Another year of being a teen....and we are surviving! : )

Our first baby turned 14.......I am in awe....  Of course partly due to the fact that she's getting older and older and we are not....HA!  But mostly because God gave us (and trusts us) this sweet, funny, quick-witted, smart, fashionable, fun-loving, gorgeous girl to help raise.  Thank you Jesus for blessing us with this daughter of YOURS, that we could call ours as well.  My heart sometimes just can't hold how much I love this girl.  Then I remember she's a teenager.  Just kidding.....

We love you so very much Allison Renee Massey.  You are growing up way too quickly for your mom and dad.  May you always have the fun-loving spirit inside of you.  May you continue to grow your faith in Jesus.  May your smile always shine thru.  And may you always remember how very much you are loved.  Happy 14th baby girl.....

Birthdays are happening in the Massey house!!!

Fun times in the Massey house as we are on our way to celebrating three birthdays in our family.  Our "baby" turned 6.....holy moly!!  And I do believe she loved every minute of her celebration!  Then in 2 weeks, our oldest turns 14....that's even more of a holy moly : )  And shortly after that, our fearless leader of the fam....DADDY!....turns....well, 41!  Loving every minute of the fun and great memories being made.  We are so blessed.....

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's......yep, I'm a little behind....

So I've been busy again.  I'm good at that.  But no excuses, after all....it's 2014, a new year. And with new years, comes new resolutions and new change.  Ok, so I need to get better at posting to the blog.......and not running late.  That last one I had to add since I'm notoriously late (not horribly, just a few minutes.....I know, I'm making excuses....) to so many things that we head to and it just makes me grumpy.

Anywho....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!  We had a wonderful holiday season, enjoying so many of the fun family traditions that we do.  Let's see, where do I begin.  We hosted my favorite holiday of Thanksgiving at our house for my side of the family.  Always love that.  Food and family.  Doesn't get better than that if you ask me.  Then the Christmas season officially began.  And we were able to enjoy a wonderful Christmas concert at Lauren's school.  Her class sang 4 songs.  And she did a great job and looked so pretty right in the front row!  Mommy also enjoyed a neat new event at our church called "CCG Pinterest Live".....I was pretty busy most of the fall season helping to prepare for it with our ladies' ministry team.  And it went off beautifully.  God is good!  We had over 600 ladies enjoy it with us too!  We as a family did our normal little Christmas fun things, like visiting Christmas lights while eating Chinese take-out food in the van : ) , making gingerbread houses together, watching ELF....a few hundred times....., and heading the Childrens' Museum on Christmas Eve day for some family time.  We also were able to see almost ALL of our extended family for the holidays and spent many fun evenings eating and laughing together with so many that we love!  What a perfect way to end 2013.

Now the kids and Mama are enjoying the last few days of break before school starts up again on Monday.  And to top it off, we woke up today to 6 inches of snow on the ground so looks like we'll end our vacation fun with some sledding, snowboarding, fort-making

 and snowball fights.  Life is so very good.....  Happy 2014!!!

It's Fall....and almost Thanksgiving already!!

So it's been awhile since I've posted again. I know, a bad habit to get in to! But my excuse is the same....just busy, busy! But loving life! We've have enjoyed trips to the orchard, the pumpkin patch, Chicago, and Louisville to visit family recently. The girls have all finished their sports seasons for now, Dad has been busy working (but was also able to take a well-deserved golf trip for a recent weekend!) and I've been busy painting and redecorating the main floor of our house. Whew! I absolutely love this time if the year and my favorite holiday is quickly approaching...Thanksgiving! So thankful for our many many blessings and this life we have been given!

Catching up.......

I guess a true sign of being too busy is when I don't get time to do one of my favorite things, which is blog and post pics of my sweet family! So after a crazy month, I'm making time to think back on all of things we have been busy with lately. School is in full swing so that's a big part of everyone's life....especially Mommy's when it is homework time!! Lauren has been playing volleyball on a team at our church rec center. Katie is busy playing soccer and Allie is still going strong on the 8th grade girls' golf team! Whew....three different sports all at the same time has made for some mild chaos in our house! Although we have all enjoyed them, I think the fact the seasons are winding down is going to be welcomed in our house! We have also been enjoying fun days at school, including wacky day, 80s day, and Katie's first field trip to the apple orchard. Makes me even more ready for Fall. Bring on the chilly air, bonfires, and pumpkin-spiced coffee....of course! : )

Lauren Elizabeth turns 9!!!!

Our sweet Lauren officially turned 9 (almost double digits!!) over the weekend. Mama was able to take cupcakes in to school for her and her friends (always fun!) and then she had 5 of her bestest friends over Friday night for her first "real" slumber party!!! They had pizza, watched a movie, made bracelets, ate lots of candy and giggled til 2am!!! Oh my! So sweet to see her having so much fun with her friends! Lauren, you are growing up too fast girlie : ) we love how fun you are to be with. You have such a cute and contagious smile, including that dimple! You love to sing, make music, and laugh. But you also have a sincere heart and can be serious and concerned at just the right times : ) You have a way of saying exactly whats on your mind, which usually makes us smile. And you are excited to learn new things this year in 3rd grade both at school & church and because you are getting older, you love what lies ahead for you! I love that about you! You are such an incredible blessing to have in our family! Happy 9th birthday Lauren Elizabeth, with bunches of love!

Massey Family Vacation!!!

We enjoyed a week away of camping, starting in Michigan, along the coast and then ending back in Indiana at Indiana Beach and Lake Shafer!  After having been gone to church camp for a week, then Daddy gone on business for a week, we were more than ready to spend time as a family and it was an awesome time together!  Plenty of games played, bicycles ridden, smores eaten, swimming completed, dune rides together, beach playing, amusement park conquered, water slides mastered, golf played, laughs shared and memories made!!!  Now to enjoy the last two weeks of the summer before school starts again......lovin life.....