Catch Up

I realize that I have not posted pics in forever--to the extent that I actually had to delete pics in order to take Christmas morning pics. So . . . here it goes . . . beware: this is going to be a very LONG post.Christmas morning breakfast: orange juice, sausage, Belgian waffles, strawberries, and Cool Whip.
Did anyone else's cooking look like this?
Our boys both woke up fairly early--David at 5:30 a.m. and Matthew at 6:15 a.m. (not too bad). They both climbed into our beds. And Matthew was the funniest. He pretended to be sleepy. Then, when I got up to go to the bathroom, he jumped up, ready to go. David did the same. It was hilarious!
David was too excited to even put his pants back on after going to the bathroom.


This is probably the funniest story of the day. Matthew opened his Star Wars lego set last. He, again, pretended to complain about the set. He goes, "Oh . . . there are just so many pieces (as he thumbed through the instruction manual)." Internally, he was so excited for the challenge. I couldn't stop laughing.
He worked on this set for an hour and a half to almost two hours.

This was my favorite Christmas ever. The kids were so excited, and it made for a really great feeling in our home. All day long, they have played with their new toys. I've spent a lot of time contemplating and pondering things through my children's eyes. It's been such a wonderful day.

Victory.
This was my joint birthday and Christmas present--the final pieces of my nativity set. I LOVE it!
Painting projects. My parents supplied the paint for my birthday, and Ryan did the rest. I LOVE how vibrant our kitchen area is. Ryan did an amazing job (Thanks for the special technique, Dad.). Thanks for all of your sacrifice, Hon! I LOVE it!
We will possibly be adding another color over the yellow to give it some texture. We may do a faux or some type of other technique. Also, we will decorate these two rooms over the next month. I'm so excited!
The rest of the house will be done in traditional browns--not so bright, but beautiful.
We made these on Christmas Eve. The boys were so funny with them; they pranced around the house like reindeer. One can only imagine how spiritual our Bible Christmas story reading was.
Cookies for Santa. Upon seeing David's decorating skills, we opted to leave only one, lightly frosted cookie for Santa. We didn't want him to have a HEART ATTACK.

The funnest thing for me about the Christmas season this year was doing our nightly traditions. We cut a chain, read about a Christmas tradition (an advent calendar of sorts) in a different country each night, read a Christmas book, and did an activity/craft. It was a bit busy and tough at times, but the kids loved it.
We took the kids to the Houston Museum of Natural Science on their free night. It was a lot of fun.
We did take way more pictures than this, but I already have posted enough on here.
Christmas treats came as a challenge this year. I am still having a lot of back troubles and pregnancy complications of that sort. I only made one batch of cookies (We froze some for Santa to decorate on Christmas Eve.), 5 batches of carmel corn, bread for neighbors with freezer jam (made early this summer), nothing for friends (Sorry. We love you, but I just couldn't do it.), homemade gifts for teachers (these really cute Life Savor foam Christmas trees), and a few other treats. It was a lot of fun, and things turned out cute, but I'm glad that part is done.
Our traditional graham cracker houses.
David's 3rd birthday.
My parents surprised us for both my birthday and David's. It was really great to have them here. My mom has not been well, so this really took me by surprise. Thanks for those of you who have prayed for her this week, as she just had a major heart operation. We greatly appreciate your compassion and thoughtfulness. She's still in recovery, but doing remarkably well, considering the fact.
My dad made this AMAZING brisket for my birthday dinner. Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry to those of you who had to eat the one I made for Ryan's birthday. Now, I know how to use our smoker, so next time, it will be WAY better.
David's birthday cake was going to be a Christmas tree cake, but I was feeling guilty. It was done out of easiness, not because that's what he would want. So . . . last minute, Ryan and I found this cool race track cake idea online. It was super easy and turned out really cute. He LOVED it!
The same night, we celebrated my birthday with a delicious cheesecake and blackberry sauce. Thank you, Mom!

Matthew is really into projects right now. He's done so many different things at school and been collecting them in his room. We have had to throw some of them away, because there's too many. So . . . we record them digitally.
Some of the hats and things he's so proud of. They make me laugh.

Sometimes, I can't help myself. I LOVE my boys--all three. They're handsome and beautiful, all in one.
This was from a while back. I ventured out in the Houston rush hour to go to the free night at the Children's Museum. The kids LOVED it. This museum has so much to offer. It was definitely worth it, and because we were in such an unfamiliar and crowded place, the boys actually listened and stayed close by.


I LOVE these freckles and these cheeks.
All of the other children made sure not to get wet--NOT my boys. They were drenched by the time we left from doing everything, short of jumping in.



David is really into painting and coloring right now. He loves it!
The museum had these clear plastic tubes with a fan below. The kids could test their airplane's ability to fly. They also had launchers in a batting cage of sorts. There were lego stations, car stations, computers, craft stations to construct different projects with recycled materials, block stations, race tracks (like the pinewood derby), and much more. The boys were in HEAVEN.

The END.