Christmas Day

Santa Came...

After Kaylee and Campbell woke up and we got everyone assembled in their seats it was time for the opening of presents to begin. I was able to hold them off a little bit by letting them look in their stockings and enjoy a few treats.

 A little Christmas morning photo...

 Both girls with their first present...I hope Santa got them the things they were hoping for the most.

 Kaylee with her Texas rangers Oakley sunglasses, yes there evidently is such a thing for all of those wondering like me.

 Campbell with her American Girl doll. I love that she is still little enough to enjoy this stage of life for one more year. Let her stay little for just a while longer, please.

We have never done matching pajamas for the family before but I thought it would be fun and so did the girls. Not sure cary was thrilled but her was a good sport and went along with it.

Nana, Papa, Kaylee & Campbell

 Uncle Don, Aunt Trudy, Duncan, Ruby, Kaylee & Campbell

Our family

We had such a wonderful time together just eating and enjoying each other's company. Of course, the women went to our yearly tradition of taking in a movie, Annie it was this year. We are blessed to have family that will drive and take the time to make these traditions with us. It just would not be the same without all of these precious faces. Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve finally arrived and with it came my parents, Uncle, Aunt, cousin, and their sweet dog Ruby. It also brought lost of delicious food to the house that just says family to me. Of course, the girls could not wait to open presents and get the festivities started. 

Kaylee with her came purse from Nana and Papa.

Campbell with her dog and leash from Uncle Don and Aunt Trudy.

A little guitar fun for her American Girl dolls.

Kaylee with her favorite yearly gift of Texas Rangers tickets.

Our whole family is greatly blessed to have each other and be able to celebrate the season together, not to mention all the spoiling the girls get in the process. Our day was filled with food, fun, and lots of joy. The night ended with our yearly tour of Christmas lights with just the women of the family. There was a lot of laughing involved that too. Thank you Lord for blessed days like these and the memories that are made. I guess we were so busy making memories that I did not take any pictures of any one else except our girls. Merry Christmas Eve to all!

Our Family Pre-Christmas Christmas

 I cannot believe Christmas Eve is right around the corner. Every year we rush to get in a Family Christmas with the four of us before the rest of the family arrives and this year was no different. We took our usual tour of the lights at the state school then had to get a picture on Santa's lap. I cannot believe I can still talk the girls into this but I love it!

 We also managed to get some baking in to take to our neighbors as well as cookies to put out for Santa on Christmas Eve. Both girls had fun decorating them and they tasted just as delicious as they looked.

After taking in the lights around town and enjoying some Starbucks we came home to open our presents we bought for one another. Kaylee and Campbell had both asked for North face coats and as you can see could not wait to get them on. There were a few other gifts for each of them but these were definitely the biggest hit of the evening.

We were also blessed to get presents from Great Grandma Crenshaw in the form of homemade quilts for the girls. They loved them and could not wait to cover up with them all the time. I wish I had just a fraction of Great Grandma Crenshaw's talent. Once the presents were unwrapped and put away it was time to get some sleep before welcoming family in the morning. Let more fun begin! We cannot wait!

A few Christmas events

 The season would not be complete without a few of our normal events taking place.

 Campbell's school Christmas Party...this is the last year I will be attending one of these since they do not have them in 5th grade. The thought of that made me a little sad.

 Painting our ornaments at Mine by Design for the tree

 I love this tradition and look forward to it every year. We will have a tree full of memories one day when my girls are grown. 

Brunch with Santa at the country club with some of our favorites Then there is the tradition of making gingerbread houses together which always lets me see the creativity and decorating style of each of our girls.

Just a few more days and Santa will be on the way...

Candlelight Service at Church

Well this ended up being the season for solos for Campbell Grace because she also ended up singing Silent Night in our church candlelight service. She found out only a week before that she was going to be singing a solo but managed to knock it out of the park. Of course, being the Mom I thought it sounded like the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. This was confirmed when several people from church some of which are gifted musically came up to tell us what a fantastic job she did on such a hard song. Some even said she had a natural gift. Guess who was beaming from ear to ear after that? I am so proud of my sweet girl for putting herself out there and using one of her talents. 

Christmas Music Program 2014

 Well Christmas time is coming...today was Campbell's 3rd grade Christmas Program called "A Christmas Portrait" and she had a solo part. She has been practicing daily for weeks on The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting...) and was so excited to be able to perform alone. I would have been a nervous wreck but not this girl, she loved every minute of it. I am so glad that she has found one of her gifts and is not shy about it.

 Henry, Ava & Campbell

 Papa and Nana made the drive from Waco just to hear our star.

We were just beaming with pride an amazement at how she stayed on pitch and smiled from ear to ear.

Christmas Card Photos 2014

 My precious and talented friend Ashley took pictures of my girls one afternoon so that our Christmas cards would not be blank this year. I loved something different about each one that she captured but my favorites were of my girls just talking and laughing at each other with no staging involved. These are the moments that assure me they will be best friends one day despite the arguing that ensues at our house on a fairly regular basis. My heart just smiles looking at these two and thinking about how blessed I am to be their Mom. Thank you Lord for beautiful reminders and fun in the midst of it all.

Kaylee Nicole is 13!

Our Kaylee Nicole, from the moment you were born you stole our hearts and we knew that our life would never be the same. You were an answer to so many prayers. I remember thinking I knew how much you would overwhelm my heart but I had no idea. With each passing year our love for you grows more and more. You have been a complete joy since day one and we are so thankful and proud to be your parents.  

There are so many things I could say about your amazing spirit but I will try to sum up some of my favorite things about you at this age...

You have an infectious smile and love of life, this has been a trait you have been blessed with since day one.

You love the Lord and others so well.

You are so well-rounded. Your interests include anything Texas Rangers, hunting, softball, basketball, shopping, you love learning and still look forward to school, Doctor Who, baking, collecting baseball cards, swimming and playing any kind of game.

You love your family and always enjoy spending time with them.

You have a great laugh that I have the pleasure of hearing often.

You are always willing to tell me about your day and I am so thankful that I have a 13 year old who will actually talk to me and tell me their deepest thoughts.

You are always ready to have fun and do not like drama at all.

You are the first one to want to sign up for any type of youth group activity and try to get others on board too.

You have a gift for finding those who are left out and including them in whatever you are doing.

You love little kids and they adore you.

I am so thankful for your heart. You will always be our Princess and we look forward to watching you grow and mature even more over the coming years. We think you are just amazing and love you with all of our hearts. Happy 13th Birthday! May all your wishes come true.

Kaylee is 13!

 Well somehow, despite my trying to slow time down, Kaylee turned 13! How is it possible that we have a teenager in the house? I gave Kaylee the option of having a big party with lots of friends or taking a few friends to the Gaylord Texan for the night and she chose the Gaylord to celebrate her big birthday. It is always a challenge to plan her birthday since it is so close to the holidays but we managed to find a weekend and we painted the town.

Kaylee chose a cake with snowflakes to go with the theme of the weekend.

Mattie, Anna, Kaylee & Maddie
These girls know Kaylee so well...she got a cake frosting lesson, Rangers gear, and a Doctor Who shirt for her birthday. All of her favorite things!

 As we were about to celebrate in the hotel room I noticed our favorite sitter from a few years ago (thanks to her Facebook post) was also in the hotel so she came up to the room for some hugs and cake. We love and miss Sarah so much!

 Here are the older girls in their party favor shirts heading to see the Ice exhibit.

 We could not let the younger girls miss out. Campbell got to bring her friend SJ along for the fun so that she could have a little adventure too.

 All bundled up and ready for the Frosty the Snowman themed Ice sculptures.

 After we viewed all of the amazing sculptures the girls went ice sledding on tubes. It was so much fun to watch their faces as they went flying down the ice. 

 Out of all of the sculptures in the exhibit I am always most in awe of the nativity scene. I love that they always put this at the end to remind everyone of the birth of Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas as well as every day.

While we did spend a lot of our time enjoying the activities at the Gaylord we also went to the Grapevine Mills Mall and did some shopping. I had the pleasure of shopping with the older girls which was fun and hilarious at the same time. We also ate at the Rainforest Cafe before packing everyone up and heading back home. As we were driving back I could not help but think of how blessed Kaylee is to have such precious girls to walk through her teenage years with. They were all such a joy to be with on this trip.