Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas to everyone! We had a delightful holiday, despite the fact that we are all ill. The kids went to The Peabody to see the ducks and wonderful decorations with mommy & Aunt Cathie a few days before Christmas. They loved every minute of it!!

Look what Santa brought Jesse!!!!

and Claire.....

Jesse upon discoving all his loot!

Unfortunately, Claire wouldn't cooperate for a single picture, but could always be found close to her new kitchen! We plan to stay put the next few days playing with toys, and getting better!

Merry Christmas to everyone! We post again very soon! Love,Gretchen

Exchanging Gifts.....

Well today, Claire's great friend Lily Grace came over to exchange gifts...before things get a little hectic next week! Hot cocoa and cookies were enjoyed, along with a little rock & roll. Great times!!

Lily Grace is a future rock star! Claire in the background in her tutu dancing!

Let the unwrapping begin!

Lily Grace thoroughly enjoyed her princess bling and Claire is smitten with her new Asian doll. Thank you Lily Grace and Barb! Lots of events coming soon, so please check in......Merry Christmas! I would've posted pics of Claire and her new doll, but I had battery issues today...will post some doll pics soon!

Love,Gretchen

Let's Get Ready for Christmas!!

Well, today started out with a fantastic Breakfast With Santa at our Church....however, Claire was frightened of Santa...this was as close as she would get to him.....maybe next year!

After naptime, we dove into the assembling of our Gingerbread House. I decided to chill this year, and let the kids make it look like they want. OH Well.....They had a great time eating and adding the candy. They especially loved the hot apple cider they got to enjoy during the fun!

Hard at work......

At this point, the gingerbread house had passed the tacky stage.......

And here's the finished product!! Lance & I call it the "Gingerbread FEMA Trailer ".....still the prettiest Gingerbread House I've ever seen!!

Merry Christmas!Love,Gretchen

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!

Well, we've just been super slammed around here lately, but here are some pics of the kids on Thanksgiving! We spend a few lovely days in Jackson, MS with Lance's side of the family. We had a great time, and the kids as well. They love seeing their cousins as much as they possibly can!!

Jesse with his cousin, Keri after Thanksgiving dinner!

This is the Hollingsworth Clan..Mr. & Mrs. Hollingsworth wit all their kids and Grandkids!

Claire is smitten with her cousins. Here she is sitting on Patrick's lap.

All the Hollingsworth grankids!

More Halloween Fun!

Well, we couldn't pry the sucker from Claire, so this is the best picture we could get before they embarked on their trick-or-treating for the evening. Cousins Peyton, Alice, & Peyton joined them, and there was much candy to be had!

Jesse & Claire's cousins Dylan, Patrick, and Keri were in town from Jackson, MS on Friday, so the kids stopped over to see them before trick-or-treating. We enjoyed spending the weekend with them!!

Jesse with a few of his classmates at the sock hop on Halloween at his school! Jesse seems to have found a perfect home at his new school. We are so happy!

Promise to post more soon!
Love,Gretchen

End of October Fun!!!

Well, Friday, Jesse got to dress up like his favorite literary character, so he imrovised and this costume is Andrew Dubble, from his favorite series Andrew Lost. He had a blast telling all his friend who he was!

Claire, after making a fall craft provided by Mrs. Barb and Lily Grace!

Claire has been waring hats like crazy lately, and here's her in her favorite one of the moment.....such a vision in pink!

The Hollingsworth bunch at Priddy Farms the weekend before Halloween. Thee kids had a ton of fun and especially loved the hay ride!

Fall Sewing....

I've had the time in the last few weeks during Claire's naps to do some fall clothes for Claire!

This one is for the Halloween Season with little pumpkins and ghosts on it!
I can put a turtleneck under the sleeveless ones and in the spring, I'tt take out the hem and turn it into a sundress...hopefully!

I'm a sucker for pink and green....

Gymnastics Friends Halloween Party!!!

Well, Lily Grace's Mom was nice enough to throw a party for the kids in Claire's gymnastcis class. There were tons of crafts, food, and toys for all. The kids had a blast and were extremely well behaved. They all enjoyed dressing up in their costumes and just playing together!

Claire showing off her scarecrow she made!!

Claire insisted on placing the "beauty mark" on her little pumpkin!

The class before starting the party!

Claire & Lily Grace striking a pose looking mighty precious I might add.......

Thanks to Ms.Barb for throwing such a lovely party for the kids AND the moms! We had so much fun!

Promise to post soon!
Love,Gretchen

Halloween Carnival!

Well, the Halloween festivities began yesterday with a fantastic carnival at our church! The kids had a blast and both sets of grandparents were there also!! Jesse is Anakin Skywalker the Podracer and Claire is our little bumblebee!

Jesse doing one of the games in action!

This is one of of our good friends, Mary Sofia, AKA "Elvez"....Have you ever seen anything so cute! I believe she won 1st place in the costume contest! Good job Carrie on the costume!! Can't wait to see all the creative costumes in the years to come!!!

Weel, we will have lots of festivities to attend in the next week, so stay tuned for lots more pictures!!!

Love,Gretchen

A couple more Orchard photos....

Claire after realizing the apple was delicious...couldn't wait to get home to eat it!
Jesse would take turns lifting the girls to the higher up branches to pick more apples....the girls really seemed to enjoy having Jesse around!

Day at the Orchard

Well, we decided on Jesse's last day of Fall Break to try out the local orchard for a morning of picking apples with our great friends Lily Grace, and her mom Barb. The kids had a blast and soon became pros at pulling those apples off the tree. Claire even decided to bite into one and devoured it! Enjoy the pictures. Couldn't think of a better way to spend a great fall morning!

The kids found dried up beans nearby, so for some reason, decided to pose with them.....
Claire's 1st apple to pick all by herself.
Our bucket of apples after we were done!