It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

December is such a busy month, but a lot of fun. Here are a few things we did this December:

We decorated for Christmas.

This year, it was Natalia's turn to place the star on the tree.  

She did a good job, don't you think?

We went to the Christmas parade in Beaumont. 

Wrote letter for Santa

Went to visit Santa

Luke asked for a real gun.  Natalia and Carson asked for roller skates.

Played with water, even though it was 50 degrees outside! 

Luke was outside, unsupervised, for only one minute...

The kids loved the advent calendar.  Each day, during the month of December, they opened a door and found chocolate and a Bible verse or a truth relating to the story of the birth of Jesus.

Decorated a Gingerbread House.

Lot's of fun and what a mess too!

Enjoyed some snow (that's another post)!

Made treats for Santa two days before Christmas, of course.

We also took MeeMaw (Dave's grandmother) to see Christmas lights.  Dave has taken his grandmother to see Christmas lights ever since he got his driver's license at 15 years old.  That means he has been doing this for 19 years!  Except now, he has added a few more passengers :0)!  Our favorite house this year, was one on 105 and Major.  We turned the radio to 103.5 and enjoyed the show.

What a fun time we had!  

Squirrel Hunting

What good is a bow and arrow if you are not going to use it? ~Do not fear... thanks to Daddy, the kids have put their bow and arrow to good use!

One day, they decided that they were going to shoot a "squirrel". So this is what Dave came up with...
And according to Dave, after you shoot a squirrel, you have to skin it and eat it.  So that's exactly what they did after the kids kept saying, "Daddy, when are we going to skin the squirrel and eat it?"

So, here they are, enjoying some "squirrel"!

Oh wait, but that's not it.  A few days later, while I was not home (I would've taken some photos), Dave took them outside to look for squirrels.  They all had had their bow and arrows and were actually trying to get a squirrel.  They had so much fun hunting for squirrels, while people were slowing down as they were driving by our house to see what in the world was going on...Once again I say, leave it to Dave!

Cowboy Carson!

Carson chose a Cowboy Party to celebrate his 5th birthday!  Grannie offered her house.  Thank you Grannie and Papaw for everything.

All the cowboys and the cowgirl.

Family Picture

Pin the tail on the donkey.

"Happy Birthday to You!"

Roasting Marshmallows for S'mores - Yum!

Enjoying the fire after the party.

Library Fun

We love to go to the library. Natalia was so excited to get her very own library card. Carson was a little disappointed because I told him that he cannot get his own card until he can sign his name all by himself. I'm hoping this will give him the motivation he so desperately needs to learn how to write his name.  

Natalia loves to read! She always complains when it is time to leave.  She is also never content with just a few books!!!!! Every time, I have to explain to her that we can't take too many books and that we will be back!  

Luke loves the fact that he can use the computer and he also loves to play with the puppets.

Carson spends most of his time in the Sports section. Most of the books he gets are about sports. One day, he found a black and white, old book about archery. He has been intrigued with bow and arrows since then. We read this book every day for two weeks. After two weeks we had to return the book to the library. We weren't able to go in, so we just dropped it off in the drop-off box. Carson was so heartbroken. A few days later, we returned to the library and Carson was so excited when he found that same book again!  

The next day, we had to take the book to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) to share with everybody!

"Like the Tellar and the Nellar and the Gellar and the Dellar..."

Ah...look at them hugging!  Okay so they do love each other, but there is another reason why they hug while Daddy reads There's a Wocket in my Pocket! by Dr. Seuss.

                                                                 

                                                            

Ever since Natalia and Carson were very little every time Dave reads this book and gets to a particular part whoever is not hugging gets a "tickle-tickle"!   

Carson Turns 5!

Unbelievable! How can Carson be 5 already? 

He had such a good birthday. His birthday was December 4th. I know, I know, I can't believe it has taken me this long to blog about such a special occasion. December has just been a very busy month. I guess, better later than never. Anyway...

We had a special birthday breakfast and he received his birthday gifts from us. 

Right after I dropped him off at school, I went back home to fix his room.  He got his big boy bed.  Thank you Grannie and Mami for all your help.  I could have not done it without them!  

Dave and I picked Carson up early from school and took him for a special lunch at Tokyo Japanese Steak House.  At first, he wasn't too sure about the fire, but by the end, he was enjoying himself.

Right after lunch, my parents took all of them to Chuck E Cheese and to the bookstore.

Later that evening, we went to Chili's, the restaurant of his choice.  

What a wonderful time!  

Black Friday!

This is the first time in my life that I've gone shopping the day after Thanksgiving.  Grannie, Susan, Elizabeth and I were deciding when and where to meet the next morning when Natalia said, "I want to go too!"  I don't know why but I said, "okay".   

After only a few hours of sleep, this is what Natalia looked like at 6:30 AM on Black Friday...

Once Natalia had some Chick-Fil-A for breakfast, she woke up a little.  We had a great time.  She did better than I ever expected!