Summing up 2017

In this season of thanks, I have spent many hours pondering over the last year.  There have been some very overwhelming moments, some extremely amazing moments, some hard moments, some joy-filled moments and everything in between.  It is a constant ride in motion in our home....one moment I am on the floor laughing because one of our children has just cracked me up and the next moment I am screeching at one of our children to pick up this or clean up that.  For this, I am thankful.  I have been given the amazing privilege to care for and mother SIX beautifully made children.  They are all my dream come true.  The icing on the cake is Ryan.  He makes it all possible and provides for us without one complaint.  He works hard with little daily thanks.  He is the rock....the one we all go to, the one we all lean on. For him, I am thankful.  My job.  This time last year, a friend approached me and asked if I would be interested in "taking over" her business, her clientele with Matilda Jane Clothing.  I was honored.  I love MJC.  My girls have been living the Matilda Jane way since 2011 and we haven't looked back.  The bonus?  I now know the goodness MJC provides for adult women as well!  It's lovely and so soft and comfortable and fresh all in one wear!  With this came adjustments....time management adjustments, learning to say "No" when needed, adjusting our family time on weekends/trips in order to grow together - time is precious and being intentional on spending quality family time together is so rewarding.  For this, I am thankful.  This year has brought school into our picture in a way that has not been present in our home in many, many years.  For the first time in 8 years, my children are all in school or preschool.  Yes, it leads to a lot of driving, but driving means having moments alone with a child to chat which I will take any day!  Yes, it leads to keeping track of six different classrooms, schedules, lunches, school events....it's busy and I won't dare claim that I have managed to keep it all together - truth is, I haven't but my army has - my carpool friends, my friends who see my child without the t-shirt I was supposed to order yet they give her one anyway....yes, the army has been good to us.  For them, we are thankful. To our drs., surgeons, specialists, and orthodontist....oh how thankful we are for them.  Our orthodontist deserves a special medal when he sees one of our girls....he is so patient and so empathetic.  For all of those who medically care for our children, we are thankful.
2017 has been a year of growth for the Drafts.  It has been a year of change, good change, and learning.  It's been amazing, beautiful, trying, and so rewarding!  THANKFUL would be my word that sums up this year....I am oh so thankful for my family, for grace, for friends, for health, for love and for opportunities! Here's to 2018....

Christmas 2017

Hooray for Christmas morning AND all agreeing that a 7:00am wake-up was in everyone's best interest!  In years past, wake-up time has been as early as 6:00am - eek!  It's always a topic of discussion on Christmas Eve but this year the kiddos agreed and 7:00am it was!  They all sleep in the loft together on Christmas Eve (minus Chapman - she just isn't quite ready to leave her mommy's side) and as they awoke one by one, we could hear the early morning chatter amongst them.  At 7:00am sharp, the squeals began and we all met on the stairs for the Christmas morning pic.  Again, minus Chapman who slept in until 9:00am!

 We try to keep Christmas simple - one need, one want, one surprise, and something to read - all from Santa.  Santa brought lots of clothes....

 a four wheeled jewel for littles....

 a two-wheeled jewel for this kiddo....

 Maddox has never had her very own bike - she is our child who gets everything second-hand....nothing at all wrong with that but everyone needs a new bike at some point in their lives!

 Chapman finally awoke and was outside stat to try out the new car with Maryn and her mermaid....no shoes AND it was less than 30 degrees!  Yikes.  She didn't last too long!

 Then the gift opening began....Pryce received lights for the "man cave" and he was shocked....

 MK asked for all things panda so she was thrilled to see one appear in a gift....

 Colin had a run in with an xbox controller so a new one was needed....

 clothing AND cow calendars make for great boy gifts....food and the latest styles, that is how boys roll!

 Chapman was all about tearing into gifts....no time to waste, she needed to know what was inside so if that meant tearing a box, she tore the box!

 Fingerlings....admittedly so, the girls didn't even ask for these BUT I thought they were just too cute!  

 We like to take Christmas Day little by little....

 we see Santa, we open a gift or two....

 we play, we eat....

 and then we repeat!

 Christmas Day is the one day of the year where we are all under one roof, all happily hanging out, no one asking to go anywhere, no expectations....

 it's just fun and so good to be together!

 Little Chapman loved her new dolls....the hair is the best part always!

 Maddox received a pair of play glasses and she honestly hasn't taken them off since!  I have told her many times since this day that if she ever needs to wear glasses, she is going to be the most beautiful child in eyewear ever!  

 Chapman cooked for everyone all day on her new grill....

 Maddox totally missed the cues for activities throughout the day because she was listening to her new Jojo headphones....

 Maryn is at the perfect age....she is so excited to open gifts and no matter what is in the box, she is happy!

 Pryce is always enthusiastic....always.  I hope he always has this spirit about him.

 Maddox could not wait to use her new pottery wheel....while I prepared the kitchen for our next meal, she happily created a jewelry holder for me.

 The "man cave" lights were a hit! 

 Our living room for the better part of the day....a complete mess yet full of such joy!  Ryan spent his day building, adding batteries, building more....

 and when the building wasn't going on, the girls were playing....I love this pic, Maryn in her dress-up clothes, Maddox in her new boots and glasses! 

 For the grand finale, a game of Minute to Win It was in store.....

 the children were each given a task....

 when the task was completed in under one minute, they were given a clue.

 Each clue was a puzzle piece....

 the children loved this!  Pryce definitely had the hardest challenge - shooting cups from the table with rubber bands.  It sounded so easy yet it was a bit of a challenge....Maryn chose to serenade us with her new harmonica during this task.

 Pretty sure Colin had the funniest task....

 he had two plates....one plate had vaseline on it....without using his hands, he had to put vaseline on his nose...

 then he had to pic up cotton balls from the bowl using only his vaselined nose and place them on the clean plate....he had to do 5 in one minute....he did 10!

 The children used their clues to solve the puzzle.  Once the puzzle was complete, they were able to read it and use the clues given within it to find their Christmas gift from us.  Each year, they are given one gift to all of them from us....it is a list of 12 events that we will do as a family throughout the year - the idea is that we will do one event each month.  This year includes everything from bowling to a trip to California and everything in between!  

 When all was said and done, our children could be found like this....

 they were a bunch of sleepy heads when it was all said and done!

Even Finley had a great, tiring day!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2017

Christmas Eve Traditions are still going strong....

 With a little change up in our plans from previous years, we began early at Target for a few last minute items....

 then we met our favorite Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Duncan, for lunch!  She is such a joy to spend time with and the children cherish this time with her....

 following lunch, we made our way to the nail salon for our traditional pedicures.  The boys have memories from this year - the workers did a great job cleaning those boys up, lol.

 We rushed home and got ready for our evening candlelight service at church.....

 Following church, we had friends over for chilli, etc....such a fun time together with those who have been friends for many years!  We love this evening every year!  And it is especially special to me since it is a tradition my grandmother began when I was very little....I have very fond memories of being at their house every Christmas Eve!

 Soon the house was full of just our crew so it was time for pjs presents and Twas The Night Before Christmas.  Everyone had matching PJs this year....or, coordinating at least.  

 We love to hear Pop read Twas the Night Before Christmas....thankfully he recorded it for us many years ago so that we can listen to him read even when he is not with us in person.  

 Next was the Christmas Story....through all of the traditions we have as family, it is important to remember the reason for this entire season.  We got a little carried away and just kept reading and reading until finally one little was fast asleep and the others were almost there too.

 The children all slept in the loft together and were asleep early though they will tell you they didn't sleep a wink, ha!  Ryan and I sat down for the evening and watched A Christmas Vacation for a few laughs....this is our tradition and one of us may have the movie memorized, line per line.  

Family Is My Favorite

We had two weekends of great family time with extended family!  My dad and his siblings continue the tradition of Christmas each year with a party for all and a toast to my Papa.  We were missing one brother, Randy, but David, Nancy and Glen were onboard for a fabulous day and dinner!  The Wild Turkey is what they use to toast my Papa....nasty, nasty but it is what my Papa like to take a swig of when needed.

 Good ole Uncle Bert....these two jumped into his lap as if he were the real Santa Claus!

 This sweet baby....she loves to open gifts!

 Gloves and a hat were the perfect addition to her wardrobe....

 Maddox was thrilled too....a warm, soft vest and a mask to sleep in!

 And MK got what she loves most right now....anything Panda!

 We took the three littles to the zoo for a bit....

 statue jumping was a favorite!

 Penguin watching was a highlight for C...

 and later, when the sun had gone down, we took a little carousel ride too!

 Emma and Jay joined us for some evening fun...

 and a pic was in order to capture the event for memory's sake!

 More of dad's family Christmas....

 and all of us in a frame....

 my dad is the oldest of 5 and his brother, David, is the youngest...I loved this pic of the two sharing a laugh together.

 Four boys, and one poor girl.  My Uncle Randy wasn't able to be here for the party.....he and his family live in California so their time visiting here was spent over Thanksgiving.

 My cousin, Drew, and her husband, Kenny, are expecting their first child in January.  We are thrilled for them and we were super excited to have a day to celebrate his much anticipated birth.  Love this crew!  **Funny note....my mom did the invites and my phone started ringing uncontrollably around 1:00....I answered and everyone had gone to our former home!  Bless the people who live there now! Pretty sure they were not expecting 20+ visitors for dinner that afternoon! Luckily, our old home is less than five minutes from our new home and everyone made their way safely for a wonderful afternoon of celebrating Baby Hayes!**

 Oh Chapman.  Bless her little heart.  Sometimes our ideas and hers don't agree and tears ensue.  Ha!  Ryan made his best attempt to hold her up and hide himself so we could get a quick pic of the children!

 This cutie!  She loved her vest and sleeping mask from G-Mom and G-Dad.

 In fact, she loved it so much that she thought wearing it for a pic with G-Mom and G-Dad was in store.  

 G-Mom and G-Dad and their six youngest grands....it was a fun day!

 The flexibility in my girls is amazing!

 This elephant at the zoo was sponsored by the company that G-Dad retired from.  The girls love to climb on him during our visits!

 All of my girls in one pic, smiling and enjoying life!  Love them to pieces!

Meanwhile, off to the side of this pic, stood my sister and the rest of our people watching as my oldest made his over to the news crew.  Colin has always loved a moment under the lights so he took it upon himself to go over and ask to give a "shout out" to his grandparents for Christmas!  Love this guy - he was the news opener for the evening and wished all four of his SC grandparents a Merry Christmas on live TV!  All because he asked.