Giving Thanks and Counting our Blessings!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had! I was so blessed to have the entire Thanksgiving off from work and we had a great time spending this Thanksgiving with our family! Before Thanksgiving the girls and I got in the Christmas spirit and decided to start our decorating! Up to the attic I went to pull down our fashionable and fantastic PINK Christmas trees! Yes, both the girls have lovely pink Christmas trees that they get to decorate all by themselves for their rooms! We had so much fun! Ella Grace wanted to make sure all her "Disney Princess" ornaments were facing "straight" so she could see their faces! Lucy Anne wasn't into the event as much as her sister, but did have fun putting her angels on her tree, with her Mommy's help! Ella Grace decorating! Little Lu decorating! Ho!Ho!Ho! Ella's Pink Princess Tree! She was a little upset here as you can tell because one of her princess ornaments kept spinning around and she couldn't see their "face." I guess it's the little things! After much concentration and hard work to keep the ornament from spinning round and round I think I managed to fix the problem. Lucy loving her tree! Of course the Christmas PJ's had to come out on our fun day of decorating! The girls are huge fans of "sleeping gowns!" Time for Turkey at Grandmommy's House! We are very thankful and blessed for our wonderful, sweet, and loving Grandmommy!

Dinner and of course dessert were delicious! These two turkeys made sure to gobble up their cake!

Off to Ra Ra's for more Turkey! Ella of course found a fashionable apron and enjoyed helping Ra Ra prepare for the family to arrive!The whole gang! I am very thanful for all these little guys! At some point Ella Grace decided to change into more comfortable attire I suppose, her sleeping gown! I found this very funny!

After the Thanksgiving celebration it was time to head back to Blythewood and we were welcomed with our special friend who comes to stay with us around Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve! Skip, our elf!

That is Skip! He is Santa's little helper and lives at the North Pole! He closely watches over the girls to make sure we are being kind and flies back to the North Pole each night to tell Santa everything he saw! The girls love Skip! They anxiously awake every morning to find Skip and make sure he made it back! I have caught Ella several times telling Skip Lucy was not being nice and was not sharing! Hahaha!

Better watch out, better not pout. Santa Clause is coming to town!!

I am so thankful for all my many blessings! God has richly blessed my life with a wonderful family whom I love dearly!

Fall Fun!

Lots of exciting things have been taking place around the Hardisters! We have been enjoying the fall weather and having fun performing in Fall Plays at school!

Jay raked all these leaves you see here and the girls had a ball jumping in them!

Sister Love!

I finally made my first pound cake! I have been trying to master my mom's pound cake for quite some time now, and although I wouldn't say I have mastered it, this is the only cake that has actually not fallen apart! I made two cakes, one for a tester and one for the girls thanksgiving program at school!

It was yummy!

The girls performed in their Thanksgiving program at school and were absolutely precious! I can't help but get teary-eyed when I see them up there singing! They were too cute in their little turkey hats! Ella Grace was singing with her whole heart and was very concentrated on remembering all the words and hand motions! She did GREAT as did Lu! Ella kept waving to Jay and me and blowing us kisses. It is moments like this that are absolutley priceless and I will always hold close to my heart! We were very thankful Ra Ra could come celebrate and share the day with us!

Since we have moved I always miss out on the "Target Trips" with Mom and Kasie and ALL the kids! So, what did we do after our performance? We headed to Target! Lucy Anne was in love with her personalized Turkey hat made out of colorful construction paper so much, she just had to wear it into Target!

No trip to Target is complete without an Icee and My two little turkeys, and my Mom! Of course next time we hope Aunt Kasie, Charlie, Wylie, and Bess will be with us!

A Mermaid Trick or Treat Tale

This year two mermaids splashed out of the sea! Ursula granted their wish for feet and they danced around in an attempt to find their prince charming and of course obtain as much candy as possible from the human world!

This Mermaid was extremely excited about her feet! She chose to dress them in sparkle shoes!

On their adventure they met many new friends! They ran into the three little pigs. They thought these pigs were the cutest pigs ever! They had to take a break from searching for their prince charming and getting candy to give these guys some magical mermaid hugs!This little pig wasn't sure what to think. All he knew was he was really cute and he laughed alot at Ariel!

And this little piggy stood back in amazement! She couldn't help but think of the day her hair would be as long as Ariels! You might not know, but the mermaids granted her a special wish and soon her hair will be as long as Ariels!

They were amazed when they saw Snow White! For they had heard of her in many stories that were told in the magical underwater kingdom or true princess that lived on land! Another visitor arrived! A ladybug! These mermaids spent so much time in the underwater world searching for treasures they had never even seen a ladybug. They loved seeing such a beautiful little ladybug!

After the mermaids spent some time playing with their new friends they had met it was time to go trick or treating. For the night was almost over and they had only a few hours left to find their prince charming! On their way to trick or treat they met another wonderful person. She looked a lot like their Gran Sandy, but they knew it couldn't be so. For Gran Sandy lived with them in the sea! This lady was lovely with long blonde hair and dressed in a beautiful blue gown. A princess she was indeed!

Off we go to find our prince charming!

Our Prince!

How Many More Days Mom?

Trick or Treating is drawing near and the girls are getting very excited. I believe everyday this

week Ella Grace has asked if "next day" is Halloween day? The girls both have Halloween parties

at school on Friday and even get to wear their Halloween costumes! Today they were very excited to wear their pumpkin dresses! Ella Grace learned a pumpkin poem at school and loves sharing it with others, so here it goes.

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate. The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late." The second one said, "There are witches in the air." The third one said, "But we don't care!" The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run!" The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun." The oooooo went the wind and OUT went the light, And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

To my two little pumpkins I love you with my whole heart and look forward to many more Halloween Adventures with you both! You two are the cutest pumpkins I've ever seen!

Love Mommy!

Fall Beach Trip!

It may be Pumpkin time, but that doesn't stop these two girls from heading to the beach for a weekend of fun! We always look forward to October for many reasons. I love Halloween and fall! Picking out Halloween costumes is always exciting and my two little helpers love to help me decorate for the holidays! Perhaps one of the most exciting events that happens though is going to the beach with our Gran Sandy! We always have so much fun and enjoy spending time with each other at the beach! So off we went to the beach! The weather was great and sunny! The water was quite chilly, but that wasn't going to stop these two beach girls!

I promise Mommy I am not cold! I promise. I promise.

Okay you know I may be a little cold, but I'm still smilin!

Ella Grace on the beach! She would stay all day and night on the beach if she could! She loves the beach!! If you ask Ella Grace what she wants to be when she grows up she will tell you,"A Mermaid."

Ella Grace got her first driving lessons from her Daddy! For Real!Hold on Daddy!

Lucy pouting because she wasn't getting to drive with daddy! I love it! Look at those lips!We spent lots of time swimming in the indoor heated pool! This water felt much better in here than in the ocean! Of course we visited the arcade! Lucy is counting her tickets she won! She was so funny with "her tickets." She wanted them to go right in her pocket! Ella Grace cashed in some of her tickets for a fashionaable pair of pink vampire teeth to scare Gran Sandy with!The girls played Putt-Putt for the very first time! Of course they chose pink balls for their first putting adventure!Go Lucy Go! Check out Lucy's form! She is such a talented putter! Able to hold the putter with only one hand!

Ella Grace rocked putt-putt! This is her picture by her Hole-in-One!!!Before we left the beach we had to hit Broadway at the Beach! The girls love the rides! Up and away Jay and Ella went in the ferris wheel! How was the ride Jay?Daddy and Ella being silly!Lookin good Jay! Harley Girls!

Ella the Mermaid on her boat ride looking for her Mermaid friends!Happy Halloween!

Gran Sandy, Thank You for a wonderful beach trip! We had so much fun playing with you! Thank you for the wonderful time we shared together! We love you with our whole hearts! Love Ella bella, Little Lu, Jay and Amy!