I have been putting off posting because I really don't know where to begin......not that too much has happened here.....I just haven't written in a while.....so here it is.....
We had a lovely Christmas. We normally go down to Georgia to see the Harrison side of the family for a few days before Christmas and drive home Christmas Eve to celebrate here on Christmas morning. This year was a little different because Seth really needed to work so we went down the day after instead for the weekend. So it went like this:

Christmas morning here: The kids got up around 8 and we had a relaxing time opening presents. One of my favorite parts was watching Annabelle get her kitchen mainly because the boys were just as excited FOR her as they have known for a while she would be getting it. Adam was the most interested in the aquarium Seth got for them. He can't wait to fill it with fish and spent the day preparing the tank for them with Seth.



Christmas Evening: We went to my family's house for dinner and presents. It was delicious and we got Season passes to Dollywood again from them. Thank you!!!! Aunt Leslie didn't get to make it this year because of work so we were all in mourning over that. We sure did miss her. Mimi worked herself to death with everything and ended up sick with .......you guessed it........pneumonia, the next day. She got some meds and is on the mend now. Talk about super woman who can prepare a feast and gathering like that despite being that sick. (BTW, we didn't realise how bad off she was or we would have put her to bed right away)

Annabelle got a huge kick out of wearing a dress that matched Kiah.
Thank you Aunt Angie for the awesome hand-me-downs!

Aunt Leslie sent the boys marshmallow guns. They love them!

Granny, Papaw, Aunt Karen and Uncle Gary all come to dinner as well.

Friday: Headed off to GA and had dinner and present time with the Harrisons that evening. The weekend was relaxing and fun. When we go down there for a visit, the boys are literally off and gone for the weekend playing nicely with their cousins. Walker and Caleb pair off and play while Amy and Adam are together somewhere else. It is so nice for them to be so happy and occupied. Annabelle spent her time entertaining everyone with singing, dancing and other funny stuff. She is quite the entertainer and loves to be the center of attention!

The kids table

Have I mentioned how cute Aaron is? 18 months old, all boy and reminds me SOOOOO much of Caleb and Adam.



Annabelle LOOOVES her Uncle Johnny! She immediately took her presents that needed to be put together to him so he could help her out. See that face she is making? She does that all of the time. I have to get a better picture of it.

Things are getting a little back to normal around here. Last Friday, Seth took me to the Urgent Care where they determined I had pneumonia and put me on antibiotics. Saturday evening, my mom got back in town from a business trip and brought me to her house so she could take care of me and the kids while Seth worked. I just came home last night because I am finally feeling a little better....weak...but better.

So here we are.....almost a month later. Doing better. Thanks so much for all of the well wishes and all. You are all very sweet.

Merry Christmas!

sick sick sick

I am actually a little afraid to post now because I am sure I lost some major brain cells with my fever over the last couple of weeks. I have ran a fever anywhere from 100 to 104 degrees and I am pretty sure that is brain damage range. So, I will warn you ahead of time if the quality of my writing has gone down a bit.
Yeah, I have had the flu for 12 days now. I still have it. I have been in bed for most of those days and spent the others wishing I could have been in bed. I definitely don't want to get on here and whine and complain, I just thought I would update everyone on our family's happenings. Seth took the kids to Georgia over the weekend and I went to my mom's house. Seth said that his family is all aware of Annabelle being a genius now. (just kidding) They were amazed by her vocabulary and she enjoyed entertaining Nana and Papa all weekend. Caleb said he had a great time building HUGE forts in the woods with Walker and Adam said he and Amy had fun playing "animals". When they got home, they stayed at Mimi's house during the day while Seth worked and sat in the bed with me a little. I had missed them so much. That was the longest I had ever been away from Annabelle. Then Seth came and got them and I stayed there at night until Wednesday. Now I am home and if I work it just right with my meds, I can keep the fever down. Thankfully, Seth has been Mr. Mom and Mimi has taken very good care of me. Aunt Amie even sent us dinner one night.

So, y'all all pray for me to get better. My kids are going to be retarded from all of the television they have watched.

And most importantly:

GET YOUR FLU SHOT TODAY!
(I have heard that the flu nose spray is even more effective)

Disco Style this time- I love these things!

Make sure you set it to full screen and let it load completely for a better view.

We spent Thanksgiving here this year rather than traveling to Georgia. We had a delicious meal at Mimi's house with Granny, Pawpaw, Aunt Karen, Uncle Gary, Aunt Lorie and Kiah. I got to spend some good quality time with my mom and Lorie before the meal cooking together while Seth watched the boys outside and Annabelle napped. Nowadays when I am with my mom, I try to soak up all of her wisdom and learn as much as I can from her. I feel like I am making up for all of the time I didn't spend with her in high school learning things like how to cook and such. I was just too busy with my retarded social life during that time period and wasn't interested all the things I regard so highly now. Thankfully I still live close enough for that now....though it is harder to do with three rowdy children in tow. Anyhow, I think I may put roasting a turkey on our menu plan since it really isn't all that complicated and provides a lot of meat for a decent price.

After we ate, we all went outside to enjoy the first fire in the fireplace that Grandaddy built on their new outdoor living patio/deck place. They have been working for a long time on that and it was great to enjoy the fruits of their labor. I can't wait for the hot tub to go in! The fire was lovely and kept us quite warm despite the cold weather.

You can't imagine how much these guys miss each other now that Kiah is in Boone. They are so darn giddy when they get together now that I can hardly stand them. Nah, it is too sweet. Do you remember how wonderful I think siblings can be? I truly believe that my kids will not only have one another for that bond, but will also have cousins in the same manner.

I played some of my songs for everyone (Granny and Pawpaw are my second biggest fans right after Mom and Dad)and then we took our tired children home to get to bed.

I am stuffed and looking forward to our annual post Thanksgiving class at the gym called "Burn the Bird" in the morning. I am only teaching part of it but I get to do kickboxing which is my favorite thing to lead these days.

A New Video of Annabelle

We have had a full week here at the Harrison Abode and I am glad that it is Sunday and I can REST a bit. We started out the week Monday morning with a fun filled visit to the Cobb's house (aka heaven on earth for my boys) where a friend and I gleaned some wise homeschooling advice from Cynthia while the 9 older boys played outside. It was a great time for all and I sure did enjoy being with someone who home schools twice as many kids (5 out of 6 being boys) as me and is still sane and happy. After that I taught 2 classes that evening and then two on Tuesday and Wednesday as well which wore me out. Then we showed our house on Thursday for the first time since it has been listed so I (with a little help from the kids) worked like a madwoman cleaning all day for that. (the buyers wanted "a more conventional neighborhood") Friday I taught the Geography co-op class, which reminds me:

One of the things each teacher (mom) has done for the Geography class is to tell a little about the languages that are spoken in the country they are presenting. For example, the mom who taught about Mexico started the class speaking in fluent Spanish (she used to be a Spanish teacher) and another had some recordings of Chinese. Anyway, when I started our class I told the kids who I was and that we were going to be talking about Africa. This one little boy raised his hand and said completely seriously, "Why are you speaking with such a Southern accent?" He thought it had to do with my presentation and that I was putting on! I laughed a lot (as did the other moms) and told him that I actually always talk like this. He was as embarrassed as a home schooled 7 year old can be (not at all) and we continued on. No, I still think he was confused. I thought it was hilarious!

Seth was out of town for a long weekend for a Builders Golf Tournament and so Lorie and Kiah spent the night with us Friday night. Lorie and I stayed up pretty late talking and I played and sang all of my new stuff on the guitar for her. It was a fun time. Then Saturday I taught class and we spent most of the day at Mimi and Grandaddy's house so the boys could play with Kiah while Lorie worked. Also, I sang and played at church this morning so I spent every spare moment practicing for that this past week.

When Seth walked in the house I said, "Hi honey, I am glad you are home. Annabelle is taking a nap and the boys are in the backyard with Taylor and I really need a nap." So I took one and I feel much better now. Ah, rest.......... Now I need to start something for dinner.


I will leave you with lots of pictures from Lorie's camera:


This one is Caleb at Pigeon Forge on the balcony of the condo waiting to get his hair cut. He is mad as always and I had to tell him that he was not going to Dollywood until he got a haircut. I just love this picture because it is that little scowl that he has a lot of times. OK, maybe I don't love that scowl, but I think I will appreciate capturing this moment years down the road.

The rest are mostly from the weekend that Lorie took the boys to Boone with her. They went to Tweetsie Railroad and must be doing a climbing wall there.

Kiah and Annabelle snuggling on the couch at Mimi's house.

Now, go read Amie's blog and leave her a comment.

Annabelle and Lucie. They are best friends. And it is so sweet. I am quite sure that Annabelle mentions Lucie about 50 times a day. Whatever we are talking about, she always says something about Lucie. I have to convince her over and over that EVERY doll should not be named "Lucie" and Amie had to talk Lucie out of want ing to name her new puppy "Annabelle". Oh and you should see them embrace when they greet one another!



So on those days when I am sad that Annabelle most likely will never have a sister, I think of Lucie and hope they will always love one another this much.



The puppy's name is Sophie Ann......and everyone pray because they are afraid Lanie might be allergic to him.

Three dirty, tired Harrison boys made it home safely this afternoon from a fun filled trip to Bear Creek in south Georgia over the weekend. I finally remembered to pack the camera so they could take some pictures for the blog.


Caleb said his favorite part of the trip was doing wheelies on Amy's 4wheeler. Adam's favorite part was doing wheelies with Uncle Johnny on his 4wheeler. They also told me that they worked really hard to clean out a camper so that Annabelle and I could come down sometime. They did, however, accidentally slip up and mention the mouse nest they found in the cabinets. I think we will hold out a little longer on making the trip.

LOTS OF FISHING



















Katie, Seth's cousin's daughter, (does that mean she is our kids' 3rd cousin?) got her first deer this time. We are pretty excited because our freezer is packed with the meat now. Uncle Jimmy gave the kids an in depth anatomy/biology lesson as they cut the deer up.



Annabelle and I sure did miss them. She is much higher maintenance when they aren't around because she is bored. That and I am always on this mission to get tons of work done when they are gone.