Christmas & New Years & Beyond

I guess it's about time to catch up on some recent memories. And where better to begin than the memory of making Christmas cookies with mom...


Or decorating the Christmas tree.


The day before Christmas Eve, we had temperates in the 50's. Christmas Eve, just before mass, temperatures began to drop quickly. We had to bundle the kids up warmly. Eli seems to like the cold and never minds wearing his coat.



After mass, the weather was getting even colder and a wet, snowy rain was moving in. We decided to stop at La Madeleine for a nice little Christmas Eve family dinner. We had a lot of fun and some good food, but in the hour or so we were there, the big storm hit. The temperature dropped below freezing and the snow began to fall.


We usually get little to no snow around Christmas in Texas. If we're lucky, we see a few days of snow in February or March, but rarely in December. This year we had three or four different snow storms hit in December. The one that came Christmas Eve wasn't that bad, but the temperature being high just that morning made all the initial snowfall turn to ice, and the 20 or so wrecks we witnessed on the way home that night were evidence that Texas drivers have no idea how to handle icey weather.

But it made for a wonderful white Christmas. The house looked beautiful all blanketed in snow when we got home.

And the next morning, the kids awoke to a wonderfully white Christmas. Benjamin immediately wanted to play in it.

Christmas was awesome with the kids this year. This was really the first year they knew what was going on, and they were EXCITED! Benjamin was the first up, demanding to open gifts at the break of dawn. Eli wanted one thing only, to eat chocolate from his stocking. Beyla just kind of rolled with it and seemed sleepy. She did like her tea set from her aunt and uncle.

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My dad's birthday falls on New Years Eve, so we usually head over to the house on New Years Day to celebrate his birthday and to have the tradition New Years Day black eyed peas. Black eyed peas are supposed to give you good luck for the year, and they taste pretty good, so we have 'em each year.

Savannah came over to stay for the weekend and got to enjoy two full days of playing trains with the boys. I think she'd be happy to never play trains again. Beyla seemed to enjoy the company too.

Eli also seems to enjoy Beyla's Christmas tea set and his new ability to have coffee with mama.
And finally, in this new year, Amanda is going to attempt to perfect her blouse and dress making abilities. Now that we have a little girl it is essential that she know how to make many a cute little dress. This pink peasant dress is her second attempt, and Beyla seems to approve.