Santa visits Nashville

The Cinnamon Roll Bake-Off 2007

A Christmas tradition in our house has been to bake rolls and share with friends and family during the Christmas season. In the early 70's during my fathers brief time with the Miami Dolphins, my mother met a wonderful women who had spent some time living in an orphanage as a child. Every Sunday the rolls were baked fresh for the children to enjoy. The rolls have been a taste that I can remember as far back as a young child. Lacey and I have begun to gather together with Mom and have a big Cinnamon Roll Bake-off. We have 3 kitchen aids running and stay and bake all day. Today we went a bit overboard and baked approximately 270 rolls. By the end of the day we were all so exhausted we froze the last several batches and decided to leave the list of recipients open for now. We were very blessed to have a new member of the bake off join us this year...Carla Hale. Thank you Carla for your help and for preparing a wonderful lunch for us to enjoy as we took a break for the baking.

The children had a sitter with the the majority of the day. They played Wii, watched movies, took a walk, and then made a nice fort and played house. Jack came dashing downstairs to call his Dad. He wanted to ask him how to be a Dad. Jack and Parisa were pretending to be married and have 2 babies.

Branden enjoyed having a taste of the scrapings from the peppermint bark bowl.

Take a moment to brouse the photos. They were all taken on this wonderful day dedicated to a tradition that will keep us together for many years to come.

Live, Laugh, Love

MERRY CHRISTMAS

HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO
The joke was on me today. After having someone attempt to take our photos today for a family christmas card, I thought I would challange myself with a few good shots of the kids in hopes of one with all three in the photo. Well I quess I forgot to ask Branden what he thought aobut that idea, because he had other plans. Needless to say I was not able to get an acceptable shot of the 3 kids together. Oh well, you win some and lose some. I lost today. It was fun trying though. As a busy mom who is very proud of her little deers, I am also very proud of the christmas outfits I made for Parisa and Branden. It is difficult to see in this photo but Branden has a CHO CHO train applique on the red John-John that raps around and ends with a cabboose on the back. Parisa's outfit is a beautiful yoke dress with imported tatting lace around the neck and sleeves. It really is darling on her.

The rest of the month is focused on enjoying the wonderful holiday season and remembering that everyday is a gift.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Funny conversation Parisa had with her Daddy tonight, Parisa walked into the office where Farzad was working on the computer. She asked "Daddy, what are you doing?" Farzad responded "I am paying the gas bill." Parisa said "Daddy you have to pay for the gas that comes from out bum?"

Great website to check out for those of you that have preschoolers or kindergarteners..... www.starfall.com

I hope you all have a very

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

The Webspinner

Noah spins his webs with great detail and grace. Parisa is never far behind to help the spiderman when he calls. I think all the kids had a great time tonight. We trick-r-treated from our home all the way to the end of A

bington Ridge and back up the other side. They were tired.......Put it this way, there was no argument about having candy tonight.

Halloween 2007

After a good dinner to fill up the tum-tums we were off to the streets for some good old trick or treats.

Jack as a pirate, George as a cop, Parisa in the nutcracker while Noah throws webs. And little ol'Branden collecting stubs from the passengers.....well we took off in hopes of a bowl full of sugar.

Octoberfest with the Beladi's

I had a wonderful time as a chaperone for Mrs. Eckerts Kindergarten class on Thursday. We took a visit to Gentry Farms here in Franklin, TN. The farm has been owned by the Gentry family for over 150 years and continues to be a big attraction for many local families during the Fall season. We played in a hay maze, learned about corn and wheat and then had a wonderful hayride. What a great group. Mrs. Eckert is a blesssing for all the children that she touches everyday. I feel very blessed to have Parisa learning from someone who really loves her to teach. Thank you Mrs. Eckert and thank you children for loving to learn.

The photo of Parisa on the left upper corner was taken at the fall party as school on friday. Parisa had her face painted like a sunflower. The children all had a great time. What a wonderful group of children.

The photo on the upper right was taken this week at Mustardseed Preschool. Noah was the weather person for the day. Noah had to walk to the window and take a look at the weather and then report it to the class and post on the weather board...GREAT JOB NOAH.

The "Dome" family photo

The family photo taken at Clingmans Dome by a photography student who was so kind to take our photo. This particular site is 6,643 feet tall and the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains and the third highest summit east of the Mississippi river.

Take a look at the trees behind us. The smoky's are filled with this fraser fir and they are all being killed by the balsam woolly adelgid, an aphid-like insect less than one millimeter long. These European adelgids are believed to have been accidentally imported into the US on nursery stock and were first seen in teh Smokies in the 1950's. Since then, they have killed most of the mature firs in the park. They are trasported by wind and bird's feet to suitable feeding sites on the trunks of trees.

The photo above is a photo taken at the top of one of the mtns and you can see the dead fraser fir. It really is amazing.

Branden enjoying time with his Dad

We spend a long weekend in the Smoky Mountains in a wonderful cabin named Call of The Wild. We arrived on Saturday evening and got settled in. Sunday we hiked 2 great trails. Parisa is a natural and wanted more every day. She found a walking stick and used it throughout the weekend. Noah had a little trouble making it to the end of the trails but he made it with a little help. Branden.....well he had the best of both worlds. In the backpack on Dad's back enjoying a beautiful view of the mountains.

Noah.....there is so much to be said about out little Noah. Here he is playing soccer on a very hot day in mid-September. He is a good sport.

Daddy and Branden cheer Noah and his team on as they play soccer. Branden would prefer to get in the game.

To Friends and Family

I have been pondering with developing my very own blog for some time now. I recently opened an email and found that this person had put a link to her own blog and I thought "Great idea." When I send an email from now on I will have my blog site on the bottom of the page and those with interest can check in occasionally and see what is happening in our lives. Have any of you heard of Heather Bailey? Well she is a wonderful textile designer. I mention her because I have been following her blog weekly. I am not as exciting or creative as her but it is fun to have a site to check into when you have a bit of free time.Anyway...this is what is going on her in our home. Parisa has begun Kindergarten and loves it. Her teacher is named Mrs. Eckert. I am so proud of her. It is a big adjustment for all of us to get used to 5 days a week from 815-335. Days are short and often a challenge. Noah is in Preschool at Mustardseed. This is affiliated with Christ Community Church. Parisa attended there for 2 years and this is now Noah's second year. He is going WTHF from 9-1 pm. On Tuesdays Noah has soccer practice and saturdays he has games.Branden is with me right now. We do go to the Gym several times a week where he can play for a few hours with others. Branden is very different from Parisa and Noah at this age. He is much more adventurous and outgoing. No fear. What Parisa and Noah do ....Branden does. He is not talking much but more concerned about how things work. No problems communicating. He knows how to get what he wants. 3rd child syndrome.
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