Happy New Year, Mizzou Style...

We got to celebrate the new year with a great football game... MU vs. Navy! It was here in TX and we were so excited! What a treat for me and Tom to share the fun of an MU football with the boys! It was SO cold in the stadium, but we had tons of fun! MU lost and we think it was because every time the cheerleaders said, "M-I-Z", Colton would say, "M-O-U-S-E!" It was hysterical. My favorite part was watching Marching Mizzou and seeing Andrew's eyes light up when he realized they marched in different formations all while playing from memory. After the game we headed home for some Wii, everyone's favorite foods (candy, pizza doobies, chips and queso, salami and cheese, etc...) and a toast at NY time and our time since the boys were SO excited to ring in the real new year! What a perfect way to welcome 2010! :)

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." Lamentations 3: 22-23

A White Christmas in MO!

What a treat to have snow in MO for the boys to play in! And boys I mean Daddy too! He had a blast reliving his childhood going down the hill in his backyard on the sled. Of course, that was something Braden took to right away and showed Daddy how he could go between the fence with just an inch clearance on either side! Like father like son. We all had a great time in the snow and woke everyone up early so we had time to play and not deviate from the schedule too much! :) We spent lots of time with family playing games, chess, playing in the snow, opening gifts, watching Disney chanel, going bowling, (I even had 2 hours to spend with my high school friends for breakfast), and spending the day with our dear friends, the Darts, at Incredible Pizza.

See the slideshow for pics! :)

"Fron the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." John 1:16

Merry CHRISTmas!

It was wonderful to spend part of Christmas break in TX! We love worshiping at our church and then wake up on Christmas morning in our own home and celebrate Jesus' birthday! We have a rule that no one can come out of their rooms until everyone is awake and then I take the traditional "stairs" picture that has gone back to my childhood, we sing "Happy Birthday to Jesus" and then head downstairs to see if Santa had come. It was a low key day opening gifts and building Legos, being together and packing for our trip to MO the next day.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Braden's Bowling Party!

Braden wanted to celebrate with his school friends this year and we had a great time bowling! I even made bowling shirts for all the guests! A super fun party for Braden in the middle of all the Christmas chaos! :) Happy birthday precious, Braden! Your 7 now... where did all the years go? What a cool kid you are! God sure has blessed you with many wonderful gifts!

'Tis the Season to be Jolly... and busy!

December is ALWAYS such a busy, but wonderful month! Our month was filled with laughter and tears as we got SO excited to see it snow in Houston and then had to make a spontaneous trip to MO to mourn the loss of our beloved Great Grandpa Ermeling. We also enjoyed the League City Christmas parade from the sidelines this year instead of riding on a float and nearly froze! All three of the boys brought the true meaning of Christmas to LSA through the Christmas plays. Andrew was a Wise Guy and had to sing with two other boys and a small speaking part and Braden had a speaking part in his as well and then our precious Colton did so well doing singing, smiling, and hand motions all at the same time. We were so proud of all three and there I sat as usual... the crazy mom grinning from ear to ear, taking pics, swaying to the music and crying at the end! Gotta love this stuff! Then they all had fun at their Christmas parties at school, seeing lots of Christmas lights with friends, and our traditional Christmas Eve with the Swiggards added to the season.

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" - which means, "God with us." Matthew 1:23

So Thankful!

We had an awesome Thanksgiving break! We started with a great day at Kemah with friends, then had some wonderful family time at Herman park, a very quiet Thanksgiving day at home with our traditional spaghetti dinner, and spent the rest of the break decorating for Christmas!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34