New Year's Eve

A trio of adorable boys in pajamas and capes.  Two precious little girls not wanting to go to sleep.  It is funny how our "party" has changed, and I wouldn't change it for anything! 

Mustaches are silly

More Christmas traditions.  Tonight we enjoyed the holiday crackers with a twist. They each had a stick on mustache with a personality name.  Everyone played along, even Ridley.    

Nana & Papaw Visit

We celebrated Christmas with Nana & Papaw, and they came with tons of gifts.  Since Uncle Clint had to work, he sent his gifts with Nana.  The boys loved the combat toys, and I am wondering who will cry first.

Our neighborhood goes all out decorating for Christmas.  One house did a Whooville scene, complete with a cute photo board.  The kiddos and grandparents braved the freezing temperatures to take a quick picture. 

Ridley loved the craziness of all the gift opening and paper going everywhere.  Her favorite gift was Sophie the Giraffe.  

Christmas Day

We continued the tradition of Christmas Day with the Brashers.  After dinner, our children opened gifts, and the dads took over their Legos.

Benton, Reed, and Ryland dressed up in their new hunting gear and played hunting for hours.  I love how these three play so well together.  

Santa is coming

We are getting ready for Santa to visit, and the boys wanted to leave the reindeer some food for their long trip.  The boys sprinkled food mixed with a little glitter in the front yard.   The glitter was to help the reindeer find a safe place to land.  

We left Santa a fancy glass full of milk and some homemade Christmas tree cookies.  Yummy!

John Chris and I had a sneak peak at all the goodies Santa brought. They must have been good this year.

Christmas Eve Service

Christmas Eve service is our favorite church service of the year.  It is so magical and special.  There is something about the combination of the story of Jesus' birth and singing Silent Night while passing candlelight to those you love.  

It also is one of the rare times we are all dressed "fancy". 

Dragon Baseball Camp

Even though school is on break, the big boys still play ball.  Ryland was excited for baseball camp, and he braved the freezing weather to participate.  He loves baseball!

Letters to Santa

So Sad

I was so disappointed to get this picture.  Every year I have the kids make a hand or foot print plate.  This is my treat to myself for Christmas.  I was really looking forward to getting the plate, but it broke in the firing process.  The artist was nice enough to offer to make a replacement, but it will be after Christmas.  I do love how the snowman design turned out.  I can't wait to remake it.  Cross your fingers!

Hunting

The boys wanted to get some hunting in while on Christmas break.  Even though it was gold out, they had great quality time.  They chilled in the blind.

They killed a rabbit.

They climbed a "mountain" on the ranch.

They also killed a jack rabbit.  Our housekeeper, Jannest, has already claimed both of their kills.  She says rabbits are yummy.

My favorite part of the boys going hunting are the stories they come home telling.  I love how excited and happy this makes them!

Muffins

It was a lazy Saturday morning in our pajamas, so Reed and I baked some delicious blueberry muffins.  It has been so long since I made these, and it took me back to summers with my Grandmother Sue.  Oh, that yummy crunchy topping.  I was thrilled to share it with my little man.

Ticklish

Ridley is a giggle monster and loves to be tickled.  One of my favorite tickle spots is right behind her ear.  She laughs and comes back for more.

Bass Pro Shop

John Chris had the day off, and the boys were at school.  We decided to do a little Christmas shopping at Bass Pro Shop, and Ridley was along for the ride.  Ooooooo and pointing were her reaction to all the animals.  She was completely entertained as we gathered up some goodies for the boys.

Pictures with Santa

I love these precious pictures of my sweethearts with Santa. LOVE!

Awesome

It was a beautiful Saturday, and we had a few errands to run around town.  What we didn't expect was to be in the middle of an awesome toy drive with lots of Firefighters and Police Officers.  Target was swarming with the teams from NRH.  The boys were in complete shock and awe.  They got badges, helmets, and a up close look at a firetruck.

Free Spirit

After bath time, Reed was headed upstairs to get his pajamas.  Instead I found him sitting on the stairs drawing in the nude.  When I asked what he was doing, he told me he wanted to draw a picture.  I asked if he wanted pajamas, and his simply reply was "no".  

Kindergarten Pictures

Ryland's Kindergarten pictures came home today.  The moment I saw them, I stopped to look at my baby boy that is growing up so quickly.  He is sweet, kind, and loving.  I love that he cares about others and is sensitive to his surroundings.  He loves sports and is surprisingly competitive.  Kindergarten is going very well for him, and he loves learning and exploring.

Christmas Festival

Our church had the annual Christmas Festival, and it was a blast.  Not only were there bounce houses and games, but they have added rides and fireworks.  The most popular ride was the snow tubing, and Ryland loved it. 

Reed wasn't interested in the tubing.  He stayed busy bouncing in every bounce house with a slide.  

Even with all the commotion, Ridley was worn out and fell asleep, but I am sure next year will be a different story.

Bettas

I am not really sure how this happened, but we now have two pet fish.  Bob & Spikey are the boys' responsibility, and they eagerly agreed to feed and clean their bowl.  Keep your fingers crossed!

He's back

Our elf, Tom, showed up today with treats for the children.  He has a tradition of bringing Christmas pajamas and a chocolate advent calendar.  The boys love looking for him every morning, and I like that he tattles to Santa when they misbehave.  Welcome back, Tom!

Stocking Fail

I was excited to get our new monogrammed stockings.  My excitement quickly dimmed when I pulled out the huge stockings.  What did I do?  Oh goodness, I ordered the wrong size.  I hung them on the mantle, and I couldn't stop laughing.  They are huge, and Santa has a lot of room to fill.

Christmas Tree

With a little help from some adorable elves, our Christmas tree is up and decorated.  It is very different this year, because we have a new tree.  The red 7.5' tree has been replaced by a dark green traditional 12' tree.  It is the perfect height and shape for our curved staircase.  The boys love it, and Ridley can't wait to pull the ornaments off.  It is starting to look like Christmas.

Thanksgiving Take 2

We traveled to Ruston to share in some Thanksgiving festivities and celebrate Pops'  65th birthday.  We also spent a bit of time with the newest baby in our family, Ellison.  Before heading back home, we wanted to snap a picture of the cute cousins. 

Obsessed

I have bought some really adorable clothes for Ridley, but my absolute favorite item is her SweetHoney chambray tunic.  While driving to Ruston, Reed spilled his entire bottle of orange drink.  It went everywhere and ran under the seats where some hang up clothes were laying.  I noticed the mess, and we had to stop.  

That is when it really hit me.  I am obsessed with this tunic.  Here I was on the side of Interstate 20 washing out this top.  

Thanksgiving Art

Some of the amazing art that the kiddos brought home from school.

Northpark

I really pushed my good luck today, and I was pleasantly surprised at the wonderful afternoon.  I needed to pick up my bracelet at Tiffany's at Northpark, but I had all three kiddos.  I knew I didn't want to go after Thanksgiving, but I didn't want to wait until after Christmas when the mall calms down.  I decided we would go for it.  

The plan was to run straight into Tiffany's and straight out to the truck.  That part went well, so we started looking around.  Fountains, art, turtles, ducks, cactus plants, and lots of Christmas decorations gave us all something to look at.  

We decided to stay and walk around the mall.  We did a bit of shopping and playing, and it was one of the best days with all three of my precious little ones.  No fighting, whining, working.  Just laughs and fun for us all.

Cleaning Crew

It was a strange afternoon.  They boys wanted to clean!  I found them in the game room wiping everything down with damp rags.  They were even working together to clean their little kitchen set.  I am not sure what is going on here. They must be up to something, but I like it.

Thanksgiving Take 1

We traveled to Texarkana for our first round of Thanksgiving with family.  We had a great time visiting and playing with cousins.  We even managed to get all 5 of them to pose for a picture.  They had the best time with each other.

Ridley couldn't make it any longer.  She was loving her sweet cuddle time with Daddy.