2011: Year in Review

We don't have big plans for New Year's Eve, so as we watch Auburn play Virginia in the Chick Fil A Bowl, I thought I would put together a little "year in review" post to kick of the new year!

January

Wow! Auburn's National Championship. What a way to kick of 2011! Matt and I were blessed to be at the game, and it was definitely a night to remember.

February and March

These months were mostly filled with school for the twins, and lots of watching Little Miss Frances' personality bloom. We were able to make a trip to Birmingham to celebrate Addison's first birthday in February. And Brad, Mak and Addi came to Mobile in March for the Arts and Crafts Festival in Fairhope.



April

Sadly, we said "goodbye" to our firstborn. The kiddos still talk about her, and I still can't believe she's gone. There were few cats like this one! She is greatly missed.


On a happier note, we celebrated a wonderful Easter with family! And managed our first family picture of the year!

May

We were blessed to celebrate Mother's Day and Frances' Baby Dedication on the same day. It was one of my most favorite days this year.

When the twins wrapped up school, we headed across the Bay to Fairhope for a weekend at The Grand Hotel. This is one of our most favorite things to do! And it was a fabulous start to our summer.


June

Anniversary, birthday, birthday and birthday! June is a very busy month at the Busbee house. We were also able to squeeze in a trip to Destin.




July

Birthday party + birthday party+ cousins+ Fourth of July+ trip to San Diego for Mommy and Daddy=another very fun-filled month!

August

Walker and Kathryn started 4K. They LOVE their new school and especially loved the ice cream that completed their first full week of school! Mommy even managed to sneak away to Birmingham for a girls' weekend, and Daddy made it to a Spiceland extended family reunion in North TN/South KY.

September

We enjoyed a wonderful fireworks display in honor of the ten year anniversary of September 11th.
October

What can I say, I love the fall. Pumpkins and football, mums and caramel apples. We soaked it all in! This was the cutest pumpkin I saw this fall!

November

We spent a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving in Camden with Nana, Papa and the Dillons. The kiddos LOVED catching up with their cousins. It had been way too long!


December

I've got two words....DISNEY WORLD!!!! We took the twins for the first time, and I don't know who fell in love the fastest, the kids or me and Matt:) We are still talking about it a month later, and can't wait to go back. I promise I'll have a WDW post soon. There is just so much to process! It was so.much.fun!!!!


We are so thankful for all of the Lord's mercies and blessings throughout this past year and look forward to all He allows in 2012!

Brotherly Love

Awkward Family Photo

Need I say more??? I'm sure we'll look back one day and laugh:) At least we were able to check picture with Santa off of our list!

Quite the Mess

Miss Frances is quite the mess these days!

Here she is making the most of her sister being at school by playing in Kathryn's Little Mermaid dress and shoes.

And here, she's all painted up having taken advantage of Mommy leaving the kitchen to do some laundry!

This required her second bath of the day. The first was necessary after she worked her little hands into her dirty diaper:) See what I mean!

Around here...

Christmas is in full swing!

There are Little Pet Shop hamsters popping in on our nativity scenes...

These yummy crackers are the most requested snack...

and I found a fool proof home recipe for Starbuck's beloved salted caramel hot chocolate!

Two little kings (or should I say, one king and one queen) made their debuts in the Christmas play at school today...


And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my amaryllis will make it's debut on, if not before, Christmas!

Only 12 more days to go!!!

Sorry for the lack of posts...

We've been hanging out with royalty...




Hope to have a recap of our trip soon. Right now, we are still in recovery mode!

Christmas Decorating Inspiration

We are more than half way there in our Christmas decorating. The tree is up, the staircase is flowing with garland, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care...you get the picture! But I'm always up for a little more decorating inspiration. Here are some favorites...

Veranda

Southern Living

Better Homes and Gardens

Better Homes and Gardens

Southern Living

May you be inspired too!

A Pilgrim+An Indian+A Recipe

Yesterday, Walker and Kathryn's school put on an Thanksgiving Program. The kids have been busy working on it for weeks! Kathryn, as you can see, and her classmates were Indians, and Walker and his class were Pilgrims. A fun time was had by all!



I couldn't help but share a recipe too. Some of my favorites are best served this time of year. I haven't made these in a decade or more, but they are yummy! And since they are so simple to make, I thought they deserved a little blog love!

Sweet Potato Balls

6 med. sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled and mashed
1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. chopped pecans
12 lg. marshmallows
2 c. crushed cornflakes

Mix sweet potatoes with butter, sugar, and nuts. Form balls around each marshmallow. Roll in crushed cornflakes. Just before serving warm in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until warm all the way through. NOTE: May be made ahead and frozen until ready to use.***

***I think I would add a little cinnamon and nutmeg too! Maybe 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg. And I would definitely drizzle some extra butter on top right before baking:)

Paula Deen also offers an even sweeter version using orange juice and coconut. I bet it's sure to please too!

Great Holiday Brunch Recipe

Mom and I hosted a bridesmaid brunch for a very dear childhood friend on Friday. As always, I neglected to get any "good" pictures, just a few phone pics of the tables...



There were lots of yummy items on the menu but this is one of my all.time.favorites--Nutty Orange Coffee Cake. So great for the holidays! No surprise it's from Paula Deen!

On The Menu

Auburn is off this week, and to be honest, I kind of like being able to watch football and eat without all of the suspense and pressure of having your own team play!

So "on the menu" for this relaxing day of football and food...

Two Gray Pumpkins' Tortilla Soup

Plain Chicken's Taco Dip

Ranch Cheese It's

Toffee Crackle Cookies

On a side note, one of the things I love most about soup season is pulling out the big orange monster, that is my soup-cooking pot! It just reminds me of fall, don't you think???


Happy Saturday!

All Dressed Up

Thanks to our smallest trick or treater, our night didn't go exactly as planned. She was diagnosed with a pretty contagious little virus, so we sadly had to cancel our company. This left Walker and Kathryn doing more "boo-hooing" than simple "booing." But, after lots of outside play and lots of candy collecting, I think the night was redeemed. Kathryn went to bed saying, "this was the best night ever!"

Bumblebee, the Transformer, in action...


my beautiful Rapunzel...

and the cutest little pumpkin in the patch...

Even though she was sick, we still let her in on the action. We just made sure she kept her distance from everybody:)

It Might Be, It Could Be...

...it is! A Flying Squirrel!!!

This little fellow was hanging out in our house for the last few days. By Friday night, he was all but clawing on the kitchen closet door. Matt and Papa were at a football game, and all of his noise-making had me and Nana calling for the men folk!

Sweet little guy got one more warm night inside, but the men went to work Saturay morning. I wasn't there, but Nana was able to capture some pictures. Is he not adorable??? I kind of wish we could keep him;)

Thank you Nana and Papa for not only helping with the squirrel but for all of your help with the little ones! Frances loved her time outside...

And Kathryn and Walker enjoyed all of Nana's fun art projects...

And Matt and I enjoyed the adult company and extra sets of helping hands!