Artwork at the Public Library

J's artwork made a public appearance again this year. Only a handful of students have work displayed in the community. We are super proud of him!

He continues to take art lessons and loves it. We have an art show at the end of April, and this time we will have two children participating. Mighty has joined the ranks.

Winter Sports

This winter our boys went their separate ways...J played flag football and K played basketball. It was fun on all accounts because both boys played with pretty much their whole soccer team. We didn't do a very good job of capturing the "moments." Somehow we only managed to bring our camera to football once and not to basketball at all. Yikes! Note to self...take more pictures next year.

A Mighty Special Delivery

All of our neighbors are fantastic, but Ms. Deborah just takes the cake. She knew about Mighty's new delivery truck and created a special delivery for him one day. She contracted his services the day before. He waited for her call in full uniform (asking me every 5 minutes if it was the right time). When she was ready, he drove down to her house, picked up the package, and proudly delivered it to me in our driveway.

J and I watched from our yard like two of the proudest parents in the world. We tried to capture the moment with our camera, but I'm not sure the pictures do it justice. This was one happy boy on a very important mission.

Mission complete!

Post-Christmas in Louisiana

We were all glad to visit Mer and Pop, Grandma Betty, and Aunt LB for a late Christmas. The boys were thrilled about all of their gifts and even more excited about spending some quality time with family in the country. They love being outdoors at Mer and Pop's house...jumping on the trampoline, picking up limbs, making a "camp," and doing little projects. They also love visiting Grandma Betty...feeding her fish, counting and chasing her cats, tinkering on her piano, and getting some sweet treats.

We all enjoyed family movie nights and our trip to DI's. You just can't beat it!

Christmas Day

Christmas was extremely low key for us this year. In fact, it was the first year in a very long time that we have been home alone. We weren't sure if that would be good or bad. The boys kept asking who was coming for Christmas. I don't think they believed us when we told them it would just be us and Nan and Gran. In the end, it was a wonderful Christmas. It was super relaxing and quiet, but it was not at all what we are used to doing. We certainly missed everyone and would welcome the noise and excitement next year.

Here is the update on our Christmas wish list...

This year Mighty asked for a mail truck he could drive. Santa delivered. He asked for a baby penguin pillow pet and a fleet of delivery trucks. Numerous people delivered.

JC asked for lots and lots of Legos. Everyone delivered, including Santa.

K asked for Nike Elite socks, video games, and new shoes. Mom and Dad, Aunt Barrie and Uncle DM, and Santa all delivered.

Christmas Eve 2011

Our Christmas Eve tradition (when we are in Texas) is to go to the Christmas Eve Mass, followed by my birthday dinner celebration, and finally opening gifts with Nan and Gran. This year was no exception.

After we finish opening gifts, we head home to prepare for Santa's arrival.** We gather cookies, cheese, and milk for Santa and Santa Mouse. Then the boys spread reindeer food on our front lawn. I always love watching them spread the reindeer food, as they look like mini airplanes about to take off. Once the reindeer are taken care of, we write letters to Santa and read our traditional Christmas Eve books...Santa Mouse and Twas the Night Before Christmas.

**This year we were on our own with the gingerbread house...a tradition usually saved for Uncle Ben. With Ben in Singapore, we had to read the directions. Guess what? It actually worked! We didn't even need a glue gun or a disassembled coat hanger. Woo hoo!

Bures Family Christmas

We thoroughly enjoyed the Bures family Christmas. It was great to see everyone and so much fun to watch the youngest generation in action. All of the children played so well together. No injuries to report. No one was sent to time out. Smiles and laughter seemed to fill the day. If only my own children got along this well on their own...