Happy Birthday Mom!

Today my mother and the boys Mimi celebrates her birthday! She is the most talented woman I have ever known. I caught a glimpse of this when I was in high school and I wanted this very expensive dress and she said to me, "I can make that." I was like - right! But of course - without a pattern - she whips me out a dress that is identical to the one in the store. From then on she made me some clothes and was so good that I had friends asking her to make them clothes!

She is also an incredibly hard worker. Every time she comes to visit, she cooks just about every meal - yummy. G. really likes this part as I rarely cook!! She also makes curtains, wreaths, keeps the boys, does minor home repairs...she really doesn't get much of a vacation when she is at our house!

The boys love to play games, build puzzles and watch movies with her. She sets such an amazing example of the kind of person I would like to be. And did I mention what a great cook she is?? We love you Mom/Mimi!! Happy Birthday!

Another Christmas!

I did not mean to skip over our other Christmas with our other family. We celebrated with G's mom and sister and the gang the weekend before Christmas. The kids always have such a great time together playing and growing close as cousins. I was raised in a big family (even though I am an only child), I have 10 (first)cousins on one side of the family and 7 (first)cousins on the other side. We were very close and spent many holidays and summers together. Even though my boys only have 2 (first)cousins total, they cherish their time together and we make great efforts to see them as often as possible!






We were also able to attend and Aggie basketball game with fabulous seats - thank you to our sweet friends who call and offer tickets - on the court no less! My brother-in-law was in Heaven!

It was a great visit and we can't wait to get together again! Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2007

So, this is how it went at our house...the boys went to bed at a reasonable time on Christmas Eve, but they were so excited...I even commented to G that I had never seen them so ready. Well, B was in our room wide awake before 2 a.m. So, we put him in between us and he tossed and turned and tossed and turned....then at 3:30 here comes Lu! Keep in mind they both walked by the gifts that Santa left on their way to our room - thank goodness it was dimly lit and they were tired as they made their way. So, with 4 now in the bed and 3 of us not sleeping (luckily, Lu is usually able to sleep anytime, anywhere - he gets this from me:)), I decided to take B back to his room and see if that helped. Finally around 4 I tell him to start counting sheep and that seemed to work. However he was up again before 6:30 - wow! So he and I go back into where G and Lu are and wake them up to finally make our way out to see what Santa has left us! At first B was not that impressed. Just 3 days before Christmas he had completely changed his request to Santa - and Santa was unable (or possibly unwilling) to fill his new order for 5 different NFL jerseys! So the Wii and the Aggie jersey weren't quite what he had in mind. However, by 9 a.m. he was singing a different tune claiming Santa was the smartest man on Earth! We were all having such a great time playing games we kind of forgot about getting lunch ready - needless to say, we ate about 2 hours later than we had intended, but we had such a great day that no one cared!

Christmas Eve Anticipation...

Ready for church! We have never worn jeans to church before, but because we picked the casual and kid-friendly 5 o'clock service, I decided it would be ok - this time!!

Papa came to church with us as well....you might be asking yourself, Where is Mimi? Well, due to a pumpkin pie situation, she was unable to accompany us to the service. We missed her, but the pumpkin pie turned out beautifully so all is well! She also cleaned the kitchen and got dinner started for us - thanks Mimi!!

The traditional Christmas p.j.'s that the boys got to open on Christmas eve. G said they looked like jailbirds, so that made the boys love them even more!

Getting Santa's plate ready - we wanted to make sure that he had plenty to eat when he stopped at our house!

Lucy is exhausted as are we all...little did we know what this night would have in store for us!!!

Growing up Aggie, part 2

I know that I have said it before, but I love that the boys are growing up with a love of sports - in particular Aggie sports! We were able to attend both the women's and the men's basketball games this weekend. It is so fun to put on the Aggie maroon and cheer for the student athletes. Walking away with 2 wins felt pretty great as well!

The Christmas Card!

This is the card we ended up sending! We had a photographer meet us at the George Bush Library to take our pictures. The grounds of the library are beautiful! I think the pictures turned out well given it was 100% humidity and so hot!

Mom and her boys: they are getting so big!

Dad and his boys: 3 very handsome men!

All I want for Christmas....

Last year around this time, B had lost both of his front teeth. Well, this year the same thing has happened to Lu! It is so funny to see how so much of their development and different milestones are happening at or around the same time, just a year or so apart!

A Walk Thru Bethlehem

Our church does the most wonderful recreation of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth. It is so wonderful and work-intensive that it only occurs every other year. We have been looking forward to this event for a few months and today we finally got to walk the streets of Bethlehem. I am always amazed at the amount of talent our church has. The costumes were authentic and the market was truly out of the pages of the bible. There were Roman soldiers chasing beggars out of the city, there was a royal wedding with a feast and there was John the Baptist walking the streets telling anyone who would listen about the coming of a saviour for all the world.

Baby Jesus was worn out, but incredibly beautiful!

A camel waits outside the market for its owner to arrive.

Dinner on a stick!

The many spices that were used in the days of Jesus.

A really talented friend

An incredibly talented friend I have made these lap desks for my boys. Aren't they so cool? We used them on our 5 hour drive home last Saturday and the boys have used them everyday since! Amanda - who made them - said she saw some in Canton and thought to herself, " I can do that myself". Please understand I never have these thoughts. I am absent/void when it comes to artistic talent, but I sure appreciate those of you who can do these things!

Surprise!

So, I got an extra special surprise for Thanksgiving. Sweet G took me away for an overnight trip to a precious bed & breakfast in Jefferson. We had a wonderful time walking the streets of this historic town and just enjoying each others company without business or children interfering. The next morning we ate a delicious breakfast with 3 other couples and had a great time visiting. Then we headed back to NB to join the rest of the family for a lovely Thanksgiving Day lunch. All - in - all we had a wonderful break.

The room was named Monterrey Bay and was done in a California motif with a soft blue color on the wall. It had just been redone and was really beautiful!

G and me by our fireplace.........we let it burn all night!
Dinner!
The outside of the house we stayed in. It was away from the main house so we had plenty of privacy.

Happy Birthday B!

2 months
4 months
9 months
1 year old
8!

Well, my sweet, sweet B turns 8 today! He is such a great kid and I am so proud of him for so many things. He was a great baby. He slept all night around 7 months - it only took us 2 nights to get him to fall asleep in his bed wide awake (we "ferberized" him as it is called). At 15 months he would wake up from his nap and speak in full sentences, "Mommy, I would like some yogurt please!". I swear the only word he ever said incorrectly was pancakes - he called them "papakes" and I would never correct him because it was so cute. My friends all said he was like a 40 year old man because of the conversations he was able to maintain. I am most proud of his kind, gentle heart. His teacher this year nailed it when she said that B is a friend to everyone in the room! He is so good to his little brother (who sometimes doesn't deserve it!), including him in just about everything he does. My greatest hope for B is that he grows into a man of God, a man who will put God first and do God's will no matter how hard this is . I pray that he will continue to be a friend to all remaining fair and compassionate. I know that God has many great things in store for us as we watch him mature into a young man and I am forever thankful for the privilege to be his mother. I love you B...happy birthday!

Fall Sing Along Videos

Here is a video of the boys doing the chicken at the fall sing along! Enjoy!

Fall Sing Along

It worked out perfectly this year as B and Lu's classes sat on the same side right behind one another. I didn't have to run from side to side. Wow!
B was a leader for the 2nd grade song and got to stand on the stage. He loved it!
B - before the big performance in his chaps!
Lu - before the big performance in his chaps!
Lu and his sweet new friend Des!
B and his good friends WD, MC

As always the boys' school did a great job with their western themed fall sing along. It is so fun to watch the kids sing the words and dance the moves. They all seem to have a great time and do a really good job. Again, it is such a blessing to attend a school that truly prides itself on a sense of community, family and belonging. I am very impressed with what each member of the faculty does with 777 students to make them feel important.

Family Reunion

I don't know of any family that has a better reunion than the Watson's! We have been doing this since Grandma Watson passed away - I think this year was #16! As our family continues to grow so does the fun! Some people dread going to their family reunions, but I can honestly say it is an event we look forward to each year. We gather at a lake in beautiful condos and enjoy the fall weather while we catch up on each other's lives. We eat together, play games together and sincerely enjoy each others company. God has truly blessed us with the most amazing group of people that we have the honor of calling family.

Halloween - finally

Mimi and Papa are ready for the fun!
They have been practicing their football looks - pretty serious if you ask me!
Our tradition to always trick-or-treat with our dear friends!
In the car, out of uniform ready to drive home!

Please forgive me for being late with the fun Halloween pictures! It is kind of sad because as they get older I take fewer and fewer pictures. I did think the ones from this year were cute - I hope you enjoy! Our subdivision was covered with kids this year. It was so great because we saw so many friends from school and their families out and about. It was a great evening!