All aboard the Polar Express!

Meme and Granddad surprised everyone this year with tickets to the Polar Express! The kids were super excited to put on their pajamas and board the train to the North Pole. It was a great way to kick off the Christmas season. Mrs. Claus greeted each child on the train and gave them their magic reindeer bell. When we arrived at the “North Pole” we made our way through the snow into a tent where they were entertained by a couple of silly elves and Santa himself. The night ended by Santa giving everyone some chocolate milk in a special Christmas mug. Thanks Meme and Granddad!

 Meme & Granddad with all the grand kids 

 Jordan mailing his Santa letter

 Nathan making sure his letter made it down the chute :) 

 Harper and Becca 

 Cousin Georgia, Harper, and Aunt Jenn

 We obviously weren't going to get a serious picture with this bunch

 Lucky Uncle Jay got to sit on the kid isle 

 My other twins, just separated by 4 years :)

 Cousin Georgia is one of a kind :) 

Catching up...Thanksgiving in Disney World!

Wow! This holiday season has been a blur! I can’t believe that we are just now getting around to posting about Thanksgiving. We have been going 100 miles an hour non-stop since Thanksgiving break and are just now catching our breath. We spent our entire Thanksgiving break in Disney World with our “Calvert” family. We certainly didn't intend on going to both Disneyland and Disney World in the same year but sometimes these things just sort of happen. We have talked about taking this trip for a couple of years and there were 15 of us total. We had all of the “Calvert kids” except for Libby and Brad. Libby was busy cheering for the Houston Texans and was unable to squeeze the Disney trip in between games and a Thanksgiving Day parade. We hated that they had to miss out but maybe next time?!

We had a blast and created some life-long memories with the entire family. We had a wide range of weather from the 80’s and sunny, to pouring rain, and ending the week with temps in the 40’s! It’s amazing we didn't all come home sick.

Carson was into all things Disney. He LOVED meeting the characters and riding the rides. He discovered pretty quickly that when you see light at the end of a ride that it is time to get off and he would cry, grab the rail, and scream “no-no—GO!”  Harper was a little more hesitant at first but she quickly warmed up. She LOVED seeing the characters until they directly interacted with her and then she would burst into tears and bury her face in either Becca or mines shoulder. That’s why she is absent from many of the character pictures or is being held by her daddy.

 Carson was so excited he walked up and bit Pluto on the nose :) 

You're a little too close Donald! 

 Peek-a-boo with Minnie Mouse 

Jordan and Nathan were troopers. After the first day they ditched their strollers and walked the rest of the week without ever complaining. We did make Nathan ride in his stroller the last day we were there because he woke up with a fever and not feeling well.

 Harper loved meeting Belle and couldn't keep her eyes off of her!

 Those are two pretty serious Jedi Knights!

 DUMBO!!!

(Sometimes Nathan has a hard time containing his excitement in photos)

Disney is a pretty magical place, especially at Christmas and even more so when you get to see it through the eyes of your own kids. I have so many great memories of going to Disney with my family growing up and I get a bit nostalgic when I walk through the gates.  It is always sad to exit the park on your last day. As we were leaving Magic Kingdom, Nathan waved at the castle and said. “Bye castle, I’ll see ya next time!”. I love that kid. 

Gram and Jill to the Rescue!

So I get this flyer in the boys' folders last week about the Kindergarten Gingerbread House Making Party and it explains that the kids will need a parent to help.  The catch?...2:00 in the afternoon.  I immediately feel like loser because I'm a teacher.  I'm a working mom.  I'm not available to build Gingerbread houses at 2:00 in the afternoon on Thursday.  Ugh. Most of the time I can get my classes covered or take a half day off, but it's one week before semester exams...that's pressure at school.  My heart was torn.  I was sad to miss out on this activity with my boys but sometimes it's just not about me.  So how could I make sure this day was special for N and J?  I called in the troops...some of their most favorite people!  My parents were booked that day because my dad had a medical procedure...praising God that went smoothly and he's on the mend.  Gram and Jill came to the rescue!  Jill is my lifelong friend of 25 years and she just happens to teach at the boys school.

She was able to get her class covered and help Tot with his gingerbread house. 

Gram sacrificed her afternoon to help JP.  

The boys were tickled and felt super special!  That's what matters.  I'm so thankful for friends and family that can jump in to help our crazy family. 

And I have to add that the gingerbread houses digressed from here...when I got home N showed me the "bloody gingerbread man" on the roof of his house...

I was totally appalled and disturbed.  I told the boys there was no blood on gingerbread houses.  Gingerbread houses are fun and full of candy and happy and sweet and I went on and on.  When Bryan came home, I pulled him aside and told him how disturbed I was about the bloody gingerbread men.  He looked at me like I was a crazy lady with a chicken on my head.  He said, "They are five year old boys.  That's what boys do."  Oh goodness.  Will I ever be able to adjust to boys?!!?!!!  Atleast I am learning to find the humor in fart noises.  

It's Fall Ya'll!

We got back from Disney World and I had a about 24 hours to wash 13 loads of clothes, totally unpack and get ready for the week.  We paused our chores for a little while Sunday afternoon to play in the leaves!  

We were wearing shorts yesterday and today the high temperature was 40 degrees.  Such is the life of a Texan.

Pest Problem

We have a couple of pests that we can't keep out of the pantry! But you have to admit, that is one cute little mouse!

Operation Christmas Child

For the past decade Becca and I have participated in Operation Christmas Child. This is an amazing ministry and a very easy way to spread the Good News and give hope to children from all corners of the globe that have very little. We decided that the boys were old enough to help this year and it was fun to make them apart of this tradition. We had a good conversation about why we were filling the shoe boxes for kids we did not know and how lucky we were to have so much. We thanked God for our family and everything He provides and then we headed into the store to fill our boxes. I told the boys that their boxes would go to a boy somewhere in the world that was their same age so they should pick out things that they would like and that someone would need. They took this very seriously but of course they are still 5 year old boys and I did have to veto a few items from the box. A few of the items that I had to reject were: silly string, a cell phone case, plastic nun chucks, a decorative piece of fruit, and novelty Hill-Billy-Teeth! We came home, packed our boxes, and finished the night off with some hot chocolate. For more information on Operation Christmas Child or Compassion International click the links below.

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/

http://www.compassion.com/