Our Little Winter Wonderland!

December 10th brought our family great joy! IT SNOWED IN TEXAS!!! It had been getting colder throughout the day and my Mom and Tom called to let me know that we might be getting snow. I was thinking flurries, but still way excited! We called my Dad for his birthday and Colton kept telling him that he was going to build a snowman. I had my reservations... Anyway, Tom was working late and we were getting things ready in the house for all our Christmas company when I looked out the window and began screaming, "It's SNOWING"! Colton was in the bathtub and jumped out and said, "I'm ready!" It was so cute! Anyway, we hurried into PJ's and our winter coats, hats, and gloves and ran outside. The boys had a ball! How awesome to see snow in our own yard! Braden had the idea to get dark paper and magnifying glasses to see if each snowflake was really different from the others. What fun! After a while the boys got cold and we headed inside for prayers and bed. I went on with my "Millions of Things to do" list and then looked outside again. Snow had covered the whole yard! Wow! I called Tom and he was on his way home not feeling so well. After he got home and had something to eat we decided to wake the boys up to build a snowman. It was 10 o'clock at night! We NEVER do this! But it NEVER snows in southern TX! We bundled up and headed outside again. The boys couldn't believe their eye and off they went making the biggest snowman in TX! It was going to be 4 balls high, but kept falling over. We ended up with a snowman that was as tall as me and Andrew with Andrew's TX hat and all! SNOW MUCH FUN! This was Colton's 1st time to see real snow and his eyes were so wide with awe and wonder! When Frosty was finished he just looked up at it with such amazement and said, "That's my Frosty the Snowman!" Like all the books and movies had come to life before his very eyes. For a moment I had that Disney magic in my heart and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Then the boys had a snowball fight and Colton kept saying, "I got you!" Andrew and Braden quickly made their own little snowmen and each of the boys got to make a snowball to keep in the freezer. We made them go back in about 11 p.m. Andrew thought it was the best night of his life! We all had a fantastic night! You can see the pure joy in our faces in the group family pic in the slide show on the blog (for those of you get this update by e-mail). We will remember this special night for a long time to come!

Thank you, God, for the unexpected blessing of snow and awesome, middle-of-the-night, family time!

Having SNOW much fun in TX!

Snow at Sagemont

Since our church didn't have snow this year we went to Sagemont church to enjoy their snow! We have to strategically seek out the "snow" so the boys can play in it even if it is trucked in and mainly like ice and slush... They LOVE it! There was a snow hill they had fun sledding down. Colton went down on his back and when he got to the bottom he said, "That was fun, but I'm not going to do that again!" He like making a snowball and of course the big boys totally loved the big kid snow where they had a snowball fight! We had a fun afternoon! We also ran into some friends which we always enjoy! This church does things up BIG! We stayed for the tree lighting where they shot off fireworks and then the Christmas production with lots of singing, dancing, Cirque du Soleil type things, dancing reindeer and snowmen, Santa, etc... It was quite an event! Still... the snow was the big hit with my family! We take it any way we can get it here in TX! :)

O Christmas Tree...

I couldn't resist posting this really cute Christmas tree! :)

"And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food." Genesis 2:9

League City Christmas Parade!

We had so much fun being a part of the League City Christmas Parade on our church's float again this year! The theme was "Christmas on the Creek" and we dressed like Norman Rockwell and the kids had fishing poles. One of our music leaders and his friend sang Christmas songs and contemporary Christian songs while standing on the float. The kids had a great time! Andrew and Tom loved passing out Christian fish wooden necklaces and an invitation to our church. We passed out 1500 necklaces and ran out half way through... Braden liked hangin' with his friend while they pretended that they were really fishing over the side of the float. Colton loved the cookies that Mrs. Ilana brought and by the time our float entered the parade, he was super tired and sat on my lap the whole time. He did manage some smiles and waves that really got the crowed going. It was fun to see people we knew in the crowd and smile and wave at everyone. It is amazing what a simple smile can do! We even got 2nd place in the church float category! :)

What an fun way to share Jesus' light with others and enjoy the miracle of the season! :)

Traditions...

We love traditions! During the Thanksgiving break, we had an exhausting time decorating the house, but now we are enjoying the fruits of our labor. The boys always love decorating the tree and finding their ornaments and remembering family and friends. It is a special job to put the angel (lovingly made by my Mom for our 1st Christmas together) on the top of the tree! They have taken turns in past years and this year they each wanted to do it! We nearly toppled the tree over hoisting Andrew and Braden up this year! Andrew being the "Idea Man" got out the Astronaut "getters" and put it on top... cleaver! But the best was Colton's face when he got to do the honors! Why do these kids have to grow up? Can't we keep the joy, wonder, and awe instead of trading it in for attitude and eye rolling?! :) I'll keep the joy this year and tuck it away for future years when I will need it! :)

A Quiet Thanksgiving at Home

We had a wonderful 4 day weekend over Thanksgiving! It was so wonderful to sleep in, enjoy being together, and get the house ready for Christmas and lots of visitors!

On Thanksgiving day we all snuggled on the couch for a while to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and eventually it ended up being just me, Colton, and Tom. I always reminisce about being in the Marching Band. We would holler at the big boys when we thought there would be something they would want to see. Of course they wanted to see Buzz Lightyear, Pikachu, and Santa! We spent the rest of the day doing some fun things. Colton and I had a great time making yummy Pumpkin Pie together. The boys made hand print turkeys with what they were thankful for on the feathers and made Oreo Turkey Cookies all by themselves while I held the ladder for Tom who was very excited to put up even more Christmas lights on the house this year! I made our favorite... spaghetti and meatballs for dinner! We love that tradition when we are in Houston for the holidays!

We have so much to be thankful for, but most of all for our salvation through Jesus Christ that has secured a place for us in heaven.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

That spiky hair...

Isn't this the most perfect self portrait?! Braden made this at school and highlighted his spiky hair! So funny! He even has on a Speed Racer shirt! I love children's artwork! :)

Thanks, God, for the little details in life that bring us great joy... like spiky hair! :)

A date with my oldest son...

Even though it was a field trip with his class, I really enjoyed my time with Andrew! We went to see "A Little House Christmas" at the Main Street Theatre in Houston. Our family loves to watch "Little House on the Prairie" on DVD, so it made watching the play even better! The girl who played Nellie looked just like my good friend, Vickie, from high school. Every detail from her cute skinny stature, long curly black hair, thin face, and huge sweet smile! I just wanted run on stage and give her a big hug!

I treasure the moments I have with my kids at school, because some day they might not want me around as much! :)

Colton's 3rd birthday party was a blast...

We had a Carnival Party for Colton's birthday! Lots of friends came to help us celebrate! We had a duck pond, ring toss, pin the nose on the clown, sucker tree, coin toss, Tic-tac-toe, bowling, face painting (thanks Candi, awesome job!) and a pinata! What a blast the big kids had "running" the game booths. The little ones had a ball going from one game to another and back again and again and again. They decorated bags with carnival stickers to hold all their loot. I think the adults had the most fun getting their picture taken as a trapeze girl and a strong man! The pinata was a hit with the big boys, Andrew and Alex, breaking it open and lots of candy for all. The kids put on clown hats and noses for a picture too! So funny! Lunch was hot dogs, nachos, popcorn from a real popcorn machine, (thanks Swiggards... missed you so much!) animal crackers, cake, and ice cream! Everyone got to take home a some cotton candy too! Colton was such a big boy being newly potty trained and walking around playing games, talking like a grown up with all his friends, and acting like he owned the joint! :) He blew out the candle before the song was finished and shouted out, "I made a wish!" So cute! I think everyone had a great time! Happy birthday, Colton! We love you!

Colton's Carnival Party!

How can it be... Colton is 3!!!

On Colton's birthday he and I went to see Disney On Ice with his good friend, Grace, and her Mommy, Daddy, and baby sister, Hope! Mrs. Shawna treated them to cool character cookies and we had fun seeing Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, The Incredibles, etc... Colton liked telling me all of the characters names. Too bad the show was really dark and lots of scary parts. Colton kept crying for his blanket and pacie. It is so hard to grow up... After the show we ate lunch at Pappasitos where he liked cleaning up baby Hope's mess on the floor with a huge red napkin. Maybe a Janitor in the future? :) Then all the waiters and waitresses came to sing to him since Mrs. Shawna brought a birthday cake. They put a HUGE sombrero on his head and he just stared at them the whole song and made no expression. It was hysterical! After the birthday song he said, "Now can I take this off?"

What a fun way to celebrate Colton's special day! "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Andrew's 9th Baptismal Birthday!

Where does the time go? I can't believe it has been 9 years since we had him baptized at our wonderful Alive in Christ Lutheran Church in Columbia, MO! This year we read from Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." He got a cool leather bracelet that says STAND with that reference, Redemption trading cards, and a vest to hold all of his Cub Scout patches on.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14

Karate Champs!

Andrew and Braden are enjoying taking Karate this year! They had their 1st championship where they got to use all the skills they have been learning. What an experience for all of us! They did so great and were so focused and tried their best! Each of them had a tie with their opponent at the 2nd point and Braden got a point to get 1st place and Andrew just missed his point earning him 2nd place. It was a great learning experience and we are very proud of both our Karate Champs!

The Three Musketeers!

All for one... and one for all! Andrew, Braden, and Colton were The Three Musketeers this year! Nana did a fantastic job making their costumes! They looked so great! Of course they loved the swords! :)

We had a great time at the Swiggard's Annual Halloween Party! A huge hit was the hayride around the neighborhood where we would stop to trick-or-treat and then get back on for more fun! As always there was yummy food and fun fellowship. Mr. Scott did a Haunted House in his garage. Most of the kids liked it and by the time the evening was over they were inside scaring the neighborhood kids. Tom and I had fun singing along to the Veggie Tales movie, "Where's God When I'm Scared?" I think Gramby enjoyed watching all the kids playing and running alongside the hayride while all the kids chanted, "Go Gramby Go!"

"When I am afraid, I will trust in you." Psalm 56:3

Gramby's visit!

Tom's mom visited last week for 5 days! Those days went by SO fast! She arrived on Thursday and we met Tom for dinner at Mom Alone, Friday was chapel followed by a fun day at the Houston International Quilt Show. Those were some die hard quilters... The quilts were unbelievable and we had a great time looking at all of them and the vendor booths. Too bad a lady said Colton couldn't have any food in there and we had to take his candy corn away. We had to live the saying, "It's like taking candy from a baby." Not a pretty moment! We went straight to parent/teacher conferences and the book fair, ran home to fix Halloween costumes and then straight to the Swiggard's Halloween Party! Saturday was supposed to be our down day... I went to the YMCA and we spent time visiting. Gramby watched the boys while we went to the Beach Boys concert in Galveston with our friends, the Swiggards and the Stockers. We had an amazing meal at Guido's and so much fun singing to all our favorite Beach Boys tunes. Meanwhile the boys and Gramby had so much fun making Pilgrim hat cookies and playing. Sunday morning was full with church, lunch at El Centenila with friends, and then to Andrew and Braden's Karate Championship. Monday my friend, Shawna, Gramby, and I went to Sagemont church for an incredible Holiday Brunch where the tables were elaborately decorated, the meal wonderful, and the gust speaker was Evelyn Husband, wife of Rick Husband commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Thankfully Gramby had a tissue for me... Monday afternoon I ran to the Y and Gramby made spaghetti for dinner and the boys went off to Karate practice. Tuesday I ran to the Y again, Gramby packed, I printed out some pics of her visit, and as we were about to meet Tom at La Madeline for lunch... Colton got sick. So Tom picked up McAlister's Deli and we enjoyed lunch at home before we took Gramby to the airport. Wow... that was a fast 5 days! I told Gramby before she arrived that she had better have a good pair of tennis shoes because when she got here, she would hit the ground running... and that she did!

We always treasure visits from our family! We love you, Gramby! :)

Carving Pumpkins!

Every year we try to decide what to make our big family pumpkin look like. I think last year was my favorite... Mickey Mouse! Tom usually carves the pumpkin, but this year Andrew was so eager to use all the new, cool pumpkin carving tools that I got on clearance after Halloween last year! :) With Daddy coaching, Andrew did so great! Our Boo looks fantastic! Colton designed his little white pumpkin with about 6 sets of faces, Braden drew a Boba Fett from Star Wars (of course), and Andrew made the Christian pumpkin.

What a great tradition! :)