Friday, November 29, 2013

A North Pole Breakfast

Early Friday morning, the kids woke up and dashed downstairs to see if their beloved Christmas elf had once again returned from the North Pole.  "Sam" usually arrives the day after Thanksgiving each year and spends the entire Christmas season with our family.  All day long Thanksgiving day, the kids continually reminded each other that Sam was supposed to come back the next morning! When Friday morning dawned, they were so excited to not only see that their Christmas friend had indeed come BACK, but he also brought a special breakfast with him! 
A North Pole kind-of breakfast, that is;)
Frosty and Rudolph doughnuts,  chocolate waffles and hot cocoa with Christmas marshmallows were on the morning menu.
A breakfast of champions, I must say:) 

  Oh, how I just LOVE this time of year and the joy and excitement this wonderful season brings!!!
Can't wait to see all the fun and mischief our little elf will get himself into THIS year!

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!


They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. 
Psalm 145:7

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

November Happenings!

 Oh.My.Sweet.Goodness! I cannot believe that it's nearly the end of November and I haven't blogged in weeks! I feel VERY VERY behind. My computer files are filled with literally hundreds of pictures (which only proves how full life has been) but there just doesn't seem to be any time to sit down and blog about them. This has been ONE crazy month. So in order catch you up to speed on all the Bruce family happenings, this post will be a collection of the highlights this "month of thankfulness" has brought.

1. I guess the most exciting "happening" this month was that our sweet Addy-Kate started preschool!
YES, PRESCHOOL!!!
We noticed several months ago that due to Addy-Kate's special need (microtia of her left ear), her English was not improving like it should. We had her evaluated and it was determined that she would benefit greatly from early intervention preschool and speech therapy services. So last week Addy-Kate went to school for the very first time. I was a nervous wreck, but she absolutely LOVED it!!! Her teachers were/are A-MAZING and I could not be more grateful for the help she is going to receive.  She attends three mornings a week and gets one hour of speech therapy each day! I cannot wait to see how much progress she will make now that she is receiving
the help she needs! 

2. Another HUGE milestone this month was that both Sophie and Hudson learned to ride a two wheeler! 
We were soooooo proud of them, but it's just another reminder to me how BIG they are actually getting. {Always bitter-sweet}

3.  And speaking of Sophie and Hud, both of them had another first this month when they sang in front of our church congregation as part of the Wee Praisers preschool choir!
 They sang the 'Fruit of the Spirit" song and did an AWESOME job!!! I have the privilege of co- leading this sweet little choir and could not have been prouder of them and all their hard work! 


4. November usually means the end of another fun-filled soccer season for our family. Sophie, Hudson, and Riley played in our church's league again this year, while Corban participated on a more competitive team. 
Being on that new team meant more practice nights per week, traveling for games, and several weekend tournaments. At the beginning of the season, I wasn't sure how it was going to all work out, but I can honestly say that it was the best thing we ever did for Cor. Corban thrived on this new team and it was AWESOME to see him grow and improve so much as a player! 

5. I'm 100% sure that if you asked our kids what their favorite thing was this month, they would unanimously declare it was our trip to Clemson! 
We spent the entire weekend with our favorite lifeguard (and Clemson attendee), Charlotte.
She invited our family to come stay with her for the weekend AND attend a Clemson football game!
We had an absolute BLAST and the kids are already begging to go back again!

6.  Since the kids were off of school on Veterans Day, we decided to spend the day hiking and hanging out together at Reedy Creek Park! 
And even though the weather was a bit on the chilly side, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was a beautiful Carolina blue!    
 We spent the entire day outside, hiking the trails, picnicking together, and relishing in the blessing of a beautiful day! 
7. Shopping and packing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child is ALWAYS a highlight of the month of November. The kids LOVE spending an afternoon shopping at the dollar store, and then can't wait to come home and begin filling their boxes with all the little trinkets they purchased.

9. And since this IS the month of THANKFULNESS, I'll end this post with pictures of my sweet Sophie girl at her preschool Thanksgiving feast.
Sophie (aka. "Indian Princess Precious Puppy"...and yes, she came up with that name all by herself) was so excited for us to join her at school for her Thanksgiving program and feast. She had been practicing her "part" in the program for weeks, and couldn't wait to sing it for us during her program. She did an AWESOME job and rocked her little part.
 At the end of the program, BOTH of her teachers came up to me and told me they think Sophie could really be the President of the United States one day-HA! Yup, that's my girl--passionate and a real leader!
I am so thankful for my Sophie and her endless amount of energy that fills our home! She keeps me on my toes most days, but I couldn't imagine life any other way!!!


Sunday, November 3, 2013

Halloween, 2013

 Halloween is always such a fun time for our family. We really enjoy coming up with costume ideas, dressing up, and then spending the evening outside with our family and neighbors. 
It's such a FUN night!
However, this year was just a little different than usual.  I actually wasn't feeling very well Halloween night but didn't want to disappoint the kids. I still got dressed up in my costume, took a few pictures, but then retreated back to the house. I didn't get to trick-or-treat with the kids, but was happy to be the "passer-outer" this year;) Not such a bad gig, I must say. Shane walked the neighborhood with the kids and I stayed back and handed out the candy to all the trick-or-treaters. I got to see and enjoy all the costumes and had fun guessing who some characters were. 
There were some very creative costumes.
This year, our family was the cast from Peter Pan! I love, love, love having a theme and this one (thankfully) pleased our entire crowd. My kids each picked out which character they wanted to be, and even assisted me in creating their costumes. Some costumes were store bought this year, some borrowed, and a few were homemade. 
 
Meet our cast of characters:
Shane and Jenny as John and Wendy
Corban as Smee
Riley as Peter Pan (and YES...he did where the green tights)
Sophie as Tinker Bell (of course)
 Hudson as Captain Hook
And sweet Addy-Kate made the perfect Princess Tiger Lily!!
Shane's sister came over with her girls...
 and they joined the kids for some trick-or-treating fun!

And fun they did have;)
Now the only question is...what in the world do I do with ALL this candy?!?!?