Christmas Card 2013

Christmas Eve 2013

We had a quiet Christmas Eve all to ourselves this year.  Rodney had to work late, so we had to skip the Christmas Eve Service at church. That was a bummer, but we all made the best of it and went to a wonderful Chinese dinner at PF Changs.  Not super traditional, but who doesn't love Chinese food on the Eve before Santa comes?  It's an ancient Chinese Secret! ;) 

After we got home from our Changs feast, the boys went upstairs for bath and Mommy prepared the secret recipe for reindeer food! 

They were just a wee bit excited to give the reindeer some special treats before a long winter's nap!

Our cute little reindeer boys.

They fed the reindeer mighty good! 

.... And spread it near & far for all to share.

Sweet little 6 year old face Christmas Eve.  Best Christmas present EVER.

And before they were tucked in bed, the boys made sure Santa had some fuel for his long sleigh ride around the world! Merry Christmas to all and to all a GOOD NIGHT!

A few of my fall family favs

These are a few shots from our pictures we took last month.  I love this one of the boys.  SO sweet and shows their love for each other!

I love this close up shot of them just being silly and having fun.  This was at the beginning of the shoot.

Best buds. Amazing friends. Sweet brothers.

This is my absolutely FAVORITE.  The photographer captured me tickling Reid and it just warms my heart to no end at seeing his sweet face. 

My guys.  Such a sweet moment with the 3 of them.  Love everything about this shot.  The lighting, Reid's sweetness with daddy, the way Riley is folding his hands.  Love.

Thanksgiving week

We had such an awesome week off with the kids!  SO nice to have no alarm to wake up to, no lunches to make and just enjoy time with family & friends! We are so blessed and SO thankful!

We started out the week with a visit from my best friend from high school, her sweet husband and new little baby Savannah Grace!  The boys loved her and the best part was when we had to borrow a high char and Riley decided he wanted to be a baby for the week and sit in it for every meal!

Melissa and I have been friends for 24 years! how crazy is that?!  We have seen each other through a lot of trials and happy times in life!

She is such an awesome mom!

On Thursday morning, we drove to my in-law's farm in Ivanhoe and spent a couple of days there with them, my sister-in-law, and all the nieces! 

There are hay bales, hay bales everywhere!

The kids had an absolute ball jumping from one to the next!

I even got up there with them to see what the fun was all about!

Uncle David playing "good guy/bad guy" with the kids.  Riley loves Uncle David!

The dads & all the cousins together.  SO happy.  What a blessed time. 

Our sweet nieces.  Madison (15), Mary-McKinley (8), Monroe (12)

My precious boys.

Riley wouldn't get in the picture, so David put him on his back.  Hilarious!!

Playing guitar with Riley.  Awesome!  Love this guy!

Reid was SO in his element being on the farm and feeding the horses.  He loved every second!

Can you guess what they are spelling?  It's all about this... We LOVE our family!  So thankful for the week with everyone and time to visit, eat, and just let kids be kids.  Thank you Lord for all of these gifts that don't cost a thing. 

Halloween 2013

So I'm catching up a little.  Just a wee bit behind on the blogging world, but that's okay.  Sometimes it's nice to take a break and just sit back and enjoy the little things in life!

My Spiderman and Thor this year.  ALL. INTO. SUPERHEROES.  All. the. time.  Love it!

Our fun neighbors we trick or treated with this year.  Love all the costumes!

The 3 superhero BIG boys!  Ironman, Ironman, and Thor!

We gathered at the Valdes' beforehand to take in a few snacks before the long trek of trick or treating!  

Before we headed out for the plethora of candy overload!

Love these sweet boys and my awesome husband! BEST dad on the planet!

The boys had a great time this year and went further than I thought they would.  After 3 streets they were both ready to go home.  Reid couldn't wait to pass out candy.  It was another fun, eventful Halloween! Until next year....

Don't blink

Tonight I let the boys paint their pumpkins that they had sitting on the porch.  A good Halloween Eve activity, right? They were thrilled and as we were cleaning up, the Kenny Chesney song, "Don't Blink" came on.  I can't get the words out of my head. "Don't blink.  Just like that you're 6 years old and you take a nap.  Wake up and you're 25 and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife."  Tears just started welling up in my eyes and I couldn't get the sweet images of my boys and their little bodies out of my head.  I must have kissed every inch of them tonight all the way down to their toes, and gave them extra hugs.  Reality check.  Yes. 

Pumpkins & the Arboretum

We went to the Dallas Arboretum last Friday morning since Reid was out of school.  It was absolutely THE perfect weather day for it! Bear with me... it is hard to sift through all the pumpkin pictures!

Roo Roo has only been here once before I think.  He had a ball and loved picking up pumpkin after pumpkin, after pumpkin.... well, you get the picture! 

My favorite pumpkin house.

"Wook, Mommy, more punkins!"

My loves.

My fav of the day.

These 2 have been friends since they were 6 months.  Can't believe they're now SIX!! 

All of our precious friends that joined us. Riley seems to be engrossed in the faces too much to make his own! 

Happy October.  Probably my favorite fall time of year!  Bring on the "punkins"!