Merry Christmas 2018!

Since my last post, we kicked off some additional Christmas festivities with Zack's annual work Christmas party.  I put the kids in matching pajamas... because who doesn't love matching Christmas pajamas?! Thanks Grammy! :)  Then, Zander had to decide if he was going on the naughty or nice list.... you will see he "tattooed" his arms (both of them) with a stamp while I was driving down the road one day! Zander got to chat with Santa at our school.  Zander and Maddox got to see Santa at Great Grandma's Christmas party.  I got to be "mom" for a few hours at our school and help with Zander's class Christmas party!  We fit in Maddox's first trip to the dentist...both boys were absolutely wonderful for the visit (even with a girl screaming in the chair beside them)... so they ended up back on the nice list. ;) We also had pajama day at school..... you can see our office staff has a fun time any time we are asked to dress up!! Zander got to pose with one of his best friends, Mia! 

Then, we headed to Morganton for the Christmas festivities with both sides of Zack's family!  We had Cantrell Christmas on Saturday and celebrated with the Houstons on Sunday.

On Christmas Eve, we went to visit Great Grandpa and then spent the evening at Grammy and Grandpa's with the Kennedys.  We watched the movie, The Star, after dinner.

The boys put out their cookies and milk for Santa.  Zander was kind to thank Santa for coming to our house! :) Santa came through BIG with bikes for both boys!! We have already been out riding earlier today.  Zander got a balance bike from Grannie a couple years ago so he was able to ride his pedal bike (without training wheels) the first time I let go!  He has done great and can even turn around.  We are still working on stopping, etc but I can't keep up with him!  Both boys loved all their gifts from family and from Santa!  We got to see the Bakewells, Kennedys, Grannie and GranDan today.  It has been a wonderful Christmas!

 Burke loved his present from Santa too! :)

As we celebrated Christmas with exchanging gifts, let us never forget the true reason for this holiday season and the greatest gift of all that was born on this day.....the gift of peace, love, mercy and grace through Jesus Christ, God's Only Son!

Luke 2:11-14

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

Santa and Snow!

We are LOVING this time of year!! Zack has been home more in the evenings which means mommy gets help with dinnertime and bedtime routines!  The boys love riding on daddy's back around the downstairs and even up the stairs!  We also have had many fun activities planned as we count down to Jesus' birthday!  Of course, we had to say hey to Santa and put in our wish list for this year.  (You will see Zander wrote a letter to Santa for himself and for his brother..... hope they have been on the nice list!)  These past couple weeks, Zander has also tried out Taekwondo (and might want to do this in the future.... stay tuned!)  I also got to have a girls' night with my co-workers which was definitely needed!! I got to paint a porch sign for the holidays! On Saturday, I fit in a run with Linds, a Taekwondo exhibition, a baby shower for a co-worker's daughter and Seph's 4th birthday party.  We are glad we got all our "running" in on Saturday because by Sunday we woke up to a ton of snow.  We are predicting we might not be in school all week and enjoyed having daddy home at least for a day (or two) because of the weather.  They are measuring approximately 15" in our area and with the temperatures forecast for the week, I don't think this snow is going anywhere!  Currently, Zack is shoveling our driveway!  He is so good to us! ;) 

 "Dear Santa, I want a hot wheels car to drive. Zander"

"Dear Santa, I want a bike to ride. Maddox"

Update from our snow days.... we missed a whole week of school due to the large amount of snow we received this past week.... we made memories playing in the snow, watching movies, doing homework, dressing up Burke in his holiday attire, getting haircuts and making cookies at Grammy and Grandpa's house!  We have loved extending our Christmas celebrations and time off with family.

I even got to be "mom" for the morning and participate in Maddox's Christmas Danish and Tea along with watching him perform at his Christmas presentation.  Since Zander didn't have school, he got to tag along as well.  I had a workday so I went back to work after the holiday festivities that morning.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!  Merry Christmas from the Houstons!!

Happy Thanksgiving 2018!

After being away for a week, it felt great to spend a little extra time with these two boys! I have to admit, they still wear me out and I sometimes count down to bedtime, but in between those moments, we have had the best time together!  Maddox dressed up as an Indian one day last week for school and Zander had his kindergarten feast where he dressed up as an Indian as well!  Then, on Wednesday (since there was no school), I took the boys to the science center with Grammy, Grandpa, Aunt Lindsey and Emerson!  After we got home, Santa's little helper (a.k.a Zander) helped me put up the whole Christmas tree.  He handed me each branch as I placed it on the tree and then put most of the ornaments on by himself.  It was a great day with my boys!

On Thursday morning, we headed out for the Greensboro Gobbler.  Zander and I ran the one mile fun run last year and decided to make it a family event this year.  Zander ran the mile in 9:03 with daddy and Maddox and I (the M & Ms as we called ourselves!) finished in a little over 13 minutes!  I think I have the cutest running partners! :)

 We headed to Charlotte to celebrate Thanksgiving with Zack's side of the family.  There was delicious food and wonderful company! I even found time to play with three boys (my nephew included).  It is so fun to see the cousins starting to play together!

 On Friday, we took daddy lunch at work and then went to see The Grinch in the theaters.  The boys were absolutely perfect and I counted it as a successful outing!  On Saturday, we hosted Thanksgiving for the Bakewell side of the family.  As is tradition, Zack made the turkey (this year in the fryer) and many of the side dishes!  We had a pretty yummy spread!