Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas with my family in the Dallas area. As usual, I will let the pictures tell the stories...

Actually, I take that back, I'll start with a quick story to set the scene:
On our way to Dallas, we stopped in Fort Worth to have dinner with Zach's aunt & uncle. We were having a great time at Mi Cocina until Will unexpectedly threw up. For the first time, I got the be the mom with the kid who ralfs in the restaurant. We quickly cleaned it up (A restaurant worker tried to help me, but I just can't allow someone else to clean up my kids' throw up. It's just not right...)
Little did we know, that was the beginning of our 'Christmas 2009 Stomach Bug'. Sounds fun, right?!

We hung out at my parents house for the first couple days before Christmas and had a great time. The boys love going to their house because there is so much to do outside.

Riding bikes with Papaw is always a hit!
Levi and Papaw. I love the look of Levi's face in this one. He's thinking that he is preettty coool.

Will getting his turn on the big boy bike!

My parents neighbor is a sweet lady who raises horses. The boys LOVED going to her barn. They got to feed her horses and pet them. They could have spent all day at her place!

Miss Anne and Toughie.

Levi is a brave little guy. He's not afraid of any animal...
I just like Levi's grin in this one.

Both of them got to feed her other horse. (can't remember this horses name)

Levi caught on pretty quickly that ranch life is not easy...everyone has to pitch in to keep things goin...

Both of the boys with Miss Anne.

Zach and I have made it a tradition to see the Dallas Choir and Symphony Christmas show every year. It has quickly become one of our favorite things to do around Christmas. This year, we invited our friends, Luke & Shannon, to go with us! We had a great date night, and we are already looking forward to going again next year...only 350ish more days! : )

The show is at the Myerson Symphony Hall in Dallas, and the lobby is always beautifully decorated. Not the best pic, but here we are!

Not sure when this pic was taken, but the boys spent much of the break just like this:

We always spend Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family. Here's Will on the drive there. It was a super cold and windy day, and I think this hat is about the cutest thing on Will...ever.

Levi's hat is pretty darn cute too! It's from Eternal Threads. Check them out!

Here are all of the cousins on my mom's side. Pretty cute bunch of kids! (Levi looks sad because he was starting to get the stomach bug...we didn't know it yet though..)

Here are my sweet grandparents. My grandma passed away just 6 days later. It was such a blessing to be able to spend Christmas Eve with everyone together. She was such a wonderful, Christian woman, and she truly lived out Proverbs 31. She will be greatly missed.

Great excitement came from all the children when it started snowing!! I love Zane's face in this one (red sweater). It was a magical Christmas!

Thanks to Mamanita, the boys had the CUTEST Christmas jammies. Both of them were not feeling so hot, so a good picture just wasn't in the works this year...

but presents can cheer any child up!

Can anyone else see how much Will looks like my mom in this pic??

My family has a Christmas tradition of everyone getting their very own Christmas Cereal. I was starting to get 'the bug' so I stayed away from the food, but here is everyone else enjoying their Christmas Cereal!

My very favorite Christmas present came from Zach. He (with the help of my mom) put together a picture frame collage of pics with me and my grandparents. It has been a rough year for my family because all of my grandparents' health has been declining. My Papaw came very close to leaving this earth in May, but he has been recovering well. My Memaw has been slowly losing her memory and ability to care for herself. My Grandpa has been getting weaker and weaker, and five days after this photo was taken, my Grandma died from a sudden heart attack. So, needless to say, it has been a year of 'letting go and letting God'. The collage now hangs in our hallway and I look at it every day. Thank you Zach.

I got my brother 'The Pioneer Woman Cookbook' for Christmas. (Don't worry, I ordered one for myself too!) He cooks meals for people frequently, so I thought a new cookbook could help!

We had a wonderful Christmas in many ways, but we also had a time of remembering those who are now in Heaven.

Zach's brother, Tyler, died on Dec. 21, 2006, and we always miss his presence a lot around the holidays. The boys talk about 'Unc Tyler' every day, and we still remember him every day.

Thank you God for choosing to show your absolute power and unconditional love through the birth of a perfect baby.