The Elf on the Shelf

Do you have kids? Do they love Christmas and anything Santa? Than Elf on the Shelf is for you! Ok, that totally just sounded like a commercial.....

Anyway, I wanted to get this little guy for the girls last holiday season but never got around to it. This year it was one of the first things I did just after Thanksgiving. Can't believe I forgot about him until today, oops!

Tonight just after dinner I explained to Addyson what he's all about and the look on her little face was priceless. Her eyes were so wide as I read the story that goes along with the Elf, she loved it! Ryan was even getting into it too, haha

Basically, Santa sends one of his elves to watch over your family and house, then at night while everyone is sleeping, he flies back to The North Pole and reports to St. Nick if anyone was bad, what someone did that was good, etc. In the morning when everyone is awake they must go and find the Elf and he'll be in a different place each morning. Also, no one is allowed to touch the elf because if they do, he looses all magical powers and can no longer report back to Santa.

The first thing you have to do is name your elf and Addyson named ours Twinkle Toes, cute!

I think this will be a fun tradition for our family, and one that can be passed down to many generations.

A Lover of Naps

Now that I'm openly admitting that Lane loves her naps, she'll start protesting them, isn't that the way is always works?? Anyway, she's always been a good little sleeper, and she goes down for naps pretty easily. Today she took an over three hour nap, and I had to go in and wake her because I don't really want her up until 10:00 tonight. When I went in and got her this is what I found. A sweet angel surrounded by all of her sleeping necessities; her pink and white blanket, the binkie, Ohlo(her Build a Bear that sister Addy gave her the day she was born)and Oopsie Bear, her favorite Care Bear. Quite an arsenal of sleep essentials!

I sure hope this one naps at least for another year. Addyson stopped napping just after she turned three, we'll see what Lane does!

Snow Day!

Yes, it's true...An actual snow day in Katy, TX. The weather man warned us, but obviously no one bought it until we saw it with our own eyes.

The schools let out early today even though there was really no need. Snow is like rain to drive in, pretty painless. I think they let the kids out early just to play. And I'm glad they did, we had a ball making a snowman, having snowball fights, warming up by the fire with hot chocolate, then doing it all over again!

Luckily Ryan was in town so he got to join in on the fun. Addyson was so thrilled when I picked her up from school, and that was the heaviest it snowed all day, hence the snow covered Tahoe! She couldn't wait to get home to "have a snowball fight", that seemed to be all she wanted to do! Sweet Baxter Boy wasn't sure what to think of the stuff, he had some new found energy today for sure. And Laney just wanted to eat the snow. When she woke up from her nap to a ground covered in white, she looked out the window and said, "Yummy, Mama, have some!" I guess she thought it was icing or something.

The last time it snowed was December 2004 when Addyson was 3 months old. I'd say we were past due for some more of the white stuff!

My Christmas Babies

Two sweet angel's in front of the fire just after they woke up...Pop Tarts in hand, of course!

Houston Texans Football

Ryan was able to get some tickets to the Texans game against the Colts so it was a no brainer, we'd be there! The Texans certainly aren't the best team in the NFL, but they're our team and we're loyal to them. We jump at the chance to get to go to a game at Reliant.

As soon as we got to the game, the Texans were playing awesome! They kept a solid lead the first 2 quarters, then things went downhill after the half. They held their own for a while, but they couldn't keep up with the Colts and ended up losing. It was a quiet ride home, but we still managed to have a great time, sans kiddos! A big thanks to Geemie who came out and sat with our girls. They had a great time, not sure they were happy to see us when we got home!

Campity, Camp, Camping

On a whim Saturday night, Ryan and his sister Melanie decided it would be fun to go camping, but where? Why, our backyard! They set up tents, got lots of blankets and pillows, and hot dogs and stuff to make s'mores. It was the perfect night to camp, about 62 degrees overnight so not too cold. I elected to stay indoors with Lane, wasn't sure how well she'd do with the whole sleeping outside thing. I could see some major distractions and not a lot of sleeping from her!

We roasted the hot dogs and ate s'mores then it was time to call it a night around 11:00. It sure made for some fun memories for one Addyson LeeAnn. She thought it was the coolest that we let her sleep outside.

More Than Thankful

My heart is very full!

I feel like a good amount of the time I tend to focus on what's NOT going my way. The house is messy, kids aren't being quiet when I might have a headache, the laundry needs folding, or Ryan is traveling and I don't think I can find much more patience, and the list can go on.

But at this time of year I am feeling so grateful for the endless amounts of blessings I have! I should be happy I have a messy house, it means we have a home that is filled with things we want and need. I'm happy I hear the girls being loud, it means that Heavenly Father has trusted me with such special gifts as my girls. I'm happy I have enormous amounts of laundry, it means we are clothed. And, I'm happy my husband travels, it means he has a great job and that he is a hard worker.

Tonight we drove around for a bit looking at Christmas lights. I turned around to look at the girls in the backseat, they were holding hands and giggling. This is what life is about...happiness!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours; may your Fried Turkey, Sweet Potato Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Corn Casserole, Dressing, gravy, and Pumpkin Cobbler be as good as ours!