The Christmas Spirit

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I love everything about it. I love the decorations, the music and singing with the kids, the Church services especially the Christmas Eve children's service, watching the kids' eyes light up on Christmas day, and I love Christmas pictures with the kids. We had our wonderful photographer take Christmas pictures at the Gaylord Hotel a couple of weeks ago, and I just love how they turned out!

I can't believe how much this little boy has grown up!

We never got a real smile out of Isaiah, but I love this picture of him in his Santa tie shirt and hat.

Addison is so photogenic! We got some really great shots of her.

I absolutely love Addison's Christmas outfit. It is so cute and sassy (just like Addi)!

Sweet Kate actually smiled this time and did not cry.


Here is one of our family pictures! Every time I see this picture, I just smile. While Addison is not amused and over having pictures done, Isaiah's expression is priceless.

Merry Christmas! Hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

Go TEXAS!

We had the opportunity to go and see a University of Texas football game last Saturday. It was a Dad, Mom, Papaw, Isaiah trip, and we had a great time. Isaiah loved all the hoopla surrounding the game.

When we arrived in Austin we headed straight to all the tail-gating, shopping, walk 1 mile to get to the game fun. It was amazing to see all the tents with TVs in them. Yes, they were watching the game from a tent outside the stadium. I've never seen anything like it! After having some BBQ we headed to the stadium to cheer on the Longhorns. They haven't had a good season (it's a rebuilding year) and they really didn't play well in this game either, but we had a great time.

Isaiah really enjoyed getting to eat all the snacks and buying lots of souvenirs. That's what happens when your the only child who gets to go on a mini vacation with mom and dad (and of course Papaw really spoils him)!


We really had a great weekend together. It was nice to be able to spend some time with our little man. Thank you dad for helping making the trip possible, we love ya!

My Little Critters

Hope you

had a

GREAT

HALLOWEEN!!!

Where the Wild Things Are

Love this picture!!!

We're Back!

I know, I know, it's been way too long! I will post a nice, large update about the new house later this week, but for now here are some current pictures of the kids!

Isaiah turned five a few months ago and has started kindergarten! Let's just say he is a young kindergartner and all boy! Here is a picture of him on his first day of school.

Addison has really started to grow up. She loves school and loves to do her work (I only hope this continues.)! She has finally outgrown the terrible 8 months - 3 years and is such a smart little girl.

Kate is a mess! She is two and has an incredible vocabulary. She has the wildest imagination which has recently included stories of crocodiles, Gramma out running the crocodiles, and Papaw shooting them. Got to love it!

Our Little House

Jason and I bought our starter house a month after we got married 7 years ago. It is a great house and I absolutely love it. However, our family has completely outgrown it. What used to seem like a spacious 1500 feet, is way too small for us now! While I am excited about the new chapter that is about to begin, I am really sad to have to leave our "Blue Oak" house. It was our first house, our house where we grew as a couple, struggled with infertility, received the referral of our "little man", brought two little girls home from the hospital and fell more in love as the years went by. This house will always have a special place in my heart.

We are so blessed that the house sold within 2 months and we found what we think is the perfect house for our family. The house had absolutely everything we were looking for:
- 4 bedrooms (master down, 3 kids rooms up)
- game room
- open kitchen
- large backyard
- community pool

I know I will cry on July 20th, mostly happy tears, but it's time for us to close this chapter in our lives and begin a new one. I can't wait to see what our "Meadow Landing" house has in store for us!


Until later,











P.S. I have neglected the blog this month and will probably neglect it for a few more months as we settle in at our new house.

How to Eat Ice Cream (according to Katelyn)

Ice cream = happiness for a 2 year old

We gave the kids these little ice cream treats:

They were the perfect size for little mouths.


Katelyn decided to eat the ice cream in her own way!

She was so proud of herself.

And instead of telling her to use her spoon, I just took a picture.

Happy Father's Day!

The greatest gift I ever had

Came from God; I call him Dad!

~Author Unknown

I asked the kids what they love about their dad and here are their responses. Isaiah fell asleep before I could get his answer so I'll post it tomorrow!

"I like him when he plays with me. I like him when he says, give me some pudding (it's a Daddy and Addison thing, I don't really understand it!). I love my daddy."

"I love my daddy." - That's all I could get her to say (over and over again).

I could not have asked for a better father for my children. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. Thank you for all that you do to make us feel special and loved. We love you!

And to my dad, I love you! You are such an incredible father and grandfather! Thank you for all that you have done to help mold and shape me into the person I am today. We love you!

This Past Week

This past week has been crazy! On Saturday Kate sliced her foot open on the metal siding that lines the flower beds in the front yard. She had to have 4 stitches put in the bottom of her foot. It looked terrible! She was a trooper! She hardly cried when she cut her foot open, but when they gave her the numbing shot she was in so much pain that it made me cry. If you saw Kate walk the rest of the week you would think that there wasn't anything wrong with her. She is one tough cookie.

On Sunday we had Addison's dance. She did incredible. I was so proud of her! She had the best time and is still talking about it.

On Wednesday, Addison got in trouble and was so mad at her dad that she threw a huge fit. Jason told her to straighten up, to which she replied, "You made me sick." Jason asked her how he made her sick and she proceeded to throw up all over him. I was standing in the hallway laughing because it really was a sight to see!

The rest of the week was spent looking for houses, finding a house, signing a lot of documents and fixing our house the way that the new buyers want it. I have been teaching summer school and with all the house stuff I have had no break. I think that's just the way this summer is going to be!

Happy Summer!

2nd Day of Summer

"On the second day of summer Addison gave to me, a long stick stuck in her shoe!"

I picked the kids up from school today and Addison said, "I have a stick in my shoe." I asked her to take her shoe off so I could check it and I was amazed at what I saw. It was a 2 inch stick stuck right through the sole of her shoe. I asked her if she had walked around like that for a while, to which she responded, "I'm pretty tough, I'll be okay."

Tough would be an understatement! I honestly can't believe she walked around with such a large stick in her shoe!

The Beginning of my Summer Song

I think I'm just going to start a summer song with all the crazy things my kids do and say this summer. It's sung to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas. The first verse goes something like this:

"On the first day of summer Isaiah gave to me, a small piece of foam stuck up his nose!"

Oh yes, it's true. Luckily the school (I'm teaching summer school) called and I was able to get it out with tweezers. When asked what it was (before I pulled it out) his response was, "I'm not real sure, I just picked it up off the floor." What can I say, he's ALL boy!

Stay tuned for what happens tomorrow! I'm sure it will be interesting!

A Little Sleep

Listening to music at the park = a tired mommy and little girl

I had laid down to rest for a little while, when Kate decided to climb on my back and rest too. Before we knew it, she was out cold! Sweet little Kate slept through the whole concert. Eventually she was removed from my back into her daddy's arms where she slept the rest of the night.



Until later,

Kayaking!

While we were at Liberty Fest (more about that at another time) this past weekend we had the opportunity to kayak in the little creek behind my parent's house. The kids had such a great time the first time my mom and I took them, that Daddy and Aunt Christy had to take them when they got off of work.

This was my view from the kayak. I was kayaking with Isaiah and he decided he wanted to paddle.

Then he decided that he wanted to try it by himself. That lasted for about 2 minutes!

And of course they all wanted to go under the fountain in the kayaks, so here is my drenched 2 year old!

We all had a great time and we will certainly be doing it again next year!

Until later,