Nathan's mom took us to a delicious little Italian place in Plano for Nathan's birthday and we got to catch up and visit with his brother. Emerson stayed with Uncle Clay and Josephine and they took her to see Christmas lights. They're the best!
We baked sugar cookies for Santa! What a MESStacular experience that was! Emerson had the time of her life, which made the hours of cleaning totally worth it!
Christmas Eve was odd! It was 75 degrees so we took advantage of it and went to the park.
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| This pup loves the park! |
That evening we went to our first ever Christmas Eve service as a family. I can't tell you special it was to see her face of pure joy when all of the candles were lit as we sang Silent Night...it gives me goosebumps thinking about it!
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| Ready for Santa! |
Christmas morning we got up and baked monkey bread while we waited for Emerson to wake up. I feel like our Christmases are numbered where she is going to sleep until 9:30. Lol as we waited with bated breath I finally heard her wiggling the bedroom door and we grabbed the camera as fast as we could to see the look on her face when she saw her Frozen castle from Santa. She was so excited!
We opened gifts and listened to Christmas movies. It was so nice to be at home where she could play with her presents and we enjoyed a yummy breakfast together.
I stayed up late that night packing and getting ready for our trip to Lufkin but Nathan woke up sick the next morning so we had to postpone our trip. We hung around the house that day and planned on leaving the next morning, but then the crazy storms blew through. We were fortunate to only get rain but we weren't sure what the conditions would be on the road.
On Monday we went to the Mavs game while Emerson spent the night with my mom and dad. We rode the train and it dropped us off right in front of the American Airlines Center, pretty cool! It was an awesome game and the Mavs won!
We hung around the house a little more, I even started and finished an entire book this break! :) We also decided to watch all of the Star Wars movies before we see the new one so we spent a couple evenings watching those. I really like them so far!
On the morning of New Year's Eve we headed to Lufkin. We had lunch at our favorite BBQ place and then Emerson opened presents from Mawmaw and Pawpaw. She could NOT wait to feed Ginger an apple! It's very rare for a day to go by without her mentioning Ginger. :) We went to my Uncle Robert's house where Emmy got to play with their new puppy, Daisy!
That night we went to my aunt and uncle's house for New Year's Eve. We played dominos with my cousins and watched the Alabama blow out, which one Nathan a tasty hamburger from my other uncle ;). Emerson played with a cute little beagle pup and amazingly she stayed awake and welcomed the new year with us! ...unfortunately she stayed up until almost 2:00, long after we got in bed. Yikes!
She slept late and then we met up with my Nana and Papa for brunch. I was pleasantly surprised when we showed up and my Uncle Jerry and his wife, Donna, were there. We had a good time visiting and then went back to Nana's and Papa's house. Emerson opened her gifts and enjoyed playing with her new toys while we talked. Nana cooked a fabulous lunch which of course included New Year's Day black eyed peas and cabbage.
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is when Papa reads the story of Jesus' birth before we open gifts. Since we weren't with them on Christmas this year I had to make a special request that he read it again for us, he happily obliged. It was a very special day and I hated to tell them good bye. It's always hard knowing I won't see them for several months. I wish our lives weren't so hectic and we could visit more often.
On Saturday Mawmaw made us breakfast and we of course fed Ginger again. Uncle Robert treated us to lunch before we got on the road to head home. It was great to see all of our family, but it's always too short.
Today we went to church and then came home and cleaned house...and I mourned the loss of my vacation. Every year I'm sad to see the Christmas season go. But New Year's always brings it's own excitement. Our family was so blessed in 2015.
Emerson turned two in October
We went to many fun sporting events, trips to the zoo, the arborteum, etc.
We celebrated our 4th Wedding Anniversary
Nathan celebrated his one year anniversary at Expedia and was given the honor of being MA of the quarter!
I was voted Teacher of the Year
Tucker turned six in December
We made wonderful memories with our families
We went to several of our friend's weddings (Nathan officiated one!)
Emerson grew by leaps and bounds! (physically and mentally)
We are so thankful for his abundant blessings in 2015 and can't wait to see what he has planned for us in the coming year. Happy 2016!
