What a Wonderful Time of Year

We have had the BEST Christmas ever. It was so nice for Zach to have time off of work and see our families. The girls and I went to Austin the weekend before Christmas to have Christmas up there with Granny. We also got to go to Gatesville and see my cousins Jerry and Nicole and their children. I was so glad our kids finally all got to meet. She is absolutely amazing with all of the things she makes. Anyone who is interested in the things I make would LOVE her blog. I only hope I can be as talented as her one day! Nicole's Blog. Anyway, of course I forgot to take pictures. I am really bad about that. I did remember to charge the camera for Christmas Eve and day woohoo! We had our first Christmas Eve in our house. It was so much fun. Then Faith woke up to her Barbie car. She was actually a little surprised. She said, "I can't believe he moved me back to the 'Nice' list!". We really had an awesome Christmas.

Christmas is almost here!

The past week has been so fun. Faith had her Medal Ceremony at gymnastics and got her GOLD medal. She is really doing so great there. I'm very proud of her! We got our family pictures done. Jeni is so awesome, everyone should use her for the pictures. Even if they don't have children. Her santa session was only $25.00 for all of these pictures. There are actually a couple more I haven't even saved yet. And you don't have to wait in the ridiculously long line like at the mall. We will never go to the mall Santa again after this!Jeni Hendricks Photography, everyone go check her out! Now the girls and I are in Austin. We came up for the weekend to see my mom and grandma. We are all enjoying ourselves. I'm sure Zach is enjoying having a quiet house too =). Here are a few pictures from the past week! I have so much to do to get ready for Christmas that I can't stay on here any longer!

Advent Service at Church

Last night at our advent service Faith's preschool sang three precious songs. The kids were adorable and did SO well. I was very proud of Faith. She has becoming such a big girl. Watching her on stage last night almost made me cry. Lily is still at Nana and Granny's. It is so very strange not having her at home. Our days are going by so much slower its crazy! Faith asked me this morning if we could go and get our Lily back. I'm so glad she misses her. I'm grateful to have two little girls that love each other that much. I will try to remember that in a few years when they are fighting over clothes. Anyway, I have a ton of things to do today. We are off to gymnastics then to hobby lobby to stock up on some supplies. Then it is home to work I go! Here are some pictures from last night. I also am putting these two pictures of Lily trying to sneak and brush her teeth. Isn't she funny. I should also mention that I just bought her those pajamas at Gymboree last week. Can you guess what size they are? That is right, 3-6 months. My fourteen month old little girl is just as tiny as ever. They fit her perfect. Even though I had to force myself to get them in that size ha!

Playing in the Snow

The girls absolutely loved the snow. It was so much fun watching them play together! Then on Saturday we had our Christmas Cookie and Book exchange. The kids all had a great time. We will definitely have to make it an annual event! Faith loves to read and get new books. This was such a fun way to do that! Of course the cookies were a good bonus. Then after the party we traveled to Austin once again. I sure miss it. We have been visiting pretty often throughout these holiday months though. Mom and I went and did some Christmas shopping on Sunday which I really enjoyed. We hardly ever get to spend time together anymore. I mean we see each other pretty often, but most of the time is filled with little interruptions. I have a really busy week ahead of me. I have to get ready for the Christmas Market on Saturday. I am so excited to have the chance to sell some of my items! Lily is staying the week with Nana and Granny to help complete the weaning process. I miss her so much already, but it was wonderful to get a full night of sleep. I felt like a different person this morning! Here are some pictures from everything!

 

So Thankful for my Wonderful Family

We had the very best Thanksgiving ever. I am still so upset my camera was dead though! We started at Zach's parents in Magnolia, then continued to Round Top, and ended in Austin! What a drive! It actually isn't usually very long. Maybe it just seemed that way because we had two small children with us. We had such an amazing time with everybody though. Last Sunday I met one of my good friends Magen and her twins Mila and Madelyn at Discovery Green Park. I absolutely love Discovery Green. It is one of the BEST parks ever. I got some really cute pictures of the girls too! They were all dressed in stripes (Lily's and theirs were unplanned) and played pretty well together. Faith was with Nana and Granny that weekend so it was all babies. Mila and Maddy are eighteen months old so they are all pretty close in age. Aren't they just the most adorable little girls?

 

 

 

 

Last night Faith decorated her little Christmas tree for her room. She was so proud of it! It came out really cute. I got it at Target while we were Black Friday shopping. She is so excited about having a pink tree in her room this year! This Saturday is her Christmas Book and Cookie Exchange Party. It is going to be so much fun! I can't wait to put up pictures from it!

 

 

 

I also have to put this picture up from us leaving the house today. Faith looks so grown up here it makes me want to cry!

Well tonight we got our Christmas tree up and decorated. We used all plastic ornaments this year. We figured we would have a disaster every day with Lily as curious and into everything as she is right now. Although I really loved all of the pretty glass ornaments we have been given and collected, I'm sure I will love not having to sweep up broken glass every day more. We had fun decorating. I realized tonight it is almost impossible to get a picture of Lily looking at me and smiling unless she is strapped into a car seat or shopping cart. She won't sit still! She fell asleep half way through the decorating though and Faith finished up. I think Faith would have kept adding ornaments all night if we hadn't reached bed time. 

 

 

 

 

We had great family evening. Tortilla soup for dinner was great with this cold weather. Now everyone is in bed, and I feel pretty caught up with projects and blogging so am off to bed myself!