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