Christmas season...

December is CRAZY...and I love it!!! Everyone in our house has had both the stomach flu and the cold flu...the kids have sat on Santa's lap...we've watched Uncle Clay coach the JV Cougars several times...my cousin had her baby girl and named her Gracie...we decorated for Christmas and attended several parties...and tomorrow I get to visit Max's kindergarten class to help during his Christmas party!!

                     Gabe's Grandpa and Grandma Paulus with all the new babies in the family!!

My little girl in her Santa gear...

My two sweethearts...

Santa time:)

Smiling beauty!!

Chas with sweet baby Gracie!!

Callie with Great Grandpa Paulus...

and Great Grandpa Raber...

Max with his cousin Lincoln

What a silly crew! Callie, my mom, Hannah, and Max...

What I want most is to be able to convey the true WONDER of this Christmas season. To make sure my children understand the significance of this tiny baby being born who would change everything for you and me...who would bring us HOPE and ensure our eternity. I've really been downplaying the whole Santa thing - not that I think it's bad or anything...I just want Santa to pale in comparison to what Christmas is really about!! Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!!!

Sickly...

I'm sick. 
Ughhh....
The stomach flu is making the rounds at our house and it's my turn to step up to the plate. 


Christmas decorating and shopping are in full swing, and I only have a few more gifts to purchase until I'm completely done! I did almost all my shopping online this year - and it was SO EASY!! I love to look and look for the perfect present for everyone I love - this time of year is just so joyful:)! Getting my nativity scene out each year is one of the most special moments - and I love talking about Jesus's birthday with Max!! Soon we will get to teach Callie all about it!


We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving with family - I have more to be thankful for then I could ever mention, but we really spent the holiday being thankful and enjoying each other and extended family. This was one of the first years that our holiday dinners were pretty spread out, so we had time to relax and enjoy each party/dinner. It was sooooo nice! 


Here are a few photos from November - I know I'm so behind on blogging so this might take awhile:)!


                                  Max and Callie

                 
                  Callie all decked our for her first Thanksgiving

 

Max celebrating his birthday with the Beasley family 

(with his great-uncle Jeff & great-aunt Peg)

 Beasley babies - Me with Callie, Jessica with Dailee, and Chas is due with baby Gracie in a couple of days!!

 Callie with her cousin AunaRay Wagler (Alicia & Derek's daughter)

December is here - hope everyone is having a wonderful time getting geared up for Christmas! 

The Big 6

Today is Max's 6th birthday. It's amazing to me that this little man has been in my life for 6 years...and he has matured so much in the past year that it sometimes takes my breathe away... 


Like when he reads me a book he made at school. 
Or he helps me with his baby sister. 
When he dresses himself in the morning for school and ties his own shoes. 
And when I suggested a party for some of his closest friends and he started making a guest list on his own...with party activities listed, too:)! 


Last weekend we had a party for Max complete with Max & 5 buddies, pizza, cake, pinata, play dough for the boys to take home, a fire to make smores, and lots of rough outdoor playtime:) It was perfect for Max and by the end of the night he was dragging...so tired, but not ready to admit it! He received some great gifts from his friends and everyone had a great time - with only a little mischief here and there! Here are some photos I took that night. 

                                Goofing off...silly boys!

Getting ready for pinata fun:)!!

                               The aftermath of the pinata...

                              Campfire for a chilly night!

  Everyone playing on Max's birthday present...a new swingset!!


After 3 hours of playing army and tackle football...eating until they couldn't eat anymore...and running their little legs off, it was time for everyone to go home and it was BEDTIME for us:)!! But Max had the time of his life!

Catching up...

I've got some catching up to do...there have been some major events happening around here and I wanted to blog about some of them...
Last month Gabe's sister, Alicia had a sweet baby girl! We were so excited to welcome AunaRay into the family - she is a sweetheart and Mommy and Daddy are so proud (as they should be!!)

Callie and AunaRay...can you tell their hair is almost identical? Sweet cousins!

 Last weekend we had a baby shower for my cousin Chasity, who is expecting a little girl in early December...we are anxiously anticipating baby Gracie's arrival!! All of these little girls joining the family - wow!! It's completely crazy and we love every minute of it!! Yay for baby girls!

We had some super sweet trick-or-treaters on Halloween night - we just stayed home and passed out candy!

Two super-sweet ladybugs...

And an M&M (posing with Zoomie, our cat)...

We have had a busy month - and tomorrow Max is having several of his little buddies over for his birthday party...my baby turns 6 in just a few days!! He's extremely excited about his party and we have some fun things planned - I will blog about it in a few days:)

Sandy Clarke Photography

Please go to Sandy's Blog to find out all about the awesome giveaway she is hosting!! She is an amazing photographer with so much talent- check her out and like her page on Facebook, too! Thanks everyone!

Home

So... things are good here. How could life not be good when I get to come home to this face:

And this one...

I mean really? Don't get me wrong...my life is NOT perfect. Far from it. But in between the burnt dinners, the dirty dishes, the floors that need mopped, the poopy diapers and endless laundry - I get to love on these two. And they love me back without reservation. They grin at me and I melt. I am the luckiest woman in the world. 

Max is growing leaps and bounds since starting school - I can't believe how fast he is catching on to reading and writing sentences. Each night he spends several hours just writing and drawing...tonight he drew a picture and then was super excited to show Gabe and I. Here it is:

This is how he explained it to me..."Mom, there you are. And there is Dad (Gabe) and there is something really special for Gabe. I drew two apple trees that he planted. Then I put the date, Oct. 28th 2011 at the top."

Sigh...oh how I love this kid! He amazes me everyday. 

Ok, I'm gonna go now, so I can get back to this:

A Great Photo Opportunity??

Not

Gonna

Happen...