Life with our little family of 3...

We recently took a whirlwind vacation to visit both Robert's family and mine. Since they live in the same area of the country we decided to try to visit all of them. So we got up early on a Sunday and flew into St. Louis, Missouri. We spent a couple of days in St. Louis visiting Robert's grandma, aunt, uncle and aunt and of course the sites. Needless to say we had a great time! One of the highlights besides visiting with family was the St Louis Arch. It was pretty amazing to see it up close and even more amazing to go to the top! Our next stop was a drive-by in Arkansas to pick up my dad. We pretty much drove up, loaded his stuff and continued on our journey to Texas. On the way to Austin, we stopped a a big Bass Pro Shop for lunch and some shooting! The palm trees kind of threw us off since it looked like we should have been in Florida or something! We stopped first at my brother's house near Killeen where we had dinner and visited before we continue...

I thought I would share some of our family's Christmas traditions... We'll begin with the Christmas tree. Growing up we had a big fluffy tree like a Douglas fir. When I moved to Washington and got married, that changed. Robert always had a Noble fir. He couldn't comprehend how anyone would want a fluffy tree! :-) Growing up we would drive to a lot, pick one out, pay for it and take it home. But that won't do when you have a family with not one, but TWO tree snobs. (Note that I am NOT one of them!) Now we drive to a tree farm, spend an hour walking around and around trying to find the "perfect" tree that will adorn our window! Growing up we had big multi-colored lights. For the first few years of our marriage, we did too. But then I discovered clear lights and how you can see all the ornaments without the distraction of the colored lights! This has been a topic of disagreement in our marriage however. This year Robert and Emma found LED lights that could sw...

We had a great Christmas this year. It was filled with love, giving and relationships. We We were able to be the hands and feet of Jesus as we helped several families through the Giving Tree with the fire department. We spent Christmas Eve & Christmas Day with friends and family. We had plenty of food to fill our stomachs! Even Mac! We were able to give and receive some great gifts. The anticipation... Joy of receiving what you wanted!    It is legal now... Contentment  Confusion, shock and awe... (I took a picture of the shotgun that I bought for Robert. I knew if I wrapped it, he would know what it was. I wrapped the picture in a shirt box. He was confused as he opened it. Then he was in shock that it was for real. Then shocked that it was for real. :-) I wish I would have gotten a picture of his face.)   One of my favorite gifts... snow on Christmas Day.  It was a great season of giv...