Christmas in Kingwood

We had so much fun celebrating with all of the Saxes on Christmas and the day after out in Kingwood! We ate lots of yummy foodm, got lots of rest and had a blast spending time with family. The day after Christmas, we did "Christmas morning" all over again where Micah got any and every ninja turtle thing imaginable that he hadn't already gotten from us along with legos and lots of other fun stuff and Laurel (in her true girly fashion) got princess barbies, a jewelry box with her name on it (and full of play jewelry) a double stroller for her twins and then some. Both kids also got Kindle Fires which have been tons of fun. David and I were spoiled as well but David was most excited about his new bike! We have already gone on a few family bike rides. It's pretty fun getting to celebrate Christmas 3 times over the course of one week! 

Christmas Morning {2013}

I have never seen Micah so excited as he was on Christmas morning. He totally gets Christmas and Santa and all the fun and he could NOT wait to see what Santa brought. So much so that he was up at 5am. Luckily he went back to sleep but by 7am we couldn't put him off any longer. He and Laurel ran out and all that was sitting out was their stockings (their big present was outside). We thought they'd be asking for their big present but they were thrilled with just their stockings! Santa had left them a note on special North Pole paper that was mostly words Micah could read so he read it to Laurel. The note told them that they needed to go outside to see their big big present...

When they went outside, they were shocked and very very very excited to see a giant trampoline in their back yard! It is so much fun and they have been jumping on it every day since getting it. After jumping for a while, we all headed back inside to open gifts and eat breakfast...

... We had the same thing for breakfast that we did last year, homemade cinnamon rolls and "candy cane" fruit. It looks like this will be our Christmas morning tradition since the kids specifically asked for it.  After our morning at home, we headed to Kingwood to spend the rest of Christmas with family. 

Christmas Eve {2013}

Last year, we started our family tradition where we are home on Christmas Eve so the kids wake up at our house on Christmas morning. The bonus to this tradition is that we get to go to our church for Christmas Eve service! We love our church and always love the Christmas Eve service. This year, we were asked to read again as a family. Being on stage doesn't phase David (and apparently Laurel) but Micah and I get very nervous! He was going to recite some of the verses (because he had already learned them at school) but was too nervous before going out on the stage. I totally sympathized with him. Laurel didn't mind being on the stage one bit and didn't get nervous at all. 

After church, we went home to set out milk and cookies for Santa and the kids said their goodbyes to David (the elf). 

Thanksgiving

We had a great weekend in College Station celebrating Thanksgiving! Here is our week in photos...

{this is what you are supposed to do on Thanksgiving after a big meal, right?}

{We took the kids and my parents out for a little photo opp}

Hope your Thanksgiving was a blessed time with friends and family!

Thankful

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever." Psalm 118:1

We have so much to be thankful for this year. I am so thankful for family. My little family, yes of course, but also extended family. It is such a blessing that all of our family (literally ALL) lives a short drive away. Our kids will get to grow up alongside their cousins with their grandparents, aunts and uncles as integral parts of their lives. That is something to be thankful for.

I am thankful for my Micah Man. I am thankful for his sensitive and gentle spirit. I am thankful that he has taught me how to be more gentle with my words and that sometimes all we need is a hug. I am thankful that he is at such an amazing school with a wonderful teacher and peers that he is excited to be with each day. I am thankful that as he grows older and more independent, he still wants his mommy cuddles and hugs. 

I am thankful for Laurel. I am thankful for her tenacity as as I always say, her spunk. She is so passionate, about everything. She loves passionately, disagrees passionately, receives consequences passionately, and apologizes passionately. You never know what is going to come out of her mouth thus she keeps us laughing. 

I am thankful that Micah and Laurel have each other. They have such a special relationship. They love each other so much and love to play together. Just as any siblings, though, they have their days where they fight and fight and fight and fight and scream that they hate each other (that would mainly be Laurel doing the screaming). They bring out the sillies in each other and I'm so glad that my sister captured that in these photos. 

I know I said this last year, but I am thankful for an overall healthy year for our family. 

I am thankful for wonder, adventure, imagination and creativity. See the world through the eyes of a child is so fun. Thanks to David, our kids have wild imaginations and they can turn anything into a game (Micah) or a song (Laurel).

I am thankful for laughter. There is no shortage of giggles in our house.

I am thankful that this little girl will never have daddy issues. Her daddy could not be more present in her life and I get to hear him affirm and love on her daily. We always take picture of the girls and then the boys and this year David asked if he could have a picture with his little lady, too. It's one of my favorites from our whole session.

I am thankful that I get to be a mom. Simply put, I know. I think that we live in such a world of entitlement. We are fooled into thinking we can have whatever we want on our own timeline. Well, that is not the real world and that is not the life that God calls us to and I am learning more and more about this each day. I am genuinely overcome with gratitude that I get to be a mom to Micah and Laurel. They may make me want to pull my hair out and take me to the brink of sanity at times but they are precious gifts from God and I pray that I always see them as such.

This man. Oh how I am thankful for this man. I am thankful I said yes 7 1/2 years ago, I am thankful that he puts up with my craziness and I am thankful that we are on the same team. We have had a tough year this past year in many ways and through it all, he is there, leading, comforting and encouraging.  He is such a hard worker all day and then walks in the door and flips the switch to be an all star daddy. He is the most selfless man I know and he always puts me and our family first. I couldn't have dreamed of a better husband to walk through life with.

We have so much to be thankful for...

{We are also very thankful for my amazingly talented sister of Natalie Blazei Photography}

You can fly, you can fly, you can flyyyyy...

Last year, I did everything in my power to have Micah and Laurel coordinate costumes for Halloween. They absolutely wouldn't have it but then the week before Halloween suggested Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. The costumes had already been purchased but I put that idea in my back pocket until this year when I knew it would be a sure win. Well, of course, they weren't interested. So, I *might* have told them that if they were Peter Pan and Tinkerbell they *might* be able to get their hands on some fairy dust so they *might* be able to fly. I'm a horrible mother. BUT, I didn't make them any promises and they did end up loving the idea. David's only stipulation was that Micah was not allowed to wear tights. Done. They were the most adorable Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, if I do say so myself! 

We started the fun-filled Halloween festivities with the parade at Laurel's school (which used to be Micah's school). My little fairy has a history of dislike for performances such as these so she walked out the door with a huge scowl on her face. Once she saw me and David, though, she perked up...

For Halloween this year, we decided to keep it a little more low key and not head up to our church's First Fest. Instead, our family went over to Kev and Audrey's and ate pizza and trick-or-treated with Kev, Audrey, Wyatt, Mimi and Bubba. I am so bummed I didn't get a picture of Wyatt with the kids. Wyatt was Tick-Tock the crocodile and was the cutest little crocodile! The kids had tons of fun trick-or-treating this year and ended up with a massive amount of candy. 

Camp Suzu

While me and David were in Steamboat for July 4th, the kids went to College Station for Camp Suzu! I just got these pictures from my sister and I had to post. As you can see, they had TONS of fun! I think Suzu might end up with a few more applications for camp next year than she was anticipating. Nat and her family were up there at the same time so she got wrangled into being one of Suzu's "camp counselors" along with Teddy. It is so fun to know that while we are away on vacation, our kids were having a blast!