A Lovely Wedding

This afternoon we went to the wedding of one of our former youth.  It was the most unique wedding I have been to, and I loved it!  It was held in the event center at church instead of the sanctuary, and everyone was seated at tables.  Each place at the table had a different mug.

The mugs were for the coffee bar after the wedding that included hot chocolate!  My fave!

Also, instead of just cakes, they had a table filled with a variety of delicious cupcakes!

I know it appears that all I cared about was the food, but the ceremony was just as wonderful.  The father of the groom and father of the bride both officiated which made it very special. 
I always love weddings as two people come together to form one bond, as a new life is birthed, hopes and dreams are shared.

Mini-Vacation

We decided that we were going to get away for a few days and wanted to make part of our trip educational.  Since Conner is studying Texas' history, a trip south was in order.
We left on Tuesday for San Antonio.  When we arrived, we drove straight to the Alamo.

We enjoyed touring the Alamo, reading the stories, admiring the artifacts, and watching a brief video.  Conner took many pictures that he hopes to share with his class.  After the Alamo, we got checked into our hotel and then went to eat dinner at a Mexican food restaurant called Mamacita's.  We had eaten there once before with Wade and his family.  It is a neat restaurant.

Davy Crockett plays Happy Birthday for visitors

On Wednesday, we put our Six Flags season passes to work at Fiesta Texas.  It is a nice park, and we had a good time.

They even had an "ice skating" rink for the kids.

After Fiesta Texas, we went to dinner.  It was Chad's birthday, and we had gift certificates, so we tried out Longhorn Steakhouse.  It was pretty good!
Thursday morning we headed to Austin and went to the State Capitol.  It was amazing!  The kids were ready to go about half way through and wanted to move quickly through the floors.  Unfortunately for them, I wanted to explore every nook and cranny.  I especially enjoyed the two chambers.  In the house, there was a huge Christmas tree.  It was decorated with an ornament from each district.  The representative for that district chose the ornament that best showcased their district.  They had a book with a picture of each ornament and why it was chosen.

Sadly, this is the only picture I took while there!

Once we left, we headed to the hotel.  The kids were excited because it had an indoor pool!

We headed home today.  We had a super time making memories together and learning more about this great state!  Thank you, Jesus, for times of refreshing!

Christmas in Pictures

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Fun Times with Uncle Beau

My brother took Conner, Caitlyn, and my niece and nephew ice skating on Friday.  I told him that he was either brave or crazy!  They had such a good time together!  First they skated around the huge Christmas tree.Then they ate lunch at Caitlyn's favorite place-McDonald's.  They enjoyed a Christmas show at the mall as well.  Beau finished by taking them to Toys R Us and letting them pick out a present for each other.  The kids loved spending the day with their uncle and cousins, and Chad and I were able to see a movie.  I told Beau that he started a tradition, and I was looking forward to next year already!  He was still smiling by the end, so that is good!

Friday Night with Family

Chad's brother and his family came into town on Friday, and they and my in-laws came over for dinner.  We spent all day preparing a fabulous meal...pizza from Goodfella's!  Pathetic, I know, but I did put together a salad!  We always love when they are in town, and we can catch up.  The kids adore their cousins and enjoy when they can spend the night together.
Usually an evening together leads to a mean game of-

  We have a good time playing and usually there aren't TOO many fights.  Chad's dad doesn't ever want to sit by me because he claims that I don't ever give any good cards.  However, he was stuck next to me, and nobody volunteered to switch places with him.  Well, guess who ended up winning???

I documented the score sheet so that next time he says he never wins, I can redirect him here!
After the game, everyone went home except the kids.  They stayed the night.  We did our Advent devotional together and had a sweet time of prayer.

This morning, the kids had fun playing together.  The girls built a fort.

The boys competed on the Wii.  Don't they look so excited???

We ended our time together with lunch at one of our favorite places.

We are so thankful for family and the time we have together.  Looking forward to a weekend filled with family, love, and Immanuel!

PS I forgot to post a pic of Conner's cookie from when we made Christmas cookies, so here it is.

A Dear Friend

Yesterday the kids and I met up with my dear friend from junior high and her kids for lunch.  Amy is such a beautiful person inside and out.  When I moved here in 5th grade, Amy made me feel welcome.  You can imagine how sad I was when her family moved following our 8th grade year.  I was devastated and just cried and cried.  Thankfully, we have kept in touch through the years and live fairly close to one another.  We don't see each other often but when we do, we just pick up where we left off.   
The really fun thing is that our kids are the same ages!

Conner and Jonah

Maggie and Caitlyn

After a wonderful visit and catching up, Conner, Caitlyn and I checked out the mall's decorations.  It was an ice palace theme.  You couldn't go through it without stopping for a picture with Santa, so the line was forever long.  We decided it wasn't worth waiting for.

Ice Palace

Polar bear made from bottle tops

Christmas tree

Glass elevator fun

I am so thankful for sweet, Godly friends and the time that we can spend together!

Family Traditions

One of the Christmas traditions that Conner and Caitlyn look forward to each year is making Christmas cookies with their cousins and grandparents.  I always enjoyed doing this as a kid, and my dad used to make cookies with his parents.  In fact, some of the cookie cutters we use are passed down from my grandma which makes it that much more special.

Pans ready for cookies

Cookie cutters and rolling pins set up

Brinley and Caitlyn did a great job cutting cookies!

Mom was an icing machine!

Brinley, Conner, and Brekin icing cookies

Skyler made a huge snowman cookie

When the kids pooped out, Dad finished up

Colorful cookies

What a fun day!  The kids enjoyed making cookies and being with their cousins.  I'm thankful for family traditions that have been passed down and carried out with my own children.  We will use some of the cookies to take to shut-ins when we visit them, and we will eat the rest!