January 2015

We have had a very busy and full 2015 which is the reason I am so behind in writing and catching up on our blog.
In January, we started off the year with our traditional meal at Memaw and Pop's house with cabbage, ham and black eyed peas!  One of my favorite meals of the year but you will see Brooklyn's reaction to it all.  We also got to visit our newly refurbished movie theater to watch "Night at the Museum" which was amazing....reclining chairs and all!

Playing with friends during our time off is one of our favorite things to do!  We love the flexibility of being off with our kids during their holidays, so we can foster our friendships!

With my mini me!

Mommy got away on a very nice girls' weekend with Julie, Laurie, and Jacqueline.  It was a blast to do crafts, play cards, cook, drink, go for walks, and chase the mouse that we found in the house.  You have never heard such loud screams as you would have the night the mouse showed itself!!  OH MY, what an experience!
The house was beautiful and such a blast to stay in.  The small country town was perfect for a weekend away!

Brooklyn's second choir concert was for the talent show that they hold at Lemm.  It was super cute with our personal favorite being "Duct Tape."

Snow Day Adventures at Lemm Elementary!  They are truly blessed with a great PTO!

Brooklyn had her first experience in a school spelling bee this year!  She passed the class and level spelling bee and was one of the 5 participants in the 3rd grade in the Bee.  I was not able to go because of work obligations, but believe me we spent hours practicing words for the Bee.  She did not get as far as she had hoped when she missed the word TANTRUM (kind of ironic that the girl that has never thrown a tantrum in her life got that word)!  We were SO proud of her and the hard work that she displayed during the entire process!

Daddy Adventures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

December 2014

Each December our church has a women's event called the Vintage Dinner/Brunch.  Last year I was unable to go but this year I went and was very blessed.  It was a great night with beautifully decorated tables by the women in our church, the men serving us our meals, great prizes, fellowship with friends, and listening to the sweet sounds of the Fort Bend Boys' Choir.  Such a great night!

 Brooklyn has been busy every Tuesday and Thursday morning going to school about 40 minutes early to be a part of the Lemm Choir.  She is really enjoying this and has learned so much about voice and singing!  She had her very first choir concert for the holidays where they sang one song and she was so proud!  First row because she is pretty short compared to the other 3rd-5th graders.  We are thrilled she has found something that she really enjoys!

Her sweet friends Karianne and Samantha

Their director got very sick so they had a fill in which was made B very sad.

My staff Christmas party was another great night at the Cobb home in Benders Landing.  It is so gorgeous and they are so gracious to have us all over there for a night of fun!  Love my staff at the school and love my administration!

All of us that made it!

My math girl and great friend Richelle

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Christmas parties are in full swing for the kids also!  Here are some pictures of Brooklyn's Girl Scout celebration and their school parties!

Christmas Sunday at church!

So, Christmas break has started and we are off to a great start!  We are hoping to keep everyone well and happy this break!  We got the chance to go with the Pierrel family to eat at Gino's East Chicago Pizzeria and then headed in town for a late visit to the Houston Zoo to enjoy Zoo Lights.  The kids had a blast and the adults loved watching their excitement and joy!

Part of the Bridger family got into Spring on the 23rd and the other part came in on the 24th.  We got to spend time with Uncle Frank, Aunt Susan and Grandma the morning of the 24th before going to celebrate our Christmas Eve with Memaw and Pop.

Such a special bond between these two boys!

Christmas is so fun with baby John

Grandma is doing well and we are so glad she came down!

Top Golf with Uncle Frank and Aunt Susan.  Uncle Frank is so good!!!

The kids opened their gifts from us on Christmas Eve morning because we were by ourselves and wouldn't be rushed to put everything away and move on to the next house or activity!  Brooklyn got Colson a Darth Vader costume and Colson got Brooklyn a Jungle Lego set!

We always spend our Christmas Eve with the Alford clan and it is always so fun!  The kids look forward to the hot punch, lemon cookies, presents, and the coveted choice of the scavenger hunt.  Colson was the winner this year and had a great time figuring out the clues until he got his huge inflatable punching man!  He was so excited to have his first scavenger hunt!!!  We catered Gringo's for a Mexican dinner and welcomed Robert's new fiance and her 3 kids to our traditional evening together.
Brooklyn loved her swim backpack and Colson loved his punching bag and his skate board!!

He found it!  It is 7 feet tall!!!

Christmas morning we woke up to Santa's treats and boy was he good to the kids.  They must have been such good kiddos because they were certainly spoiled!  Brooklyn's favorite gift was her tracing pad and Colson's favorite was the pogo stick!

On to the Lewis clan's house for Christmas morning.  We got to spend the day with the Bridger side of our family and even had Granny over for a little to open her presents and eat a Christmas meal.  We started off with our traditional breakfast of curried fruit, breakfast casserole and banana bread and followed it up with a few hours of opening presents.  Brooklyn's favorite gift was  her swim cap   and Colson's favorite gift was his remote helicopter.
Such a wonderful time of food, family, games, and pure joy!

Watching Annie with friends at our new close theater!  Annie was awesome and took on such a different meaning with a theater full of teenagers from a foster home.

We were invited over to the Moffitt's house for New Year's Eve.  It was a great time.  We ate after grilling, drank, and did fireworks.  Our New Year's also consisted of a superhero/princess parade and many many games of musical chairs.  So funny how much our lives changed with kids!
Thank you for a fun night!

In the new year, I am going to focus on choosing joy in every situation.  I am a naturally positive person, but through the stress of life sometimes it gets hard.  I believe I can show the love of God to those who don't know Him by the way I live my life...choosing JOY!