White Christmas 2011

Our White Christmas and "Frosty" the snowman that the girls had to say "I love you" to everyday across the street!

What a FUN Christmas we had this year! First and foremost we had a WHITE Christmas which never happens here so this one is for the books! It all started on the Wednesday before Christmas and Papa Crane came over along with Dusty, Melissa and Emma to celebrate Christmas and Spencer's birthday (Happy 32nd honey!). Papa brought the girls an awesome outside climbing and slide gym, although it hasn't been used much yet because of the snow. The girls slid down the slide at least 10 times in a 15 min timeframe though right after Papa and Spencer finished putting it together in the garage. We're ready for warmer weather so we can get back outside a little.

Then Christmas Eve we had Grammy Crane and Dusty, Melissa and Emma back over for dinner after we attended a 3:00 Christmas Eve service at Christ United Methodist Church. Other than trying to hear over 3 two-year olds in the sound-proof children's room, it was a very nice candle lighting service. A good reminder of why we are all here and who we are celebrating this time of year! Then we headed back to the house for dinner and presents and singing for a fun family night together! Audrey and Natalie loved playing with their cousin!

Then we woke up Christmas morning and just the four of us played with the new toys that Santa brought for Audrey and Natalie until the rest of the Zachar clan came over later that morning. By that time the snow was falling hard and had covered most of the ground...we were so excited! We had a blast opening presents and eating breakfast and then resting for a while before we ate some more! All in all it was one of the best Christmases ever! Thanks to everyone who made it so special and big hugs to all my family and friends out of town who I wasn't able to see!

Here are a few pictures of all the fun activities this year! Our camera ran out of batteries before the Zachar's got to the house so I'm going to have to depend on them for pictures of Christmas afternoon! :(

Christmas with the Sponbergers - thanks for having us Pee and Robbie!

"He who has NOT Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree". Roy L Smith

Is it really Thanksgiving?

Ketner's Mill Craft Fair - oct 2010

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been so long between posts. We've been busy as usual and are now preparing for Thanksgiving and for the girls' 2nd birthday! Hard to believe, isn't it? We're just having a small get together with some close family and friends at the house to let the girls play and eat cake. This year's theme is Sesame Street, their absolute favorite. They HAVE to name every character that comes on the screen no matter what. They are hilarious!

Daddy and Audrey Snoozing past the alarm!

The girls are running around everywhere now. They LOVE to be outside and playing so this time of year is a little hard of them since it is getting dark by the time we get home in the evenings. We're slowly adjusting though. It is amazing how fast, personality-wise, that Audrey is turning out to be like me and Natalie like Spencer. Audrey is a little more reserved and soft-spoken, yet firm with her sister. Natalie wears her heart on her sleeve and can't hide any emotion she is feeling which makes her so sweet! They get along great and I'll find them hugging each other and giving each other little kisses when we're not looking. I hope that never ends, although at some point I'm sure they will want to go separate ways to gain some independence from each other for a while. I know that they will always come back and have each other though.

The girls loved trick-or-treating this year! More so just telling people "hi" and "bye" though. They were our little buzzing bees in the neighborhood! We won't talk about the strange man in the Teletubbie costume...

Hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving and we miss you all!

Feelin' Hot Hot Hot!

Emma and Natalie lounging on the pool steps

Hey Everyone! Sorry it has been a while since the last post! We've been so busy lately like the rest of the world! Spencer has started running a mail route while looking for full-time job so that means the girls have gone back to daycare. They have so much fun playing with the other kids so no big deal there! Spencer is thankful to be able get out of the house again some too. Please pray that a job comes along soon...9 months already...WAY TOO LONG!

Pictures from cousin Emma's 2nd birthday party

We've had a fun, HOT summer like the rest of the East coast. I'm not sure how many times we hit the 100 degree mark (and this isn't desert heat, this is down south, humid heat!!). Miserable. We've had a lot of fun swimming and trying to stay cool though. The girls really love the pool and playing in the water. And now that they are running everywhere, the like running around the pool as much as swimming in it. It is hard to keep up with them now.

Audrey Lyn looking tired and hot after swimming all afternoon!

Their cousin, Emma, had her 2nd birthday in July and we had a lot of fun playing at the park with her that day. It was a lot of fun picking out some fun books for her collection (and of course a cute outfit, I can't resist!).

Sorry we missed the Street Reunion this August in Morgantown! We hope to make it back up there really soon though (now that we have a minivan...Oh yes, you heard right!). We took the plunge~ So much easier, yet so uncool! The girls love the DVD player in it though so it makes car rides a tad bit more managable.

Hope everyone has a great end-of-summer! I sure hope it starts to feel like Fall soon!

Dr. Seuss

Today was good, Today was Fun. Tomorrow is another one!

A wet trip to FL...

Just wanted to post a few of the funny pictures we took while down at Mom and Dad's in FL over the 4th of July weekend...it rained almost the entire time!!! Bummed but it was nice to get out of town for a few days and let Audrey and Natalie see their Nana and Pappy (at least for an hour before he left for Columbia again). By the way, Dad got an iPhone and a blue cover for it that matches his corvette...what's going on? I think the world is ending soon...everyone prepare. LOL...just kidding Dad! Love you. The girls playing with Nana's beads...this was the highlight of their trip. You can tell my girls love jewelry, they get this from their father!
Having dinner at Crabs...Spencer relaxing and me getting talked into taking a huge family picture...so much pressure! haha

Where did Spring go?

Well, friends, it is another HOT summer in Tennessee! We've had 2 full weeks now of temperatures well above 90 (and sometimes in the 100s)...and of course during this time our air condition unit decided to go out (on a Friday night of all times...during Father's Day weekend!!). Needless to say we had to move out for a few days because we would have all been sick from the heat and humidity in the house! Luckily we had a home warranty on our house and we didn't have to pay much to fix it. Never again will I take cool air for granted!

The last month or so has been so busy with fun things going on. Dad and I took a trip to Oklahoma City to see the 2010 Girls' Softball World Series. We had so much fun exploring OK City in our little Ford Focus (with which we jumped a big curb and thought we may have torn it up...Dad is a wild driver!). By the end of the trip though we were about to throw the little British lady inside the Garmin GPS out the window...she kept getting mixed up and telling us the wrong directions! By the way, UCLA won the National Championship again if anyone was interested.

The top picture is of me in front of the ASA Stadium, bottom - Dad watching the games

The next weekend after our trip we had the Bi-Annual Zachar reunion in Chattanooga. Had a great turn out (around 25 of us) and had an awesome time visiting and even meeting a few members of the family we had never met before. We miss everyone already...sounds like in 2012 we will be heading out to Arizona for the Haas family to host! Can't wait.

The girls had their 18 month birthday in June! Audrey now weighs in a whopping 21lbs 10oz and Natalie is weighing in at 23lbs 6 oz! Both of them are doing so well and are such happy little babies! They are saying quite a bit these days (though it doesn't always come out clear). They can say "thank you" and "all done" but sometimes get the two mixed up. It is funny when you hand Audrey something and she will look at you and see "all done" like she is so sure of what she is saying. Natalie can say "hello" and "bye-bye" really well and also "doggie".

Some of their favorites:

• Favorite Cartoon: Curious George (for both) - they squeal and laugh when they see it come on or even when they see the commercial that comes on before it always!


• Favorite Song : Poker Face (Lady Gaga) for Natalie - she will dance and kick her feet when this one comes on.


• Favorite Song: I Can't Wait (Nu Shooz, 80's band) - she will bob her head to the beat on this one every time!


• Favorite Book: The Berenstain Bears: The Blame Game (for now!)


• Favorite Food: Hot Dogs and Animal Crackers...no doubt about it. I like healthy foods for my girls...LOL!

Hope everyone has a wonderful summer! Keep Spencer in your prayers that he will find a good job soon (and everyone else who has been without a job for a while!).

My Best Friend's Wedding

Last night, May 22nd, Spencer and I headed to Rogersville, TN, a town where I spent many weekends hanging out with my best friend and her family during High School, where she married Kevin Keeton! It was a beautiful wedding and we had a lot of fun. We couldn't stay for the whole reception due to the 3 hour drive back home but it was so nice to see everyone again! We'll definitely be back soon Jennifer! The girls had a lot of fun and had to wave at every person who walked by them..haha.

Happy Mother's Day!

Audrey Lyn
Natalie Rose

What a great Mother's Day I had today! Got up to two beautiful (although snotty) babies and played for a while...got ready for church and met Darlene and Mamaw Lee there. The sermon was really nice about being a Faithful Mother and passing that on to our children. Then back home we went for a nice lunch and lazy afternoon! Sunday evening are always hard because I know in the morning I have to leave my girls to go to work again...these weekends spoil all of us and just as we're getting used to being around each other all day, we have to go our separate ways again...I just hope they know how much their mom loves them and wishes she could spend every single minute with them always!

Thanks to my mom who is always the strength and joy in my life! Thanks for being my rock! I love you!

Here are a few recent pictures of Audrey and Natalie (AKA Audge Podge and Nattie). They've grown to love things on their heads...why does that run in our family? haha. They are growing so fast into such pretty little girls.

Happy Spring!

Happy Spring everyone! As you can tell we've been quite busy lately by the time it has taken me to post another blog entry...the girls are definitely keeping us busy and tired lately. They are all over the place! Their new "thing" is jewelry and accessorizing...they are becoming true "girly" girls. It all started with the princess pearl necklaces they got from the Easter Bunny and ever since, as soon as they get us in the morning till they go to sleep at night, they have to have their necklaces on. So cute! We had a great Easter this year. The church service was great and then we went over to Mamaw Lee's house and met the Sponbergers for an afternoon family lunch which was declicious and fun! For Easter, Grammy Crane bought the girls their first swings. We were so excited because they could spend hours at the park swinging but the park is always busy so we never get to swing long. Now we can spend as much time as we want!
As time goes on the twins are becoming more and more close to each other. It is so neat to watch. Even if they start to fight over a toy (or a cell phone) they will turn right around and give each other a hug and just giggle with each other. They love to hug each other. Out of no where I'll turn around and they are hugging each other. I pray that never changes! How blessed they are to have each other!

We are finally getting settled into the new house now. The basement has been our "heaven"! Of course if you saw the amount of toys spread out over the room you might not think so but it is so nice to just close the door at night and ignore the mess! We sure do miss Prissi and Fudgie in our new house but their new owner said that they are doing wonderful and they are very loved. That makes my heart happy!

We moved to Georgia!

Hey Everyone! I'm sorry I don't have much time to write this time but wanted to let everyone know that we've moved. We only moved about 20 minutes from where we lived before but we crossed over state lines! We absolutely love our new home and the girls love their new playroom! Thanks again to everyone who helped us move and watch the girls! We love you all.Our new home!

My girls LOVE their spaghetti!

Needless to say it was bath time after this dinner!

Audrey with her 'boggin on

Bath time! We just has our allergy test this day so we have marks all over our back.