Our Sweet and Simple Christmas

We arrived home on Christmas Eve afternoon.  We had celebrated the holiday with Nonnie in Houston a few days earlier, then took a load of furniture to the lake house.  We were all tired on arrival but looking forward to a low-stress Christmas.  Ma-Mas, Pa-Pa, Uncle Clint, Dana, Libby, and Bill all came over for our tradition of chili and tamales and a couple of gifts.  We enjoyed the evening but it was an early night for everyone.

Cooper, the night before Christmas.

Cooper, the night before Christmas, pretending to be a...well, I am not sure exactly.

Penny, deep in thought on Christmas Eve.

Santa came!  At first we thought it looked a little sparse under the tree.  Our simple Christmas, however, was glorious!  The kids weren't overwhelmed by stuff, and we weren't overwhelmed by the mess (or stress). 

Not wasting any time on Christmas morning.  Cooper and Penny dove into their new toys and played happily all morning long.  Mom and Dad drank coffee and relaxed.  (Did I already use the word "glorious"?)

Ralph was pleased with his Christmas gift.

 After a quiet morning at home, we went to Ma-Mas and Pa-Pa's house for more holiday fun.

Tearing into the presents at Ma-Mas and Pa-Pa's house.

A little assistance from Uncle Clint.

We had a sweet and simple Christmas that was filled with family, fun, laughs, and peace. We couldn't have asked for more.

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

I went to upload photos from my camera for some blog material.  There weren't any, save this one that I snapped of our tree (and Cooper's alter to Thomas) while fiddling with my camera settings a couple of weeks ago.  This fact made me stop and think.  WHY don't I have more pictures?  And the answer is this:  We have had a good year, though the end of it has been a busy, chaotic challenge.  Cooper has been sick this week, which was to be my Christmas crunch week.  I was forced to drag him along on errands and shopping trips in order to scratch every item off my list.  Now both kiddos are napping peacefully and I am at peace knowing I don't have to set foot inside another store (even the grocery store!) until after the holidays.  In other words, the Christmas crunch is over and we can rest.  That is exactly what I intend to do.  Rest, and be with the ones that I love until the end of the year. I hope all of you can do the same.  I will be back, ready to post, then.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

David, Leslie, Cooper and Penny

Holiday Season Kick-Off

After a lengthy November, we were glad to welcome December and the Christmas season! Our first event was the kids' Christmas program at school. This was Penny's first year to participate in such an event and she did great...no crying or bolting off the stage! She also looked really cute up on the stage and so little!

Penny, waiting patiently for ice cream after the program.

Cooper, our little Christmas veteran, did a great job too! He sang all the songs and really got into the hand motions. He and one of his buddies from his class had fun wearing their hats on stage as well. He also looked really cute.

Cooper, following his performance.

Afterward, we skipped the cookie reception, even though Coop and I had baked cookies for it. Instead we went with friends and their little performer to get ice cream. (We are some proud parents but the place was jammed with proud parents...a little too jammed.) Overall though it was a charming night.

Our second event was a Christmas party just for Mom and Dad, though I imagine Coop and Penny enjoyed running wild under the care of their babysitter. Our final event of the week consisted of watching Johnny Manziel win the Heisman Trophy. Whoop!

We can't wait to see what else the season has in store!

November in an Instant

Throwing rocks in the lake, a great way to decompress.

I have to say I am glad November is over.  It was a whirlwind month packed with events.  Incidentally, I also discovered the seductiveness of my new iPhone   All the photos I've taken in the last month have been through Instagram, which is sort of an analogy for how we have felt the last month...Life has been just a series of Instagrams.

We attended my Cousin's Reunion at the Ranch and celebrated Thanksgiving at Ma-Mas and Pa-Pas house.  We "took the lake house back," as in, we kicked out the renters who destroyed the house and started working to clean and fix it up so that we can start using it again.  (This is no small task.) We visited the emergency room twice.  Yes, twice.  Once for me for a broken toe, and another time for Penny, who fell and cut her eyebrow.  Three stitches for a two-year-old.  Fun stuff.  In between all of these events, we did manage to get our house decorated for Christmas but after our doozy November we have decided we are keeping the holidays as simple as possible this year.  I hope to blog more this month and show how we have gotten into the holiday spirit.  Happy December!