Holidays!

whew!
Things from the holidays have finally settled down!!
In November Jason and I were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to have a whole day date by ourselves! A good friend from church (adopted Knoxville grandmother- Sheila) watched the girls for us all day so we could go to Dollywood. We rode every roller coaster and ride that was open, some a few times. I didn't tell Jason that I didn't like roller coasters until we were walking out! I was trying to be a good sport since he loves them. It was so nice to spend time alone, away, and know that our girls were in good hands.

This is Sheila! She watched the girls while we went to Dollywood. 

A few weeks later at Thanksgiving we drove down to Columbus, MS to find a place to live. We got to spend the night with Fran, which is like a mini-retreat every time. We drove down Thursday morning to Jackson to spend Thanksgiving with the Caswells. We celebrated with a huge feast with Jason's Dad's family. I should have taken a picture of the spread. It was overwhelming. I couldn't even fit one serving of everything on my first plate. Needless to say I had several plates. Oops.. Maybe I shouldn't admit that.
Sunday night we were invited to Jason's new company's Christmas party. We had a very nice time. It was held at a beautiful log cabin, and everyone was really welcoming. We left the girls with our good friends, Buz and Alice. They were so generous to let us stay with them and watch the girls for us! We are really happy to be moving closer to them so we can spend more time together.

After Thanksgiving we had a few weeks of packing our stuff, wrapping up school and testing, and barely sleeping. Jason's parents came to help us watch the girls so we could finish packing our house. Of course the primary reason they came was to watch their exceptional son walk across the stage. We were all so proud of him!!!
Watching Jason walk across the stage to accept his third (and final!) diploma was an incredible feeling. So many hours of Jason studying and working really paid off. Cliche? Maybe.. but it was a dream coming true.

The girls are proud of their daddy, too!

After graduation, we went to a celebratory lunch. Then we hurried home and got ready for the girls' first birthday party. We had a lot of people come over. It was exactly what we wanted. All of our friends in Knoxville, who have truly become like family, got to come and celebrate with us. It takes a village? Yes, it does. We were certainly blessed to have such a generous village to support us throughout the last year. A great big  THANK YOU for everything. Your good deeds will not be forgotten!

This is little Sam and me- Sam is one of the girls' bestest friends since they were about 6 weeks old!! 

Let's do this next year together! 

Happy birthday, girls!! 

Dakota loves the lion we got them for their birthday! 

Jared, Monica, and Sam Kimutis and our family.
They are some of our best friends in Knoxville.
We already miss them so much! (And we are planning a trip to visit this summer!)

I worked Monday and we had a holiday party for my students. Of course in Knox County Schools we can't have parties, so it wasn't really a party. It was a social skills activity that involved food, crafts, and gingerbread houses. I think the parents had a good time, and I KNOW the kids did. (so did the teachers!)
It was so hard to leave my students and co-workers on Tuesday. I was blessed to have an amazing support system at work, and a class full of wonderful kids. They made tons of improvements this year. I am so proud of them. I wish I could see into the future and see what impact they will make on the world some day!!

Tuesday afternoon Jason's mom and I drove down to Columbus with the girls. Jason and his dad had already driven down all of our things. My parents met us in Columbus, and they committed to watching the girls while we unpacked everything. It was a busy three days, but we did it. When we left on Saturday for Jackson, we didn't have any boxes left to unpack, and we even had things hanging on the walls!

We stayed in Jackson until Monday, when Jason had to appear in front of the Mississippi medical board to get approved for his license. Then we drove to Memphis for our Platten family Christmas. We had a delicious dinner and shared gifts and good times. We loved spending time with our family, including my sister Julie and her new husband, Reed, my sister Laura, her husband, Hayden, their three little ones, Haley (6), Trey (4), and Avery (2),  and  my dad's little brother from Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

The next day (Christmas Eve) we drove up to Saint Louis to spend time with all of my extended family. Christmas Eve is traditionally spent with my dad's side of the family. Our gracious host, John and Margie, also agreed to let the Caswell clan crash at their house. We had so much fun with everyone. Christmas morning we woke up and had a very laid back morning with a delicious breakfast and mass at their church in Saint Charles. Then we spent the day with my mom's side of the family. Another delectable meal and laid back afternoon. The day after Christmas we attended the annual Platten/LeGrand lunch. As always, we don't skip a beat. We spent the evening having a pizza party with my grandfather at his house. We headed out the next day and spent the night at Laura's house. We stayed up late just talking. One of my favorite parts of this whole trip was just spending quality time with all of our family. I may not remember the gifts we got, but I won't forget the memories made! (Ok, I doubt I will forget that I got a cricut...! :) )

My Grandpa Platten and Kiley

My dad's dog is a little jealous that the girls are getting all the attention.

The next morning we drove down to Jackson, MS again for a belated Christmas celebration with the Caswell's, including Jason's dad's mother, and two of his brothers, Jason's brothers, Derek and Chad, and his parents. Unfortunately Chad's wife, Laura, was sick so she missed out on the incredible food (again, I should have taken a picture of the spread...my mouth is watering just thinking about it), and we certainly missed her.

Jason's maternal grandmother

The next day we drove down to New Orleans to spend time with Jason's mom's side of the family. It was a rough day, since one of the things the Plattens seemed to give for Christmas this year was a stomach bug. I started feeling better the next day though, so we spent time with Jason's maternal grandparents. They LOVE the babies! New Years Eve was a lot of fun. Miraculously, the girls slept through all the fireworks and celebrating and didn't wake up at all throughout the night. The Gravois New Years celebrating doesn't stop at midnight- that's when we start celebrating Genevieve's birthday! Then we all go home for what seems like a little nap, followed by the New Years Day celebration. The next day we headed home. We stopped overnight in Jackson again.

I love seeing his face light up when he looks at the girls! 

Finally we went home. After a VERY long trip, we thanked God that we had a home to come back to, for safe travels, for babies who travel well, and that we didn't need to unpack any boxes when we got home!