More December events...

Mason had a birthday this month, too. We had a dinner at home on the night of his birthday and then went to Scoops for ice cream. We had a party later, but I'll have to post those pictures on another night. He was so excited about his present. He knew it was a big box because he'd seen it earlier in the day. He thought it was the aircraft carrier that he'd asked for but Daddy wanted to give him something else. This was the anticipation of waiting on Daddy to get home from work.

He was so excited when he opened his gift. He couldn't wait to get it opened and try it out. He and Christian had picked out this scooter at Toys R Us the previous weekend. I wasn't sure who wanted the scooter more...Christian or Mason. I was told it would hold up to 220 lbs., so my bet is on Daddy!

The perfect picture of Mason. (Check out the extra head in the picture!)

Mason felt like a big boy on his new "ride". He couldn't wait to get to church and tell all of his friends. He did really good his first time riding. He didn't fall and kept his balance really well. It didn't take him long to figure out where the brake was on the scooter. And, yes, he does ride with his helmet. We were just in a hurry to get to Scoops and church this evening!

Our annual trip to the tree farm for our massive tree! We went to a different farm this year and found a few trees that we liked. This one seemed perfect...big but not too big. We had to walk about 1/3 mile to get to where these trees were on the farm, so I was exhausted when we finished. The kids helped cut down the tree this year, although Mallory wasn't that into it. She tried but found it hard to push the manual saw.

Everybody making sure Daddy was doing it right!

We made two trips to the site where the trees were that we wanted. The first trip was unsuccessful and we didn't find one we liked. About 1/2 way down, this tree-hauler got a flat tire. It wouldn't have carried anything out of the forest. So the kids and I stayed with the trees and Christian took this hauler back to the store. He came back with the green plastic one that the kids wanted to ride on like a sled.

Daddy obliged, and rode them down the rows. I was afraid that it was going to break and we were going to have to make three trips. The kids had a great time riding and we were able to get the tree this time.
Mason was checking it out, but this was about the time he started to complain that he had ants in his pants. Check out the ant hills next to the tree!

I love this picture! Mallory didn't help cut it down much, but she really wanted to help Christian pull it out of the forest. Mason only wanted the toy that the tree worker promised him when he came out of the trees.
We got the tree home and Christian was able to get it in the stand and in the house. But that was about all that happened to the tree that night. We determined that a strand of our lights wasn't working right, so Christian got out of putting the lights on the tree. A few days later, the kids and I spent our evening getting the lights and a few Christmas balls on the tree. I was exhausted after I got the lights on, so I let the kids have free reign on where they wanted the decorations to go. They, of course, didn't get very far up the tree but that was okay. At least they had a good time!
Mason couldn't quite figure out where to hang the ornaments. He wanted to hang them on the very end of the tree branch but after two balls fell off and broke, he decided they needed to go a little further inside the tree.
Mallory was so proud of herself. I wish this picture was a little clearer, but she moved about the time the shutter closed. She had just put that red ornament on and was proud that it stayed on.
My little monkeys and their first tree (that they decorated)! They had a good time and it was sweet to watch them decide where to put all of the decorations.

We had lots of fun this December! Can't you tell?????

December at a Glance!

December flew by really quick! My mom has been asking me for weeks to post to the blog. When I have had spare time, I've been exhausted. The last few weeks have not been very restful for this very pregnant woman. So...I'm giving you our lives this past month at a glance (in no particular order):

We took the kids to ride the Macy's Pink Pig and have their picture taken with Santa Clause. It was probably the best picture we've gotten with both kids. Then they had the opportunity to tell St. Nick what they wanted for Christmas. We took Nanny and Papa too, and they had a good time watching the kids with Santa.
A quick pose for GeeGee. She had been asking them to take a picture together without a goofy face. I think there was actually a threat attached to this picture. But it did turn out cute.

A front row seat on the Pink Pig. The kids look forwad to doing this every year and they talk about it throughout the year. Mason is still amazed that we rode this ride when we were kids, and even that Mom and Dad rode this as kids. He's had a hard time understanding that the ride was once suspended in the air over a building. This was the first year that the kids rode by themselves. Such big kids!

The kids spent several weekends at GeeGee and PeePee's house so we could get things done or attend a Christmas party. On this particular occasion, they convinced my Dad to build a fire and roast marshmellows. The kids really love doing this. Mallory loves to burn them but doesn't want to eat them. She cooks more than she eats.
Mason took his turn to burn his marshmellow. He loves to eat them!

Back in early December, the kids rode in the Christmas parade in Covington. The church sponsored a float to advertise the AWANAs program. The theme for the float was "AWANA Hippopotamus for Christmas". The kids were so excited and they did a great job staying with the group. There were about 15 kids that rode on the float.

The boys were on one side of the float and the girls were on the other. We had to see the float at two different times during the parade to get a picture of both kids.


The kids from GCA put on a Christmas drama on December 1st. Every child in the school had a part in the play. Mason and Mallory's class formed the Nativity scene. Our friends, Margaret and Roy, came to see the kids in the play and they brought their granddaughter, Gracie. She and Mallory are buddies.

My little angel and my goofy shepherd!!!! Ms. Janie picked their parts perfectly for them.

Mallory, and the other angels, had a small speaking part: "Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth, peace and goodwill toward men." They were so cute when they said it. Their small voices were perfect for this part. She was so proud to wear her costume. They had a dress rehearsal day and she came home so excited to have put on that halo.

Mason was very "in to" his part. Apparently had had to keep the other shepherds together. They also were in charge of the animals (the 1st and 2nd graders) which Mason thought was very cool. It was really heartwarming to see the kids participate in a Christmas program and do a really good job. Mallory is still singing the songs.


It was a really busy month. We knew it would be, especially since the baby would be coming soon. I'll post more pictures from our Christmas events soon.

Mad Scientist

The kids got up this morning ready to play in the kitchen. Scientist, they said they were. Lots of bowls, spoons, water, soap, peanut butter, and towels were used for their science experiments. Just so you know...peanut butter does not float and looks really gross in water!

Worms? Really?????

Mallory came rushing inside yesterday afternoon. She and Mason had been playing golf in the front yard, but their attention had been diverted by another activity. She needed two plastic bags and some plastic gloves. When I asked why, she replied, "Because we found worms and they need a safe place to live." When I asked where the worms were, she said "In the ground but they aren't happy. Mason dug them up with his golf club, so they need a new place to live."

I obliged with the two plastic bags but I didn't have gloves. She would hold the bag while Mason used the other bag to cover his hand so it didn't touch the worms. They spent 30 mins. digging up the yard looking for worms to give them a new home.

Mallory shows Castor her new pets. She wanted to bring them in the house last night so they wouldn't get cold. Then she wanted to offer them water so they wouldn't be thirsty.

Mason wanted to dig but he didn't want to touch the worms.

How many are there??????

Mason & Mallory will be a sibling to a little......G I R L !!!!

Just after I found out that I was pregnant with our third child, I was watching a TV show. The couple was expecting and they wanted to tell their families at the same time. However, they were from big families and the families lived in two different cities. The Today Show got involved and planned a special event for them. The producers of the show had a cake made for the couple, and the inside of the cake was dyed to match the gender of the baby. The couple did not know what they were having. Once they cut the cake, they saw pink and everyone knew at the same time that the baby was a girl.

I thought this was such a cool idea. Since we already had one boy and one girl, it seemed fitting to have this child be a surprise. When I told my mom and Christian about my idea, they were instantly on board. We agreed that my mom would be the only person to find out the sex of the baby from the ultrasound. Then she could tell the bakery how to make the cake. The suspense was horrible but we managed to make it for 2 1/2 months without knowing.

This past Saturday was our party. We invited our closest friends and our immediate families. There was a good crowd, about 35, and everyone couldn't wait until the big reveal. This was a great picture of my growing family. For once, everyone is smiling and looking at the camera.

My mom and I went to a shower for a relative a few weeks ago. At her shower, someone had given her a cake knife/server set with a beautiful poem. The poem basically talks about how the little girl can use the knife on her 1st birthday cake and every birthday thereafter. Then she can use this special knife on her wedding day to cut her wedding cake. It was so special and we loved the idea. We discussed that it could be used for either a boy or a girl, so the hunt was on for a special knife/server set for my new little one. Mom read the poem (which she rewrote to be non-gender specific) and everyone was so emotional.

The big cut on the front of the cake immediately let us know that our newest baby would be a little girl. Everyone screamed and clapped when they saw the cake. It was overwhelmingly emotional. I would definitely recommend doing this to anyone who wants to have a special moment for their baby. The kids could hardly wait to find out what their new sibling was going to be.

We had prepped the kids for the different colors and what they meant. Mason and Mallory both wanted a baby brother and were hopeful to see the color blue. When the cake turned out pink, Mason burst into tears. He cried big alligator tears for several minutes because he knew what the pink color meant. Christian had to console him and hold him until he got past the initial shock. He still is hopeful that the next baby will be a brother.

My new little girl...Magan Emerson Lawrence. I'm so excited!

Mason finally recovered from his shock but he's still not overly thrilled. He still wants a brother but he tells us that he'll love his little sister.

Overall, it was the best party we've ever had. We will definitely do this again and I'd recommend this kind of party to anyone. It was so much fun to have our family and friends with us for such a special moment. Thanks to my mom who hosted the party and did a GREAT job keeping the secret. Thanks to Emily for the great pictures.

A budding photographer??

So, it had been a long time since I'd blogged therefore I had a lot of pictures on my camera that needed to be downloaded. As I was doing that, I discovered these pictures of various items. Recently Mallory has been asking to use my camera. She's figured out how to use the wide/trim button and also how to review the pictures. Here are a few of the cute ones that I found on my computer. I love how she poses her subjects and gets right on their level to capture them. Maybe I'll have my own professional photographer one day.

Fall Field Trip

The kids from GCA took their first Fall field trip a few weeks ago to the local pumpkin patch. It was called Corn Dawgs and there was so much for the kids to do. It was kind of cold, and dreary, but it didn't start raining until we got ready to leave. The kids had a lot of fun. I took some really great pictures (if I do say so myself) but I have to be careful which ones I put on the blog because there are other children in the pictures.

The kids rode the tractor pull. Each child had their own cart and they were pulled along by a huge tractor. The ride lasted atleast 10 minutes and then we had to convince the kids to get off. They all wanted a second turn.

This was a huge three story slide that went through the side of a mountain. The kids had to climb to the top of the mountain and then slide down this great big tube. We must have spent atleast 30 minutes at this one activity. They couldn't get enough of it. Plus there were lights inside. It looked like a lot of fun!


Mallory, along with the rest of class, really enjoyed climbing on the haystacks. They had a bunch of hay bales piled up on top of these huge pipes. The kids could jump off of one side into a pit of strewn hay and then run out the other end of the pipe. It was really fun to watch them jump off of the side without much caution.

This was our last activity of the day. They had cart paths that the kids could race around. These pedal carts were a hit with the kids, so much so that they wanted Santa to bring them one.

Mallory was really good at it and kept up with the other kids.