The Biltmore House at Christmas

In Savannah's enrichment class she just finished reading the book The Mystery of the Biltmore House by Carole Marsh.  They spent a lot of time doing activities based on this book and Savannah frequently complained that it was "boring".  So, we decided to try to bring it to life a bit by taking a family trip to the Biltmore House.  Dave had extra vacation time and we thought it would be less crowded to go during the week so yesterday we all headed to Asheville, NC to tour the Biltmore.  I have to say that I was a bit worried about Preston being a handful midway through the house, but he never complained and was certainly a trooper despite the massive crowds and cool winds.

 

The last time Dave and I were there was our babymoon when I was pregnant with Savannah.  Neither of us had been at Christmas so it was fun to see it all decorated . . . but I do have to say that it wasn't all I imagined it would be.  We did a quick drive through the gardens and stopped at the winery.  Unfortunately we would have had to wait over 2 hours to get the back scenes tour of the winery so we opted not to wait for that.  As a side note, they had tons of samples stations set up (which made both of our kiddos excited) and if you ask Preston his favorite part he'll tell you it was the "kretzel samples and shuttle buses." 

Celebrating on Christmas Day 2013

Twas the night before Christmas and Santa has come!

These two were up bright and early super excited to see what was under the tree . . and came with gifts made for daddy

Wearing our Christmas Jammies!

SO excited!!

We enjoyed a fun Christmas morning and had some yummy french toast.  Both kids were pleased with their loot . . . Savannah got her long awaited American Girl doll and Preston received some soccer goals and a few other things.  After getting all showered and dressed up we were off to Burlington to celebrate with my family.  Not long after we arrived we enjoyed a delicious meal and then it was time to open the living room full of gifts!

Page Family Picture

Pure sassiness!

What an awesome day we had celebrating Christ with our family!  The cousins LOVED playing together and grandma just loved having everyone in her house.  As usual, there was a fight over the golf balls she made, but thankfully this time no one (Denny) went through the wall. :)

2013 Bachmann Family Christmas

What a fun weekend we have had celebrating Christmas with Dave's family.  His parents came on Friday and Susan, Eugene, and the girls came on Saturday.  It didn't take the kiddos long to dig into the loot!

 

Preston and Dave getting ready for the celebration

The cousins digging into their stockings

After opening stockings we all enjoyed a delicious meal and then it was right back to opening gifts!


Everyone loved the tower of treats from Mr. Eugene!

"Sledding" on the new hill sleds from Grammy & Papa 

Sweet Girls

Annual Family Picture

After we had completely stuffed ourselves with food and dessert (did I mention that Susan made this delicious mouth watering peanut butter chocolate eclair one and I had about 3 servings of?) we headed to Concord to see the Speedway Christmas lights.  It wasn't quite what I expected, but I think the kids had fun none-the-less.



Speedway Christmas Photo

 Then it was home for bedtime!  What an amazingly fun day with our family . . . we are truly blessed!



Teddy Bear Tea 2013

Savannah and Lily

Savannah, Lily, and Caroline

Enjoying their snacks and cocoa

On Saturday Savannah was so excited to have a girl's day out and head to the Billy Graham Library for the annual teddy bear tea. The carolers were awesome and of course the girls enjoyed their up close reserved table (thanks, Donna!) and the yummy treats too.  Everyone received a special gift, a teddy bear . . . Savannah named hers Graham Cracker and he is a proud new member of her bedtime animals. :)  Savannah loved spending time with her friends Lily and Caroline, but it was also fun for me to be able to catch up with Lily's mom, Ms. Stephanie!!

So Much to be Thankful For . . .

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100: 4-5

 

 

Cousins at Ashley's birthday party

Celebrating Thanksgiving with more cousins

 As we celebrate Thanksgiving I can't begin to list all of the things I am thankful for . . . but at the top of the list would certainly be my precious family!  We enjoyed celebrating Ashley's 4th birthday on Saturday before Thanksgiving in Greenville, SC.  Then we loved seeing the rest of the cousins in Mebane on Thanksgiving Day (after Dave and I ran in the Turkey Trot here in Charlotte).  We are truly blessed beyond measure to be part of such an incredible family!



Preston's Thanksgiving Feast

All dressed in his Indian clothes ready for the feast!

Yummy food, notice his Indian name "Giving Spirit"

Daddy surprised us all with a lunch visit

On Thursday Preston had his big Thanksgiving feast at WEE school.  His class (and their awesome teachers) worked super hard in making many holiday decorations and clothes.  Preston had a special headdress, necklace, shirt, Pilgrim hat, placemat, and more!  Although he didn't eat many of the traditional holiday foods, he had more than enough Chick fil A nuggets and desserts.  The biggest surprise was that daddy came from work to enjoy the feast with his Peanut! 

As we looked around at the many children in his class, we noticed that they each had a special teacher-selected Indian name on their headdress. Preston's was "Giving Spirit".  Ms. Shirley told me later that he was the most giving child ever, which was a very special quality . . . yes, we know just how special he is, but it's nice to hear it from his teacher at school too!

Two Fall Firsts

Sound asleep on the sofa

I can hardly believe it, but last night right before the kids went to bed we looked outside and it was snowing!!!  They went to bed so excited to have seen the first snow of the year . . . unfortunately Preston woke up with another first of the year, the throw up bug! :( 

Just as I was headed out the door to my aerobic class at 5:20 this morning I heard him throwing up.  Needless to say our morning quickly became very hectic trying to figure out how Dave and I both could get to work, get Savannah to the bus, cancel the art lesson I was supposed to teach at Savannah's school this morning, cancel car pool, etc.  Whew!

So I went to class while Dave worked from home until I finished teaching.  Now I'm here with sweet Preston (who keeps asking how one might get the throw up bug and wondering if when he sneezed that maybe it sneezed the bug all out of him).  He is sound asleep on the sofa.  The Lord has reminded me of so many things to be thankful for this morning.  First of all, that I'm super blessed to be able to stay home with my kids.  Going back to work was a treat for me, not a necessity.  So on days like today I'm able to chill at home with my little one who isn't feeling well.  Secondly, I was reminded what a gift Dave is to me and our family . He never once even questioned staying home while I taught my class today, actually he suggested it!  Third, I'm reminded what a blessing it is to have super healthy children.  If this is all we have to deal with then I count myself lucky. . . there are so many children with things much worse and that will last much longer than a passing stomach virus. 

Here's hoping all is better tomorrow and everyone else stays healthy!