It is gorgeous here - I am loving the winter in TX. Eli has two full weeks off school so we are enjoying some time to just hang out before heading to KS. Today we spent the morning at the lake and had a lot of fun riding bikes, playing with toys, throwing rocks into the water, dipping our feet in, and just relaxing. It was very peaceful!

It is hard to believe that Eli is already on Christmas break. Yesterday he had his party at school and early dismissal. It is always fun to help out at his school and see what is going on. He has a great teacher and he loves Mrs. Thomas.

We had originally planned to do our Christmas at home this weekend before we do all of our holiday traveling. We always read the Christmas story, open stockings, and open a game on our Christmas Eve.

The kids always enjoy it and the game this year was a huge hit and I highly recommend it Richard Scarry's Busytown Eye found it! It is an I can do that game and great for both kids.

Eli loves teaching Kiley new things and it always makes me laugh at how excited they both get when she gets it right. Here are a few pictures of Eli teaching her to read...

We have had a great family weekend. We always take a Saturday near Christmas and take the kids shopping for one another - Kiley picks something for Eli and Eli for Kiley. They always have a lot of fun. So we shopped, went out to eat, took naps, set up our fire pit, and enjoyed some fun family time cooking over the fire and hanging out. Then when the kids went to sleep I was able to finish up sewing some Christmas presents.

Now Daddy and Eli are hanging a few lights outside (like two strands:) Eli wanted some out but to follow our roof line would take some serious work so we are just adding a little color. For anyone who lives in our neck of the woods our street is pretty impressive and worth a drive over to see. There is even music at one house. The kids love walking up and down the street in the evening.

Anyone who needs stocking stuffer for little girls or gifts for little friends I think I have the perfect thing?! Cheap, easy, and cute! I took some shower curtain rings (about a dollar for 12) and some ribbon and you can make some sweet little bracelets. They are so easy and as simple or elaborate as you want. I have only made a few but they are fun and so fast!!

Brian just enjoyed a week off for a hunting trip and had a lot of fun. He got his 10 pt. buck about 1/2 hour after going out on opening morning. He got back home last night and showed Kiley the 'horns' as she calls them this morning. She was very impressed and even more impressed with the jerky. I had to move it to the top of the fridge where she could not see the bags. Eli has not gotten to see the rack b/c he was already at school this morning. Kiley was very proud of her daddy, but wanted him to, "take the eyes off because she only liked the big horns!" I totally agree with her...

The kids and I completed our first sewing project yesterday afternoon. We made travel pillows for them for the long drive to KS in a few weeks. They had a lot of fun and they turned out useable so all is well. Now we can only hope that they will actually use them on the drive :)

The weather here has been absolutely beautiful!!! I love that it is in the 70s and it is December. This morning I had a few things to do around the house and then we headed out for a picnic and playing at the park. The fresh air was great and the kids needed to run.

I had picked up Ants in the Pants for a couple of dollars after Thanksgiving and pulled it out today with the kids. They both had fun but Eli loved it. He seriously played it for an hour until I told him to put it away and go outside!

Last night the kids and I enjoyed some pretty amazing Christmas lights. There is a very large outdoor recreational facility near us that sets up lights each year and you drive around the lake and area checking out the different displays they have created. The kids truly enjoyed it...

At the end they had a 'tunnel' of lights that you drive through and the kids were very impressed.

It is hard to believe that it is December already. We finished out November doing our Thankful wreath and when I took it down and the kids were actually a little disappointed.

Now we have all our Christmas things up and have started doing our Jesse Tree. I am excited about this new tradition we are starting this year. We have a special tree and the children open an ornaments for each day that corresponds to a story in the bible. It starts in Genesis and follows the linage of Jesus to his birth.

I do have presents under the tree and stockings stuffed...Normally I do not but I had everything bought and the kids were discovering my hiding places. My mother did however inform me that she thought that it was almost torture for my children - mother I assure you is it becomes an issue I will put the presents away and unstuff the stockings:)

This morning I took Eli to school and then came home to shower and drop Kiley off with friends before I headed back to school for my Wednesday morning volunteering. As we were heading out the door I noticed that someone had been decorating my steps so I asked Kiley if she had put stickers on the steps and she says, "Must have been a puppy mom, see the foot?" to which I said, "Really Kiley?!" and she smiles and says, "or maybe not..."

(if you can not see there are paw print stickers on each step)