Traditions Continued...

The Boot...
This tradition began back 15 years ago. When Brad and I were first married, we were "country/western" fans. We are both Native Texans, and had dreams of owning a "small spread" one day(my how dreams evolve and change). So, it was natural for our Christmas tree to be a Texas tree(or at least that's how we saw it). When we had completed the decorating, we found that we were lacking a star or any kind of tree topper for that matter. Brad disappeared for a minute and came back with one of my red ropers. We put it on top and it has remained there every year since. This year the kiddos have really been into family history...and one of them asked me,"was that your boot,momma?" ,"yes, I used to wear it dancing with your daddy.", "Were you wearing it the first time you met him?"...I had to think a minute...but you know what, "why yes, it was one of the set of boots I was wearing when I met your dad!"... I hadn't even added that to the "special" meaning of our Christmas boot...Decorating the Texas Tree...reds, blues, silver, cowboy boots, hats, horses...and you can't forget the Chili Peppers....

Watching Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer (a favorite from my childhood)...nothing better than snuggling under a blanket(which the kids had on the couch until done with the snacks), eating popcorn, drinking hot chocolate, and watching a movie...

A New Tradition(at least for us).... A Christmas Play... every year our church puts on a Christmas Dinner Theater... this play shares a special message about the Christmas season. This years theme..."Jesus Loves Fruitcakes" (sharing His love with everyone including your enemies). Two years ago,our family helped with stage decorating and design.Last year, Garrett made his acting debut, and this year Nolan joined in on the fun and started his acting career! We saw their first performance last night, and they were terrific! The play runs through a Sunday afternoon performance.

Nolan is "Daryl with his other brother Daryl" and they are a"down home" kind of family.I am so proud... Garrett is "Willie" and is part of the children's group that puts on a Christmas performance for the people at the retirement home.

Christmas Traditions

Tradition-
1)the handing down of statements,beliefs,legends,customs,information,etc.,from generation to generation
2) something handed down
3) a long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting

I was thinking about our family "holiday traditions". Do we really have set traditions? What are the things that we enjoy handing down to our children?
I don't know about you , but there are some years that the holidays seem to sneek up on me a lot faster than others. Thus, I find myself trying to "keep up", to get it all done, to make it "the best ever" Christmas, and you know what?... it sometimes just doesn't get done! Over the last few years, I have been trying to focus more on what Christmas means and less on getting things done. I have to tell you...it has made life a lot simpler and my children more focused on the true meaning of Christmas.
So, once again I ask myself about our traditions and about what it is I want to pass down to my children. The most important tradition, in our home, is to remember the birth,life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Other traditions just seem to fall into place around that...
We have several very simple traditions...like decorating the house inside and out, watching the well loved Christmas movies and shows, cookie making/decorating, etc...
There are several new traditions that I wish to begin...gotta just do it... like serving at a food pantry/kitchen to help feed the hungry, spending more time with friends(just enjoying friendship... no party planning needed), and many more.
I would love to here about traditions that you all might have in place at your home. Would you share some of your favorites? ...and maybe a tradition that you would like to start?

Mia...ism's

The kiddos all say some of the funniest things at times. I, like many others, am trying to commit them to memory,but alas I am getting older and more forgetful. So, I am trying to journal some of them. The last few days Mia has been on a roll (not that she doesn't always keep us laughing).
Here are a couple of Mia-Ism's:
*Mia to her daddy,"Daddy, can I have a dollar?" "No,Mia" "Don't you have any paper money?" "No, Mia" "Ok, I'll just take some circle money then !"
**Mia and Levi are always singing in the car. We were going shopping last night, and they began the sing-song chant "Mommy and Daddy sitting in a twee.... Kis-y-n-g." Nate and Mandy" think" they can correct their spelling... and so proceeded to spell K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Mia starts again..."Mommy and Daddy sittin in a twee...KisF-Y-N-G". "NO,Mia" like this...K-I-S-S-I-N-G"
Mia,again,"Mommy and Daddy sittin in a twee...Kiss-U-I-V" .... with a big sigh,the other kids gave up.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Since the temperature was warm and the weather incredibly beautiful, we decided to get a head start with our Christmas decorating. The big boys did most of the outside decorating, and mom,the girls and little brothers(in between playing) helped to get the tree up. Dad and Nolan helped by putting on the tree lights, and we will finish decorating soon. I love all the decorating and fun family times that this season brings. I must admit though, it is hard to believe that the end of November is here and the Christmas season is beginning.

My light man....putting up the outdoor lights... This part scares me just a little... my guys walking around on the roof...

Dad and His assistant... While daddy was decorating, Mia was entertaining Elvis...

Elvis decided that he needed Mandy to pet him too.It was so nice outside that mom couldn't resist a photo-op. Aren't they gorgeous?...My girls...Nolan stringing the lights on our "cookie cutter/ Gingerman " tree...

Mia helping... maybe she was just a bit "too much" of a help... (P.S. the light string Is Not wrapped around her neck, she drapped it over her shoulder)

Levi had to help too,of course...

Setting up the big tree... after I got it half up, dad and Nolan came in telling me that I was putting it together backwards.... I should have started at the bottom and gone to the top. I didn't think it made a bit of difference until... I got to the last layer of limbs, and I had to lay down under the tree to get the limbs to fit in their slots... Oh well, live and learn.

Not completly decorated, but a least the lights are up... we added our "traditional" boot to the top. The kids and I will finish decorating tomorrow if time permits..

Things we have been up too...

Football Watching...this picture was taken a few weeks ago, but there aren't many Saturday's that we aren't watching one of these two teams play. School working....

Sister Loving...

Cow Tending...we are looking after a friends house and animals while they are away...and my "boys" are loving it...

Puppy Training...which is going pretty well...

Airport Sitting....waiting for friends to arrive home from China

Airport Greeting... we joined others in welcoming home this sweet family and their precious children ... I have to tell you that it never gets old and never fails to bring me to tears to watch God join families...

Well there hasn't been anything overly exciting going on around our house, but I can say for certain that there is never a dull moment around here. We are just loving being a family and enjoying our blessings!

Some Halloween Fun

The Gang's all ready...

Nolan decides to be a "rock and roll" musician...

Garret wins the most creative...he decided to be a Mad Scientist Mandy is our "Prima Ballerina"...

Nate is a "Clone Trooper"... He got his costume as a birthday gift. Gotta cheer big bubba's team on... Mia and Levi wear there OSU costumes.

A FAll Festival... we had fun playing games and winning candy prizes

Mia is very serious about her game playing...

Levi went right for the candy at first...but soon picked up on playing the games... "Hey, I like this kind of fishing..."

Mandy was a bit stand-off-ish at first...she was thinking she was "too big to play these baby games"; however, she soon decided it was more fun to participate than to stand doing nothing...getting candy didn't hurt either.

We usually don't celebrate Halloween in a big way especially the "scary, gory"kind. I do love fall though, and the kids and I love to decorate with fun fall things like apples, pumpkins, scarecrows and such. This year fall and Halloween snuck up...and decorating went out the window...or maybe out with the rain and wind. So, we found ourselves searching for last minute costumes for some of the kids...not to mention that we were trying to conserve money. As the kiddos get older, it gets harder to find non-gory costumes, and they go back and forth on whether they are "too old". We had purchased Mia and Levi's costumes early in the fall. So we gathered costumes together for the older kiddos, and off we went to a Fall Festival at a church in town. We stayed for only a short amount of time.It was extremely crowded, and the older kids didn't find many things to do... at least that didn't have long lines(like the Wii games, and rock band, and basketball ). The little ones enjoyed playing the carnival games, and everyone got a little candy. We ended our "mini" celebration with cake, hot cocoa, and an exhilirating game of "chicken foot" dominoes at home. It was just a nice evening for family fun.

Meet "Hot Chocolate"...aka Coco

Long Story made short... Nate has been begging for a dog for well over a year now(not just any type dog...but a Boxer). So, when we went into the pet store(to get food for Elvis) we somehow ended up with a new puppy. Every Saturday is pet adoption day at the pet store. Nate asked if he could go look at the dogs...no surprise there... . He zeroed in on the cage full of puppies and went over to pet them. His puppy picked him out, and when Brad and I saw that it was a boxer/shepherd mix, we were very torn, and ultimately unable to say no. We had discussed that we would allow Nate to get a dog in the future. We had had many discussions with him about pet care responsibility, thus we knew that he was prepared...but was he old enough?. We decided to allow it knowing that we might have to help a bit. We looked at each other and proclaimed,"We Are Crazy!" She has amazed us with her quick learning, and she is super loving and sweet.We have learned in the last day that she is almost crate trained(she will go in with little fuss),almost potty trained, and sleeps well. We are working on "NO Bark"...as she barks a lot when she wants to be with people. She is extremely well behaved as long as she is in the room with us. When in the crate, she barks if she hears others moving about the house;however, she sleeps if the lights are out. It will be interesting to watch Nate and his dog.