Catching Up

 Ultimately this is just a photo drop of my favorite people. :)

Jay has been working extra long hours recently after his transition to a full Amazon employee (as opposed to his affiliation with Fabric.com). He starts his day at his typical time and then works until West Coast offices wrap up for the day. He is enjoying the fast paced work environment and challenge of a new position. We could not be more proud of him!

I hosted a sleepover for all the kids and one friend. The evening was filled with Nerf battles, video games, extra gymnastics, and a nacho bar. It was Jacob's first time ever having a friend spend the night, and it went perfectly with all the kids in bed by 11. I think the older kids stayed up later in their rooms, but the little boys were out almost immediately.

The next evening we had dinner with one of our favorite couples, the Burkes. It is always so easy to pick up where we left off even if it has been months between seeing each other. 

I survived a four day substitute teaching job over the past week, and I am now even more convinced that teachers need to make a seven figure salary. 

These photos of Maggie are only to document how much I love this independent, sassy, and stylish girl.

Tuttle put a lot of time into preparing for a big math test that was necessary to pull up his grade. (Accelerated Math in 6th grade is so fast paced and demanding for our boy. He can barely enjoy a success before he needs to focus on the next milestone!) I was excited to text him after his test to let him know that he received a 100%! 

Baseball evaluations are tomorrow, so Tuttle has also been training with a coach for batting. I cannot wait to watch my favorite short stop back on the diamond, but I would prefer the weather to warm up above freezing!

Jacob was invited to join the Talent Development class at school that provides enrichment once a week outside his regular classroom. He absolutely loves math and numbers, so this opportunity allows him to be challenged even more. He is constantly asking us to complete math problems in our heads, so he can learn more difficult equations.

Maggie's second gym meet was held today at the International World Congress Center. This was a national meet with over 80 gymnasts in her session alone. Thank goodness that I was not sick this time because I was not about to miss Maggie showing off her skills! There was a lot of hard competition but our Moo scored her highest AA (36.2) which qualifies her to train Level 6 in the summer. This was her main goal, and it is amazing that she achieved her two 36+ scores in the first two meets! She also had a personal record on vault with a 9.075. The final scores resulted in a 1st place trophy for Roswell! We do not have to wait long for the next meet because Paws for a Cause is in six days!

We can report that the Thorne Family is happy and healthy. 

Turning Six and SNOW

 Our favorite big boy baby turned SIX! Six years of antics, snuggles, dance moves, and laughs. We could not love our Jakers more!

Everyone was looking forward to kicking it at Jacob's karate party on Saturday, but a call from the school nurse on Friday with a 103 degree fever for the birthday boy halted those plans. :( We will definitely reschedule for February, and luckily Jacob understood and has been on the mend with practically no symptoms today. It seems like everyone is sick right now!

The much anticipated SNOW DAY blew in today with predictions of 1-3 inches of snow. Maggie was determined to make sure the snow happened, so she put spoons under everyone's pillow, wore her pajamas inside out, and flushed two ice cubes down the toilet. It did not look good for most of the day with only light flurries and no ground coverage, but right around 3pm, it started to stick. The kids immediately went outside to throw snowballs and "sled" on the golf course. 

We take what we can get for snow in Georgia!

Sports Mania

 We have filled our last few days will ALL the sports.

Jacob went to his karate orientation on Saturday morning. He received a trial session (+ a month if he likes it!) for Christmas from Grandmommy and Grandaddy. He has been asking to take lessons for a while now, so he was thrilled to open a karate uniform on Christmas morning. He took his orientation very seriously and is looking forward to his next class!

Tuttle also cashed in a Christmas gift with his first private batting session on Saturday. Grandmommy and Grandaddy made sure the boys were set with sports this year! Jay took Tuttle and Jacob to the lesson while Maggie and I prepared for her gymnastics meet. 

The time had finally arrived for Maggie to shine during meet season. Since Xcel Gold was scheduled to compete at 8am at a location an hour away from our house, we opted to get a hotel for the night. Two teammates joined us, and the girls loved spending time together at dinner, doing makeovers, and recording dances.

Alas after we went to bed, I woke up around 1am with a pounding headache and felt achy resulting in literally no sleep. I feared the worst and made the decision to drive home at 6am. Our gymnastics team is the absolute best village. Tiparny immediately jumped into action to get Maggie dressed for the meet, including the stressful job of hair! I received multiple videos and pictures of every event as well as text commentary from several sweet friends. Maggie was in such good hands.

It did not seem to phase Maggie that I was not there because she absolutely excelled at the meet. Our tiny gymnast placed 2nd on bars (9.3), 4th on floor (9.3), and 4th All Around (36.1) in her age group. There were 54 gymnasts at the meet, and Maggie placed 10th overall. The team also scored FIRST PLACE!

I did not feel well all Sunday, but luckily I woke up today feeling much better. I am hoping it was a combination of stress and an extremely uncomfortable hotel bed that resulted in a horrible night. I do not have time to be sick! I cannot wait for the next meet to cheer on my favorite girl.

The excitement did not end over the weekend because the Bulldawgs were set to play in the National Championship Monday night. Jay hit the jackpot and received tickets in the lottery, so he headed to Indianapolis with his guys to see the victory in person!

The kids and I were ready to cheer on the Dawgs at home. Maggie and Jacob lasted until halftime, but Tuttle and I were in for the long haul! What a stressful but AMAZING game- GEORGIA BULLDAWGS ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! 

Jacob headed to bed for his last sleep as a five year old. We have begged him to go backward and turn four, but he insists are turning SIX. Wasn't he just born?!??

We are ready to celebrate our birthday boy in the morning! His party will be Saturday!

Looking Forward to 2022

 We survived AND enjoyed the holidays, including celebrating Jay's 41st birthday. Jay and I kept it simple with dinner and a movie, but we loved slipping away for a few hours by ourselves. 

The days from Christmas until the kids start back to school all run together, so we are trying to soak up some down time until the homework, sports practices, games, piano lessons, and early morning alarms return.

We are optimistic about 2022. Jay will begin a new position with Amazon, and we have several family goals that we are motivated to achieve this year. It always helps to start January 1 with Jay's traditional meal, especially when it provides good luck and good fortune to our family. :)

Christmas 2021

 Our Christmas Eve centered around going back to our church for the children's nativity service. I grabbed a spot for Maggie and Jacob earlier in the month, and the church contacted me to see if Tuttle was interested in being a Wise Man with two other sixth grade students. I was thrilled that all three of my babies could participate this year!

We listened to Daddy read the traditional poetry, set out cookies and milk, and the kids were ready for bed.

Santa got right to work as soon as possible, and everyone made the Nice List, even Jacob.

Ms. Claus searched over an hour for her phone before heading to bed only to discover that it had gone through an entire wash cycle in the washing machine! Amazingly the phone still worked, but the camera was a blurry mess. I was able to take one picture Christmas morning after using the hair dryer to de-fog the camera before it immediately clouded back up. Honestly I felt more present during all the Christmas excitement!

Grandmommy and Grandaddy arrived around noon to celebrate, but sadly the Peace Family had to miss our gathering this year due to positive Covid tests. We are so ready to be done with this global pandemic and all the germs! It was no shock that the grandparents arrived with a car filled to the brim with gifts, and the kids LOVED every surprise! I am truly a full time adult when I could not open my new carpet cleaner and Roomba fast enough!

The Corbitt Christmas finalized our December fest. Larry and Beth hosted the family, and the kids participated in a service project to make hygiene bags to donate to the homeless shelter.

We simplified gift giving a few years ago with a Secret Santa exchange once the family started to grow so quickly. It makes the day more about the people and less about the presents. One of my favorite parts is watching the next generation become friends. Maggie and Gwen's relationship gets sweeter every time they see each other, and Jacob is getting old enough to hang with the big kids.

Maggie and I were twinning in our tops and new fingerprint necklaces, my number one wish for Christmas. Jay hit a home run with my gift. I will love this special piece forever with my babies' fingerprints and their names stamped on the back. (Maggie received a smaller version for helping Jay make it happen!)

This year has been unpredictable but also exciting for our family. We are ready for 2022!

Holiday Cheer

 With all the sickness gone from the boys, everyone could really enjoy the start of the holiday break. While most of us looked forward to sleeping in, Maggie was up bright and early for two four-hour practice days. Meet season starts in two weeks, so it's crunch time to perfect all her skills, and she is READY!

We finished up Christmas shopping at the Avalon where Tuttle found the perfect gift for Olivia.

Several hours and late nights have already been spent playing games around the kitchen table. Tuttle received Cantan from Gram and Grumps, and the kids have completed at least four games. I love that Jacob is finally at the age that he can participate in almost every activity.

As one last final surprise before Christmas Day, Jay and I took to kids on an adventure to Bryson City, North Carolina to ride The Polar Express. I have wanted to try this activity for years, and we decided the kids were at the perfect age to enjoy AND remember it. We drove up early on Thursday to check into the Mckinley Edwards Inn and eat lunch in the sweetest downtown area.

After dark the main event started! Prior to boarding the train, we picked up our golden tickets and explored a huge model train museum. Then the Polar Express experience completely lived up to the hype. Our chef made us belly laugh the entire ride, and I couldn't imagine a more magical way to celebrate Christmas Adam- the kids coined this theme several years ago since Adam did come before Eve. :) The ride included hot chocolate and cookies, reading The Polar Express, singing Christmas Carols, touring the North Pole, and receiving a silver bell from Santa.

The kids are literally counting down the hours until Christmas. It is going to be a very memorable year!

Unwelcome Guest

 Tuttle never complains that he does not feel well, so when he texted Jay while I was substitute teaching on Friday to pick him up early from school, we knew that was not good. (Thank goodness for Jay's availability working from home!)

The sickness quickly passed to Jay by Sunday, and both boys were down for the count. Tuttle complained that he could not taste a banana at one point, so I immediately made both COVID tests for Tuesday. 

Maggie was eager to cheer up Tuttle, so she baked him a cake completely on her own. It did not turn out very edible, but it was the sweet thought that counted!

Jacob was able to enjoy Frosty Day at school on Monday before he was feeling badly on Tuesday morning, so he stayed home. I did love the snack I sent in for his themed day to share with his class. :)

Fortunately Jay and Tuttle tested negative for COVID, but all three boys were feeling worse by the day. Jacob also tested negative on Wednesday. We are assuming it was the flu. Our elves tried to avoid the unwanted bug. 

Maggie quarantined away from all the germs, so she was able to continue with all the Christmas celebrations. I loved leaving our home hospital for some festive time with my favorite girl. Her gymnastics team participated in a Secret Santa Swap, I planned a craft for Maggie's 4th grade class, and we finished the week with her class holiday party complete with Santa pancakes and the Saran Wrap ball game!

The real MVP this week was Tuttle who had to study and complete FOUR finals at home in spite of feeling AWFUL. Jay and Jacob were couch bound while Tuttle sat at the breakfast room table with notes and study guides. Not only did he have a great attitude, but our boy ended up with ALL A's this semester, and several grades were dependent on doing well on the finals. To say that we are proud is an understatement.

All the Thorne kids were well enough for a quick visit to Santa on Friday evening. We did not linger long with the big man, but lists are officially submitted.

The most important event to be well enough for was our family gathering at Gram and Grump's house today. The boys were still run down, but everyone had a great time eating and opening the first gifts of Christmas.

Sadly Jay and I had to miss Anne's 40th birthday murder mystery party tonight because some symptoms are still lingering, and Jay does not want to be THAT GUY coughing at a big gathering during a pandemic. We have spent all night talking about how much we wish we were there....