Monday, December 9, 2013

Snowed in!


Wellll, more like iced in. Dallas got hit with some bad weather on Thursday night, and we've been pretty much cooped up inside since! But we've made the most of it :-) Because we are an outdoors family (and maybe a little crazy), we got out in the cold Friday thru Sunday!

At first, B didn't know what to think of the snow...
Jameston had been asking to get out in it since we talked about the weather changing! He would wake up from his nap or nighttime slumber and look out the window first thing to see if it had snowed!
Once we got outside, Blake was really concerned about where his bucket of chalk was...
Winter Wonderland of a backyard
Our snow-loving boys! (and that bucket of chalk :-)
They had fun hitting and kicking the icicles off of the trampoline :-)
Brett had to still work Friday, so this was some "mommy and me" time :-) We had fun but probably only stayed out there 45 minutes or so!
On Friday afternoon, my cousin and her son headed over since they were without power. We are so thankful to have kept electricity throughout the storm, as many locals did without. 

Saturday afternoon, after naps, we decided to brave the elements and go to the grocery store. They boys had some extra energy we wanted them to burn off!
Later that night, we spent some more energy with our Advent calendar activity for that day: making home-made Christmas cards for family (trees that donned their fingerprints as ornaments)! We are forgoing the customized cards this year (sorry friends, one less in your stack) since we hope to send out a birth announcement once little brother/sister arrives!
Yesterday morning, the boys took turns helping me "wrap" their Aunt Maggie's present. It wasn't pretty, but it got wrapped. And they loved it!
And yesterday before lunch, we decided to do our own form of "sledding" down a small hill in our neighborhood. The boys rode in laundry baskets and had a field day! It was so fun to watch them take it all in!
Love my boys! 
So blessed to have gotten to spend the last three days holed up together :-)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday, December 2, 2013

Thanksgiving

Absolutely love this time of year. Time with family, time to reflect on our abundant lives, and time spent anticipating Christmas. It is even better experiencing it all with your children!

As a family, we are truly blessed. For reasons not to be mentioned on this-here-blog, last year was a hard year. In fact, this time last year we were living a nightmare. It really never sunk it what we were going through, and maybe that is why I am not ready to blog about it. But, nevertheless, it is a year later, and we are SO VERY THANKFUL for all we have!
We loaded up the boys and headed out early Thursday morning for West Texas. By early, I mean "pajamas and breakfast in the car, and they were coloring before 8:00" early! We left at 6:30 :-)
 Overall, they did great and napped (thank goodness) on our way, and we arrived before noon! 
 
Gotta love the plains of west Texas...miles and miles of cotton fields. And the pertiest sunsets!
Brett's cousin, Brittany, and her family hosted about 25 of the Winters' crew! 

The big kids' table, with Layne, Gage, Ian, and Jameston busy coloring with their great-grandmother before mealtime.
We ate around 1, so Blake was ready! Ha! The little kids' table...
Miss Aubrey and Mister Wyatt later joined him :-)
That afternoon, we played outside, 
  decorated cookies, and watched football :-)
 
And we ate all day long! Some of the little ones roasted marshmallows that night
 The seven first and second cousins also later enjoyed popcorn and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"


The next day, Brett and I and the boys headed out to Christoval to visit a friend of his from Austin. They live on a ranch in a beautiful log cabin home. The boys had a field day feeding the animals and checking in on the baby sheep!
Oh, and Jameston loved "driving" the jeep!
The cousins sure had a grand time together! Here is Miss Aubrey, 2, who LOVED the playset!
And Blakester was obsessed with the slide
These four boys played (and fought) like boys :-) Jameston has said he already misses them!

Until next Thanksgiving!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone