Caroline's First Snow

I am still catching up on my blog posts from December. It snowed here the first weekend in December, and Caroline had fun playing in it for a few minutes. She even ate a few bites of the snow! I am hoping for a white Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

The Real Meaning of Christmas

I think this picture about sums it up. This picture is so special to me. My parents gave it to me when I was home for Thanksgiving. This print belonged to my grandparents, Gommie and Granddaddy (my Dad's parents). They taught little kids Sunday School at our church for as long as I can remember. When our church moved locations, my Mom saved some prints from their room. Gommie and Granddaddy both loved the Lord so much and are in heaven with Him. They served the Lord faithfully for years. They are both such an inspiration to me. Everytime I look at this picture, I think about them and why we celebrate Christmas. And I think about this verse ...

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

Merry Christmas!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

I love Christmas trees, especially real ones. And every year I am on the search for the perfect Dixon Family Christmas Tree! The first few years that Tripp and I were married, we went to a Christmas tree farm to pick out our tree and Tripp would cut it down. But for the past 2 years, we have driven a few blocks to a Christmas tree lot to pick out our already cut down tree (this is much easier with a baby girl around!). Tripp and I usually get in an argument at the Christmas tree lot about the size of the tree. Naturally, I prefer a large full tree about 12 feet tall. However, Tripp always reminds me that our ceiling is 10 feet tall! But I usually get my way so when we get home and the tree won't fit in our house, Tripp cuts part of the bottom and top off and then it looks pretty terrible! But this year Tripp picked out the perfect tree that was 9.5 feet tall and fits great in our home.







Here is how the tree turned out after it was decorated. I love it!



I also decorated our mantle and table for Christmas.





Merry Christmas!

Santa's Village

On Monday night, we took Caroline to Santa's Village with our friends Jennifer, Jason, and Charlotte. Caroline had such a fun time roaming around Santa's Village. She even wrote a letter to Santa (with a little help from me)! At the end of the night Caroline got her second opportunity with Santa. It went much like the first (see below) with her not wanting to be anywhere near him!















Puppy came into town this weekend to hang out with Caroline and me while Tripp worked. We had such a fun girls weekend! On Sunday after church we took Caroline to meet Santa at the country club. She was not a big fan of him! But if you ask Caroline if she sat in Santa's lap, she will say she did!


Caroline in her Christmas dress before church


Puppy and Caroline eating lunch together


This was as close as Caro would get to Santa! Maybe next year I will not have to be in the Santa pictures!

Halloween Parade

The Friday before Halloween Caroline and I went to the Halloween parade at her school. All the children wear their costumes and parade around the gym. Caroline's teachers had asked me to help them with the kids in Caroline's class since they are still very young. So, during the parade I walked with Caroline on one leash and her friend Kacey on another leash. It was all I could do to keep them walking in a straight line! I am sure I looked hilarious trying to keep the girls from wrapping their leashes around me and each other! But I had so much fun seeing all the kids in their cute costumes, and Caroline had a great time, too!


The girls on their leashes before the parade started. (I did not get to take any pictures during the parade because I was a little busy!)


Caroline (the princess), Evan (the little German boy), and Kacey (the unicorn)

Happy Halloween!

Caroline had a fun second Halloween! First, we went to our church's Fall Festival, and then we went trick-or-treating with our friends Jennifer, Jason, and Charlotte. Caroline and I had been practicing for this night! I would stand behind a door in our house, she would knock, and when I opened the door she would say some version of trick-or-treat! I could tell last night that our practice really paid off. The first house we went to she walked straight up to the door and rang the doorbell and knocked. The only problem was that Caroline proceeded to go inside everyone's house when they opened the door! She did not quite understand that you stay on the porch and they give you candy!

Here are some picture from the Fall Festival.







Here are some pictures of the cutest little princess and strawberry ever trick-or-treating!

Halloween Playdate

Yesterday we hosted a Halloween playdate for Caroline and her friends. We had such a fun group -- a total of 10 kids ranging from age 5 months to 3 years! Caroline had a blast playing with everyone, and I enjoyed visiting with all of my friends!


We had lots of yummy food!


I love this picture of Jennifer, Caroline, and Charlotte. It looks like Charlotte is about to pull Caroline's hair!


William looked so cute in his teddy bear costume!


Caroline and Ally playing together


Me and my girl

After the playdate, Tripp took some pictures of Caroline on our front steps. They turned out really cute!







Happy Halloween!

Sunshine on a Cold Day

Last Saturday we had our Christmas pictures taken. It was a very cold and windy day, but Caroline's sweet smile provided plenty of sunshine to keep us warm! Here is a sneak peek of our pictures.


(Click on the picture so see both images)

Our pictures were taken by Erin Cobb. She has photographed Caroline since she was born and she always does a great job of getting that perfect shot that captures Caroline's personality!

Homecoming

Tomorrow is homecoming at Ole Miss. The Rebels play UAB, but we are staying in Huntsville this weekend. We are having our Christmas pictures made tomorrow (I cannot believe it is already time for Christmas pictures!!!). Of course, we will be watching the game on TV and cheering on our Rebels. Caroline is already such a good little cheerleader! Have a great weekend!

Game Weekend

This weekend we were in Oxford for the Ole Miss-Alabama game. We went with our friends, the Elwells and the Grays. We rented a house in Oxford for the weekend and had such a fun time! On Friday, we got ready for the game on Saturday. Jennifer and I set up our tent in the Grove Friday afternoon and made our tailgating food on Friday night. (You may be wondering why Jennifer and I set up the tent and not Jason and Tripp. Well, Jenn and I drove by the Grove on Friday afternoon to see if any tents were set up and the Grove was already packed. So we just pulled the car over, grabbed the tent, and set it up! I was excited that Jenn got the full "Groving" experience!!!) Puppy and Granddaddy Smith and Winnie and Granddaddy Dixon drove up to grove with us and kept Caroline and Charlotte during the game. Here are some pictures at our tent before the game.


Our tailgating spread





Our family in the Grove. I loved Caroline's game-day outfit!


With our best friends, Jennifer and Jason


The guys pose for a picture while discussing the game.


Caroline and Charlotte with their grandparents


Of course, the game did not go as planned for us Ole Miss fans. But despite the loss, we had a wonderful weekend with friends and family. It was so great to have Caroline and Charlotte in the Grove! I think we have started a tradition for Ole Miss-Alabama games in Oxford that will continue for many years to come!

Beach Vacation (Part Three)

This is the last post on our beach vacation! On Saturday night, we went to eat dinner at Live Bait at the Wharf. We had a great meal, and Caroline was so sweet at the restaurant. Before dinner, we went down to the beach to take some beach pictures, of course! As you can see from the 3 posts, we had a wonderful vacation with our family. Thank you, Puppy and Granddaddy, for such a great trip!