Christmas Morning

Christmas has come and gone, but I wanted to share some photos from Christmas morning. We were very blessed with an abundance of gifts from family and friends. My mom and dad were able to come and spend the few days leading up to Christmas and that morning with us. Sadly, my brother who works in Austin at a retail store was not able to join us, but Mom and Dad went home by way of his house. Will was sick again, and not in the best of moods, so it was interesting, but I think he still really enjoyed his Christmas. Claire enjoyed hers as well. After weeks of being around sick people, I've finally caught the bug, so hopefully I'll be feeling better soon, too. And how could I forget...a major milestone occurred last Saturday...Scott turned 30!! Happy birthday to him! We made a cake and had balloons...fun for the whole family :) On with the pictures!

Merry Christmas!

This video is awesome...Merry Christmas everyone :)

Scott's Family's Visit

We were excited to have Scott's parents and grandmother here for a few days last week. Unfortunately, his mom started feeling bad, so they had to leave a little sooner than first expected. But they still had a good time, especially playing with the kids. Here are a few pictures from their visit.

Will's Christmas Program & Party

Will's Christmas program and party were on Friday. The picture from the program is dark because we were pretty far away, but you can see him...the only way he'd get up there was if he had his lion and pacifier, so there he is! He did well, though and although he didn't sing, he did let out a very loud and long, "yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!" after Jingle Bells. Even though we weren't really trying to hide from him, he didn't see us, so he didn't freak out or anything. Good!
We love the last picture of him. We asked to borrow the reindeer antlers so we could take his picture with them on and they let us. We told him to say cheese and this is what we came out with! As Scott said, "that's a blackmail picture!"

More Christmassy Stuff

O Tannenbaum

Mini trees!

Five Months & Lights

Claire is five months old today!! Wow, how time flies! Last week we started her on rice cereal. So far she loves it, but she is quite the messy eater. I have just forgone the bibs and now feed her whilst she is only wearing a diaper. Then, it's straight in the tub! Below are a couple of pictures from tonight's seriously messy feeding session!

Laughing girl!

And now, some pictures of our outside Christmas lights that Scott so graciously (and masterfully) put up for us!

The tree through the window

Hark, Hear the Bells...

...sweet silver bells, all seem to say, throw cares away...Christmas is here!

I finally got both my trees up and completed! Now all I have to do is the kids' trees and the outside lights (I think). Then, I have to speed clean my house because I'm hosting a Christmas party in ONE week! Ahh!

But, to be festive, I thought I would share a few pics of my trees and a few of the fam. As I mentioned in my last post, my parents gave me my present early--a fancy new digital camera, so we've been having fun playing with the different settings. My favorites for the trees are "candlelight" and "night scenery." Scott's a better photographer than me as he takes the time to actually read the manual and try stuff out :) But, I digress. Here ya go:

The den tree--my traditional one. I also have one in that little corner. Yes, I am one of those people (You know, those that have a tree in almost every room). Sorry, I got it from my mom; but I really think she learned it from our old next door neighbor, Ruth Ann, so we'll blame her!

The front living room tree. It's my "elegant" one.

(Above & below: Some of Scott's fancy photography.)

In Pottery Barn's Christmas catalog they featured a family tree with framed photos on it. I thouhgt that was pretty neat, so I tried to copy!

And how could I forget...I took the kids to the parade last night. Below, Will is pointing at something...not sure what!

Claire Bear at her first parade

One of the many floats

Also, I have been tagged yet again by Kelly, but this is a special Christmas edition. I think I did it last year, but hey, it's the holidays. let's do it again!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I prefer wrapping paper at Christmas-time for some reason. Of course, if a gift is impossible to wrap and would go better in a bag...by all means, I use the bag.

2. Real tree or artificial? I love the way real trees smell (love walking by the tree lots!) but artificial is so much more practical for me.

3. When do you put up the tree? Anytime after Halloween is fair game for me. Since I have so much to do and two little rugrats, the sooner the better. They might be up and naked for a coupld of weeks before I can get to them!

4. When do you take the tree down? After New Year's

5. Do you like eggnog? Nope. Scott does, though.

6. What about fruit cake? Again, nope!

7. Favorite gift recieved as a child? One Christmas I got everything Barbie...the house, the car, clothes, and of course, several of the dolls. My poor aunt got the job of putting it all together and sticking all the stickers on. Thanks, Aunt Shirley. I still remember. What a great day!

8. Do you have a nativity scene? No

9. Hardest person to buy for? grandparents and in-laws; and Claire, because she's a baby and doesn't need anything!

10. Easiest person to buy for? Will (I want to get him so many things!)

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever recieved?

12. Mail or Email cards? I definitely prefer snail mail, but this year, I think the cards ain't happnin'. We just have too much going on. So maybe email would be a good alternative to nothing!

13. Favorite Christmas movie? I have so many...it's time to start watching! White Christmas, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life

14. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually around October or November...as soon as it occurs to me that I need to start!

15. Have you ever recycled a Christmas gift? Yes.

16. What is your favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Ham, my grandma's sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, candied pecans, pecan pie, hot chocolate

17. Clear or colored lights on the tree? Clear!

18. Travel for Christmas or stay at home? I prefer to stay at home, but we end up traveling a lot to be with family.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, & Rudolph

20. Angel or star on top of the tree? Star

21. Favorite Christmas song? religious--O Holy Night; secular--Winter Wonderland

22. Open the presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Usually Christmas morning, but sometimes we open one on Christmas Eve.

23. What is the one gift you really want this year? An iPod stand alone player. I already got the digital camera I also really wanted.

24. What is the most annoying thing about this time of year? The crazy holiday shoppers. And things like going to Midland to get more ribbon from Hobby Lobby only to find out that Hobby Lobby is completely sold out of ribbon.

25. What I love most about Christmas? I love the joy and fun of it. I love the special, warm, fuzzy feelings that are so prevalent. I love giving gifts and seeing people open them. It's just a warm, cozy, wonderful, sweet time of year!

I've Been Tagged!

I was tagged by my pal Beth!

1. Name: Princess Consuela Bananahammock. Just kiddin'--Lauren :)

2. Birthday: May 27, 1979

3. Birthplace: Houston, Texas

4. Eye Color: green

5. Hair Color: light brown

6. Height: 5'7"

7. Ethnicity: Anglo

8. Weakness: purses, shoes, jewelry...the normal girly things

9. Most missed memory: childhood!

10. Thoughts first waking up: "Noooooooo!"

11. Last time you cried: I can't remember, but I'm sure it was ridiculous.

12. Song title that currently says how you feel: "I Can't Fight this Feeling Anymore"...I'm tired!

13. What is the perfect day for you: Spending the day with my family...either just relaxing or doing something fun and adventurous

14. Ever been asked for an autograph? Not that I can recall

15. How do you vent anger? I like to be alone with my anger.

16. Who do you talk to most on the phone? I'm not really a phone-talker, but my mom and friend Harmony both are, so they are really the only ones I talk to

17. As a kid, were you a lego builder? Oh yes, I loved the Legos. However I think they really belonged to Kendall.

18. Do you chew on your straws? Yep. It annoys Scott, too.

19. Do you sing in the shower? Depends on how awake I am and what's on the radio.

20. Who's the last person you stayed up late talking to on the phone to? My mom...she's the only one who calls me at night.

21. The last place you went to in a plane? Houston

22. Do you cry at weddings? Sometimes, if there is a super-sweet moment that really grabs me.

23. Are you afraid of the dark? Nah.

24. What are you addicted to? Lots of things...Diet Coke, my TV shows (Chuck, Heroes, The Office, 30 Rock), hugging and kissing my kiddos, Nestle Drumsticks

25. Crunchy or creamy peanut butter? creamy

26. Who do you fight with the most? I guess I would have to say Scott, just because he's the one person who is always around and knows me the best. Sometimes life just gets stressful and we take it out on each other because we are the people closest to one another. We don't really fight a lot, but when I do "fight," it's with him.

27. Who can you tell anything to? Scott; and pretty much all my best girlfriends--Jen, Chelsey, Harmony, Abby, Beth, Kara, and Carrie

28. Do you recycle? No, but I want to. I just recently found out that the Big Spring State Hospital has a recycling center. So, I need to find out more about that. And I bought one of those permanent Wal-Mart shopping bags.

29. Who makes you laugh the most? Hard to say, because I know so many funny people. But again, since Scott is the person I see the most, I'd have to say him. We have a lot of inside jokes. Also, Will. The kid is hilarious.

30. What is the worst feeling ever? Seeing your kids sick and knowing there's really nothing you can do about it. Also, worrying that you might come home to dog-sicles.

31. How many pillows do you sleep with? just one

32. How many rings before you answer your phone? I try to answer it as soon as I can, because it usually only rings when my kids are asleep.

33. How many times do you press the "snooze" button? As many times as I can get away with.

34. How do you sleep? Sporadically...ha! If this is referring to position, I try to start out on my back or sides but I wake up on my stomach a lot.

35. Last time you laughed: probably sometime today, but I just have a really bad memory.

36. Ever looked at someone ugly and said "EWWW"? No, I think my reaction is usually sympathetic in nature.3

7. What is your favorite color? Red, but I really love green, purple, brown and pink, too.

38. What is your favorite state? I'd have to say Texas for the people, but Colorado and Florida for vacations!

Now I get to tag...Chelsey, Terri (Mom), and Tracey!

Thanksgiving Holiday

We are home! We returned from our Thanksgiving trip on Monday, a day later than anticipated because of snowy & icy weather. We had left the previous Tuesday, so we were gone for almost a week...we haven't been gone for that long in quite some time. We missed all the weather here, but our poor dogs didn't! I was sort of afraid that we would come home to dog-sicles, but they were alive and well and more than happy to see us when we rolled in. (We did have friends looking in on them and if they had thought they needed to go home with them, they would have taken them.)

Anyway, we had a great trip! We had a couple of hurdles here and there, but all in all it was really wonderful. My dad's mom and mom's parents all got to meet Claire for the first time, so that was quite special. We spent a night with my dad's mom in San Antonio both going down and coming back. Thanksgiving Day was spent with my mom's family. We were blessed to just have a fun and relaxing time with my parents too. Mom and I had lots of fun shopping the after Thanksgiving sales, and Will had a blast playing on my parents' pool table and even got to spend some time at Chuck E. Cheese. And of course, we had to make a couple of Starbucks stops for peppermint mochas! Here are a few pictures from the week. (Oh, Merry Christmas to me! Mom and Dad gave me my present early so I would have it all through the holiday season--a new digital camera!)

My Grandma Thelma and Claire

Will, Grandma Thelma and Claire

Will and my dad playing "balls." I think Will is telling my dad what color and number are on the the ball.

I love this picture of Scott and Will. We are on our way to my grandparents' house.

Claire and Me

My Grandma Glenda and Claire (notice Claire's cowgirl boots!)

My Grandpa Roy and Claire

Four Generations

My mom brought a project for us to work on on Thanksgiving Day. Her church makes stockings for less fortunate children and fills them. So we had six stockings to make! It was great fun. In the picture you can see me, my grandma, my cousin Emily, and my aunt Gail.

Finished products. Mine is the one with the gingerbread boy and girl.

My great-aunt Ruth and Claire

Mom and Claire

Mom and Dad with Will at Chuck E. Cheese

Will and Scott racing

Dad and Claire

Will being silly at Cracker Barrel on the way home