PDS Christmas 2010

Hudson's Christmas Party

Hudson's table eating lunch

making gingerbread houses

I got those mini gingerbread houses for each kid to make but as we were setting it up, I realized it was too much work for me :) So, I just gave them each the front part of the gingerbread house to decorate. No 3D for me. Flat is good and didn't require an engineering degree to assemble.

book exchange set to music

Major's party

I walked in without him noticing and surprised him. This is his surprised face.

book exchange

major's class did a group christmas present so this is the big presentation...

ta-da!

I came up with the idea and had lots of help from our room mom. I think it turned out precious!

Houston Kids

We made a quick trip to Houston to visit the Junods and lots of other fun friends. Here are some pictures of the kids playing. The boys and I had so much fun and always appreciate how easy it is for us to fit back into the group. These true friends just seems to naturally be a part of our lives. Whether we are in the same place or not, I always feel like the conversation and connection just seems to continue. Time and distance are overcome by the sincerity. I love that!

Loved my extra time with Tracy and as you can see, she is contagious... the kids noticed that about her too :)

Who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure.

More Cuteness

pillow fights and hugs

He's Cute

Major cheesing it at the Santa Christmas brunch.

Small Group Christmas Party 2010

We had our small group Christmas party last night and it was great! I'm so thankful for these girls and our awesome small group. We just started meeting this fall and it has really been a blessing to get to know all of these couples and kids and dogs. It's amazing what a difference a few believers can have on your life. It's a breath of fresh air to have support from other moms and women that come from a similar heart for Christ. Out of the five of us in the picture, 4 of us have just moved to Victoria in the past few years. We are all adjusting to Victoria or life, but either way, we are all enjoying the fellowship.

me, casey, caroline, katie, and amy

Getting in the Spirit

Just thinking about how this is Hudson's 5th picture with Santa. Major has 3 under his belt! Wow, that seems like a lot. It's an adventure every time. I noticed this year that Hudson was intimidated by Santa. I guess he is starting to understand the weight the big man pulls when it come to presents and Christmas morning. He was shy about it all but in the end told Santa what was on his mind. Major thought Santa was pretty cool. He gave him 5 a couple of times. Neither one of them wanted to take this picture. I was determined and ended up with a couple of smiles in the wrong direction. I guess that's better than screams at the camera. We did have a couple of pictures like that too. I decided to go with the smiles and I'm glad I did. They are looking at me humiliating myself in the middle of the mall. It's the Victoria mall though so I'm not too concerned. Or maybe I should be because, chances are that 5 people I know walked by while I was doing my, "smile at the camera, or else" dance.

Thanksgiving 2010

Reed, Julie, Conner, and Emily came to Victoria for Thanksgiving this year. They got here Wednesday and we played outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was so fun to all be in the same house and just do our own thing. We planned Thanksgiving lunch at Victoria Country Club and Julie and I made lots of snacks and munchies to get us by between meals. It really was relaxing. Julie and I got to sneak out to do some black Friday shopping. I'm so thankful for all of our family and the natural support system that God has built into our lives. It's more than I could ask for.

Conner, Hudson and Emily

ping pong in the garage

sitting down to enjoy our Thanksgiving feast

we were there for awhile so the iPhone came out to entertain

dessert for Hudson

We just decided to get one of every dessert and share... okay we got more than one of each. Yumm

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

We played around on the golf course after lunch and this is a picture of a race between the boys. Major decided to plow Hudson over and so he did. It's rough out there.

rolling down the hills

takin' it easy

Major kept carrying this pumpkin around and using it as a stepping stool to get snacks, movies, etc... hilarious

If there was a "strongest man" contest for 2 year olds, I would enter Major :)