Fa la la la la....

....in the middle of January. :)

It's time to finish off 2007, so I can blog about something new!

Our Christmas could be summed up in one word: abundant. In fact, I just looked up the meaning of the word and it said this: "present in great quantity; plentiful; abounding with; rich". It was exactly that on so many levels. Abundant in family. Plentiful in presents, but also in love. Rich in blessings (like a new healthy cousin who was born!). And, definitely "present in great quantity". :)

Our holiday season took us on tour beginning in Dallas, on to Abilene, then to Austin, back to Dallas, over to Fort Worth, back to Austin, back to Fort Worth, back to Dallas, then to Mineola, and finally ending our travels in New Orleans for New Years Day.

And, in the midst of all that packing and re-packing, traveling, and sleeping everywhere but our own bed, I only had ONE breakdown! (That's less than was expected!) And, it was actually the night before we ever left for the first trip. I had just fallen in bed (literally) and my whole body ached from wrapping, running around, and packing a family of five. The tears started flowing, as I questioned why all the craziness....yet knowing the answer. We have an abundance of family waiting in many different cities to celebrate with us. And, as I gave all the busyness and anxiety that can overcrowd my mind back to God in those moments, I can honestly say He took care of the rest. :)

The good thing about writing this far out from the occasion is that you gain an ability to condense content (okay, let's get real. It's still the longest stinkin' blog ever.). As I had mentioned, I had over 350 pictures from these family times. And, had no idea where to start. So, to simplify it, I'm just going to hit the highlights of the blessings I experienced during our days...that I want to remember.

Of course, #1 on the list is our time with family. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, brothers. Our family overflows with people!! And, it makes it SO entertaining and full. In fact, there was one moment (as we were driving out of Austin for the second time), that I was so overcome with what God has given us that I cried. I just love my family so much, and love watching so many sweet people love on my girls so much.

So, here are a few family pics from the week:

We had a wonderful "first Christmas" with Abby Kate too. She was not so much interested in the gifts as she was the wrapping......and she found her sister's presents to be much more intriguing than her own. :)

One of my favorite moments of our own "little family" Christmas was when the girls gave their "sister gifts" to each other. They each shopped for the other two, and we started our Christmas with those gifts first. They were so excited to see their sister open their special present and were truly focused (for a moment) on the giving instead of the getting. And, I honestly think they were more thankful (verbally) for those two presents than any of the others. The sisterly love of this Christmas was very fun to watch. Here are a few of their huggy moments:

...although there were plenty of non-huggy moments too, I'm sure....I've just chosen to forget them and didn't bother capturing those on camera...except this one:

We also had wonderful gifts given to our family, complete with surprised expressions, big hugs, and pure excitement from little giggly girls. I love these faces of pure joy....

As I've mentioned before, we also had a bonus baby blessing during our Christmas! Baby Caleb joined our family on December 23rd! After a day of waiting and entertaining each other ( I learned how to do Sudoku!).... Caleb came into the world that evening! He was absolutely perfect...and we couldn't keep our hands off of him...especially Kendyll. :)

Of course, Santa also came to our house, with a "gift theme" of camping and outdoors. This is what our living room looked like. And, this is what he left the girls inside....he even remembered Mom & Dad this year and gave us our very own sleeping bag for TWO, plus a camping stove! (Please forgive the "sleepy" look! Santa's helpers were up until 3 a.m.)

Many of our Christmas traditions continued on....

(Omelettes on Christmas morning with Chef Daddy & his helper)

(Italian food and the YUMMY chocolate fountain on Christmas Eve with Pops and Grandma)

And, some new ones began.

(Christmas mexican fiesta, complete with pinata at Grandmother & Papa Roy's) (Christmas present game of "Clue" at Grandad & Grankay's...the answer was the paper pattern!)

Although I know I'm being way too repetitive, it was a wonderful week of celebrating Christmas with those we love. Now, hopefully those we love still love us after no pictures for this long! Ha ha. I'll be back with a New Year's blog about our Smookie Road Trip...I know you're dyin' for it. :)