Merry Christmas from the Ragans!!

Is it too early to plan the Christmas card picture for next year??? Because this would be it, for sure!! I always look forward to Christmas, but this year was extra special to me. The girls are still excited with the magic of Santa and we had so much fun with it this year! We decided just to make everything so special...time with family and friends, making cookies for Santa, baking a birthday cake for Jesus. It was a wonderful time at the Ragan house!! Hope your Christmas was just as magical and special!!

The girls with Uncle Jonathan at Nana's house :o)

Under the tree!

Be Ye Thankful

My pastor challenged our church to list 25 things that we are thankful for...these are a few of my choices in no particular order.
1. I am thankful for siblings...without which we would be alone in our agony!

2. I am thankful for my aunt and uncle...without whom I would not be who I am today.

3. I am thankful for my great aunt...who is one of my best friends.

4. I am thankful for my sister...without whom I wouldn't have made it through.

5. I am thankful for my brother and sister-in-law...we are so glad that they are closer to us now!

6. I am thankful for my mother-in-law...who is the greatest Nana to my kids!

7. I am thankful for my husband...my bestest of all friends!

8. I am thankful for my crazy little girls...without whom I wouldn't be a mother.

9. I am thankful for my best friends-you know who you are...without whom I would be lost.
10. I am thankful for Jesus...without whom I wouldn't be a child of God.
Thank you to everyone who is a part of our lives....we are and will always be grateful for you!

Singing in Church

Anytime you get this many 4, 5, and 6 year olds together on stage...you just never know what could happen! They did such a great job! See Emma?? She is the only one holding her "Bible." She was so funny! She did all the motions that Mrs. Kelly did to help the kids remember the words but that they didn't necessarily have to do themselves. She kept cutting her eyes at me and smiling for the camera. She is my drama queen for sure!

Monkey Bread

I love easy recipes!! Among those is the one for Monkey Bread...which my kiddos love!! Who can go wrong with cinnamon, sugar, and butter??

Here are the ingredients...1 stick of butter, cinnamon, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 tubes of biscuits.

1. Over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, and 1 T. cinnamon. Doesn't it look yummy already?

2. Melt butter, sugar, and cinnamon until it looks like this then remove from heat. It will get very thick fast so you may just need to turn it very low until you are ready to pour it.

3. In another container, combine the sugar and cinnamon.

4. Tear the biscuits apart and coat with cinnamon sugar mixture. Don't be afraid to really give them a good coating.

5. Grease a bundt pan. I have a silicone one and I still haven't decided if I like it better than metal. I think it cleans easier because it is so flexible, but any will do.

I used butter to grease, but you could probably use non-stick spray, margarine, or Crisco. It has to be good and greased though!

6. After coating the biscuit pieces, place in the bundt pan.

7. Doesn't this look yummy?!? Pour wonderful gooey brown sugar and butter goodness over the pan...coat well!

8. Bake on 350 F for 35 minutes.

After it has a chance to cool just a bit, place a plate on top and flip the pan over. At this point you could top with powdered sugar or icing. You could be like me and eat it straight out of the pan too...can you see the dent towards the bottom front?? That was my "making sure it is done" piece! Enjoy!!

The Joys of Having Girls!!

I love having 2 girls!! I always wanted to have a daughter, but I have been blessed with 2! We have so much fun with painting nails, curling hair, getting all dressed in fluffy dresses for church...all of this is my thing! Dayna's hair has gotten very long...to the middle of her back. It is so long that it is hard to tie the bows on the back of her dresses. Anyway, dinner is fun because she likes to swish her hair around and it often will end up in her food, never fails. We have bath time right after dinner in order to wash out the ketchup, mashed potatoes, and other equally sticky foods...I am sure I am not the only one with this issue. Anyway, our solution to lessen the chances of half her dinner ending up in her hair is to put it up on top of her head so that she can't swish it out. We started doing this a while back and this is by far the funniest dinner hair-do yet!! Tiny neck, little face, and great big samurai hair!!! I love it!!

Fun at the Fall Festival!

On Halloween night, we went to our school's annual Fall Festival. It was an absolute blast!! My kiddos are still young, but they were just old enough to start going on some of the bigger inflatables and this slide was on the top of their list. Here is Emma on her way down. Honestly, I didn't think she would have the guts to get to the top, let alone actually go down the slide!! She is also my less-than-graceful one and tends towards accidents and injuries...she did great!!

Here is Dayna, my risk-taker, barrelling down the slide. She was the one I had to peel off to go to the next attraction! By the way, in case you were wondering...I am one of those crazy mothers who likes to dress their children alike. They might hate me later for it, but I think it is the cutest thing! The days of them tolerating it are limited so I am taking full advantage of it!!

Here are the girls with one of Emma's best friends. They have spent almost everyday together for the last 5 years and we just love her!!

Emma got her face painted...Dayna thought it was "gross"--her words, not mine!! She is 3, let me remind you!!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip!

Emma had her first K-5 field trip 2 weeks ago...to the pumpkin patch!! I was so excited that I got to go with her and enjoy this time with her! She has lots of little friends and they were so cute!

We took a hayride all the way around the farm, very fun!

The kids got to pull ears of corn, put them through this handy little machine that picks the kernels off the ear, and then feed the animals. Emma was thrilled with the machine, not so much about the animals.

They had this great hay mountain and Emma climbed to the top and slid down about a hundred times!!

Queen of the Hay Mountain!!

My baby turns 3...where has the time gone!

"Dayna bug" turned 3 last month. I love to see her grow everyday! She has always been a talker, with an amazing vocabulary. I love both my girls and can't believe how much they have grown. Birthday parties at Raganville have taken on a life of their own, full of fun traditions. For the past 2 years we have had costume parties and they are just so much fun. This party was no different, a princess party. Branson found a cutie pie Tinkerbell costume for Dayna and it was so adorable on her. Emma was Belle and Stacey, Dayna's friend, was Snow White. We painted nails and put on "makeup."

Dayna was so happy to be Tinkerbell!! She is still talking about it!

Every time she opened clothes or shoes, she gave this sideways look that was just too funny!!

This was her favorite present....given by Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Sarah!! She has slept with it every night since her party :o)

Here she is feeding her baby!! How sweet.

Pesky Mosquitos!!

Just when you think the summer is coming to a close......the mosquitos strike again! Dayna was bitten right on her eyebrow causing an allergic reaction. This is just Dayna's personality...smiling through it all :o) The doc gave her some great medicine that caused some very interesting side effects like hyperactivity and insomnia. Thankfully, she only had to have 2 doses!! She is on the way back to normal, still smiling all the way!

Dayna Bug

All this talk about number one makes me not want to leave out number 2! I am not sure where I came up with that nickname, but I started saying it early on, and it just stuck!

We were at Chick fil A with Uncle Josh and Aunt Sarah, whom she just adores!!, and snapped this picture. What a doll!! I can't believe how fast she has grown up! She will be 3 in a month and I honestly don't know where the time has gone...

Lost Tooth!!

I don't remember when I lost my first tooth, but I remember it being such a momentous thing. And the waiting in anticipation for the tooth fairy! I also remember the moment I discovered the tooth fairy was not real. I lost a tooth and didn't inform the parents. I hid the tooth under my pillow and just waited. Nothing happened and I was crushed! Why I felt the need to know the truth, I don't know. I should've just gone along with it and enjoyed the fun. Well, we told Emma that the tooth fairy would be visiting her and she was so excited! The next morning she came into my room before I got up and showed me her dollar!!

Branson actually had to pull it, because it was just barely hanging on and I could see her accidentally eating it! She was fine until she saw the blood to follow. She freaked out and was a bit dramatic :o) I know......not Emma!!

First Day of School!

Emma started her first day of kindergarten on August 20th. She is having a great time!! I asked her what was her favorite part of kindergarten and she said, "Oh mama, just everything!" So cute. Here are some pictures of her in her uniform. Of course, Dayna just had to get in on it too!

Sporting the Tinkerbell backpack!

Emma left her lunchbox, not a surprise considering all the other necessary items that had to go along the first day. I thought, she will just buy lunch today. Emma started to cry a very hurt cry. So, being the sucker I am, I went all the way home and got her lunch and brought it to school. I just wanted everything to go right for her the first day. Crisis averted!!

Back To School!!!

I knew this day was coming and truthfully, I am very excited for Emma!! She is starting K-5 on Wednesday this week!! We went to orientation this past week, where she got to see her classroom and of course see who was in her class. She has been going to our school since 2 years old, just like half the kids in her class, so she pretty much knew everyone. I am doing okay with the thought that my first-born is starting school this year. I am excited to see her growing up.

I love our school!!! They have the best program I know of. I am glad the Emma gets to be a part of it all. Her teacher is amazing. Emma is very fortunate to have her.

Needless to say, we can't wait for Wednesday! Oh, yeah, Emma has a loose tooth, too!! I will post a picture as soon as that baby falls out! So cute...she told me that she needs to put it in a bucket and an angel will come and take it and give her money :o)

Adventures with the Durham Bulls

The company I work for hosted Family Night with the Durham Bulls last night. I was so excited to take Branson and the girls!! The girls were really excited about it, especially seeing Wooly Bull again! Dayna is completely freaked out by any kind of mascot, but likes to see them from a distance.

Here is Wooly Bull.

They also had a special guest last night...Bugs Bunny! This is Dayna's impression of him!

After each home run, this bull's eyes light up and he snorts! They hit 3 homers last night.

Here is Bugs Bunny...Emma and Dayna loved seeing him.

This was the closests I could get Emma to taking a picture with Bugs!! What a cutie!

I wasn't sure how this would turn out since I took it myself...it turned out cute!

After the game we had a fireworks show. The kids absolutely loved it!! It is probably the best fireworks show I have been too.