Hughey Visit

Our sweet friends, Zach and Marissa came for their 2nd Annual After Christmas Visit this week.  The big girls were in Grammyland on Wednesday, so they got some quality time with just Bitty.  

April and Todd, their parents, also came up to meet us for supper at 

the Cheesecake Factory on Wednesday night since we didn't have church. 

 While they were here, they introduced us to the game Sequence and we played for hours. 

It was a great visit and we look forward to many more!

Musketeer Breakfast

I got to have breakfast with the other two of the Three Musketeers today!  

I drove back to SC just for breakfast because two of my best friends in the entire world were in town visiting family for Christmas. 

Jenn and Meredith - these gorgeous ladies are as precious as they are pretty! We went to high school together, but didn't become crazy close until we all lived in the Raleigh Durham area several years ago. Meredith and her family still live in Durham, Jenn now lives with her family in Maryland, and we obviously live in Charlotte.  All of our parents still live in upstate SC though, so occasionally we all end up there at the same time.  I have been able to see them both on different occasions this year, but we hadn't all three been together since Christmas 2009 when I was pregnant with Atalie!

We met at Cracker Barrel and enjoyed sitting and chatting until after noon.  

We still had so much left to talk about though!  

Not only did I get to see Jenn and Mere, but my little sister, Libby, and 

Meredith's little sister, Stephanie, who were also great friends growing up, also joined us!

And our adorable children got to hang out together too. Meredith and Steph's boys had already left with their Grammy when I took this picture and sweet Charlotte stayed at her Granny's because sleeping sounded better to her than breakfast with her mommy's friends.  

I loved seeing you ladies, but now I just miss you more!

Christmas Day 2011

The big girls woke up about 6:30 on Christmas morning and
literally drug their bitty sister into the family room to open presents.

 It was still dark outside!

 The big girls were super excited about their new iPods.  Atalie just wanted a nap.

 Nate got some kickin' new green Pumas. 

 It was a fun and special Christmas morning. 

 Then we went to church. I love when Christmas falls on Sunday!  

We had a sweet birthday party for Jesus with the children. 

 After church, Nate cooked lunch for all of us girls and we opened the last of our presents. (Atalie had just eaten a piece of candy and I made her take her Christmas outfit off so she wouldn't mess it up.)

 Our big surprise gift to the girls is a trip to Disney World in March!

They were so surprised! 

We are all excited about it and looking forward 

to making some great memories together in 2012!

Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve

Today we had Christmas breakfast with my mom's family, the Thackstons, and then we all went to the hospital to visit my Papa.  He hasn't been in good health lately, so please pray for him.  We had lunch and presents at Mama and Tim's before heading home.  

It was a very quick and busy few days in SC. We needed to be in Charlotte on Wednesday and Sunday for church events, so we only had a Thursday, Friday and part of Saturday to fit all of our SC Christmas gatherings in.  We wish we could have spent more time with everyone, but it was great to be in SC for a little while at least.  

And we are happy to be at home in Charlotte for Christmas Eve Night as our little family of five!

Christmas with Paca and Papa

Today we had a wonderful Christmas lunch and gift exchange with Paca Mark, MaMa and my siblings.

Then we had Christmas supper with Papa Joe, Nana Sherrill and the Browns. 

Savannah and Austin Kate got matching cameras.

 Averie got Just Dance and a new watch.

Izzy and Atalie loved the baby dolls they got.

It was a great day with our families!

Christmas with the Other Browns

We headed to SC today to celebrate Christmas with our families.  We are only here for a few days and have lots of people to see and family gatherings to attend.  Tonight we tried to go to Hollywild with Josh and Kelli and all the Brown girls like we have for years, but they were closed because of rain. We were all so sad!

We went to Waffle House instead and then went back to Josh and Kelli's to exchange gifts.  

I usually give my nieces Savannah and Izzy obnoxious aunt gifts... things I would never buy my own girls and things I know Kelli would never by them.  This year, Izzy got a huge tie-dyed tent that attaches to her bed.  Ha!  I love being an aunt!

School Christmas Parties

 Friday was the last day of school for the girls and they each had a class Christmas party.

Atalie and her sweet little classmates loved eating all of the food at their party.

Austin Kate during her gift exchange in her class. 

Sister loving during AK's class party. 

Averie and her friends during the middle school party. 

And after the parties, it was Christmas break!

A Day with Aunt Buttercup

My brother, Jordan, and sister-in-law, Lindsay, moved to Turkey this summer.  We miss Uncle Judi and Aunt Buttercup terribly!  Aunt BC is in the states for a few weeks for Christmas and Uncle Judi gets to come visit for a few days in January.  

On Thursday, we had an Aunt Buttercup day!  We spent the whole day together and she brought us wonderful gifts from Turkey.

We love, love, loved spending time with her. 

She also bought Bitty these rockin' pjs, which aren't from Turkey, but are ridiculously cute!

Pajama Day

Thursday was Pajama Day at school for Austin Kate.  She tried on every pair of pajamas she owns and decided to go with her duck pajama pants and a regular shirt so it wouldn't be "totally weird".  Her class spent the day making Christmas crafts and reading Christmas books in their pjs.  She said it was the best school day EVER.

Benedetto Contest Winner

Thank you for all of the welcome back wishes in the Benedetto Contest!  I used random.org to pick a winner from the 58 entries.

The winner is Amy Hickman.  I've never met Amy in person, but we have some mutual friends and I hear she's a swell lady.  Congrats, Amy!  Email me and I will get you hooked up with your fabulous prize.

Thank you again for playing, friends, and thank you Libby for the giveaway.

The Jeep

One of the big events that happened during our blogging break, was the Jeep.  On September 21, after secretly saving money for a long, long time, I surprised Nate with a Jeep.  He has always wanted one and I've always wanted him to have one.  His car had died a few weeks earlier and I finally had enough money to get a decent one. When he got home from church, it was sitting in the driveway with a bow and SHMILY written on the windshield.  He loves it and I love that I was able to give it to him. 

I also found this perfect ornament for him for 2011.  It was supposed to be a gift he opened on Christmas, but he saw a package come from the Jeep store and immediately opened it thinking it was something he ordered.

 I'm glad he opened it early though, because now we get to enjoy it on our tree this year.

Wordless Wednesday

Retooning the Nativity

This is a great little Christmas video from Igniter Media that we are showing to our students tonight. The nativity, as we traditionally know it, isn't exactly accurate...

Christmas Cards

Nate informed me last night that I am obsessed with Christmas cards.  There's some merit to that statement. I do love Christmas cards.  I started keeping all of the Christmas cards we get, many years ago.  Each year, I unpack them with our Christmas things and enjoy sitting down and rereading them all. I read them over and over several times over the Christmas season.

Its amazing how much changes from year to year.  Every family represented by each Christmas card is changed over the year, and especially from the oldest cards I've kept.  There have been sad changes like death, sickness and divorce to several of the families we love and I cover those families in prayer as I reflect on their years.  There are also many happy changes like new babies, and marriages and happy memories made and I thank God for those sweet additions. My collection of Christmas cards remind me of how quickly things can change and cause me to be thankful for our many precious friends. So, yes, I love Christmas cards.

Benedetto Giveaway

Hi, everyone! This is a guest post by Libby, Jaime's (younger) sister. I am thrilled that Jaime is back to blogging.  I have been begging her for months to start back up so I can see regular pictures and stories about my adorable nieces since we live several hours apart. To celebrate her return, I want to offer a giveaway from my jewelry shop, Benedetto.  This is a great opportunity to get a special Christmas gift for free!

• PRIZE: A $40 gift certificate to Benedetto to be used on a custom stamped necklace.
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “WELCOME BACK!” 
• BONUS ENTRIES: Repost this on your blog, facebook or twitter for an additional two entries each (and add a comment to this post letting me know you reblogged/ facebooked it/ or tweeted it). Followers of this blog also get an extra entry.
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Friday, December 16th at 8pm EST.
• NUMBER OF WINNERS: One

Let me know if you need to order any Christmas presents 
and check back on Friday for the winner!

-Auntie Lib

Santa's Elves

I've blogged on BBBBrowns before about my step-dad, Tim, dressing up as Santa for Greenville Hospital System every year.  Averie has been his "helper elf" several times in years past.  This weekend, Austin Kate joined in the tradition and Grammy made them super cute elf costumes. The big girls loved spending time with the children at the hospital and all three girls enjoyed spending the weekend with their Grammy and Granddaddy.  Such sweet memories!