Christmas Favorites

Some of our favorite Christmas Photos

Decorating the Gingerbread House on Christmas Eve

Christmas Photo (table cloth from one great grandmother and flowers sent from other great grandparents)

Ready to go downstairs and open presents

He said: "You found just what I wanted!"

Enjoying a new Princess book

She'll take a little water with her huge smile

David the Drummer

His smile says it all: He loves UT and loves the new jersey

Momma sharing a stocking treat with Elisabeth

Merry Christmas from the Owen Family

December Student of the Month

David was the Student of the Month for his class in December.
We are very proud of him.

When I grow up...

Yesterday I had a conversation with Thomas about what he wants to be when he grows up. It started off with him saying he wanted to be a robber one day. We talked about the good (costume) and bad (jail, disobeying God, disappointing Momma and Daddy) of being a robber. He changed his mind.

Thomas: "When I grow up I just want to be a normal dad."
Momma: "A normal dad? That sounds nice."
Thomas: "Yep, but I am still going to cheer for Tennessee."

Owen Adventures

What in the world have we been up to? I have so many pictures to share. We went to the pumpkin patch. We had a blast dressing up on Halloween. Elisabeth turned 2. Gran and Daddo (Jane Anne's parents) came to visit. We celebrated Thanksgiving. Time just keeps flying by. So, before I begin numerous posts sharing pictures, I thought I would give you an update on the kids.

In reverse order-

Elisabeth: Oh my goodness, this little girl steals my heart every day. She calls me "Mommy". I have no idea why. The boys have always called me "Momma" and they still do. Sometimes when I say "Momma" she says, "No, Mommy". I melt every time. She calls her brothers "Boy". If she want to be where they are or wants to get them, she says, "Boooooys!" But, if you ask her individually who each one is, she just answers "Boy". The boys get a big kick out of that. Elisabeth loves her baby dolls. I love watching her play with her babies. Oh, that's another thing, she rarely tries to say her name. Seth says she has tried to say "Elsie" but I haven't heard it. She calls herself "Baby". And if something is hers, she says "Babys!"

Thomas: Thomas is my tough boy with a big heart. He has a pretty big crush on a girl in preschool. He talks about her quite often. He talks about what she brings in for show-n-tell and he will tell me how she wears her hair. It's a precious 4 year old crush. Thomas can be so sweet. He keeps me on my toes, too. He insists that he is "Bad to the Bone" and wants his nickname to have "Bone" in it. (This summer Seth and his brother played that song for Thomas. He loves it and claims it as his own.) It certainly goes along with the mohawk he has had lately. (Oh, I need to share those pictures, too!) He is letting it grow out because he is afraid his head is going to get too cold.

David: David amazes me constantly. He is doing great in school. I wouldn't have ever doubted his abilities. I just didn't know how much he knew or how fast he would catch on to things. David lost his 1st tooth on November 22. He has no idea when he lost it or where it went. (And, once we suggested he might have swallowed it, we knew we would never say that again.) David is so afraid of blood that he would never let us wiggle his tooth. He would ask, "What if I swallow blood when my tooth comes out?" So, he just left it alone to come out on it's own. It did. He has another loose tooth right now. I wonder if we will get to pull this one.

Jonathan: Jonathan's big thing right now is playing chess. When Daddo (my dad) was here, he taught him how to play. If he cannot play video games (his first love, I'm afraid), he plays chess. He is trying to teach David and he even made an amazing effort at playing with Thomas. I had to try to explain (with out hurting Thomas's feelings) that chess might be too hard for a 4 year old. When he isn't playing games, he is usually reading. It is not unusual to see him sitting on the couch reading. He tells me a lot of jokes and shares trivia with me. I asked him today about his favorite part of school and he said it was when he was explaining something to his teacher. It was a trick from "The Dangerous Book for Boys".

Why We Kiss

David: "Daddy, why do we kiss? It just spreads germs."

Jonathan: "I know! I know! It's a crazy romantic way of evil love."

Family Photos

Sometimes we go months without having any pictures taken of the whole family. We had 3 family pictures taken in the last 2 weeks.

During Halftime of the Alabama Tennessee Game

At the Pumpkin Patch

On Halloween

October Student of the Month

Jonathan was the October Student of the Month for his class. He was given the award for "always listening and always working hard."

We are proud of him and how hard he works at school. He was thrilled to get the award (and the candy that went along with it).

Fall Soccer

Today was the last day of soccer for the Fall Season. The boys had a blast playing even though neither team had a winning season. Today's games were both at the same time (9 a.m.). Today was especially exciting for David because he scored a goal.

I took a picture of the 3 boys after their games. A picture speaks a thousand words. This is what this one says to me: Jonathan is easily distracted when he is made to do something. David is a people pleaser (thus the sweet, sweet smile for Momma's picture). Thomas is full of himself.

I just love my boys.

Our Family Feud

Seth went to the University of Tennessee. Jane Anne went to the University of Alabama. This week is our rivalry week. Tennessee and Alabama play each other on Saturday.

The kids have picked their teams. Here's an explanation of their loyalties.

JONATHAN
Jonathan adores his Daddy. He always has. He wants to be like him in every way. From an early age, Jonathan claimed to be a Tennessee fan.

DAVID
David loved the color red from about age 2 on. He roots for Alabama. It's hard to say if he loves Alabama because their color is red or because his older brother cheers for Tennessee.

THOMAS
Thomas says he "DOES NOT like red" so naturally he cheers for Tennessee. He doesn't like red because David does. I am not sure if he likes Tennessee because David doesn't or because of our family trip there this summer.

ELISABETH
Elisabeth doesn't get to choose this year. (Thank goodness. I mean, 2 and 2 seems fair to me.) With Daddy's approval (permission might be a better word), she is going to be a BAMA cheerleader for Halloween.

AREN'T THEY CUTE?




I had a friend here in the NW ask about the clothes. I almost forgot to explain.

David already had an red Alabama shirt. Thomas had a old white Tennessee shirt of Jonathan's. Then, when my friend mailed Elsie's cheerleading outfit, she threw in another shirt for David. I had sympathy for Jonathan because he didn't have any Tennessee clothes and I called my mom and asked her to go shopping. She was more than willing. I called on Saturday, she went shopping on Sunday and mailed it on Monday. We got her package on Wednesday. She sent Seth a couple of orange shirts, Jonathan, David and Thomas orange shirts and she snuck in another cheerleading outfit (this time in orange).

Hmmm... now that I think about it, I might need to get a new red shirt soon.

Decorating Pumpkins

Jonathan decorated a pumpkin at Cub Scouts last week. He really enjoys cub scouts (and David is having a hard time waiting - he has to be in 1st grade).

Jonathan and his friend Tyler

Getting Started

Hard at work

Scary

So Cute

Leaf Art

Last week, we decorated pumpkin pictures using painted leaves. Seth was at a meeting and I decided to get creative with the kids. We had a lot of fun and made a big mess.

Getting started

Beautiful leaf prints

Jonathan was a serious painter.

David was an excited painter.

Thomas was a busy painter (he painted the most and ventured away from leaf prints).

Even Elsie had fun painting.

Oops! She grabbed a paint cup.

What a fun mess!


Our Leaf Art Masterpieces

Elisabeth's 1st Tea Party

Last Sunday, Elisabeth went to a tea party. It was the cutest thing. Four little girls using a tea set and eating little bagel sandwiches, cookies and "tea" (juice). Elisabeth was the youngest at the party and the party was right during her naptime. Surprisingly, she handled everything really well. I think she loved being around other little girls.

When we got there, she got some new dress up shoes (and a necklace, bracelet and magic wand).

She had a blast playing with the baby dolls.

Elisabeth really liked the tea set.

She was a bit too wiggly to make me feel comfortable with her using the real tea set. We gave her a plastic set (and she was still as happy as ever).

Here are all the girls having their tea.

I thought maybe Elisabeth would spill her "tea" all over her dress. She never even picked up her tea cup.

The tea party hostess (another Elizabeth) was adorable.

Here are the party girls.


Elisabeth had fun. I took a ton of pictures and I have been looking at them all week. Now, I want to watch Cinderella. I need to buy Snow White. (You should have seen Thomas's face when I said that!)

Pigtails at the Owen House

Last weekend, I put Elsie's hair in pigtails. Now, I am in love with the way she looks with pigtails. She has worn them several times this week. And, to my knowledge, they have only been pulled once by one of her brothers.

Here's my little sweetie sportin' the piggies.

He's Not a Trooper

Today has been a rainy, rainy Saturday. The kids played soccer in the rain.

First, David and Thomas had team pictures.
After that, they had their game.
Then, Jonathan has his pictures followed by his game.

I was impressed with how well the kids handled the rain.

Momma: "Thomas, You sure are a trooper! You are all troopers."
Thomas: "No, Momma, I am not."
Momma: "What? Why not?"
Thomas: "You said that I am a trooper... but actually I am Darth Vader."

Soccer Time

Jonathan, David and Thomas are playing AYSO soccer this year. Seth is coaching Jonathan's team. David and Thomas are on the same team. (To be on the younger team, you had to be still 5 on August 31. David made it by 2 days and it is really nice to have them on the same team.)

Today was our first day of games. We had a blast. Coach Seth and Jonathan had a 9 a.m. game. David and Thomas had a game at 3:30. It was very, very hot (91 degrees) for their game.

Getting a little extra coaching before the game

Jonathan has a great coach

Coach and the boys

Jonathan taking the ball down field. He played awesome!

Jonathan after the game

Thomas warming up before his game

David going for it

David and Thomas waiting to go back in the game. (Elisabeth was quite the trooper today, by the way.)


Thomas kicking off. It was fun to watch the David and Thomas play together.