Our January

January has been exciting and very wintry.  We welcomed the newest member of the family and enjoyed a big snowstorm.   And Peter and I started language training last week, so it has been a full few weeks.  Here are the photos....

Susannah was ecstatic to go to Pet Smart and pick out her last Christmas gift, Benny the hamster.

I was vehemently opposed to this idea, but after a few weeks I have to admit that I'm glad I was over-ruled.  He is a sweet little thing and the girls adore him.   

In other news, we had our first big snowstorm this year and it was legit.   Over 10 inches fell and it was beautiful.

These three were dressed and ready to play at 8 am.  

Mama stayed inside so I was able to snap this picture of them returning from their neighborhood exploration for the best sledding hill.

Eventually I got dressed and we headed out to sled.

It was really, really fun.

Susannah must have gone at least 25 times.

Peter kept the fire going and we had hot cocoa and homemade rice crispy treats.

 

Day 2 of snow fun was just as exciting.

Peter and the girls built a snowman.  

He was surprisingly still a Georgia fan, despite the bowl game humiliation. 

Peter decided to add a few accessories to give him a Bird Box flair.

We started our language training, so studying and flashcards are a new part of our normal routine.

We have also been doing some baking......the girls like watching The Kids Baking Championship on Food Network for inspiration. 

And that is it for us these days.   We hope all is well with all of you.   We send all of our love and hugs from Alexandria.

Christmas 2018

Now that we are home from our holiday travels, I want to post all of our Christmas photos.  We had such a fun Christmas and made lots of memories with friends and family.  Here are some of the highlights......

An early present to ourselves was having Sarah Beth's piano shipped to us and tuned.  This first Christmas without her was tough, so it was nice having the piano in the house with us.  Susannah is excited to start lessons next week so she can play.

Another early gift was tickets to Mumford and Sons.  Our friends invited us and it was the most amazing show, even from the nosebleed section.  As a lonely and stressed mom in Germany, I would play their Babel album when I escaped to the kitchen to collect myself for a few minutes.  Hearing them live was such a gift.

The next morning, we had a surprise for the girls, cookies and stories with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Santa made his entrance playing the bagpipes.

And then he made his rounds to say hello to everybody.

The girls were excited because Mrs. Claus told them they were on the nice list.

They read/told the kids a funny story.

These faces.

After story time everybody got a chance to tell Santa their wish list.

Susannah asked for hamster supplies and a BB8, while SA wanted a Baby Alive and a stuffed cat.

It was pouring that day, so we came home and watched Elf on the couch. before heading out to see the Grinch.  

The next day we baked and decorated Christmas cookies for Sarah Avery's class. 

We watched Christmas Cookie Challenge often this season, so the girls were so pumped to try all the techniques they had been seeing on the show.

Another Christmas bucket list item was ice skating. 

Susannah was pumped, but SA was a little nervous.  Her tiny skates were adorable though. 

Daddy and the penguin helped her get comfortable.

Susannah only needed a couple of warm up laps with the penguin before she was good to go.

SA didn't last too long so she and I checked out the shops while Daddy and Susannah finished skating. 

A couple of days later, it was time for Sarah Avery's preschool Christmas performance.  

Daddy and I were so excited to go support our girl.

The show was so adorable and SA sang her little heart out. 

We had cookies afterward and Sarah Avery was excited to be in green like one of her besties, Kaitlyn.

We went to Barnes and Noble on Saturday morning and Susannah saw one more thing she wanted to add to her list, so she whispered it to Sam, our elf, when we got home.  He must have delivered the message because Santa brought the book she wanted. 

That afternoon we had the Mallory Family Christmas Cookie Challenge.

Susannah and I were contestants. 

She was all about "flooding the icing."

Daddy and Sarah Avery were delighted to serve as judges.

Susannah had to explain the inspiration for each of her designs. 

Sarah Avery was inspired by the loads of icing.  

We went to a little neighborhood Christmas party that evening and then came home for bath, pjs, and...... our annual pajama ride.  This is the girl's favorite tradition because we surprise them during bedtime stories and then ride around to look at lights.  They had popcorn and a cookie to eat as treats in the car.  

On Christmas Eve, we hosted 32 people for snacks before going to church.   The whole family worked together to make enough pigs in a blanket and sausage balls to feed the crowd.  

Here is most of us.  It was such a fun afternoon.

And then Christmas morning was upon us.   Peter and I set an alarm so we could have a fire ready before the girls woke up but then they shocked us and slept until almost 8!   

Santa came!

Once they were awake, they were ready!

Baby Alive!  SA named her Shine.

Stockings!

And then Daddy made breakfast.

Mimi and Poppy gave the girls new outfits for their dolls.

And Susannah's friend Eleanor gave us this sweet memory ornament of Meadow.

Susannah was so happy to have BB8.

And SA was excited to have a "big girl necklace."

We spent Christmas afternoon with our friends the Aikens.  Sarah Avery and Howard Thomas are big buddies.

On the 26th, Peter took Susannah into work with him and then they ice skated one more time while SA and I took down the decorations and got all packed for our trip south.

First stop was Grammy's house, where we had Christmas morning all over again.

Grammy alwasys delivers on the awesome Christmas presents!

Sarah Avery got grammy a pillow to match the one Susannah got for her a few years back.

One day we went shopping to take advantage of the sales.   These girls were so excited to be out and about with Grammy!

And then one day Grandmama hosted us for a family brunch.  The girls were so excited to play with their cousin AJ.

And we were all excited to meet the newest member of the family, baby Wil.

Sweet little baby boy.

We had one sunny day so after church we headed downtown to soak up the sun.

Sarah avery, Grammy and I shopped around .

While this little skater stayed on the rink with her Daddy.

It was a fun afternoon, even though we missed being with Grandmama who was sick.

Honey was a great traveler and took all the car rides and new places in stride.

We left Grammy's on Monday and headed farther south to Peachtree City to spend a few days with Aunt Liz and Uncle Will.

The girls were so excited to see Clara Kate and Jack.   And their new trampoline!

Uncle Hollis and Aunt Kirsty brought baby Presley up for a New Year's Eve dinner. 

And then more presents.   

We drove back in one day and made it in time for Susannah to go back to school on the 3rd.  Now we are all unpacked and organized and ready to start 2019!   Happy New Year to all of you.   Thanks to all of our friends and amazing family who made this year so wonderful.