it's beginning....

...to look a lot like Christmas!!!! We love this time of year, and it is been lots of fun (and let's be honest, lots of work!) getting the decorating process going....

The "star attraction" (pun intended) around here is this awesome star with lights trailing down that David managed to suspend about 40-50 yards up in the air!! He did list last year, but our trees at the old house were not quite as mature, and so the star wasn't near as high....this year he definitely out did himself...needless to say, the kids LOVE it!

While he worked on the star I got to work on the front door....I think I am done, but don't hold me to it, because I have definitely been known to go back and make adjustments...

Today we have been tackling the inside, but with a big brief due tomorrow David had to work all afternoon and so we haven't gotten too much done. But, the tree is in the stand and the stockings are up!! Maybe Kate & Nick can send that elf they are hoping for this way after he finishes up at their house!

Elise definitely wins the quote of the day award around here, yet again. She was so excited to help me unpack the nativity scene (a wedding gift from awesome Aunt K), and like last year where she cracked me up telling someone that we "keep our Jesus in the attic"..she had me laughing again. We were pulling out each person...Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men, etc...and she said, "Mom- we've got to find Jesus. He's the little guy!"

On a serious note, hopefully we'll do our job this year of teaching them all that, although he may be "the little guy"...that he is the ONE, and the Reason for all of the celebrating....

Happy Christmas Season everyone!

Love, Us

thankful

We have so much to be thankful for this year.....where do I even begin?

Well, first of all, how many 33 year olds still get to celebrate Thanksgiving with their Grandpa? And how many 2 and 4 year olds get to spend time with their Great Grandparents? The kids had fun yesterday playing with Grandpa and Virginia.



They also loved seeing their Aunt and Uncle and getting to work on some puzzles with them....We all definitely missed Mo and Phillip, but know they will be here before we know it!





And it is the little things, like a family photo where everyone is looking at the camera, that I am thankful for as well....



This has been a great year for us, and we are extremely grateful for all of the time we have had with family and friends. We also are thankful for our new home, and the fact that we were able to pull it off without ever having to have two house notes....thankful that Elise's face has healed so much better than anyone thought it would, and that we have peace knowing that Baxter is happy in his new home....
This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the list we have...as we are humbled and blessed today....
Thank you to all of you who choose to stop by here and check on our family...and for you fellow bloggers, thank you for sharing your families with us....as we love keeping up with you!!!
Love,
The Parnells

dinner and a show

Hello! I'm back!!

David's parents are prepping to leave for an extended buying trip this week and so they came over yesterday afternoon to spend some time with the kids before they leave....They wanted to take us out to dinner, and David thought it would be fun to take the kids to a hibachi restaurant. It really was. Bennett definitely enjoyed the show the most, but we all enjoyed the food and the chance to get out!



A choo-choo train of onions (this was Bennett's fav!)



The two David Bennett's and Bennett....




Lila, Elise, and Emmy...waiting (im)patiently for their food...




We topped off the night with a trip to a new frozen yogurt place!! Yum! Yum!!
Have a great trip Emmy and Pop!!

fun fall pics

We had a great time taking pictures with Paula the Friday that Mo was in town, and she quickly got a beautiful slide show of pictures to us. Click here to see. I love photography, love different people's points of view, and treasure pictures of our children (if you've been to our house you can attest to this!)...I never want to forget the way they look right now and I know that will be hard to remember when they are grown (which is happening quickly!)....
She was so much fun to work with, and came to our house- which I thought was so fun! The kids were able to play freely in our backyard, and we even moved some of our favorite pieces of furniture (gifts from David's parents) out back for them to play and climb on. Not only did we create some great pictures, but great memories as well!
I decided to let her shoot me in a few of the pictures, with hopes that I could maybe surprise David with a great group shot for his office, but with three kids and a Mom that is not so photogenic, that was a tall order...but anyway, we are thrilled with the pictures of the kids and feel that she truly captured their personalities....
ENJOY!

lot of fun with aunt mo

We had lots of fun with Aunt Mo!! So much fun that I haven't had a chance to post about it! We had a great family dinner at Mimi and Grandpa's Wednesday night, a fun "adults only" sushi meal Thursday night, she was my assistant on Friday helping with pictures with the kids and flu shots (she is probably scarred for life), and some more fun family time watching LSU get beat Saturday night! (That was the one low point!) We all miss her already and are looking forward to her and Phillip's Christmas visit!

Luckily, Lila and Bennett waited until after Mo left to get sick....unfortunately, this coincided with a quick visit from David's parents, who had to see a pretty pitiful Bennett yesterday afternoon. Lila joined "team sick" around 1:30 this morning. We just got back from a Dr's visit and they are pretty sure it is just a viral case of croup. They did flu swabs just to be sure (even though we chose to vaccinate them for both strands) and we'll get those results this afternoon. So, my two little pitiful munchkins are both tucked in bed, happily taking naps after a rough night last night...Hopefully they'll feel better soon!

Happy Monday everyone!
Nicole

my favorite birthdays

July 19, 2005



June 1, 2007




These are the "birth"-days I like to think about on my birthday today. These gifts will never be topped!





Thanks to all for the birthday wishes and to my sweet husband and munchkins for making my birthday morning so special! Looking forward to some time with Mo this weekend!! I guess 33 isn't so bad.....:)
Love, Nicole

it's not always sunny days and golf courses

Everybody has them. You know...those days. Those days where you wonder what happened to your kids, and where the aliens or demons that are inhabiting their bodies came from. Those days where you are ready to call it a day and it isn't even 8 a.m. yet. Those days where you realize what a good marketing campaign "Calgon, take me away" was. Those days when you are pretty sure your Grandmother is appalled at the behavior of your children and you just want to crawl into bed with some stolen (from the demons) Halloween candy and hide (wow, that was a little dramatic). Those days when your husband cannot get home soon enough. You know...those days.
Can you tell I had one?

So, yes, I had one of those days. But tomorrow is a new one, and it will be better.

Goodnight.

Love, Nicole

i play golf with daddy

Bennett tells anyone and everyone that will listen that he "plays golf with daddy". At this point, it still sounds a lot more like "pays goff wiff daddy". It doesn't matter if it has anything to do with the current conversation or not, it is just his saying of late. Two things are funny about this- 1) he has actually never been to play golf with David, and 2) David rarely plays golf anymore (unless it is for "work" during the week).
Today was GORGEOUS, and so after his short nap today, with a beautiful afternoon ahead of us, we decided it would be a fun day to go play golf all together. The girls and I drove the cart, and David and Bennett played...







It was really soooo much fun. Bennett loved trying to see where the ball had gone and trying to swing, and he also like kicking the ball off of the tee. I told David maybe we should focus on place-kicking (a great way to be on the football team without giving me a heart attack every week!). It was a perfect way to end a great weekend....

Also, if you can't get enough of Halloween, be sure to check out the Brister's blog. I took ZERO pics at the party last night, but as usual, Davis and Suzanne got GREAT pics! The kids were all so cute!
Hope you all had fantastic weekends!
Love, Nicole

we ARE in wonderland

We knew this was the case, when curiously, yesterday afternoon a little white rabbit showed up and kept saying, "We're late, we're late....for a very important date!". He kept looking at his pocket watch and hopping around the house like crazy....



Then Alice and the Queen of Hearts arrived, curiously getting along like best friends....or even sisters....

And off we went to a fun, food-filled, party full of friends.....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!