Celebrations Begin...

First, I have to thank you, my sweet readers and friends--once again--for being just what I need during this season. There have been some hard days, I'll be honest. I feel like as soon as I have a good week or two, I take a couple of steps backward, and that is hard. Yet, even as I ache for what we do not have, God sends one of you with an email, a song, a phone call, a sweet gift to honor Chase...and it shows me again how comforted we continue to be through all of you. This is a Christmas we will never forget, not only for the heartache, but also for the new appreciation we have for ALL that Christmas means. We have a wealth of blessings, and we are trying our BEST to focus on those most of all.

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So, now begins the "catch up blog". I still have so many pictures to share of last week, but first a few more of sweet, precious baby Eli on his birthday. I just came home from cuddling him some more. And, OH, is he sweet!!

Other than cuddling new cousins, we are fitting in a few Christmas celebrations as well. Our first Christmas was with our extended family on Cheri's side. We had Uncle Joe, Aunt Nancy, and Cousin Josh from California, Uncle Don and Aunt Kathleen from Colorado, Cousin Becky and her kids, Jacob, James, and Henry from Florida, Uncle Chris from Connecticut, and the usual local gang too!! We tried to show them all a Texas good time, with fried food and Christmas lights. What's better than that?! Babe's Chicken for food and hokey pokey fun, the Gaylord Texan, home video marathons, and another great year of the "gift exchange"= lots of fun.

The ICE show at the Gaylord was all about The Grinch, and they did a fantastic job! And, we had some adorable little winterized bundles.

All the cousins together! (barely...)

How cute is this little Eskimo?

My hot-natured Carlie did NOT enjoy being an Eskimo. I think she would have gone in a tank top if I had let her. The girl got her mom's sweating gene. :) She eventually took off the parka AND her coat.

The ice itself is amazing, and my favorite part was a beautiful sculpture of the nativity scene:

There was also LOTS of Grinch scenes that were SO cute..

The girls were so excited to get to open gifts so early this season. And, one of the sweetest gifts received was aprons for all the girls and Grandma too from Aunt Kathleen!

They also got their own chairs to decorate and new ballet legwarmers!

The gift exchange tradition is to fight over lottery tickets, which no one has ever won "big" at yet. This year, Jodi won the tickets, but not much money. Maybe next year, Jodi! We all got our own lottery tickets from Uncle Joe and had a fun time scratching and scratching hoping for the big ticket. Even AK got the hang of it. After each scratch off, Abby Kate would yell "Loser!!" It definitely caused some chuckling.

And, of course, besides gambling and watching home videos, we also love to eat. I mean, we REALLY love to eat. This picture cracks me up because it sums up the weekend very well. Talking and eating...mostly done at the same time. :)

It was fun to have everyone here, and we hope the tradition continues...maybe with a Colorado, California, or Florida destination next year?!

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Happy Birthday, Braden and Caleb!!

Celebration #2! Cousin birthdays come often in our big family, so we have begun the "combo" parties this year. The December boys combined for a Polar Express party that was SO fun! Here is yet another cute party table by my sisters:

And, here are the party guests making their Polar Express trains:

Braden blows out his birthday candle. Look at those cheeks!

Beautiful mom and beautiful daughter...

This next picture cracks me up because 1) this is how big a "family party" is for us with ONLY immediate family there. A whole room full of people and we love it that way. 2) Most everyone's attention is on the football game instead of the birthday boys. That's what happens when you have the party on Sunday afternoon I guess!

And, here is the sister picture for the day. Notice three of us are in PJ's and one of us is still carrying Eli around in utero!

After the gifts and cupcakes, we got to ride the Polar Express train! I won't share all my opinions about how much better this could be for $18 a person...but we did spend most of our time in a tent watching a "show" and dancing the night away. Regardless, look at the fun these dancers were having...

And, don't forget miss tiny hiney!!

Even Mark got in on the action once we {finally} boarded the train. He was selected to be one of the dads in the aisle, who had to do the twist as we began the ride. The girls LOVED that he was so "participatory".

Happy Birthday, Braden and Caleb! Thanks for letting us celebrate with you!

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School Celebrations!

Whew! Are you still with me?! If so, I'm impressed.

Last week was school party week, and even though it's busy, it's always fun to see the girls enjoy their special days.

Carlie recited The Lord's Prayer and two poems, got her favorite treat in the world: a Krispy Kreme snowman donut, and made her own hot chocolate and candy cane holder.

Kendyll had chocolate covered strawberries, read books, and played around with her friends.

She also got to give her special gift to her teacher, which was an animal for a family in Africa through World Vision. I loved listening to her talk to her teacher about it, and watching her teacher cry as she told Kendyll how honored she was to receive her gift. So sweet.

Abby Kate spent most of her party being a bit difficult for her mommy.

But, she did enjoy hugging on Mrs. Amy, eating her fancy cake ball, painting her own ornament, making her own jingle bells, and reading Christmas books. She is so excited about Christmas this year, and everything Christmas makes her happy.

So, that sums up the first few Christmas events. Of course, the whole month is filled with fun...so there will be more coming soon. We hope you are all enjoying a wonderful month of family too. May each day be filled with the JOY of Christmas...of knowing our sweet Savior, and remembering that He came to give all of us hope, in every season and every situation.

"I bring you good news of great JOY that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord."