Christmas Pictures

We had our 2008 Christmas pictures yesterday. The kids did great and we were able to get some great pictures. Later this week, we'll make our trip to Eastern Arkansas for Thanksgiving with Bryan's family. We can't wait to see everyone!

Our little models...

Emma is such a "girly girl", she spotted the pink boa and just had to
try it on. Of course, we had to take some pics.

Emma's First Gymnastics Meet

Emma had her first gymnastics meet last Sunday. This was a practice meet to get the kids ready for competition season next year. Emma is part of the TNT1 class, composed of just 3 girls. She participated in 4 events - vault, floor exercise, bars, and balance beam. I was afraid that she would be shy in front of the crowd but she did great. The girls were not given scores since it was a practice meet, instead, they were given "comments". She received great comments from the judges and continues to practice.

Emma and her teammates. She's on the front row, fourth from the right.

The TNT1's - Lacy, Emma, and Katie

Emma during her beam exercise.

Emma's bar exercise.

Bodi's 2nd Birthday Party (Take 2)

We were able to celebrate Bodi's Birthday during the Starrs, Ngoi, and Ngoi Ba's visit. Bodi had a great time and the kids had a blast spending time with each other.

A trip down memory lane.....

Bodi makes his debut at 8lbs 1oz on October 20, 2006

Bodi turns ONE

I can't believe my baby boy is getting so big!

Happy Halloween!

As a kid, I didn't enjoy Halloween, all the scary decorations and costumes terrified me. Now that I'm a mom, I LOVE it!!! I love to see the excitement on Emma and Bodi's faces as they prepare for a night of Trick-or-Treating. Well, with all the illnesses being passed around, I was bound to catch something. Between Emma, Bodi, and Natalie, they passed around croup, Rotavirus, and bronchitis. I changed it up when I came down with strep throat on Thursday. This was devastating to me, especially since the Starrs, Ngoi, and Ngoi Ba made the trip from Dallas to spend not only Halloween with us, but to celebrate Bodi's birthday on Saturday. Since I was extremely contagious, I sent the kids over to Amy's to ensure they didn't catch it.


Everyone was kind enough to help Bryan with getting the kids ready and pitched in to ensure the Gist kids had a great night. I had been sick most of the week and I didn't have time to get the kids' costumes (yes, I am a procrastinator), so, Thuy brought some costumes down for me.


Emma was a cowgirl (riding a horse), Bodi was a duck, Natalie was a beautiful princess, Doug and Doug Jr. were Spongebob, Kenndi was a witch, and McKenzie was a female Ed McMahon.

Rewind to earlier that day.... Emma and Bodi absolutely love spending time with Amy and having Thuy there was especially special. Thuy and Amy kept the kids busy with activities until the sun went down. They carved pumpkins, decorated mini pumpkins, and made puppets.

I'm not sure how the party turned out later that night, but the treats looked good :)

Halloween Carnival

The kids had their Halloween carnival at school Tuesday night. Bodi went as a cow and Emma decided to be a spider. The spider costume was Bodi's from last year, we tried it on and it worked! The kids had so much fun, they had games in each classroom and of course, tons of candy. Bodi was so funny, he didn't want to go into his room and cried every time we tried to go in. I think he was afraid that we were dropping him off.

Mommy and her babies.

Emma and Bodi with their friends, sisters Caroline and Claire. Emma and Caroline have been in the same class since they were babies and now Bodi and Claire are in the same class. They are all so sweet with each other, especially Bodi and Claire.

Emma and Bodi enjoying some games.

Emma and her friend Katie.

Bodi searching for the perfect piece of candy.

The kids had a blast and we'll do it again Friday night when
they go Trick-or-Treating.

Pumpkin Time

The change in seasons has brought on more than cooler weather, it's brought on a range of illnesses. Emma had croup a couple weeks ago, Bodi had rotavirus last week, and now Natalie has croup. Emma recovered well and Bodi started feeling much better so we decided to buy some pumpkins today.

Bryan was so sweet with the kids, helping them pick the perfect pumpkins.

The kiddos taking a break, and they're going to need it. They have their Halloween carnival on Tuesday, the Starrs and Ngoi and Ngoi Ba coming on Thursday, Trick-or-Treating and Amy's Halloween party on Friday, and then Bodi's Birthday party (take 2) on Saturday. We can't wait to see the Starrs and Ngoi and Ngoi Ba!!!!

Bodi is TWO

Bodi turned 2 today, we can't believe how fast it's gone by. We wanted to start the day special so Bodi and Emma got M & M's for breakfast. Bodi had a birthday party at school so Sissy and Natalie's teachers allowed them to join in the fun. As you see, the kids had a blast.

After the party, the kids and I went home and played outside. Emma and Bodi decided to get the tennis rackets out and hit balls. We are definitely enjoying some outside fun before the weather gets too cold.

Emma decided to try some modeling poses, but I don't think Bodi was into it.

Later, the Craigs came over for pizza and cake.






Finally, time for presents. Bodi was "pooped" by the time we got to the gifts, so he relaxed as he opened them. He perked up when he opened the "Wonder Pets" book Sissy got him and got his second wind.

At the end of a fun-filled day, we settled down for a family photo.