Christmastime

We had a busy but delightful Christmas this year. Our kids are at a really fun age and there is much to be excited about as they do all the many activities and fun things associated with Christmas.

 Our big, beautiful tree!

Oliver wrote and directed a Christmas play with each family member playing a part in the Christmas story. It was well done and adorable! He came up with it all on his own! Not only was I proud of his writing all of the parts, directing how we should all act, but his comprehension of the story of our Savior coming to earth filled my heart!

Gabriella was SO excited about EVERYTHING we did! She is an easy to please and very fun girl so she was filled to the top with joy about each and everything we did. Some of her favorites were making Christmas cookies, wrapping presents, doing the advent calendars every day, and Christmas parties at school. Her excitement was catching and is a fun addition to our family dynamics!

Melia was starting to comprehend some of what was supposed to happen at Christmas... but not sure of the when. She was ready to open presents much sooner than Christmas morning and had a hard time understanding why she had to keep waiting, and waiting...

  

 When Daddy fixes hair :) Cute.

   All the kids loved looking for our elf who would hide somewhere different each morning (well almost every morning... oops!) He got a little creative toward the end of the month which sparked a whole new level of excitement about Mr. Elf.

We had fun watching Christmas movies together, wearing our cold weather clothes, going to Christmas parties, visiting a live nativity with Matt's parents, and spending time with family!

At Grace Bible Church's "The Joy of Sharing Christmas" with Granna and Papa

At Matt's Office Party

Christmas Family Movie Night - new jammies and slippers for all!

Christmas Baking...

We spent Christmas morning at home with just our family - such a special time. I am so thankful for the peaceful morning we were able to spend singing happy birthday to Jesus, checking out the wonderful gifts from Santa, having cinnamon rolls and sausage for breakfast, and then breaking open the gifts under the tree. I LOVE giving gifts so this is such a fun time for me - to see the excitement on my family's faces when they get something that speaks to them. Priceless.

 Looking at what Santa brought

His new magic set

Showing off Gabby's new boots

 

Opening presents is fun!

A quick Christmas morning visit from Papa and Granna

After opening gifts, we loaded in the car to head to my parent's house in Fulshear, TX for 5 days. We left a day earlier than we told them we were coming, so it was a surprise to them when their doorbell rang on Christmas afternoon and there were some carolers at the door. Some very familiar carolers! It was a great surprise and the kids were so excited to park the car down the street and sneak up to the front door and surprise them :) We enjoyed all being together as all of the sisters were in town by Christmas night!

 

Silly sisters

 Cousins!

Going for a wagon ride with Grandpa Pepe!

 

Oliver lost another tooth! His fourth one - and his first one on the top! He lost it while eating a smore we cooked on Pepe's outdoor fire pit. And he REALLY lost it... it dropped to the ground in the dark and was finally found by Uncle Bossy after bringing out the flashlights and searching for 15 minutes. Oliver was very relieved to have it found! All I want for Christmas is...

Hot tubbing...

 

 

 

With their new Texans jerseys from Pepe
 

We were so thankful to spend this wonderful season with friends and family celebrating the birth of our Savior! Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday to My Boy!

In December, our big boy turned 7 years old! To celebrate, we hosted a Movie Theater birthday party with a bunch of friends. We turned our house into a movie theater for the day... complete with a ticket stand, concession stand, and dark theater! The kids enjoyed watching short Goofy clips and laughing at Goofy's jokes which were right on par with a 7 year-old's humor.

As the kids came in, they stopped at the Ticket Stand to receive 4 tickets from Uncle Bossy and his beautiful assistant.

Walking in they saw a movie poster of what was playing in our theater that day.

 They put their gifts under our tree which we just put up that morning!

Everyone made a stop at the concession stand to use some of their tickets for goodies!

It cost 1 ticket to watch the movie - hopefully they didn't spend them all on concessions.

The red carpet leading the way to the theater!

Here is the movie that was playing for the party

The theater complete with a lighted walkway courtesy of my creative husband

Oliver's beloved Puppy saved his special "Birthday-Boy-Front-Row-Seat"

It was a packed house!

One happy birthday boy!

 Baby sister had fun with the big kids!

Present time!

Oliver was such a sweet boy that day - he loved helping us get the house ready for the party. His imagination really took off as he came up with fun ideas to help transform our house. We were thrilled to have all of our family and friends join us for the special day! Having a 7 year-old has been a lot of fun so far. We love his awesome personality and friendly nature. He is a very organized boy who still loves schedules and lists. He learns new concepts quickly and is doing very well in 1st grade. We are so proud of our little man!