Private Blog as of November 22 (Saturday)

I've been convinced after hearing from a few different people... no big deal, it just means you have to be logged in to view our blog. Just let me know in a comment on this post or via e-mail that you would like access in the future (send me your e-mail because my address book isn't the most updated) and I will send you access. Thanks,
The Ussery Family

Brother/Sister pics... finally together

T-I-R-E-D!!

Just try to focus on the cute kids!

So... this must be true love! I rarely look in the mirror (never really one to spend a lot of time in the bathroom), so when I took these pictures and then looked at them on the camera, I was pretty grossed out. Poor Parker! I can't figure out if my eyes semi-closed during each picture because of the flash or if I really just look like this. Well, I guess a good New Year's Resolution would be to spend a couple more minutes in the bathroom each day! Wish me luck!

Playing around

Just an average morning...

I think she's either practicing to play the piano or maybe ride a motorcycle? (Not if her Mom has anything to say about it though... no 2-wheeled motorized things in our family... too scary!)
SO SWEET!!! They say a picture is worth a thousand words... this is the kind of big brother Jackson is... these puppies are probably his most prized possession. I cannot count how many times I have seen him give them to Kate; in her carseat, on her little gym mat, while we're feeding her, etc. He's such a good little boy... Kate is lucky to have him as her big brother!
People who know Jackson well already know that this boy all but came out with his legs/ankles crossed. He even sleeps this way; in his carseat, watching his DVDs, constantly. This is a pretty typical shot of Jackson morning: drinking his milk, (though I'm surprised he's not rubbing puppy's ears... that's usually how he drinks his sippies), ankles crossed, and usually with his pacifier in hand (you can't see it, but he's reaching for it because it fell out of his hand)

So much to be grateful for...

I had this idea... I love Christmas and begin thinking about Christmas and listening to Christmas music even before the department stores bring out their Christmas "stuff" (which came out with the Halloween stuff this year). Anyway, I thought that it would be fun after Halloween to gear up for Christmas via Thanksgiving... afterall, that's what it's really all about, right? I had a small Christmas tree in our storage room that I thought would be just perfect for this little project.
I had Jackson color on a piece of my scrapbook paper (like medium cardstock) and then we used my round punch to make little "ornaments" for the tree. He LOVES coloring, so that was a perfect assignment for him. Then I wrote all of the things (well as many as we had room for) that we are grateful for on the little ornaments and leaves (I found some old die-cuts in my scrapbook stuff... which I don't ever use for scrapbooking because it overwhelms me... so I quit.)
I think the finished product is cute and Jackson and I had lots of fun making it together. Parker was a little sad that we did it without him, but he was at work... sorry Parker. He wants us to cut out more ornaments so that he can add some too. The only thing I might do differently in the future is get a slightly bigger tree. We have a LOT that we are grateful for and it will be a fun tradition for the kids to add more ornaments throughout November and December for everything that they are grateful for. Hope you liked it! I know you are all much more creative than I am. You should use my idea and show me just how much more creative this idea can really be! I would love to see pictures, so if anyone
does try, let me know and I'll be sure to spy on your blog!