December 2016

 The holiday activities and festivities really kicked off the first week of December!  From choir concerts, family time, girl scout parties, school parties, and swim practice, we stayed very busy this month!

It has been Colson's first year in choir, and he has very much enjoyed the experience.  He is actually a very good singer and has loved working with the choir and his sister to learn all of the songs.  My favorite in their concert was Silent Night that was sung in English, German, and Sign Language.  It was beautiful!

Brooklyn has a few projects going for Christmas.  She is working on a walker bag for Grandma and a pillow that John can take to Day Care that has Captain America on it!  She is so good!

Continuing the Alford tradition with Nuts and Bolts!  Thank you for the new pans for the recipe Curt, it makes it so much easier to make!

Taylor Neibel got married this month.  Our second Nickwill Way wedding this year.  It was a gorgeous wedding and a great time with Robert and Vonda Kohanski!

Counting up Girl Scout money to turn in our Fall Product money!!!!

Cassie got a new winter jacket!

As usual, the Snyder gang knows how to throw a great party!  We had a great time filled with food, songs, and spirits!

Richelle and me

We are the 5 original members of the 4th grade team that are still at Snyder

group pic was hard this year!

Lisa Goggan

Erica Prejean...taught her daughter last year

Morgan Bonnell...new hire I met at the job fair and had to have!

Lindsay and Shawn being a bomber

Here we are!

Our neighbor across the street bought us tickets to the Champion Forest Holiday Spectacular and it was certainly all that!  It was an amazing show!

Girl Scout Christmas Party complete with a gift exchange and games!

I Love that my girl wants to match with me!  We wore matching shirts on school party day, so when I came to her party, we would be matching.

My class party was thrown by my wonderful Homeroom moms!

My school kiddos 2016-2017

Brooklyn and Colson had their snow day!  I love that their PTO brings in snow every other year as a part of their holiday party.  It is so fun for the kids that never see snow.  I missed Colson's party and snow time but was able to make it to Brooklyn's.  Colson's sweet teacher sent me pictures of their fun even though I couldn't make it.  I was so thankful for that!  She is truly the best!

We have the best nanny ever this year!  She bought the kids a new board game because she knows we are a game playing family!  They had a blast playing RAKO.....Chrisssy is awesome with our kids every day!

Christmas Sunday!

Mom and Dad have been in Mississippi again to take care of Grandma.  Here are some pictures in her rehab facility.  She is flirting with Santa.  Her friends are wonderful and are doing a great job caring for her when my mom and dad or Uncle Frank can't be there to help out.

This is the walker bag that Brooklyn made with her Memaw for Grandma.  It straps on her walker and she just LOVES IT!  

Brooklyn spent a few days swimming the first week of our Christmas break.  They even had some really fun swim games that they did for the last practice of 2016!

Skyzone playdate with the Pierrel kiddos!  It was a blast!

Playdate with the Heemers!!!!  We love our time with them because we just don't get to do it very often with our busy schedules!

Colson helping me make the cinnamon caramel cookies that I make for family time.  It is a favorite when we all get together!

Curt and I decided not to exchange gifts this year.  A few days before Christmas, he brought me a small gift bag wrapped.  The kids knew what was going on too!  I, of course, got on to him because we were not exchanging gifts.  I opened the bag and this is what was in it!

I cried immediately because this is a goal that we have been working on since we moved into the house.  Both being teachers, with two kids, a dog, extra curricular activities, yearly vacations, and all we were able to pay off our home in 13 years!  We are so proud of this accomplishment and it made it so much better that he surprised me!  This shows that where there is a will, there's a way!

Colson was so excited to see the Crouches!  He was waiting at the door most of the evening for John, Kiki and Little John to arrive!

So happy!!!!!!!  The 3 Lewis cousins!

Poor John was sick with a double ear infection and pre-asthma in his lungs!  

Brooklyn and Colson loved peeking through the presents!

We played LOTS of Mexican Train Dominoes!  It was so fun to see the kids really able to play well on their own!

Christmas Eve Night with the Alfords!

Twinsies again!

The Texans played and won on Christmas Eve!

Edward was so excited to be the scavenger hunt winner this year!  He got all of the Paw Patrol characters!

Isa's girlfriend Gracie

A drone!

Getting milk and cookies ready for Santa and Oatmeal ready for his reindeer!

The kids always draw their nativity scene for Santa to see when he comes.  It is a tradition that Brooklyn started probably at the age of 4 or 5!

Recreating our favorite picture each year!

Santa came for John also!!!

The excitement and joy is so heartwarming!  I just LOVE it!

Cassie can't wait to have some of her treats she got in her stocking!

And toys!

Christmas with the Lewis Family.  It was quite a strange Christmas this year.  Grandma and the Bridgers were together is Mississippi.  It was my first Christmas without them.  It was pretty different and I don't want to do another one apart again!  Grandma will not be able to live in her home again but she is not aware of this yet.  They were able to get her to her house for the day to celebrate and open her presents!

Granny came to join us!

This girl LOVES her pens and markers!

Mom and Dad rescued a dog and named him Ziggy.  Mom surprised dad about 3 weeks ago with the possibility!  Dad really would love a companion during the day while mom is working, out of town, or out and about with her friends.  Ziggy and Cassie love each other and Zig has quickly adjusted to being a Lewis!

Colson loves his new gifts!

New Year's weekend the Luley family came in for a visit!  It is so fun spending the weekend with them!  Our friendship made in college is so special and has remained strong since college ended!  We have 7 kids between the 3 of us and when Julie joined us New Year's Eve there were 9 kiddos!  Love these ladies!

We left the Pierrel house for about an hour to go to the Ardoin home to celebrate a little!

Lindsay's birthday

2016 has been a challenging year.  From a damage to our house to tonsilectomy to having to buy a new car suddenly to Grandma being so ill, it has been challenging.  BUT we have overcome, learned a lot and become so much stronger.  I love our family more than words can express and feel truly blessed to be picked to be in their lives.  On to 2017!