Friday, December 30, 2016

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas celebration this year...school let our early so we had plenty of time to relax and prepare.  Matt and Ben spend a weekend hunting so Alex and I worked on the Christmas cookies together.

We also checked out his very favorite house for Christmas lights...they do an incredible display every year.

When the hunters returned, Grammy and Grumpy joined us for a few days of eating and playing.  Luckily for the kids, Bart the elf brought tickets to iFly.  Alex is a natural!
 

 We spent a few days at Grandma and Grandpa's and opened some gifts there.  Ben was so excited about his mebo!

Alex was pretty thrilled to get the "Millelium" Falcon but was a bit intimidated by its size.

Holly was pretty interested in the mebo when it was carrying treats!

My favorite church service of the year - the candlelight Christmas eve service.  Such a peaceful and joyful hour, even if we walked out into 78 degree Houston heat.

Back home, we left out our cookies for Santa, who still visits our house :)

Love these boys so much!!  Christmas is twice as fun as a parent.

They wanted a quick pic with the inflatables before bedtime.

Ben got his Christmas wish...an electric guitar.  He's done so well with the acoustic that we figured he'd earned it and that kid went to bed with blistered fingers Christmas night because he played ALL day.

Alex was pretty excited about everything but especially for this chemistry set from Mr. Scott and Miss Lou Anne.

He got two minecraft lego sets and got straight to work assembling them.

Minecraft mine...done!  In one day!  The Kirkhams joined us for a relaxed Christmas day at home but this doesn't seem to be my year for taking pictures.  I dropped the ball the entire week.

Ben got busy on his X-wing and finished it up the next day.

The Millennium Falcon took a bit longer but this boy stuck to it and only needed help a few times.  He's a master builder now.

We did lots of science projects together and learned lots of kitchen chemistry.

The boys and I spent a few days at Aunt Stacey's and Ben had to prove to me that he still fits in the tiny car.  I really think this will be the last year, but who knows?

Sweet Ben loved reading to Carter and playing with him.
 

Cousin fun!

There was some serious minecraft and mario time...even Carter "played" with a disconnected remote!

We were so thankful for all the time we were able to spend laughing and playing with our loved ones this year.  Christmas is the best time of the year!

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

My holiday chief (Alex) was adamant that the Christmas decorations come out as soon as Thanksgiving was over.  The kids on the street were thrilled to see another inflatable show up on our lawn this year.  Casey was unimpressed and only stayed for the picture because there was a treat in my hand.
 

We love the Christmas show, Celebration, at our church and enjoyed our annual visit. It's always a beautiful celebration of Jesus' birth.
 

We wrapped up baseball with the end of season party and I was so thankful that the team mom scheduled it after Thanksgiving. It was fun to celebrate with the kids.

The first non-participation trophy for either of our kids!  A second-place finish for the regular season meant that the team earned a real trophy from Pony.  I hope these kids can play together again in the spring.

Alex begged to open a Christmas gift early, so we let him open the Imploding Kittens expansion pack to Exploding Kittens.  Not at all because I was anxious to play the game.  We have played it almost every day since!  Tons of fun...especially the cone of shame!!
 


Now school is out and we are looking forward to the serious business of relaxing, enjoying, and celebrating the season.  Merry Christmas to you and yours, and may your Christmas be blessed with joy and laughter!