Merry Christmas 2025!

 

On the Friday before Christmas, Maddox and I went to see the Nutcracker with Grammy, Aunt Lindsey and Emmy. His friends, Mollie and Rachelle, were in the program so it was so fun to cheer them on throughout the show. We enjoyed dinner at Bossy Beulah’s beforehand and it definitely put us in the Christmas spirit by watching this timeless classic. On Saturday morning, we headed west to see the Cantrells and the Houstons. We had our annual Dirty Santa game where this year a live lobster made its debut as one of the gifts! After lunch, we went to see GranDan at his new home, singing Christmas carols and giving gifts. Then, we went to sing carols at Uncle Johnny and Aunt Brenda’s and finished out the night seeing the lights at the J. Iverson Riddle Center with all three boys! My favorite light display continues to be Snoopy ice skating in the snow globe!

On Sunday, we went to the country house to see Granny V, Uncle Grant and Sib! We ate delicious food as always and the kids enjoyed being spoiled with more gifts, all things on their wish lists! Uncle Grant always helps us put the new items together, getting the gifts working in no time!

We got back home in time to attend our church’s Candlelight Service. I love this evening each year, filled with Christmas carols, scripture readings, communion and candle lighting. I hope the boys remember all these traditions when they have their own families one day.

We had a couple days at home before Christmas. They were filled with stops at a local coffee shop, Local Roots, making Jesus’ birthday cake, going to the Kaleideum with the cousins, making a gingerbread village and exchanging gifts with Grammy and Grandpa on Christmas Eve.

The boys were very excited Christmas Eve to set out cookies for Santa, write letters to the big man, set out carrots for the reindeer and rush off to bed where they heard the reindeer and Santa’s bells that night. They woke up Christmas morning to find that Santa had delivered what they wished for! They must have been good boys this year!;) Zander got his first laptop (a Chromebook) and Maddox got an electric scooter!

Merry Christmas from the Houstons! 

May we never forget the true reason for this special season. God sent his Son to this earth as a lowly baby, providing the way, the truth and the life! (John 14:6) Thank you Jesus for this incredible gift…the best gift at Christmas!

Elfalina

 Zander had his winter orchestra concert this week! He loves playing the violin and we loved hearing what he has learned this year in orchestra! It is crazy to see the improvements from 6th to 7th grade, and his teacher, Mr. Mitchell, is incredible to be able to teach novice students how to play a multitude of instruments in orchestra and band. I also threw in a picture of his buddy, Hampton, who made a sign for him during the volleyball playoffs! It was so kind of him to take the time to do this and Zander felt celebrated like the other 8th graders who had signs made for the games!

We’ve been having fun in elementary school too with daily dress up days and fun Christmas celebrations! I’m so thankful I have had the opportunity to stop by my boys’ parties over the years. It’s a work perk that I don’t take lightly. At Maddox’s celebration, Mr. Wyatt came in to announce I had won Certified Instructional Support Person of the Year. It is such an honor to be voted on by my peers and it comes with a sweet parking spot at the front of the building! The kids and I are excited we will get to park there for the next year! It was the icing on top to have Maddox and Grammy in the room as the announcement was made. 

Elfalina is our office elf who has been entertaining us all month long with her shenanigans! The kids’ favorite days included toilet papering my office, wrapping up Mr. Wyatt’s office with wrapping paper, a sleepy Elphalina, snowflakes/balloons and finally, getting to wear special gloves to give Elphalina a hug before she heads to the North Pole! We will miss this mischief maker until next December. She has brought joy each morning!

Kersey Valley Christmas

We have had some pretty memorable Christmas activities over the last week! It started with a “snow day”/ early release where the cousins got to come over for some hot chocolate and movie watching until their parents got off work!

We had the annual children’s Christmas performance at church. This year’s program was “Jingle Bell Beach” and I think the songs might have been one of my favorite CDs over the years. Can’t believe this is my fifth year helping out with this sweet program! 

Cuddles before bed with Beau

Annual Christmas Cookie Making at Grammy’s….. the boys participated minimally, opting to play outside instead. Emmy, Grammy, Aunt Lindsey and I enjoyed our time in the kitchen together.

For our annual Bakewell Christmas outing, we headed to Kersey Valley Christmas! The boys enjoyed the jumping pillows and giant tube slide the most. I preferred all the lights and activities after the sun went down (train ride, walking trail and wagon ride), making for a magical Christmas memory as we count down to Christmas! This is the 5th year the Bakewells have opted for “presence” rather than presents and I love this annual tradition the most. Previous outings included: Disney on Ice (2021), Polar Express (2022), Winter Wonderlights (2023) and Speedway Christmas (2024).

Seeing Santa

We made our annual trip to visit Santa with the cousins! This is always one of our favorite outings as it jumpstarts the Christmas holiday season for our extended family.

We had an unexpected “snow day” on Friday. They were calling for mainly ice but it turned out we just had a cold rainy day. So, the boys entertained themselves for most of the day in the house (including Zander making grilled cheese sandwiches to go with our soup and salad lunch). We went to the local rec center for some basketball and pickleball fun in the afternoon and finished off the day with celebrating Seph’s 11th birthday by watching Zootopia 2 at the movie theater!

Aunt Megan (aka mommy to Maddox) has an elf that makes an appearance each year. He has been entertaining the three littles each morning when we get to school!

Zander participated in our local Christmas parade with his middle school honor society. Maddox enjoyed collecting all the candy from the floats! The parents and grandparents enjoyed all the merriment and free hot chocolate!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Houstons!

A quick catch up post first… 

Maddox loves advertising for our dine out nights with our school!

He also enjoys posing with the Christmas decor at our church (he requested this picture).

Beau is getting in the Christmas spirit as well! He loves sitting by the tree in his bed.

Zack worked hard to get our outside tree decorated for the upcoming holiday season. 

Emmy represented her class for the school-wide spelling bee! She ended up tied for 3rd in the final round! I have organized this event for many years. It was so much fun (and possibly nerve-racking) to have my niece participating in the spelling competition!

The cousins matching in their Mario Kart shirts!

I got to see Wicked with friends!

The boys got haircuts before Thanksgiving! Don’t they look like they love each other?!

Zander went to his first concert to see Fit For A King with Zack! He got to meet the band and crowd surf! What a night for our preteen!?

Zander has been enjoying a lot of sports lately! Four days a week he is playing boys’ volleyball for his middle school. He plays soccer two to three days a week for his elite travel soccer team. He also tries to talk his Grandpa into playing golf any chance he can get! Zander beat Grandpa when playing nine holes earlier this week. (This is something I was never able to do when I golfed with my dad growing up!) Zander loves this time with Grandpa!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Cantrells on Thursday!

 Today, we were able to celebrate with the Bakewells!

Zack took point on the turkey which was delicious as always! Zander wanted to try a new dessert recipe, a giant buckeye cookie.  It was a hit and enjoyed by all!

Ryan T. Bailey…. One of our very best friends met our Savior on October 31st. Zack and I are having a hard time processing that we won’t get to talk to him again on this earth but cling to the promise that God will restore all things in His timing. Zack knew Ryan since preschool and I had the privilege of calling him one of my best friends since high school. I was Ryan’s senior prom date and even helped him pick out the engagement ring for his wife, Jessica. The Bailey family would often stop to see us on their way back home to visit family.  Ryan was the one that asked if Zack Houston could join us for one of our Bakewell hang outs when everyone was home from college… and the rest is history as they say… 21 years ago this month, because of Ryan, Zack walked back into my life and the boys we have are due to this union. It is hard to put into words the friend Ryan has been to us over the years. He will be missed beyond measure. Prayers for his family and friends…. may all the positive memories shared be a comfort during this difficult time.

All the things!

Life has been a whirlwind lately so I will just hit the positive highlights as we’ve experienced deep loss in the last two weeks with the passing of one of our best friends. I’m not really ready to write much at this point since Zack and I are in shock and are trying to deal with our grief. I hope I have more words to capture my thoughts in the coming weeks… but for now…. Here has been the “good” for the Houstons…

Zander saved up and bought an electric scooter and loves it!

Maddox finished out his soccer season with a tournament last weekend. The final goal scored was by our Madman with a perfectly placed penalty kick! Onto basketball for this 10 year old!

We celebrated the Kennedy kids birthdays with treats at school and our annual zoo day!

Maddox got to help out at our school’s dine out night!

Zander started his volleyball season with a pretty big cheering section! I am finding I love middle school sports! It might be a challenge to get there after work but the atmosphere and camaraderie of his teammates makes for an enjoyable and exciting afternoon!