Party at the Mannings'

We love to party in the Manning home and celebrating my brother's birthday is a great reason to bring on the cake and presents! Yesterday was Joey's, aka "Joe-Joe's" birthday, but today was the PAR-TAY! Celebrations are so much fun with the twins this year; they sing, they get excited about presents, and they love to make you feel special. We had a Star Wars themed party for Joey. I just decided that you're never too grown-up to celebrate Star Wars style.

Happy birthday Joe-Joe, you are such a wonderful Uncle to my twins and you know how wonderful you are to me. I'm your biggest fan...well, maybe I was until Berkley and Meredith came along. I don't mind playing second fiddle to them. We ALL love you!!!
I know the twins aren't looking at the camera in this photo, but I love how it captured them in the moment. They are happy to be with their Joe-Joe (and to be sitting on the table)!
Here's the twins' first signature; scribbled crayon and Star Wars stickers to personalize the message. Got to love it!

Their Own Park

Number 1: How blessed are we to have such amazing parents/in-laws? Really! I am so blessed to have such a great relationship with Steven's parents. We are fortunate to live so close to them. My children absolutely ADORE their Mima and Papa and they couldn't have two greater role models to look up to. Number 2: How blessed are we that they found this amazing playground to give to the twins for Christmas? What a special gift indeed. The twins LOVE going to the park and now they have one in their own backyard! You should have seen Berkley and Meredith when we drove up to the house after preschool to find Papa sitting in the driveway with this in the yard. I don't know what they were most excited about; the playground or Papa being there. There was a lot of giddy shouting out the window and I couldn't get them out of their car seats fast enough. Meredith bravely went right down the slide, but Berkley was a little more cautious. They love swinging, but they wouldn't let me help them at all, it had to be Papa. Then Mima came and she was the icing on the cake! Meredith was so excited, she said that she was going to take a nap and then play some more. I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time at this "park" as they call it. Fun times in the Manning home!

Tricycle Time

My little girl has learned to ride a tricycle all by herself! Her interest sparked earlier in the week and she has been getting on the tricycle daily, trying to learn how to pedal. Well, today was the day that she got it! I'm so proud of you Meredith! Berkley has been trying as well, but he is much more impatient than Meredith and tends to just give up and start pushing with his feet. I'm sure that watching his little sister ride around will quickly entice him to keep trying. In the mean time, this is what he's doing while she's riding...playing baseball as he calls it. I know it's a grainy picture, but I couldn't resist posting his great swing.

Campfire Memories

The twins spent the night with Mima and Papa last night to give me time to cook for our church fall bazaar, which is being held tomorrow. Well, I went to pick them up this evening and lo and behold, what do I find? I find them sitting outside at a glowing fire pit, cooking stew over the fire. The twins were each sitting in a grandparents lap and were perfectly content with their Mima and Papa. It was a precious little sight to behold. I'm so thankful for Steven's parents and how they're always looking for special ways to make memories with my little ones. I hope they'll always remember sitting by the fire with their Mima and Papa!

November 13th We Celebrate GRANDMA!

It's been a special weekend in the Manning home, a weekend full of celebration for Grandma because it's her birthday!!! We've eaten yummy food, even yummier cakes (yes, that's an "s" on cake, we had 2 cakes), we've sung, given lots of hugs, and even cried a little bit. I can honestly say that I'm one of the most blessed women in the world to have a mother whom I love so dearly. Words can't express my respect for my mom and the thankfulness in my heart towards her for all she has given to me throughout my life. I'm so thankful that God handpicked her to be my mama and my children's grandmother. Goodness, how Berkley and Meredith love their Grandma! Happy birthday Grandma (Mama)!

All Grandma really wanted for her birthday was time with Berkley and Meredith and we gave her plenty of that. The first words out of their mouths this morning when they saw her at church were, "Happy birthday Grandma" and that was without having to tell them to say anything.

Grandma let Berkley and Meredith help blow out the birthday candles. Luckily, we kept it just out of Berkley's reach, but he tried to grab some of that icing.

Here's Grandma's gift from everyone. We framed a beautiful picture of my dad in his farming prime along with the remarkable poem that my brother wrote for him called, "A Farmer's Faith." She loved it!

Veteran's Day 2011

Today was a first in Martin County, they held their first Veteran's Day Parade. Berkley and Meredith had the privilege of riding in Papa's horse cart for the parade and they were two very happy grand kids. They were both so proud to wave their little flags. I don't know the words to express my gratitude to all those veterans past and present who have defended our freedom. Thank you and your families for the sacrifices made on our behalf!

Mommy and Grandma close at hand to take lots of pictures and cheer on our little ones

Meredith with cousin, McKinley

Hutch and friends with Berkley

3 Great Reasons to be Thankful!

I got some sweet shots of the twins today with our Nana and I was reminded of how blessed my children are to have 3 great-grandmothers to get to know and to love. What a blessing these ladies are in our lives. During this season of Thanksgiving, God is just reminding me to rejoice in the gifts of the people in my life. I had these pictures of my Nana and a great picture from Halloween with Grandma Penny (aka Pen-Pen), but didn't have a recent one with Grandma Dot (aka G-Dot). We love you G-Dot and look forward to some fun pictures in the coming weeks:)

With Nana



With Pen-Pen and Lisa at Halloween

Happy Birthday Papa!

Sunday night we were blessed to join Steven's brother, sister-in-law, and their kids in celebrating Papa's birthday (Papa is Steven's dad). Now, Papa's birthday isn't actually until later in the week, but we had to get the celebration started early for such an awesome man! As you can see from these pictures, I think his greatest gift was having his grandchildren surrounding him:) We are so blessed to have such a godly, loving father for ourselves and grandfather for our children. He is a true leader, a servant to his family, community, and church, and he's as strong spiritually as he is physically. We love you Papa!

Adventures at Briley's Farm 2011

A last minute decision to head to Briley's Farm in Greenville late this afternoon equalled a lot of fun for our family. Sadly, they didn't have the hayride or cow train running, but my kids didn't really care; they were most excited about the giant sand piles and swings. Ah, to be 2 years old again!

Rainy Days

It was a rainy day here in eastern NC, which means we stayed inside ALL DAY, which can get to be a bit much with two toddlers running around. Nonetheless, we made it a fun day when we pulled out the fingerpaints. I spent more time setting it up and cleaning it up than we actually did playing with it, but they had so much fun that it was worth it. I couldn't have done it without Grandma's help; she managed Meredith while I managed Berkley. Fun was had by all!


In other memorable things, I want to always remember how yesterday at dinner, Berkley leaned over and laid on my arm three separate times to say, "I love you mama." It was so precious, it just melted my heart. He had only started saying I love you the day before, so to have him say it in such a deliberate and sweet way was very special. Meredith also told me I love you in a sweet way on Wednesday. Meredith told me that she had to tell me something and in a gentle little whisper with her eyes just a twinkling she said, "I love you." Also, Berkley started this new thing this week where he will randomly announce, "I'm Berkley," with the greatest pride. He's just started saying his name correctly and I wish you all could hear him say it. Moments I don't want to forget.