Happy New Year's Eve

It's hard to believe that it's time to ring in 2011. I found this picture in my May 2010 album and it made me think about all the changes in our lives in the second half of this year. It's been an incredible ride and one that is only just beginning. I am thankful for the challenges that 2010 brought, for the accomplishments and for the love. I'm praying for one day at a time in 2011, just one blessed moment at a time.

Our Oldest and Youngest

Fun at Nana's

Happy Birthday Davy

One of my favorite pictures of my men!

Slipping and Sliding

The boys all got into the sledding spirit while enjoying the snow here at Nana and Papaw's. Of course, Daddy had to try and it out and make sure that everything worked just right.

White Christmas

Good morning from Nana's house.

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Tracking Santa

Wes and Davy (along with the rest of us) stayed up to track Santa's journey around the world. Don't worry though because as soon as he hit the Atlantic Ocean, we all went to bed! Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Making Cookies

Some of My Favorite Men

Over the River & Through the Woods

To Grammy's and Grandpa's house we go....


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Too Funny

I couldn't be more proud to be the mom to these two great kids. They always amaze me with the kind, gentle and compassionate things that they do and say. They have both decided that they are going to "take care of me" while I'm pregnant. They offer to get me drinks and snacks, tuck me in my covers, and hug and love on me all the time. At the same time, they will always be funny! When Tyler saw the ultrasound pictures from last week, his comment was that I must be having a fox or something because that picture looked a lot more like a fox or a cat!

Baskets

I got my first Cherokee baskets for Christmas from Ms. Bradley, my classroom assistant. I have never had the honor to work so closely with someone so dedicated. She is a blessing to me and to our students!

Davy

It's rare that I seem to put in photos of Davy and I, so I thought I'd add in a photo of Davy from this fall as today's photo. This photo was taken at the Unity Field in Cherokee while we were watching one of my students play stickball.

The Grinch

We have a lot of "old" family traditions but one new one for our family is the Grinch shirt. I thought of it today because I realized that we haven't had to use it yet this year. A few years ago we picked up a really cute (if you can say that) shirt with the Grinch on it. It instantly became the go-to when someone in the family was acting "Grinch-like" during the holiday season. In this picture from 2007, you can see that both boys ended up in it at once. It's been a great deterrent for un-Christmas-like behavior and we get a laugh from it every year. I mean really... how bad of a mood can you be in if you look like this?

Traditional Singing

As part of our move to Cherokee Central Schools, the boys have had the opportunity to join in many different programs. The activities for kids are amazing. One choice Tyler made was to join the Cherokee Traditional Singing Choir. In traditional choir, Tyler has learned to sing many songs that are written entirely in Cherokee. Here he is, in traditional dress (his ribbon shirt and moccasins), just after a recent program. We are so proud of his adventuresome spirit and hard work!

Christmas 2010

Just wanted to share our Christmas tree for this year. It's always so much fun for us to put up the tree, which is filled with such special ornaments. It is full of decorations made by the boys, things from Davy's and my childhoods, and ornaments that remember places we've been and things we've done as a family. This year we laughed as we added our "Cherokee" ornament from vacation a few years ago. So much for remembering vacations, now we are home!

We've Moved Due to Expansion

Well, the HinesFamily4 blog is no longer. We've had to make a change, mostly due to the fact that we are no longer just the Hines Family Four... Yup. We are now a few months on our way to becoming the Hines Family FIVE. You can be sure that more information, details and excitement will be coming soon.

Another snow day...

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One of My Snow Angels

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And it's still snowing....

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Wishing You Rainbows

Whenever I see a rainbow, I can't help but think of my friend Becky. I met her *gasp* almost 17 years ago. Ever since the moment we met, she has been a ray of sunshine to me from near and from far. Today, as usual, I immediately thought of her when I saw this reminder of God's promises to us.
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Family Portrait

Well, it's about time we updated our family photo! Aren't we sweet?

Dinos in 3D

David takes reading to a new dimension.
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