Merry Christmas......

Here is a wish for all of my family and friends for a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Abundant New Year.........
I am reminded each and every day of the kindness and love I am surrounded by and I am so thankful for each person I am privileged to be a part of this journey of life with.
Merry Christmas to everyone........
All my love and best wishes.

More Christmas posting to come!!!! It has been an amazing holiday season for sure with so many memories to post........stay tuned!

Disney World with the Katz Family!

The first week in December, Grandpa Katz took all of his children and grandchildren to experience the magic of Disney!!!

We had an amazing time. The first day it was just Grandpa and our family and we enjoyed a warm, sunny, Florida winter's day in the Magic Kingdom. Aubrey rode Space Mountain (being the brave daredevil she is..........) but decided after words that it "really wasn't that much fun. I probably don't need to ride it again........." It was amazing to me how much more scary it was knowing my baby girl was sitting in the seat behind me!!! But she was a trooper and with Grandpa behind her and me in front of her she braved the scariest ride at Disney!!

Grandpa enjoyed sharing all of his favorite Disney rides with Aubrey while we took turns pushing Eliana around in the double stroller where she slept, had her bottles, ate some snacks and pretty much just smiled in wonder alllll day long. She seriously never cried. Not even once. She is a dream baby and she loooved her first trip to Disney! She got to ride a few of the rides with her big sister and she just watched in amazement. I think the highlight for her was definitely " It's a small world....." where both of my girls just smiled, laughed and we all sang along and enjoyed it. A timeless piece of Disney magic for sure.

The next day Uncle Eric, Aunt Sasha, Quinn and Leila joined us and we braved Disney MGM studios in the POURING rain. Not just a drizzle, but a serious downpour!!! We decided to make the most of it and enjoy! The big kids rode the roller coaster and the little girls took in the Beauty and the Beast show..........we had an amazing lunch at the Brown Derby and then went to see the Little Mermaid Show (my former claim to fame) before calling it a day and deciding to head for dryer pastures........ :)

That evening we were joined by Uncle Ronnie, Aunt Scarlett, Aiden, Ethan and then the entire Clatsoff clan for dinner at the Gaylord Palms Key West Restaurant. We had an entire private room to accomodate all 25 of us!!! The food was delicious but the company was even better. Jon has grown up with the Clatsoff family his entire life and taken many trips to Disney with them. They are such an amazing family and we so enjoyed our time with them sharing food and laughter and good company. The kids were treated to a balloon maker, stilt walker and more food and fun while the grownups chowed down on seafood and shared good conversation.

The next day the entire Katz and Clatsoff clan headed to the Magic Kingdom and did a 12 hour day enjoying the perfect weather, fun rides and shows, and ending with the most beautiful fireworks show....."Wishes". The kids were troopers lasting until the 11th hour..........I think it was a trip we all will remember for years to come.

Thank you Grandpa for a wonderful trip and all the memories that go along with it. We love you, our brothers, sisters, nephew, nieces and all the friends we were able to share this holiday trip with. We look forward to doing it again!!! ;)

Here are a few favorite pics from the week.

Christmas Pics!

We had such a wonderful Christmas........

Just the four of us, our first Christmas as a family of four. How blessed we are!!! It was a great day full of gifts, food, music, relaxing and enjoying our time together. I love this family!

How precious it was to see my TWO girls playing and having fun together in their matching Christmas jammies. We are blessed beyond belief.

Christmas Eve......

We had a great time at the Christmas Eve service at Peachtree Pres..........Aubrey loved seeing the animals outside!!

Eliana was an angel........loved it all!

Thank you Hillary for the beautiful dresses for the girls! Soooo much fun matching two little girls in proper southern smocked Christmas dresses!

Our Christmas Eve continued on that evening at The Miller household with the Miller's, Young's, Haile's and Katz's all gathered to celebrate together! Aubrey, Ellery, Eliana, TJ and Grant were spoiled with awesome gifts and the adults all shared some yummy food and drink. Most memorable though was when Tim brought out his guitar and we all started singing favorite Christmas tunes! The kids loved the songs, and it definitely set the mood for an awesome Christmas Eve. We enjoyed being in the company of some very wonderful friends and sharing such a special night. It was our 3rd Christmas with our neighbors/friends and we hope to continue the tradition of sharing a special Christmas together for many years to come.

Too cute not to post.

8 months old now and she found the tupperware cabinet! Aubrey had the grand idea to make Ella a tupperware hat.......

She's not crawling yet, technically, but she's definitely scooting around on her belly!

Too much fun this precious baby girl.

Santa Claus!

For the third year in a row we headed to Phipps Plaza to visit with Santa Claus!

Aubrey wrote her list out this year all by herself which included a "live cub, kirsten doll, zebra, horse and horse". She made sure to explain each item to Santa in detail but ended up leaving Santa thinking she wanted a real cub, real zebra and 2 real horses!! So he told her he wasn't sure if he could bring her real animals but he would look for some pretend ones for her. She assured him that "even though they are stuffed animals they are real to me!" It was too precious.

Eliana loved Santa! Her first encounter with the jolly old man .... She looked right up at him with her big blue eyes and smiled and then reached right up to grab a big chunk of his beard. Poor Santa. He was a good sport about it (since it was a real beard) and just loved the girls and reminded them to say their prayers and brush their teeth.

This is one of my favorite events of our holidays......I love seeing the awe in the girls eyes and knowing how "magical" it all feels to them. I certainly haven't forgotten what it felt like when I was a little girl and how much I always loved Christmas.

Holiday season here we come!!

Aubrey explaining her list and Eliana in wonder..........

Thankful.

This year I have so, so much to be thankful for.
I am blown away everyday when I look around and see all that I have been blessed with. I am sure I don't deserve it, but I know that I love and appreciate all of it.
I am thankful for my husband who loves me, my beautiful, precious girls, my beautiful home, our families-parents, sisters, brothers, nephews, nieces-they are all so special, our extended family, my amazing friends, my health and just all the everyday moments I get to be a part of. I have learned and been reminded this year again and again that it's the little things in life that matter the most. The everyday stuff.
Thank you God for another Thanksgiving!! I am so glad we have a day set aside to stop and give thanks and remind ourselves what truly matters.
So today I am pausing to share my thankfulness.....and my love for my family and friends.

Thanksgiving.......

Aubrey and Sarah

This year for Thanksgiving Day we headed over to our dear friends, The Foster's house to share some lunch and good times! David and Janice Foster are good friends of my parents and I have known them since I was 11 years old. They are such wonderful, caring and gracious people!!

Chris and Sarah Foster are some of our best friends that we love sooo much. They love our girls so much and we love any chance we have to be with them! Their son Davis is about the cutest thing you have ever seen! He is just like his daddy but with his mom's beautiful brown eyes. We're hoping to arrange a marriage between him and Eliana!! :)

We are so thankful for such wonderful friends to share special times with!!

Thank you to the Foster's for sharing your home with

us and for a wonderful day!

Eliana loving her toys!

Davis......soooo sweet!!

Afternoon at the Zoo....

We have enjoyed some quality family time this year during our "Staycation"........Jon is off work and home and so am I and we have just been hanging out at home together as a family and having so much fun!

Yesterday we took a little afternoon trip to the zoo and had a blast. The weather was gorgeous so all the animals were out and it seemed everyone in Atlanta was gone b/c the zoo was nearly empty! No complaints here! We had a great time and especially looooved seeing the pandas!!! Not so excited about the new reptile exhibit and all the snakes Aubrey and Jon made me look at......

Dothan Thanksgiving

Aubrey and her cousins...Jaci, Sophie and Abby-Leigh

Every year the weekend before Thanksgiving we head down to Dothan, AL (my birthplace!) to spend time with our family there. This is the "Jones Family" which is my mom's side and there are quite a few of us!!! I think there were at least 40 of us there, eating, watching football, watching the kids play, and just enjoying each other's company!
We went later that night over to my cousin Jinnifer's house where they have 6 acres and Aubrey ran and played and ran and played for hours! It was so nice to have so much room to run around!! We made a big bonfire and a low country boil and had such a great time.
Eliana enjoyed being passed around from arm to arm the entire time! Everyone wanted to hold her and she was more than happy to oblige. She is such a cuddle bug.
We love spending time with our families.......this was a great weekend and a great start to the holiday season ahead of us!!