December

I'm not a super crazy Christmas person but I do love the season. 

I love the lights, the cold weather, the non stop Christmas music on sunny 99.1 for a month, advent, Christmas programs, Christmas carols, Jesus birthday and more.

This December has been filled with many memories:

Violet's first Christmas program:

Isn't she the cutest reindeer?? She had so much fun singing on staged and waved at us so many times. It was so cute to see her and her little classmates together! 

Bryson's installation at Brazos Bookstore:

Bryson was asked to install a sculpture at a local bookstore for their annual Christmas party. This was a huge answer to prayer for him. After months of planning and building the "oh tennenbaum" it turned out gorgeous! Bryson was I inspired by a fir tree root system to create this piece. He wanted people not to only think "oh it's a tree", but to consider what are the real roots of Christmas. We were so bless to have many friends and family encourage and support Bryson with this project! 

CYP girls:

Kim, Kimmy and had our annual CYP girls Christmas! Yummy food and fun together! 

Leaves:

We had all our leaves fall off and the kids went wild playing in the backyard jumping in piles! 

Christmas Cookies:

The 24th annual Strobel cookie exchange was once again delicious and fun! 

Countdown:

Since V is almost 4 she was super interested in all things Christmas this year. It was fun to watch Christmas movies, read Advent readings in her bible, have a "happy birthday Jesus" party with friends, and talk about Santa. 

Babies:

My sister had a Christmas Eve baby girl! Im so happy for them and can't wait to meet her!! 

Christmas:

We celebrated Christmas this year at our house with Nana and Papa. It was sweet, chill and relaxed. Violet woke up early and came and snuggled in our bed. She started crying and when we asked her what's wrong she said "Santa didn't come last night" we reassured her he did and she had not even looked under the Christmas tree....it was so honest and cute. Once she saw the presents she was back to excitement mode with the magic of Christmas in her eyes 

Cousins:

Bryson's sister and kids came over the day after Christmas. So we have 5 adults and 6 kids under 6 years old in the house for a few days. It's wild and crazy but also a lot of fun to be together for an extended time. 

Hope you have enjoyed the month of December!  

Week of Chill

The beginning of December was super busy! We had something everyday or night. All were good things; Bryson's sculpture, Violet's Christmas program, MOPs, running errands, christmas parties, play dates, grocery shopping...I was tired!! While I loved all the events and seeing friends I felt like we needed a week of rest and reconnecting as a family!

It was so nice to look at our week ahead and have nothing on the calendar!! Nothing to do but play and stay home! Everyday Violet normally asks "what are we going to do today?" Or the night before "what are we going to do tomorrow?" It was nice to just say stay home and play! (Don't get me wrong we still ran a few errands/went grocery shopping. But for the most part stayed home). The weather was pretty chilly this past week too, so we bundled up to play outside or we snuggled a lot on the couch. 

We had an impromptu "make Christmas decorations" since I didn't bother with telling Parker "no" every 5 mins. We made a couple homemade ones. These little artists did a great job

My aunt made these smocks for V a few years ago! Parker was so proud to wear one too! 

While V was at school one day Parker and I had a lunch date with Bryson. We love visiting his office and chatting with his co-workers before we go to lunch. But never have just the three of us gone out to eat! So it was fun to have this special time with Parker together. 

It was such a quiet lunch with just us three! :) 

The chilly weather brought a lot of wind and flooded our lawn with leaves! We didn't mind it though!

Leaves!! 

Every year since my jr or senior year of high school my best friends from the CYP try to get together to celebrate Christmas. This year we last minute planned a dinner at Kimmys! Kimmy made us a delicious dinner and I brought crave cupcakes! I love these girls and glad we have kept this tradition for so many years! 

CYP girls Christmas

My parents came over Saturday for my Mom's birthday. Since my dads recent knee surgery we haven't seen them as much so it was a nice time to catch up and visit. 

Happy Birthday Gaggy! 

It was a great restful week relaxing and enjoying time together as a family. I cooked some really good dinners and even managed a few desserts too! Hope we can always remember to take time to reconnect and rest.