A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices...

We hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating the real reason of Christmas.  It is all too easy for me to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of things.  This year we had a quiet Christmas here in town.  B had to work on Christmas Eve, so Nana and I took E to the candlelight service at church.

Brrrrrr!  It sure was cold outside!  But no snow. :(

The next morning B came home and we got to help our little man open his gifts.  Thankfully we didn't go overboard so there weren't too many.  We were definitely doing most of the work.  :)

E mostly liked ripping up the tissue paper while his dad meticulously unwrapped his gifts.

Although we did also like trying to eat some of our new toys, of course.

and loved our new fire truck!  It even has lights and a siren.

overall we think he enjoyed it. :)

Then we went to Nana and Pops' house for some yummy lunch.  They gave E a brand new snazzy wagon that he can ride around in!

And of course there's always time to play with the puppies.

Buddy loved his new little dog (oops... cat) bed that we got him. :)

and E and Zoe shared some window time...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Fall on your knees... Hear the angels voices... O night divine... Night when Christ was born.

loved to death

Let me introduce you to someone we call Mr. Bear.

He was given to E by my cousin at one of our baby showers and when E was a few months old we gave Mr. Bear to him.  Being soft and cuddly, Mr. Bear is quite comforting for a boy that doesn't want to take a nap and especially comforting when we aren't at home.  So, basically he has done a lot of traveling.  Usually by being dragged across the floor.  Here's a before and after picture for you...

Before (all nice and white and fluffy)

After (not so white and fluffy. and this is after just being washed)

I guess this is our version of the velveteen rabbit.  My brother and I used to carry around one of my mom's slips (underskirt), so this is better!  Did you have anything interesting that was your 'security blanket'?

Tour de Tejas - aka Thanksgiving

Since its almost Christmas, we thought we'd let you guys know what we did for Thanksgiving. :)  This year we did a little traveling...

First to San Antonio.  We saw Meemaw E for a bit, but we forgot to take a picture with her.  Then we went to see the whole "R" clan, eat some super yummy food, and of course play some 'slanty'.  What's that?  You've never heard of slanty?  Well that's because we made it up - I think some of the boys have a patent pending.  Its extremely competitive.  ;)

We love getting together with the whole big family and catching up.

B playing slanty

E's first wagon ride with cousin Eli

Even though the Aggies ended up losing, we had a great day!

Then we headed to Ft. Worth to hang out with the "P" side of the family and had some fun at the stockyards.

E got to ride his first longhorn with dad.

we even saw a cattle drive

  

and hung out with Uncle Layton and Aunt Claudette

and uncle Victor

That night we met Uncle Josh and Aunt Hannah for dinner and E spilled a glass of water all over the table. :)

For the finale we met our old neighbors at Twisted Root Burger on our way home, which we saw featured on the Food Network.  It was very good and they make their own Root Beer with different flavors.

  We are so thankful for all the Lord has given us this year - the fun and the difficult - blessed be His name.

a girl's best friend

Diamonds?  Sure, they're shiny and pretty.  But can they clean your floors with the push of a button?  Nope.

Which is precisely why Mr. Roomba is my new best friend.  Even when the floors don't look very dirty he picks up so much!  Its amazing.

 E likes to chase him around the room, but the dogs are pretty scared of him.

first snow!!

Yesterday E had his first snow experience!  He's not up for playing in it yet, but we went out to take some pictures.  I LOVE snow, but that might be because I only see it once every couple of years. :)  It sure does make everything look pretty!

(no that's not rain)

We ended up getting about 2 inches and this year it actually stuck around until the next morning! It was really beautiful to watch the snowflakes falling.  What a fun blessing.

shenanigans

Sorry its been so long!  We have lots to catch up on...

I'm not sure what the opposite of an escape artist is, but our little man suddenly likes to break IN to things.

He has actually figured out how to open the latches on the dog cage so he can get in it.  Buddy is not happy about this new trick.

Another new hiding place.  :)