another magical night

lexi and daddy
pretty girl!

jerrod took lexi and i on a date to hear wynona at the bass performance hall on tuesday night. it was such a special evening for the 3 of us. i'm sure you can tell by the photos that lexi was pretty excited. she had never been to a place as fancy as the bass hall and she was in awe of it! wynona was amazing. she sang christmas carols, along with some classics. she focused on the birth of our savior and it was simply overwhelming to hear her voice. we are so lucky to work for such generous people. we take for granted all of the opportunities and experiences we've had these last 5 years.

a most exciting weekend

we've had such an awesome last few days! we celebrated tate's 3rd birthday at peter piper pizza after the weather changed our park plans. he was thrilled with all of his new gifts and his very own cake. this was his first real party, so we enjoyed watching his excitement.

tate with gammy

tate with nana
tate, gatlin, & tripp

tate's own cake

happy birthday, tater bug!

after that, we settled in early for the marathon the next day. natalie and i hopped in with elizabeth and erin for our drive to dallas. we were so anxious about the day ahead and ended up doing well, overall. what an accomplishment! 4 mamas running marathons and half marathons!

elizabeth, erin, me, & nat

after the marathon, we ate a yummy meal with friends and family at uncle julios. i couldn't help but think about the huge sacrafice and many friends and memories i've made on this marathon journey. we ended the day with a Christmas program at church. it was alot more intimate and organized than i had expected, and was a true Christmas blessing. unfortunately, my camera didn't get very good pictures. we enjoyed watching the different personalites of our kids on stage. tate hammed it up, loving the attention of the audience. will couldn't wait to get down. and lexi was very passionate about her songs. it was so sweet (and funny)!

monday morning i woke up super sore and wished i could stay in bed, but will and i had a date on the polar express with his class. i was so glad to share the experience with him and afterward we had a nice lunch at central market and came home and built a train track out of lincoln logs together. here are some pics from the train ride.

santa on the train

will and the train conductor

will and best pal, landry

finally, monday night, erin, elizabeth and i went to a dinner and wine tasting with our luke's group. what a special night of memories and new friendships.

"green group"...these are the folks i spent my saturday mornings for the last six months with.

december (off to a great start)

december is off to a great start! i love this month and we are all definately in the holiday spirit! i even have wrapped presents under the tree!

happy 30th birthday, nat!

lexi and will all dressed up for their train ride with nana and tatum!first snow of the year...

daddy putting the lights on our house (that was interesting!)

november...a little late

november came and went too quickly! our thanksgiving break began with a sweet visit with my high school girlfriends and their kids. i miss being able to hang out with them and enjoy the easiness of one another. our kids love each other as well, instantly creating a "boys club". they were so fun!

we had a blessed thanksgiving in abilene with our families and friends! here are a few pics from that week, starting with stories by bobo...

tatum and will crashed after a hard day of playing...

nat, emmy, ben, and lauren

trick or treat

our trick-or-treat bunch included woody, superman, a chef, elvis, a skunk, an autumn fairy, a garden gnome, belle, and a ninja. they must have been the cutest trick or treaters in town! after the festivities and the greatest candied apples ever (thanks, kasi), my nieces and nephews, sis-n-laws, and mom headed to our house for a slumber party while the guys enjoyed a weekend away at the cowboys game. to top off our great weekend, my oldest and dearest friend, jennifer, came in for the evening from austin. we had a much needed visit and i only wish they were much more frequent.

A Series of Unfortunate Events (& some fun)

We had a fast and furious weekend at the Red Steagall Ranch Rodeo. Our team represented the ranch well and made it back in 5 our 7 events (only 2 other teams did that). Gammy, Teryn, Summer, and Tooter joined in on all of the fun. We had a few unusual mishaps that must be documented. First, Tate fell and tore his chin up. Next, an old door fell on my head at dinner (more about that later). Last, my accident prone husband got caught up in his stirrups during the wild cow milking and landed on his head, ending up with a severe concussion! When I said he keeps us on our toes, I meant it! Luckily, we are all okay.

A little of this, a little of that...

We've been super busy lately with all of the exciting events that fall brings. We surprised Sally for her 50th birthday, got a new puppy, and Will got glasses (which he broke the 2nd day he had them!).