Merry Christmas!!

I love this time of year the music, the shopping, the chill in the air (most days around here), and all the holiday decorations. In a world where Santa Claus reigns supreme it's often hard to teach children the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it. I was very impressed with Amanda's willingness to share with others, and how excited she was to 'shop' by herself for presents for mom and dad and her brothers. The boys were another story. Matthew just wanted presents for himself (although did shop for others), and Tyler thought it was his birthday. Sigh, I guess there is always next year.

I'm not sure what it is but I still wake up before the kids on Christmas. Matthew was the first kid up at 6:30 am, he came into our room and asked if it was Christmas (like he did the previous day). He climbed into our bed while we waited for the other two to wake up. At 7 o'clock we sent Matthew to go wake up Amanda and Tyler. Strange how they picked today, of all days to sleep in! After everyone was up we all come downstairs together and all whispered a collective "Wow the tree is so pretty". Brent tried to keep some oder to opening presents, as Tyler didn't care whose name was on the gift, he was going to open it! Soon the flurry of wrapping paper settled down and the kids started to play with their new toys, while mom and dad wrestled with impossible task of getting the toys out of their boxes, cutting, ripping, unscrewing and inserting batteries.

After breakfast we continued the Christmas marathon. Off to grandma and grandpa S's house to open presents there. My sister who had just moved to Colorado just over a month ago, was not able to come back down for Christmas. But she and I got our mom a web-cam for Christmas and we were able to open presents with her.

After lunch it was time for our second stop, grandma and grandpa C's house...yes to open more presents. The kids enjoy these times, heck I would have too as a kid! But alas the day has come to an end, with fond memories, arm loads of gifts, and a stuffed belly its time to call it a day and dream sweet dreams.

Amanda's First Piano Recital

Amanda had her first piano recital this weekend. She did really well and wasn't nervous one bit. She started piano in August of this year and has learned so much, and loves it. Amanda has even figured out several Christmas songs on her own, yes the girl can play by ear!!

Here is the video of her recital. Its a little shaky due to the toddler on my lap.

Post Thanksgiving Thoughts

This year we had a great Thanksgiving, as usual. But this year I made it a point to be mindful of what I am thankful for. Here is my list of some of the things I am thankful for....

Family - without them life would be dull, boring, and lonely.

Friends - who else can you complain to about your family! ;o)

Religion - that I have a firm belief in our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and leaders to guide in these troubled times.

A house - I'm glad I have a place to call home that keeps me warm and dry

Work - that my husband is able to provide for us

Health - we are all well physically and mentally

Food - that we have a full pantry and my kids don't have to go without

Love - being surrounded by friends and family

These are just a few of the things I am thankful for. So many times I hear of people who do not have these simple things and makes me more appreciative of them.

I hope y'all had a wonderfully Thanksgiving.

New Nephew

On November 23rd we welcomed our newest nephew Andrew! He weighed in at 9lbs

and 20 inches long. Mom and baby are

doing well, and we offer Scott and Marquee our congrats as new parents!

Beach Trip

For the longest time Amanda has been asking "When can we go to the beach?" Well we tried to go in 2008 and but there was a hurricane and a brother getting married, so we didn't go that year and the year after that we were sick. So this was the year! The kids had a four day weekend and we made plans. We made reservations to camp at Mustang Island on Padre Island, just outside Corpus Chirsti, Texas. We ending up having to shorten our trip by a day, Brent and I bought Texas Rangers playoff tickets and the first game ending up being on Saturday of our four day weekend (but thats another story).

So we headed down to Houston first to visit Brent's brother and family. It was a nice half way point from Dallas to Corpus Christi (four hour drive), and they were kind enough to feed us dinner and put up with us for the night. The kids really enjoyed spending time with the cousins and needed that break for the second leg of the trip, another four and a half hours to the beach.

Of course the whole way down there we were constantly asked

"Are we at the beach yet?" "How many more minutes?". The nice thing about having a child who can read it being able to teach her how to read the signs. It helped a little but the mileage number confused her since she thought it meant minutes...ugh.

We finally arrived at the beach and it was beautiful the temps are in the mid 80's and a slight breeze, the water was just about as warm and we had the beach to ourselves! Did I mention the slight breeze? Well if you asked Tyler (age 3) he would have told you it was going to blow him away and he screamed for about the first 30 minutes or so because of the wind, once he got adjusted to it and involved in digging in the sand he was ok...until the jellyfish (more about that later). We were on the beach for about an hour and decided to eat lunch, and get some sunscreen since I forgot to pack and apply some before hitting the beach. And yes we suffered the consequences later.

After lunch we head back to the beach and we start working on

a sand castle. It was awesome to feel like a kid again and have

so much fun, and everyone helped. The boys dug a moat with daddy, Amanda and I collected shells. And if I do say so myself we made one fine sandcastle!

As we finish our sandcastle I spot a jellyfish floating in the water, then I see another one so I show the kids and tell them to stay away because they can sting you. Well, Tyler flips out, every time Amanda or Matthew went into the water he would scream and fuss, "The jellyfish are going to eat you!" it didn't help that he was exhausted. So after I sat with him, he fell asleep, and Brent and I sat and watched the kids play.

After dinner we put up the tent. No biggie right? Well...the mosquitoes were eating us alive, the wind was whipping the tent around, and since we had a long drive home the next day...it was decided we would 'camp' at the local Best Western. And nurse our sunburns with some aloe.

The whole time we were there I saw nothing but smiles and hear a lot of "This is awesome!" from Matthew. So I think we may have to start making this an annual trip, barring any hurricanes!

*Side note always check media compatibly before you leave on a trip. I put in a larger card into my camera so I could take lots of pics but my camera didn't like it so I had to use my cell phone camera instead! Live and learn.

First Day of School

It's here once again the first day of school! Which means summer is coming to an end, no more carefree days, no more swimming, and no more hearing the words "I'm bored!" But luckily the kids have been counting down the days until school start and have been waiting, what seems to them an eternity, for this day.

Oh did I forget to mention that Matthew is in kindergarten this year?! I think he was the most excited, he got to shop for a new backpack, lunch box, and clothes just like his big sister. I don't think he would have survived another year at home without Amanda and the neighborhood kids, it was tough on him (and me). Last week the school had 'Meet the Teacher' night and the kids got to preview their classrooms and get to know their teachers. Matthew was in awe and everyday asked if it was a school day.

Amanda will be in third grade this year, at this point its routine for her, but she is still excited. I think she is most excited to get to walk to school with her brother and show him around. At "Meet the Teacher" night Amanda loved seeing all her friends again and seeing who would be in her class and sitting next to her.

I am very proud of my kids who love school and go willingly. They are growing up so fast and I know they will learn all kinds of new and interesting things this year and look forward to hearing all about it! Here's to a new school year!

Amanda Age 8

Eight years ago, a special girl was given to us her name is Amanda. Its hard to believe its been eight years, those years just fly by. In those years she has learned so much, crawling, walking, talking, and love of her parents and of her Heavenly Father. This is why her eighth birthday is so special. On July 3rd Amanda entered the waters of baptism. A decision she made on her own but had the love and support of friends and family all around her.

Laundry Room Project

Every year when my hubby goes to scout camp for a week I work on a project. This year my project was my laundry room. You may say who cares about the laundry room no one ever sees it. Yes, true. But I see it everyday while doing loads and loads, and folding, and ironing. And to do this in a drab and uninviting place, made laundry not so pleasant. Not any more. Well I still don't like to do laundry, but now its not so bad.

Before pictures:

After Pictures:

There are a few things I need to finish up like the fuse box panel and paint the door but it's works and we have clean clothes again!

Boys and Their New Bikes

Matthew loves to ride his bike. He rides so much we had replaced his back tire once after it popped, and wore out that new tire a few months later. So instead of replacing the tire again we decided he was ready for a bigger bike.

So he and daddy headed out to pick out a new bike. He was excited! He tried out several bikes and made his final choice. A blue bike with hand brakes, the racing styling didn't hurt either.

Matthew waited while daddy had to put the bike together, an eternity for a 5 year old. Everything went smoothly until daddy got to the had brakes! He spent close to an hour try to figure out why the back brake wouldn't work. But mom to rescue! She was able to fix it and Matthew was off and riding!

Poor Tyler was trying so hard to ride Matthew's old trike. The tires were bald and no traction, which made it difficult for him to keep up with his brother. Tyler also got to go and get a new tricycle. Did I mention how much Matthew likes to ride?

With his new trike he still has a hard time keeping up with brother but he at least makes forward progress!

So now the boys can ride their bikes and all is great!

Easter Pictures

These are some pictures we took on Easter.

I made my skirt, Amanda's dress, and the boys and Brent's vests.

Amanda

Matthew

Tyler

New Guinea Pig

We adopted a new Guinea Pig!!

His name is Crosby. However since our other guinea pig is named Princess Pig and as a compromise with my daughter his official name is Prince Crosby. We got him from a guinea pig rescue, that takes in unwanted piggies and tries to re-home them with families. We got to visit them with our own Princess and we found a good friend for her. Crosby is an albino, and was a former lab guinea pig, so he doesn't mind be handled.

Even More Snow?!?

Is this for real?!

We got a record 10 inches of snow in one day. We had fun building snowmen and snowball fights that day. Our poor hands and feet were numb and all gloves, shoes, and pants were throughly soaked. After a quick change and some hot cocoa we were back out in the snow.

The ironic thing is that the Friday it snowed it was a school holiday. Disappointing for the kids who didn't get to miss an extra day of school. But I didn't hear "I'm bored, there's nothing to do." all day.

However, it lost its fun when the power went out that night. Lucky for us it was only out for a few hours, however some of our neighbors lost power all night and part of the next day. The kids were panicked but with some flashlights and candles, we were able to calm them and get them into bed.

Matthew Turns 5!

Its hard to believe that my boy is now 5 years old. So much has happened in those 5 years. Teething, crawling, walking, talking, running, riding a bike, preschool, etc. What will the next 5 years bring? Kindergarten, lost tooth, baptism, just to name a few.

On his birthday we asked Matthew what he wanted to do. And with a little prompting from his older sister, decided to have his birthday at Chuck E Cheese. He got to pick a friend to come with him and share in the fun. It was a fun time for all, yes mom and dad had fun, too.

(Special thanks to aunt Evonne for the pics!)

Matthew and Chuck

Matthew and his friend Connor

Daddy and Tyler

Tyler

Matthew and Amanda

White Christmas

We had our first white Christmas!
I think they said on the weather that the Dallas area has only had 3 previous white Christmas' in the last 100 years. And none within my life time. So I had to get out the take some pictures as proof, so kids remember. After we opened presents and ate breakfast we all went outside and made a few snowballs. Soon the neighbors were out and a snowball fight ensued. Not sure how it started but we had a blast. Brent even made a 5 year old cry after he pegged him in the face with a snowball. (Don't worry the kid got his revenge.) As most snow in Texas it didn't last long, but we made the most of it while it was here.