Cookie Swap Night!

I thought it would be fun to have a holiday party for the families and friends that were staying in town rather than going away. It was especially for the folks that are new to Lubbock and couldn't afford to go home for Christmas. Well, most of the people I invited went home for Christmas! So, we had our favorite friends over - the Families Only Clique!!

What a good time! Everyone brought two types of delicious goodies. We had everything from Hot Chocolate Cookies, to Fudge, to Oreo Cookie Balls, to Christmas Tree Cookies, and MORE!  It was fun to try everyone's concoctions.  And, it was fun to get to keep some for ourselves.

The kids played together, watched Christmas movies together, ran around, wore themselves OUT! Of course when it was time to say goodbye and time to go to bed, there were tears. But, we will survive until the next get together!

Abbie's Apron

I am making an apron for Abbie. It's never to early to start promoting that girls belong in the kitchen, right!? Haha! I am JUST kidding. I know you know me better than that!!

Anyway.  I have had so much fun with this project.  I loved finding just the right fabric, figuring out how to make it without a pattern, and - most importantly, trying it on Aidan to see how it fit along the way!

He hated this part of course.  I LOVE the picture that came out of the modeling session. It's a hoot!

I trust Abbie will like her Christmas gift much more than Aidan likes it!!

Family Portrait Attempt

This was pretty hilarious! This outing, I mean.  We - okay, I - wanted us to get our family portrait done. Something that had a Texas theme. What better place then the Ranching Heritage Center near our house?  They have these really cool bronze steers placed out on the front lawn. It looks very Texas!

We enlisted some friends to take our picture. We would take theirs if they took ours.  So, we prayed for good light and warm temps and headed out. 

We didn't really get either - good light or warm temps! The time of day was kinda a bust but we just couldn't get out there any earlier than 3pm.  Add in the clouds that were rolling in, and the light was weird. But - we took the shots anyway.

Pretty funny, huh!?

Charlie Brown Tree?!

We got our Christmas tree the other night.  It was kinda weird because we purchased it from Lowes.  We have ALWAYS gotten our tree from a lot. Welcome to Lubbock yet again! The one good thing was, I have never bought a tree for only $20 before.  So, we are grateful for that. Livi and I had fun (the boys stayed home) picking out a tree and, okay, arguing a little bit over which one to pick!!  Then we drove home extra slow so the tree wouldn't blow off the car or get there transformed into just a big branch on top of the car.  I'm sure the other drivers thought we were nuts for going so slow!

The tree is small, but so are the ceilings in our house. It is still about a foot too short, but we love it anyway.  We have put it in the window and decorated it. I have A LOT of ornaments left over! We will just have to use them another time.

A small pile of presents is growing under the tree too. Thank you so much for those of you that have sent them!  And for those of you that have given us the gift of survival this past year - we give you a resounding THANK YOU too!

Olivia's Choir Concert

Livi's concert last night was AMAZING!! We are so impressed with the choral program at O.L. Slaton. The choir director is quite a talent. He motivates the students and pulls the most beautiful sound from them. Rick and I could see commitment in every singers face as they performed. It is clear they love to sing, but it also appears that they would follow the choir director anywhere! The choral program is obviously the strongest of the Fine Arts at O.L. Slaton. 

Olivia was so lovely on stage! She was dressed beautifully (thanks, Grandy!) and sang like an angel.  No, I couldn't hear just her but - I KNOW she did anyway!  And of course she had fun with her best friends too.  It means so much to her to have close friends in the program.  They love being a part of this choir but they love that they have each other even more.  We are so glad that she has this to fill her soul!

Rick is 40!!

We had a nice time wishing Rick a happy 40th birthday.  We made him a cake, gave him some cards, and surprised him with a few friendly visitors from school.  I am so glad that he is now 40.  Mostly because he will stop harrassing me for being 40 before HIM! 

The cake was delicious. The company was fun.  And we didn't burn the house down with all those candles!