Our Thanksgiving was wondeful! My mom and dad went to Florida this year to be with my brother's family so it was just us and Robbie's mom and dad. I cooked my very first turkey and I will have to say it turned out really yummy! I even made homemade gravy! Our feast consisted of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, rolls, broccoli, veggie tray, and dip. For dessert we had brownies, apple pie, and pumpkin roll. The pumpkin roll was made by my friend Sara and it was SO yummy and full of cream cheese goodness!!!Carter and Grandma Judy have some really serious conversations sometimes. It is so fun to see Carter being so grown up. He is such a sweet little guy and he really loves and cares about his family.
Molly's Thanksgiving meal pretty much consisted of...butter. Home girl loves her some butter. She never let the tub of butter get too far from her sight. She was GIDDY with excitement when it was time to sit down and eat. She is really used to being around Judy and Papa, but I think that she knew it was a special holiday and she was so excited to have everyone together. The highlight of my day was watching her be so happy! She really has changed so much in even the last month. She is becoming so much more content and so much less, well, um, whiney! :) I am LOVING the stage she is in right now and am trying to enjoy every bit of it. She will be in Kindergarten way too soon...like, in August, and I am going to miss her SO much!

Robbie was such a great help with Thanksgiving! He knew that there was a store that I really wanted to go to that morning, but that I wouldn't have enough time to do everything. He totally stepped up and helped me and insisted that I go and do what I wanted to do. Everything was ready on time, thanks to him, and I was able to run and get some awesome Christmas shopping done! I know that I sound like a broken record, but this guy is seriously amazing. I love him and I know that he loves me!

Carter is such a picky eater. Thank goodness for Sister Schubert's rolls and turkey and brownies!

Brayden was cracking us up! He was LOVING the turkey! He ate a little too much and about the time I got my camera out he was miserable! At least he liked the meal! :)





Molly sure loves her grandma Judy. She pretty much spends at least a little bit of time with her every day. I am so happy that they have such a special relationship! This is so funny...Molly was eating her meal, mostly butter, and pretty quickly told us she was SO full. I told her she could be done and as soon as I said that she said "so, can I have the brownie now?" I had told her earlier that the brownies were for after the good food so I think that she really thought she was tricking me. Of course, I handed over the brownies!

We have been decking us some halls here at the Coots! The kids had fun decorating the tree and this year Molly has a pink tree in her room and the boys have a little green one in their room. I let them do what they wanted, and most of it I left just the same, I just added some more the next few days.







I love having the Christmas decorations up. I really do wish I could leave them up all year. I am almost done with all Christmas shopping and am so excited to enjoy the season and am ready for the kids class parties and Christmas programs. Molly has been practicing at home the songs she is learning at pre-school and they are SO totally adorable! Poor girl got her coordination from her mamma and the actions she does with her songs are SO funny!

Each year we give the kids an ornament that represents their year. It is so fun each year when we get the decorations out and the kids gather up all their ornaments and remember when they got them.

I believe that my exact words to Robbie were "hey, I spent like $27 at Hobby Lobby, but, really, every little girl needs a pink Christmas tree in her room!"




I LOVE the princess ornaments. I was so happy to find the cinderalla carriage and the princess tiara! I am loving having a little girl and all of the pink that goes with her!

I Can't Wait Until I'm Eight

Carter and Brayden were both baptized on their 8th birthdays. Carter's is June 28th and Brayden's is May 1st. They were so happy that their 8th birthdays fell on a sunday. They were baptised by their daddy. (the handsome guy in white!) I love to think about their special days and to remember how excited they were that they were making the best choice. I am so happy that Robbie, as well as both sets of our parents, share this special time with us. The picture of all 4 of them....oh my. I love to see proof that living as an example and teaching children from when they are young is indeed important. I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and for the happiness it brings into our lives when we live it.

*Carter was able to wear the same pants that his daddy wore when he was baptised! They are so cute and are even kind of bell bottoms. Thank you to grandma Judy for saving things so we can have these neat memories!

Memories...

I have been feeling so sad that my pictures got erased from the laptop. I was oh so happy when I realized that my mother-in-law is a major picture hoarder and has not erased anything off her camera in over 2 years. Oh, picture heaven! So, these are just random pictures that I am so thankful to have! We had a Halloween party at grandma Judy's house and this is Brayden the mummy. He was so proud to be totally covered in toilet paper!

Papaw the birthday boy and his sweetie!

Mamaw and Papaw and their great-grandkids. So thankful that my kids have these special people in their lives.

Nana got Molly this ironing board. It is unique because I think she got it at Goodwill and then painted it and covered it with fabric. All of Molly's friends love it and it is the first thing they want to play with when they come over.

Molly and her cousin Madyson. They got so excited when they realized they had the same shirts. These girls are a tad bit spoiled....but oh my stars...they are little miracles and I love them!

Nana and Papa Ostermiller and my Carter. We sure love us some Nana and Papa time!

Carter and Mamaw Allen.

Carter and his cousin Mason.

This was on Brayden's 8th birthday. He was so excited to get baptized. It was a super special day!

My sweeties on Easter 2011.

Madyson and Molly.

Grandma Judy with cousin Bennett and Molly and Madyson at the Coots family reunion.

Grandma Judy and my boys!

One of my kid's favorite things to do with grandma Judy is to go to Ocharley's and get rolls and butter and go back to her house and eat them on the floor. Sometimes they get Red Lobster rolls but Ocharley's is their favorite.

Papa Coots and his grand daughters! They love him!

Oh the sweetness of this picture!!

OOOPS.....haven't learned how to delete pictures....so this is a double! :)

Carter at his first Pine Wood Derby. Papa Ostermiller helped him put some weights on his car.

Molly and cousin Bennett. He is almost 2 now....so this was a while ago. Molly loves babies (real or fake!)

Molly has a special relationship with Mamaw Allen and is so patient with her when she asks the same question over and over again! :)

Oh the perfect-ness of this little girl! Holy yummy!

Silly girls at grandma Judy's Christmas party.

Caleb, Carter, Mason, and Brayden. Halloween 2009.

How in the heck did these girls get big so fast!

Molly and big brother, Brayden! Oh I can't believe these kids are mine!

This was at a rest stop on the way home from a vacation....I think it was when I had Judy's camera.

This is one of my favorite pictures. We went to Nauvoo a few years ago and took this. I think it was maybe 2009.

What I saw...

So, yesterday when my mom and dad and Robbie's mom and dad were here I was on the couch with Robbie, my legs draped over him, just relaxing and watching the kids play. I had my camera in my hands and looked over and saw the most wonderful picture....my two guys...my Robbie and my dad! I just had to take the picture. I don't think they even know I did it. Both in their white shirts...fresh from church...ties taken off to relax. I am so thankful that I married someone just like my dad....and am thankful for the example my dad has always been to me of what I should expect in a husband. I am a blessed wife/daughter. :)

My Family

Today was the Primary program at church. (where the kids get to sing and do little parts in front of the whole church). Molly and Carter and Brayden did such a great job. I love to hear the kids sing and could sit there all day and listen to them. My mom and dad came from Nashville to be here for the program and Judy and Papa were also there. I feel so lucky that my kids have 2 sets of grandparents who are so close and who they can have relationships with. I am also so happy that my mom and dad and Robbie's mom and dad are friends. I have had people look at me a little funny when I tell them that we all have Thanksgiving together or that we all go somewhere together. I guess it's not the norm! ;) After church we all came to our house for chili and pigs in a blanket and cornbread and banana pudding. I love this picture of my kids at the table with Judy and Papa and Nana and Papa! We had so much fun visiting with them and as always, were sad when they had to leave. Molly and Nana had some girl time in Molly's room playing with paper dolls and reading books and the boys were learning from Papa Ostermiller how to Indian Wrestle!
Molly's part from the program was "Heavenly Father gave us families" and she remembered it and did it all by herself! I can not believe that all 3 of my kids are old enough to be in the Primary Program. It was nice to just sit back with Robbie's arm around me (he got to sit with me since the kids were in his spot up front!) and enjoy my sweeties! I am thankful that they love church and they love to learn.

A few nights ago, Molly woke up in the night crying. It was about 3am. I laid down with her and told her I was there. She said "mommy, I need you to say a prayer so I won't have dreams about worms.". So, at 3am, I said a prayer that she wouldn't have dreams about worms. We both went to sleep after that. The next morning the very first thing she said when she woke up was "mommy, Heavenly Father listened to the prayer and I didn't have any more dreams about worms!". This little girl has so much faith. I want to be like her!

My Scouts

Robbie is an Eagle Scout. Isn't that neat? Yes, yes it is. :) And my 2 boys are well on their way. I love that the boys go to Scouts together every wednesday night and that they know that it is something that is important to take seriously. And, um, I just got asked to be a den leader! That's right folks, this girl who knows NOTHING about scouting is now responsible to get these boys advanced and to enjoy and love scouting. Our first few meetings have gone super and I am actually really excited about it! Just yesterday a mom of one of the scouts told me that her son said that I am really nice and that he is more excited about scouts now than he has ever been. Ok, already SO worth it. Last night was Brayden's first pack meeting and he was so proud. He was awarded his Bear. he looked so sweet in his uniform. After a kind of heartbreaking day (more on that later) it was nice to see him so happy.

I love this picture because these boys love their daddy and they know that he is always going to be right there beside them and is going to encourage them to achieve their goals.

Carter was called up to demonstrate the scout hand shake. Man, my boys are growing up! Carter was also called on to stand up to show what a complete scout uniform looks like. :)

This is right before we left for the church. I am so proud of both of these boys. They are good boys and are going to grow up to be some pretty amazing young men.

A little side note....the scout master who is standing with the boys is Gary Croxall. I will spare the long story....but when I was little, like probably 4 or 5, we lived in Pocatello, Idaho. I would go and 'visit' a few neighbors regularly. That was back when kids could roam the neighborhood with no worries. One of the neighbors I would visit, well, was his GRANDFATHER, Mr. Croxall!!! Gary and his wife moved to Bowling Green a year or so ago and when I heard the name I thought of my Mr. Croxall but thought there was no way there could be a connection. But there was! So now I kind of feel a connection to him because, well, I used to be visit his grandpa! I just think that is really cool!!!!