A Year In Review

January-We started the year celebrating "Christmas" a few weeks late with Aunt Amy and her family. A yummy breakfast and some play time at Ross Bridge followed by a pizza party at our house rounded out the festivities. Little did we know just a few days after this picture was taken, Aunt Coco and Uncle Daniel would welcome little Beau into the world almost 5 weeks early!

Matt started the year at the National Championship game in Pasadena, CA. Although he wasn't too fond of routing for the Tide, it was still a trip of a lifetime!

February-The kids enjoyed some snow (glad they were able to because I doubt we will be seeing much snow in our new location!), and Matt and I enjoyed seeing Baby #3 on ultrasound.


The highlight of this month was getting to welcome sweet baby Addison into this world. I spent my birthday in Winston-Salem doing this...

holding and loving on this little bundle of joy!

March-Matt had a conference in New Orleans, so we were able to work in a mini vacation while Tula and Pops kept the kiddos. Little did we know a quick Sunday afternoon of looking at houses before heading back to Birmingham would lead to this...

Of course, we deliberated for weeks before making an offer, but the Lord faithfully provided the home we needed in His perfect timing!

The kids and I traveled back to Mobile at the end of the month for a Tew family reunion.

April-We enjoyed Easter in Birmingham celebrating our Savior's resurrection with Nana, Papa and the Dillons.


May- Matt completed his second triatholon relay in Memphis. Lots of training went into this event, so we were very proud of his accomplishment!
Memorial Day was spent at Casa del Rio. The kids enjoyed playing on the river and swimming!

June-WOW! What a month! My Grandfather's home going, an wedding anniversary, three birthdays (including one BIRTH-day), and a house closing!

Kathryn and Walker celebrated Toy Story 3 style at a birthday party with their cousins. Loved the cupcakes made by Aunt Amy.

And of course the biggest thing to happen this year....we welcomed Miss Frances Elizabeth!

July-Exactly, one week after bringing Frances home from the hospital, we moved to Mobile. Well, the kids and I did. Matt still had one more month of work in Birmingham. I confess it was a hairy couple of weeks. A newborn, 2 four year olds, unpacking in addition to an ugly round of mastitis for mommy were not always a great combination, but praise the Lord we survived!

And thankfully, Nana made a trip to Dauphin Island to photograph our little angel. We were able to capture so many sweet shots including the photo we used for her announcement!


August-Welcome home, Daddy! Matt made the move south, and we kicked the unpacking into overdrive.

We also maintained frequent trips to Dauphin Island for a little sun therapy!

We enjoyed a mini vacation before Daddy started work at the Grand Hotel. I think I stayed in the room the entire time feeding a very hungry, growing baby, but Daddy and the kiddos had fun playing in the bay.

Walker and Kathryn started school! What a God-send that they started so early! Matt also FINALLY started his "real" job! There were some days, especially during residency, we thought this day would never come!

September-A relatively low key month, and boy did we deserve one! We enjoyed celebrating Grandmama's and Pop's birthday, and just settling into our new home and new routines.

October-We started a tradition of meeting up with the Dillons in Camden for some much needed cousin time. Saturdays were spent watching football games and gladly watching the Tigers win week after week.

And for the kiddos, the highlight of this month was most definitely trick or treating! Costume day at school, followed by the neighborhood party and actually trick or treating made for a fun Halloween weekend!

November-Matt and Papa made a trip to Pensacola, FL, to visit with some extended family. It was a fun time of piecing together family history and looking over old photos.

Thanksgiving was spent at Tula and Pops celebrating food and fellowship with family.
Kathryn made her stage debut with a line in the Thanksgiving program.

December-This month was Walker's opportunity to make his stage debut!

Having fun with classmates at their Christmas party...

We also enjoyed celebrating Papa and Nana's 40th wedding anniversary with a lovely night out without the children!

Christmas morning Star Wars style!

Happy New Years!

It Still Looks A Lot Like Christmas

No, we aren't enjoying the white stuff that our neighbors to the north are, but we are still in pj's playing with all of our Christmas goodies!

Here's how the much anticipated weekend went down...

Kathryn decided on Thursday that she wanted to sleep with her brother on Christmas Eve. You can imagine my delight especially since this was a tradition for me and my brother many moons ago!

The kiddos spent the night before Christmas Eve at Tula and Pops' which gave me time to put fresh sheets on Walker's bed and lay out Christmas pj's complete with their own supply of reindeer food.

Of course by Christmas Eve night, Kathryn had changed her mind. I told her she had "Audrey Syndrome." And tried to convince her that if I used to sleep with Uncle Brad, she could definitely sleep with Walker (just kidding Uncle Brad...you know I love you;).

Unfortunately, she could not be swayed which was probably a good thing because after three days of no naps and Christmas Eve night spent opening presents at Tula and Pops', these two were T-IRED!

A good thing too because me and a little elf named Daddy had to get Christmas on! Here's the den late Christmas Eve night...

And here we are Christmas morning! The light sabers were an immediate hit!

Matt did all of the kids Christmas shopping, which is just one of the many things I love about him. He also did all of the "arranging" of the gifts! And set up Walkers car track (in the left of the picture). He not only bought the gifts, but he put some thought into them too. For example, he bought blue and green light sabers because the kids know the red ones are for the bad guys!

And what did our sweet, loving, innocent daughter say when she saw her light saber? I wanted a red one. I want to be Darth Vader. Oh my!

Kathryn asked for a Jojo the Rabbit for Christmas, and Santa delivered! On the box, it listed this toy for 18 months and up. Don't ask me why she wanted it, let's just say that's the danger of letting your kids look through the WalMart and Target circulars.

The breakfast table...

Looking for quick and easy decorations...use candy! I just dumped all of our leftover Christmas candy into a few glasses and compotes and there you have it! I even tied the napkins up with a ribbon and some ribbon candy.

Here's the kids' table with a few Christmas visitors!

The kids knew that shortly after opening presents and eating breakfast we would be heading to Nana and Papa's house, so Kathryn was determined to bring all of her new goodies with her.

She almost succeeded!!!

Christmas Round #4 takes place tonight when Uncle Brad, Aunt Mak and Addi Girl get into town! I'll be back with more pictures, so hang tight!

P.S. As for a run down on the Christmas breakfast menu, everything was delicious! I will say the eggnog butter should be reserved only for those who really love eggnog (like me!). It actually tastes just like the real deal and was yummy on the waffles we made!

And the Candy Bar Peanut Butter cookies were YUMMY! Definitely a new favorite cookie recipe!!!

On The Menu

This will be our first Christmas morning at home since the twins were born. I thought I would make it special by cooking a nice, big breakfast to go along with all of the present unwrapping! Here’s what I’m thinking will be on the menu…

Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole

1 lb sausage
6 eggs
2 cups milk or half and half
1/2 t salt
4 slices of bread,crust removed and cubed
1 cup grated cheese

Brown and drain sausage; set aside. Beat eggs, add milk and salt. Into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish, layer bread, sausage and cheese. Pour egg mixture over bread. Refrigerate over night. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Next on the menu...pancakes or waffles (depending on the kids preference that morning)! I'm a big fan of this mix from Fresh Market.

To fancy it up a bit, I thought I would make these toppings...

Eggnog Butter

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

1/2 t ground nutmeg

1 t rum extract

1/2 t vanilla extract

Beat butter at high speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating well. Stir in nutmeg and extracts. Cover and chill.

Orange Syrup

1 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup orange marmalade

Combine syrup and marmalade in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until mixture comes to a simmer and marmalade melts, about 5 minutes.

For something a little sweet, I thought we could round out the morning, with Paula Deen's Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits.

Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits

1 (10 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained, juice reserved

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

10 maraschino cherries

1 (12 oz) package refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (10 count)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 10 cups of a muffin tin.

In a medium bowl, combine pineapple, sugar, and butter, and mix well. Divide pineapple mixture among the muffin cups. Place a cherry in the center of each muffin cup. Place one biscuit in each cup on top of pineapple mixture. Pour about 1 teaspoon of pineapple juice over each biscuit.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden. Cool for 2 minutes. Invert the pan onto a plate to release the biscuits. Serve warm.

A Jolly Happy Soul

Now it's Frosty's turn in the spotlight!

I think my kiddos would enjoy creating this Paper Plate Snowman.

via Kaboose

Love these Snowman Donuts. So cute and so easy to make!

via Sharp Moms

How cute is this Snowman Cheese Ball? You could use your favorite cheese ball recipe and then mold and shape away!

Finally, I couldn't resist! A recipe for Snowman Poop:) Sounds pretty good to me!

Now There's Dasher and Dancer and Prancer

Thought you all might enjoy these reindeer crafts and recipes!

Perfect for all of those presents you are wrapping...Reindeer Thumbprint Cards!

An ink pad, markers, a few mini pom poms and googly eyes and voila! A homemade Christmas card or bag tag!

via Disney Family Fun

Looking for an easy recipe? This one is for you! I have been making these Rudolph's Christmas Sugar Cookies for longer than I can remember.

via Southern Living

I have not tried this project yet, but I think it's adorable! This might be on our list for class gifts next year! The Candy Bar Reindeer...

via Tip Junkie via According to Kelly

And from the Busbee Family Vault...Reindeer Sandwiches!

All you need is a triangular shaped peanut butter sandwich, small pretzels, raisins and a red M&M! Cute and yummy!

And one final little "reindeer" idea....A recipe for Reindeer Food! This recipe is actually for Santa's reindeer using oatmeal and colored sugar (although glitter or sprinkles work just as well!). As the poem goes...

Be sure to take this magic food and sprinkle on the lawn,
On Christmas, Santa's reindeer travel miles before the dawn.
The smell of oats and glitter path will guide them on their way
And you'll wake up to Santa's gifts next morn on Christmas Day!

But here's a great recipe for your little reindeers.

Magic Reindeer Food

Ingredients

• 2 (24-ounce) packages vanilla candy coating
• 3 cups mini pretzels
• 1 (12-ounce) can cocktail peanuts
• 1 (14.25-ounce) package frosted toasted oat O-shaped cereal
• 1 (12-ounce) package crisp rice cereal squares
• 1 (16-ounce) package holiday candy-coated chocolate pieces
• Red and green sugars

Preparation

Place candy coating in a glass container; microwave at HIGH 2 1/2 minutes or until melted, stirring once.

Combine pretzels and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl; add melted candy coating, tossing to coat. Stir in chocolate pieces.

Spread mixture onto wax paper; sprinkle with sugars. Let stand 30 minutes. Break into pieces.

Reindeer Sighted

We are right in the middle of making a batch of this...

I haven't had "homemade" Chex mix in forever. My Grandmother used to make tins of it every Christmas, so just the smell of it brings back lots of memories! The recipe is plastered all over the boxes, but you can find it here too.

And while you are buying all of that cereal, don't forget to make some Muddy Buddies too. I mean is there anything more delicious? Peanut butter, chocolate and lots of powdered sugar! I think not!

May I Suggest

these recipes from Busbee Christmases Past to put you in the Christmas baking mood...

Toffee Crackle Cookies

Santa Claus No Bake Nutter Butter Cookies

And for this year, I can't wait to try the Candy Bar Peanut Butter Cookies from the December Southern Living.This recipe reminds me of my favorite recipe for Monster Cookies given to me by Aunt Cori. It's an easy recipe, I normally have all of the ingredients on hand, it has options for the addition of some healthy ingredients, and the dough freezes very well.

Monster Cookies
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 cup peanut butter
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 oz. (or more) semisweet chocolate chips
4 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/4 cup flaxseed meal (optional)
1/4 cup wheat germ (optional)

Mix all ingredients together, shape into balls, place on baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees.