Thursday, December 27, 2012

Merry Christmas!

 What a wonderful Christmas we've had. Joshua had so much fun at the school party. They exchanged ornaments. He was lucky enough to get one with deer on it!
 
 
We took an impromptu trip to Salt Lick for dinner one night. An early Texas style Christmas dinner!!
 
 
 Grant came over to help decorate cookies for Santa...
 
 
 Sophia got creative with pretzels...
 


 
 Some for Santa and some for the kids!
 

 
 Pictures in front of the tree before we left for the Christmas Eve service.
 




 
 It's pretty tough to get all 6 cousins to sit still AND look at the camera. We tried....

 
 Putting out reindeer food before bed...
 

 
 Joshua wanted to open the fireplace doors for Santa!
 
 
 Christmas morning...
 


 
 Trying out the new bikes.
 

 
 After opening presents at our house, we went to mom's to celebrate with her. It was a little too crazy to get many pictures!


After a wonderful Christmas dinner, we took the the kids on a walk. Joshua was all decked out in camo!
 


 
It's been a great holiday. The kids have been so excited about their presents and we have all had lots of fun. And still a week and a half of the Christmas break before kids go back to school!


Friday, December 21, 2012

Santa

We went to visit Santa yesterday. Requests included: a bulldozer, Lego Ninjago set, Doc McStuffins and a Baby Alive. Santa said he knew about the fighting and arguing lately. I hope that with only 4 days left they can work hard to earn their spot on the Nice List! :)

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Random Acts of Christmas

 Yesterday afternoon is a time that (I hope) will stick with our kids for a long long time. 13 kids (1st, 2nd and 3rd grade) boarded a party bus (a Groupon purchased for another reason that needed to be used!!!) to spread holiday cheer and make several stops for random acts of kindness.
 
We made a total of 8 stops.
 
1. HEB--leaving quarters on the gumball machines in the front of the store. Some of the kids gave the cards and quarters to kids standing in line. 75 cents attached to a note wishing them Merry Christmas and asking them to "pass along" the kindness. So fun!
 
2. Fire station--singing to the firemen and giving them cookies. The bonus??? Getting to crawl through the firetruck, a tour of the truck and its tools AND everyone getting a chance to hold and spray the foam hose! And a coloring book and pack of crayons for everyone as we were leaving. The firemen were wonderful and it was so much fun for the kids!!
 
 
 
3. Emeritus Assisted Living--singing carols to the residents, handing out cards and candy canes. We sang in the dining room for a group of residents and then went over to the "memory care" side of the facility to sing to them too. The kids were SO good and I know the residents really enjoyed it.
 
 
 
 4. Kruger Middle School---stopping to hand out fruit snacks and cards to the kids who were at school late. The middle school kids were so nice and I know it brightened their day!
 
5. Roosevelt High School---I have to say that as we pulled in the parking lot I was a bit nervous. It's a rough school. But, there were a lot of students still outside (waiting for buses). We handed out fruit snacks and cards and those highschoolers were SO gracious and nice. Some of the highschool boys asked our boys what their names were. They thanked them by name and shook their hands. All the students were so appreciative and I heard several "this made my day!!"
 
6. Laundromat--handed out cards with 75 cents attached to people who were doing their laundry. Left some on stop of washers, dryers and the video games for people to find later!
 
 
7. McDonald's--walked inside singing Christmas carols and paid for 2 peoples meals who were waiting in line. The 2 people in line were so thankful and I know the people sitting inside eating enjoyed the singing! One man sitting close to me said "that's my favorite Christmas song!".
 
 
So...by the time we needed at McDonald's we had been going for 2 1/2 hours. We were all tired and hungry! The last stop was at EZ's so parents could pick up their kids. There were many special moments from the afternoon....but one of the most special was when the bus driver got very to leave. When we started the whole outing I was a bit skeptical about the driver. Young guy, kind of rough around the edges, drove a little too fast. But as the afternoon went on, you could tell he was enjoying it. He was even helping kids get safely across the parking lots at our last stops. So...Brenda offers him a tip and he says "No...I can't take it. You have reminded me that there is still kindness in the world. This has been the best afternoon. The kids singing songs has be so fun. I can't take your money." We went back and forth with him a few times and I told him to just take the money and then pass it forward. Such a wonderful way to end the whole outing. I hope that the Christmas cheer and kindness that our kids showed to others will be passed on and shared with someone else. And I hope that the kids see what a little bit of kindness can do for another person.

Pie in the Face...


 
Hard to see...I know! It was dark and I couldn't get my flash on fast enough! Part of the reward for selling a set $$ amount of Cub Scout popcorn is getting to participate in the pie throwing contest. Den Leaders covered with trash bags and wearing goggles...boys armed with whipped cream pies! Jake sold enough this year to throw a pie, so he took aim at Mike! Not very often you get to throw food at your dad. :)

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Weekend of Fun....

 This weekend was busy!! Sophia got to paint with some of her friends. It's a fun place where the art teacher takes you through step by step to paint the picture. The girls had fun and each cupcake turned out different!!
 
 
 
 It was the Christmas program at church....2 sheppards in the family this year! Joshua was adamant that he did not want to participate. Maybe next year!
 
 
 And Jake got to go to Fiesta Texas and had a sleepover for Colin's birthday. They had a great time!!
 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Out With Friends....

Brittany's sister in law came to live in San Antonio for about six months...and is now moving to South Carolina. Denee is an extra special lady and we had so much fun while she was here. She became a part of our little group! Babysitting, crafts, photoshoots, help with Ole, decorating...she has many talents. She even came on our first annual beach trip!! And all the kids love her!! They all call her "Aunt Denee". She is a wonderful person with a big big heart. We had fun at dinner last night and we're sad to see her move but hoping that South Carolina brings lots of happiness for her!

Christmas Time in the Y4's Room....

Christmas time in Mrs. Martha's room means the annual Christmas program (complete with Santa hats!!!). Joshua sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" with gusto!


 And...decorating gingerbread houses. This is always a big event and bringing it home means a quick picture before everyone dives in for a bite!
We have been lucky enough to have Mrs. Martha for all 3 kids. She is the most loving teacher and makes pre-school so much fun. Christmastime in her room is always extra special!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Mud Run....


What do you do on a Saturday morning?? Well....I did another mud run! It was a fun all women's 5K and we had a great time. Not totally sure why we continue to do these...but they are a fun escape from our everyday routine. :)

Friday, November 23, 2012

Trip to the Ranch...

 The kids and I went to the ranch for 2 days to spend time with Mary, Brad and the kids. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time.
 
Lucy having fun on our cow ride.
Creek stomp....we walked a long ways!!! We are determined to make it all the way to the mouth of the creek next time!
 Jake and Grant found a snake skin.
 Joshua hanging out the top of Mary's sun roof as we drove to the creek!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Parade Time....

 Northwood Pres. was invited to be in the Alamo Heights Holiday Parade (which was before Thanksgiving....Sophia pointed out that we should be wearing turkey shirts instead of red and green!!). It was kind of a last minute deal and we scrambled to get things ready. So...at the parade there were 3 families that showed up. Only 1 kid is a current NPDS student...the other 4 are graduates. But...armed with a banner, ABC and 123 signs, a John Deere ride-on, a wagon and a bunch of candy to throw...we were ready to march!! It was a great time. The kids loved throwing candy. And we saw a good handful of people we knew along the parade route. It was a fast 1.3 mile parade....at times were running to catch up!! It's motivation to move fast when you have a large tour bus type vehicle right behind you!!
 
Sophia is always ready for a picture!!!
 
The banner that we made.
 

 
 Some of fun motorcycles that were in the parade.
 
Our view as we walked....
 
 And...after the parade we got pictures with with the Storm Trooper!!

There were only 9 of us representing NPDS, but we had a great time. And now we know what we need to do next year to make it even better!!!