Christmas program and parties

Earlier in the month, Luke's preschool combined Donuts with Dad and the Christmas program all in one day. A good way to maximize the dads time up at school.


After their breakfast they proceeded to the church for the Christmas program. We enjoyed watching Luke in his first program. Although he sat and made faces like this for most of the program, it was still so cute to watch.


Little friend: "Hey Luke, what are we supposed to be doing? I forgot what comes next."
Luke: "I have no idea. I'm just trying to figure out why all these people are here looking at us."


A few weeks later Luke's class celebrated with a Christmas party which included Chick-fil-a for lunch, an edible Santa craft, a Christmas story and a book exchange.






Ready for the book exchange. Notice Sarah giving Luke a hug on the left side up against the wall.


She wasn't going to be left out of the fun!




Wednesday of this week, Jacob finished up at school. He is SO excited to have two weeks off! His class had a little party as well and he got to leave at 10:30 that day so he was a happy guy! They too made an edible snowman craft, made a picture frame, had a snack and listened to a Christmas book.

We LOVE Mrs. Naber


Snack time


Craft time




Great group of kiddos




Of all the things he has gotten for Christmas he remembers the Nerf gun, of all things. Go figure! Boys and their guns! Sigh!


On another note, I just love this picture of Luke playing with his Nativity set. Sweet boy!


And I just love this one of Luke laughing and Sarah being silly as usual.

Santa Picture 2011

I would say this year's Santa picture was a success!


I still can't get over the fact that Sarah isn't completely frightened of the big guy. At first she didn't want to go up to him but as soon as we brought the rocking horse over, she was all smiles! I think she forgot Santa was behind her. And you know I can't post a picture like this without taking a stroll down memory lane. So here goes...

2010


2009


2008


And yes we skip '07 and '06 due to a scared kiddo...and on to 2005.

Christmas Kickoff

The weekend after Thanksgiving we spent getting the tree up, the house decorated and the outside lights up. It's officially Christmas time around here!


For some strange reason, I didn't get any pictures of the kids decorating our tree or the tree in their room. I was a little nervous about Sarah's reaction to the tree, ornaments and other decorations around the house. Well, I can say that we've only had one ornament break and the boy's tree has only come down once! Right on top of her, at that! I think she learned real quick not to try to pull the ornaments off again. Thankfully, she really hasn't messed with the tree in the living room.

That Saturday we headed over to the North Pole Express in Grapevine with our good friends, the Ewings. Fun was had by all!



Getting their tickets punched.


Patiently waiting for Santa to make his way.




Sarah was SO brave. She took the bell right from his hand but didn't take her eyes off of him!














What a difference a year can make- 2010


And what a difference two years can make. (I'm about 6 weeks pg with Sarah here)- 2009


This weekend our church had their annual Breakfast with St. Nicholas. Who can pass up chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, ham, potatoes, yogurt, orange juice and hot chocolate? And of course good ole St. Nick. Not us!


Sarah has warmed up to Santa quite nicely when she has seen him recently. I always try to point him out when we see him at the mall, on TV etc. She might not sit in his lap but she will stand close by and likes to give him a high five.

Stay tuned for more Christmas updates!

Thanksgiving in review

The Thursday before Thanksgiving, Luke had a little feast at his school. Complete with lots of good food and Thanksgiving decorations. What fun!




My little Thanksgiving Indian!


The Friday before Thanksgiving break, Jacob's school had Grandparents/Special Friend day. Thankfully, my mom was able to take the day off and come up to be with Jacob. The morning included breakfast, pictures, the book fair and classroom activities. I was thrilled Jacob had his Grandma there.

Waiting in line for breakfast.


Yummy, yummy!


Picture time.




Classroom activity.


They had a homework assignment a few weeks ago to disguise a turkey. Can you guess which one is Jacob's? That's right- the Texas Rangers turkey is his! :)


I noticed a bulletin board in his classroom where each student said what they were thankful for. Jacob's response...Sarah. So sweet!


The school Christmas tree.


Later that afternoon, the boys got to choose what they wanted to do with Grandma. Chuck E. Cheese it was. Luke loves getting the cotton candy there!


Saturday morning we all went out to cheer Jacob on at his last soccer game. It was a bit chilly so Grandma kept Sarah nice and warm.




After his game we all headed over to Palio's pizza for a end of season soccer party.


Trophy time!


Later that afternoon, Jim took the boys to the last North Texas football game while Mom, Sarah and I went and did a little shopping. We also treated ourselves to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory since we only had one little one with us. We were thrilled to be eating in an actual restaurant and not fast food! Ha! It was a busy couple of days but we enjoyed it all. Thanks again Mom for coming up and spending the weekend with us! It meant a lot to have you here!

Jacob and Luke were both off of school the week of Thanksgiving. It was so nice having them here all week and enjoying our days together. Now that Jacob has started Kindergarten, I so appreciate his days off! We went to the movies one day and saw Happy Feet 2, we went and ate and played at the mall, we ran a few errands, we made Turkey cookies one day...







We hosted Thanksgiving here at our house this year and had a wonderful day. Thanksgiving has become a favorite day for me. I love the slow-paced day, love cooking in the kitchen, love the great food, love being with family and reflecting on all that we have to be thankful for in our life!
Here are the boys prepping the bird!


The feast!


The kid's table.


Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well. I am looking forward to this glorious Advent season and all that comes along with this time of the year!