SNOW... kind of

You can see the tiny snowflakes on Zachary's pullover. He's trying to catch some in his mouth.
Zachary licking the snowflakes off Carlee's hat. They're so funny!

Carlee trying to catch some on her tongue too.

It snowed yesterday here in the Woodlands, Texas which is a record for this time of year. Last year it snowed a little too. This never happens in Houston. It normally only snows every four years. God must have heard Carlee's prayers to have snow for Christmas. The snow did not stick to the ground, but in other parts of Houston it did. Maybe one year it will stick and we can build a little snowman. I'm so thankful we got to enjoy the snow coming down throughout the day. Everytime I looked out the window, I could not believe my eyes. It was a beautiful day!

Camping

My Precious, beautiful girl loving the outdoors.
Zachary thoroughly enjoying the giant slide

Mommy getting some loving kisses from my boy

On Friday, we packed as much as we could fit in our car and made our way to Sam Houston State Park for our first camping adventure as a family of four. We over packed due to my great ability to over prepare. We planned to stay two nights, but tried to be flexible since it was the kids first time to camp over night. The days were great, but the night was rough. Our air mattress deflated before the night sleep began, so Greg and I slept on the kids new twin air mattresses and I had the special privilege of sharing my mattress with Zachary, who kicks in his sleep. Let's just say I did not sleep that great. We decided it was better to go home one day early due to the sleeping arrangements. This was a great trip and we had a blast with our family. Here's our car packed to the limit.
Aunt Rachel and baby Josiah looking so cute in their blue and white.

Carlee and Zachary loved playing with Lady and Amos while we were there. They really want a dog now.

Carlee loves smores! She kept saying, "We need some roasting marshmallows and smores." Apparently she thinks the marshmallows come roasted.

Zachary enjoyed the marshmallows plain.

I was the keeper on the graham crackers and chocolate. Great job!

This is where we hung out most (around the fire). Love these moments!

Josiah- the cutest little baby.

My boy on the dock, right next to our campsite. We had a beautiful spot!

Mom read a book to Zachary and he laughed at her funny voices. I love the way she reads stories!

Uncle John and Josiah looking good.

My favorite shot. I love my man and my son!

One cute, in love couple!

Our tent we slept in. Thanks to the Sharp's for letting us borrow it. We loved how roomy it was and want to get one just like it for our family.

I'll never forget this trip.... all the yummy food: the steaks, twice baked potatoes, and veggies, the breakfast tacos, the banana oatmeal muffins and the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, the smores, the camp coffee.... the playground, the gigantic slide..... all the walks to the restroom, the cold nights, playing with the dogs, playing in the dirt (in brand new clothes), the laughs, the tears, the games, the memories made..... our family. The tradition will live on each year and we will watch our kids grow. These moments are the greatest! Thank you mom and dad for taking the time to take a break and let these moments happen. Thank you for all the planning and preparing. Your laborers were not wasted. Ya'll made it easy for us to do this and enjoy doing it. I love our family!

Thanksgiving Day

We had a wonderful day with Greg's family. We all dressed in our Longhorn colors to route for our team. They pulled it off for another win. Go Longhorns!
Carlee dressed herself for Thanksgiving. She put on her cheetah spot shirt and pants, but I told her she needed to be a little more fancy for Thanksgiving, so she let me layer her brown sweater on top. It worked, I guess. She was a goober for every single picture I took this day. She stayed close to the turkey while daddy cut the pieces off. Carlee ate lots of turkey as it came off the bone. She was very hungry to say the least. I guess 2pm is a little late for lunch. haha

Zachary loved watching daddy use the electric knife.

We ate at in the dining room this time on a beautiful table cloth. Thankfully my kids kept it clean. Zachary loved the mashed potatoes.

Carlee loved the cranberry sauce. She thought it looked like jello, so she wanted some on her plate. Carlee could barely stand to take a bite of the sweet potatoes I made, but managed to try a little bite after some bribery.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving Day with Greg's mom and dad. Everything was so yummy. I made a new recipe and was hoping it would be one of those dishes I would be known for bringing. It was a sweet potato, apple and cranberry dish and it was delicious. Hopefully my kids will like it one day as well. I thank Pampered Chef for the new recipe that will be added to our Thanksgiving feast.

We are blessed to have an amazing Father in Heaven who loves us so much and thankful for Jesus who came to redeem us and save us from our sins. We thank God for blessing us with a wonderful family and wonderful friends to share our life with. May God bless you and yours!

Sweet and Sassy at Chick-fil-a

We are loving Chick-fil-a's toddler time more and more especially when my daughters favorite shop is there. Sweet and Sassy salons came and painted the girls nails, gave them special glitter stars, and sprayed their hair with glitter. Carlee came out looking like a Rockstar!
Her beautiful nails and pink glitter star.

This girl loved every bit of the limo ride. She smiled and danced in her seat the whole time.

Zachary loved being apart of this too even though it was kinda girly. He got a special shark tattoo on his hand. He sang his favorite songs in the limo and was thrilled to not be a car seat, I'm sure.

They both loved the free limo ride. The only times we have been in this limo is for some free event Chick-fil-a is doing. Did I mention how much I love Chick-fil-a!! They always come through for us. Too much fun!

We will always remember these kind of days.I love that I get to stay at home and take them to different place to have fun each day. What a blessing!

Me and my boy

I love this boy. I love his happy side. Zachary thought it would be fun to take a picture sitting on the bathroom counter. Too funny!
I love this boy (paci and all) especially right after he wakes up from a nap and still wants to snuggle. Those are some sweet moments.

I love his silly side too. He is a big goober!Zachary is just fun! He sings all the time now, just like his sister. His favorite songs are the ones he sings at church like; Seven, Noah's Arky Arky, and Father Abraham. He sings the short version of all of them with pretty good tone. I'll have to video him and try to upload it so ya'll can hear it. Just today, my sister and I were laughing at his singing because it is so cute. I love this boy!!

Date night with Carlee

Last night Carlee and I went on a date together... just me and her. We went to a concert at our church and then to eat ice cream at TCBY. Carlee loved her outfit and thought she looked like a ROCKSTAR (her favorite way to dress these days, don't ask me why- I am a worship leader). I wish I had her outfit too. Having a girl has it's advantages and right now she likes the clothes I pick out for her. I know that will probably change soon. Being with Carlee is a BLAST! She danced in the aisle at the concert and exuded so much energy (I wish I had her boldness), then when she was tired she sprawled out across the floor and drew pictures with a pad and pen from my purse. After a while, she decided it was time for her to go be with her friends in her class (I can't blame her, she is so used to being in a classroom when she is at church anyway). Then we went for ice cream and talked. Carlee got a cone with cotton candy ice cream. She loved every bit of it. We sat outside and Carlee said to me, "Let's pretend we are on a date." I told her, "We don't have to pretend, we are on a date." She looked at me and smiled and said, "I love being on a date with you." Our talk pretty much consisted of a lot of sweet, kind, affectionate words that melted my heart. Carlee is such a doll and I love every piece of her. One thing we talked about in the car on the way to get ice cream and on the way home was about how special Carlee is and how God made her just the way He did for a reason. Carlee was getting a little upset because she has met a friend at church who seems to be the "coolest" person to her (by the way- she is 8) Carlee loves her hair and wants to be just like her one day. I couldn't believe we were having this conversation, but Carlee is obviously growing up (I am growing up too). I know there will be many more conversations like this and probably a lot harder, but I hope they will be farther down the road.
Carlee, I pray you will find your satisfaction in the Lord at an early age, so you don't have to search around for the things you think you want. God made you perfect and needs you to be you. You are beautifully and wonderfully made, a true gift from above. I know you will have to learn this all on your own, but I pray God would give you wisdom in accepting the way He made you. It's taken me so long to understand all this about myself (I'm still learning), but I pray God would speak to you so that you will understand that beauty is fleating and that God looks at the heart.
I love you my darling!

Butterfly Fun

Out of the 5 caterpillars that ate the milkweed, only three butterflies hatched. I'm not sure if it got too cold or the caterpillars didn't have enough to eat or what.... I get so attached to these little insects. They are at our house during some transforming stages and then fly away. One butterfly came out of it's crystallis yesterday and landed on Carlee's bike on the back porch. We ended up putting it on a stick and bringing it to the front yard to show the neighbors and watch it while it's wings dried. We let it walk all over our hands. It was pretty ticklish. Carlee ended up dropping it because it was too ticklish on her hand.

I love the beauty of God's creation! In a way I feel just like that butterfly. In so many ways, my life looks a lot like it... eating from the word of life, being held by the Lord, letting Him make me into something lovely for His glory, setting me free to move and live surrounded by His presence. There is nothing better than being a daughter of the King of Kings!