben and Jennifer, have a pumpkin patch on their farm in Dresden, TN, and we visited them a few weeks ago, and we got to pick our own pumpkins!

It was so much muddy fun!

I attempted a few pictures, but our boys were less than cooperative when it came to sitting/standing still so this is the best I got...

And here they are on our front porch!

We also scattered a few throughout the house.

This pumpkin's home was in the kitchen, standing on a cup and saucer.

No laughing!  I saw it on another blog and thought it was cute... Russ wasn't so sure, but it fit the "story" of my kitchen and I really liked it!

That's all for now.

Hope you've had a Happy Fall...

More to come on Halloween night!