That time of year....

I will have to take a moment here and give accolades to my husband's photog skills...cause he's got them!  Although every now and then I hit the nail on the head and luck into a good shot.  As my luck would have it, it's usually a pic of him.  (Yay Me) So I did it again here...in my opinion.  And the lighting outside certainly played a major role, then again it is hard to take a bad pic when the subject is so strikingly handsome. 
We did our Christmas Card pics at the barn in Southlake this year.  We always have fun.  There is not much too serious about our camera time.  Except Brandon trying to not laugh in just about every pic I take!  You can see that here if you look.  He is trying hard to not burst out laughing at me. 

Anyway on point....this is one of my favorite times of year.  Not that there any times of year I truly dislike.  I have a hard time fitting in ALL the things I want to do with the kids and for the kids.  I realize that the most important thing is being together, being at peace and loving one another.  There will always be another year to decorate the Gingerbread Houses, there are plenty of lights to drive around and see, there are tons of cookies in our future to decorate, Santa will always be there waiting for us to take our pic with him and they will NEVER run out of toys for me to buy.  So this year I am sitting back relaxing, enjoying the season, looking forward to new traditions, not worrying about what we did not get to do.  Most of all I look forward to sitting down and reading the story of Baby Jesus in Luke tomorrow night and telling Bradford about his Christmas Day Christening when he was 6 weeks old.  (And of course we will make Santa's cookies) For now
Good Night to all and to all a new year...

Merry Merry

Hey Mr Grinch, You are not stealing my Christmas!  Scream!!!!! "Iiiieeeyyyyaaa!!!" So much fun we can't even contain ourselves.  This time of year is one of my favorites.  On equal playing field are Valentines and my birthday, oh and the boys birthdays too.  The lights, the decorations, Christmas Eve candle light service, the thrill of thinking about someone and what would make them happy, put a smile on their face, buying or making that special something, the sound of tons of paper tearing, crumbling...I LOVE it!  All of it! I am the kid in the candy store this time of year. Bradford asked me the other day why the Grinch tried to steal Christmas.  My answer: because he was sad and lonely and did not understand how much joy Christmas time can bring.  He answered with "He had his dog so why was he still lonely?"  This was a great opportunity for me to explain to him compassion, love and the power of giving.  At this age children are so excited to learn and soak in everything we have to offer. I hope my kids soak up all that the Christmas Season means and how special it is to GIVE of ourselves to others!  Even to the Grinches out there--You know who you are and we still love ya!