Circus 2011

Last weekend, we took the boys to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. This was Brody's second time to go to the circus, but I don't think he remembers the first time since he was only 1. So, it was like the first time for both boys, and they loved it! Colby's favorite part of the night was seeing all of the elephants. He would point, smile, and say "touch?" every time they came out, and when they left he would say "bye bye?" He just couldn't get enough of the elephants. Brody liked lots of different things at the circus. He can't really pick just one thing that was his favorite. He loved the elephant painting a picture, the tigers, the trampolines, the motorcycles that drove in the round cage, and the motorcycle that drove up a tightrope. It was definitely a fun and memorable night!

3rd Annual Blood Drive and Bake Sale

BLOOD DRIVE

We are ready to schedule appointments for our 3rd Annual Blood Drive in honor of Colby. The drive will be on Saturday, February 12 from 9-2 at Hendersonville Church of Christ (same place as the previous years). Time slots are again open in 15 minute intervals. If you would like to sign up to donate, please send me an email to jbbhitchcock@gmail.com, and I will take care of everything. In your email, please include your name, contact number or email address, and a time range that will work for you. I will enter it into the Red Cross schedule and then send you a confirmation email with your appointment time. Please just let me know by email or in the comment section if you have any questions. Jason and I have again set a goal of 75 donors, so please spread the word and help us fill up these time slots!!

BAKE SALE

We will be doing a bake sale again this year and donating all proceeds to the CHD Research efforts at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in honor of Colby. If you are interested in providing baked goods for the sale, please send me an email to jbbhitchcock@gmail.com. Just let me know what you would like to make (or purchase from a store) for the sale...cookies, brownies, muffins, candies, breads, cakes, cupcakes, trail mixes, etc.

If you would like to make a direct donation to the CHD Research efforts at Vanderbilt in honor of Colby, you can send us a check. Checks should be made out to "Monroe Carrell Jr Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt." On the memo line, please write "CHD Research."

VOLUNTEERS

If you are interested in helping with the Bake Sale or Blood Drive on February 12th, we would greatly appreciate it!!! Please send me an email to jbbhitchcock@gmail.com with the times you are available to help. Thank you all so much!!

Happy Birthday Emilee

On January 7th, Emilee turned 7 years old! We celebrated by having lunch with her and the rest of the family last Saturday at her house. Emilee planned the menu, and Tammy prepared everything. It was delicious! As always, the boys were just happy to be there playing with Emilee and Kylee.

Snow Days

Last week we got a few inches of snow, which is more snow than we have seen in a long time!! Schools were closed for an entire week, and I cannot ever remember a time when that has happened! Most of our neighbors even stayed home from work on Monday, and we had so much fun playing outside together. We threw snowballs, built snowmen, and attempted to do a little sledding. We were out there all morning!! We went out a couple of other times during the week, but Monday was by far the most fun!

Tractor and Truck Pull 2011

On Saturday night, we took the boys to the Tractor and Truck Pull in Murfreesboro. Jeremy, Tammy, Emilee, and Kylee met us there, and we all had a blast. Jason took Brody to this event two years ago for Emilee's fifth birthday, but this year, we all went. The kids had a great time playing together, eating the concession stand food, and watching the tractors and trucks do their thing.

Happy Birthday Mom

On January 2nd, my mom had a big birthday! To celebrate, we had her and my dad over for dinner. Brody and Colby are always so happy to see them, but they were especially happy this time! They were so excited to show them all of their new Christmas toys. Brody even challenged my dad to a little Boxing on the X-Box Kinect, which was great pre-dinner entertainment. Happy Birthday mom!! We love you very much, and we are so thankful to have you as a mom and a grandmother to our boys!!

Please Mark Your Calendars...

Our 3rd Annual Blood Drive and Bake Sale will be on Saturday, February 12th, from 9 -2 at Hendersonville Church of Christ. We are hoping to make this one even bigger and better than the last 2 years, and we would love to see all of you there! Please check back for more details and to reserve your blood donation time. Call or email me if you have any questions!

Happy New Year!

For the last few years, we have met the same group of friends for breakfast on New Year's Day. This group of friends means so much to us. They are the friends that Jason attended school with for Kindergarten through 12th grade. It amazes me and makes me so happy that Jason is still so close with all of these guys and girls after so many years. I feel so blessed to have each of them and their families in our lives and in our kids' lives. They are an amazing group of people!

Our breakfast tradition started at Shoneys, but it closed a few months ago. So, this year, we went to Mimi's Cafe, and it was fantastic! Unfortunately, the Smiths were out of town and couldn't make it to our New Year's Breakfast. We missed you guys!

Our group has gotten much bigger since we first started this tradition! I'm sure our waitress was a little worried seeing all of these kiddos. Luckily, they were all very well behaved.

Rachel, Jason, and Marye

Shantel and Jay

Misty, Sadie Grace, Colby, and Will...Sadie and Colby are only a few days apart in age