SNOW!

3 weeks before Christmas when we went to see Santa Claus this crazy man (eating snow) snuck over to the big bearded guy and told him the only thing he wanted for Christmas was a white one. Ask and you shall receive  Ever since we moved to Dallas all I have heard is "It better snow, it better get really cold!" Ask and you shall receive! 

 Daddy's love of the cold white stuff defiantly got passed on to Carson. He couldn't get enough of making snow balls, running, sliding, and throwing snow. 

Two thumbs up to Snow!

 This little one was not such a fan. I think he got more of his Mommy's side when it comes to cold weather. We prefer swimming pools and water sprinklers to snow and cold weather. But we are troopers and got out in it enough to take pictures and see the beauty that it creates. 

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Eve

My side of the family has always had the tradition of celebrating most of Christmas on Christmas Eve. We would go see and movie then all go to dinner. When kids came into the picture we had to modify the plan a little because has everyone knows kids don't do well in movie theaters. 

This year we went to the Gaylord Texan ice exhibit, some of the family went to a movie, we met up for dinner that evening, then finished up with opening presents from family members at our house. 

Sliding down the ice slide. He wasn't sure about it at first, but wanted to go several times after the first. 

Being entertained by Uncle Sean

He loved looking at the trains at the Gaylord Texan

Uncle Trey took a turn toting Caleb around

 

Opening his first present of the Season. He waited a LONG time for this!

 Such a great day with my family. Everyone got spoiled by my wonderful parents and the kids got super spoiled by everyone. I think Carson might need an advent calender for the entire year to tell him how many days he has until next Christmas.

Christmas on the iPhone

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Morning waffle Christmas tree - thank you Pinterest!

Ah!! SNOW!

First snow ball fight EVER

So tired he can't even sleep right side up in his car seat.

Little Cesar's was closed but look who had all the pizza fixin's at home.

Trying out some new presents. Thanks a lot Uncle Trey!

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope your day was as blessed as mine.

Say CHEESE!

I have recently added some new pictures to the Blog. I was feeling mighty guilty having a family picture that did not include Caleb. The problem with that is, I'm not going to spend a good bit of money to have family pictures done of a screaming baby, so I/we decided to wait until his first birthday. I am SUPER happy with the pictures that we were able to get.

Here are a few more of our little family.

It's almost time for ELF to be back!



Chrismas Tree (Chris for short) the Elf will be returning to the Black household this Saturday and I am thinking about letting him host a breakfast for Carson and Caleb to let them know he will be watching them everyday until Santa arrives with his bag of goodies.

 

Pinterest has really given me an advantage this year on some clever ways for Chris to move about the house. When looking back on last years adventure, he had some pretty good places that might be repeated this year.

 

If you are doing elf on the shelf (and I recommend it for ages 2 and up) here are some ideas for your elf. ENJOY!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Elf on the Shelfing!

10 More Days of Thanks!

11. Health - For the most part (besides snotty noses ALL the time) my children and family are very healthy. It breaks my heart to hear stories of people struggling with sickness and I thank God daily for the health he has given my family.

12. Our Material Possessions - My kids have toys running out their ears (which keeps them very busy and Mommy very happy) and Garet and I have a great house, reliable cars, and all of the electronics we could ask for. In this category  Garet would be thankful for his new man room TV. At church last Sunday the preacher said it's OK to like your possessions - and we are very thankful for ours.

13. The Weather - I am not a cold person AT ALL, and the weather has been gorgeous thus far. I know it will get cold and then it will get unbearably hot next summer, but for right now I am in love with these 75 for the high day.  

14. Mother's Day Out - Last year Carson attended his first "preschool" and we had the best experience possible. This summer I really started my part time job so we found a school that would take Carson and Caleb two days a week. Carson's old school doesn't take babies, so we continued with the school that they attended during the summer. We could not be happier AGAIN! My boys love their teachers and they love them. The great thing about a church preschool is the love and affection they GET to show the kids. Caleb gets greeted with kisses by his teachers everyday. I am so thankful for their first school experiences. 

15. Social Networks - I am very thankful I get to keep up with family and friends that I don't get to see or hear from on a daily or weekly basis. Yes, they can be annoying on occasion (election month or cowboys game) but then I get to see precious baby pictures from high school or college friends and it makes it worth it. 

16. PINTEREST! - I will admit, I am addicted. I am thankful for this wonderful addicting website. We have benefited with good easy dinners, decorating ideas, and hopefully more to come. I have a lot of boards pinned with lots of ideas :)

17. Living Close to Family - I LOVE living within a few minutes of my family, and in the next month my parents will be moving closer to us. Garet's parents also live fairly close. 3 and a half hours is not bad at all and truly either group could travel the distance at any time. Garet's Mom and Dad made the move from Chicago to Houston with 3 small children and left their entire family up north. I am so thankful that we can stay near our families and don't even have to make a decision like that. 

18. Activeness - Garet and I both play indoor and outdoor soccer and we enjoy it so much. I am thankful we are physically able to stay active. Our competitiveness is still alive and we love being weekend warriors (sometime weeknight warriors too).

19. Electronics - I know I mentioned our possessions earlier, but I love the ease of keeping pictures, sharing pictures, sharing ideas...I could go on and on. I know some people think that technology is not a good thing, but I think it is great when used the right way. It will be amazing to see what kind of technology will be out there when my boys are older and teaching me how to do things. 

20. Thanksgiving - My family had our thanksgiving early on Monday night and it was amazing to see almost our entire family there. If you know my family we are big and scattered all around Dallas. We had 28 people at dinner and it was a wonderful gathering. Tonight we are making the trip to The Woodlands to have thanksgiving with Garet's family and EVERYONE will be there as well. It will be fun to get pictures of the little ones and let the cousins play and spend time together. This holiday reminds us to be thankful and I am thankful it brings families together. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family whether it's a small group (my parents ran off to Vegas so there actual Thanksgiving will just be 2) or a group of 28 or more!

10 Days of Thanks

Several people on my facebook are doing daily Thankful posts. I love that my friends are thankful for their blessings but after about day 3 I was annoyed with the process. With that being said I am going to do (try, hopefully) 3 different posts on what I am thankful for.

1. My God - Without him I would have nothing. I learned at a very young age to trust in the Lord and he will not fail you. Everything is in his plan, the good and bad, and with that I have an amazing life with MANY blessings.

2. My Husband - Who knew going to Hardin-Simmons University would bring Garet and I together? Neither one of us had ever heard of the school before our recruiting trips, and we had both planned on going somewhere else before we chose HSU. Garet is my best friend and the love of my life. He also is a tad OCD and likes to clean and do laundry - I know its a rarity and I love him even more for it!

3. Carson - My first born, 3 year old son. There is never a dull moment around this one. If he isn't talking your ear off, he is probably running circles around you. He is way smarter than he should be and very loving. He is going to be our giant (size) super star.

4. Caleb - My sweet as pie baby boy. This little one is going to be my watcher. Yes, I know he won't be perfect forever but God knew what he was doing when he gave me Caleb after Carson. His little personalty is coming out more everyday and I can't wait to watch him grow more and more.

5. My Parents - Anyone need parents? Because my parents will "adopt" you in a heart beat. They are two of the most caring people I have ever known and would do anything for anyone.

6. Sean and Shanda - my brother and sister closest to me. The 3 of use were in the last "litter" as I call it. My parents were both previously married and had kids with those marriages and then got together and had the 3 of us. We fought so much growing up and now we are the best of friends. I'm even more blessed to live so close to both of them and their families.

7. My In-laws - Terry and Tony are two of the sweetest people I have ever met. The love for their children and grandchildren is unconditional and like my parents, they would do anything for any of us. After hearing horror stories of crazy, controlling in-laws, I am VERY thankful I have the ones I've got.

8. My Best Girlfriends - you know who you are! From elementary, to high school, to college I have been so blessed to have met girls that I know without a shadow of doubt will be my best friends for a life time. We will literally be in the nursing home together, checking out old men, and talking reality TV :)

9. My Husbands Job & My Job - Our last few months in Houston were sad ones because Garet and I both dreaded going to work. It was a situation where we liked what we were doing and we had good people around us, but there was one person that just spoiled it all. It added so much pointless stress and ultimately pushed us out the door and to Dallas. Our jobs now provide for our family and we are happy with them.

10. Rogue - Our official FIRST born. Rogue has been the best first dog for our family. She turned 5 years old last month and she has been such a great dog. She is awesome with the kids, barks at strangers, and doesn't chew up anything (unless she is showing off for other dogs).

 

10 days of Thanks...What are you thankful for?