Pray for Jeremy

Tomorrow afternoon, my brother, Jeremy, is leaving for Afghanistan. He is a Marine and is being sent out on his first tour. Please pray for the work he will be doing and for his safety, as well as the safety of all service men and women overseas. It is so easy to take for granted the freedoms we have, and I can't put into words the gratitude I have for those, like Jeremy, who are willing to defend our country in this way. He is my silly little brother, but I admire him so much for the sacrifices he makes for me, my family, and all Americans.

Here are Jeremy and Aimee, earlier this year, when they were expecting their little baby boy! Pray for Aimee during this time that she is separated from her husband.
...and I couldn't leave out a picture of their sweet Gavin! He will have lots of arms to love on him while daddy is away!

Happy Birthday Dylan!

Last weekend we headed to Dallas to celebrate Dylan's birthday. Dustin and Tricia are friends of ours from college, and although we don't get to see them too often, we love our time with the McCoys! Jace and Dylan are about 9 months apart. They came to visit in August for Jace's birthday, which was the first time the boys met. They played together then, but were really quiet. This time, they really became buds! They share a love for Cars!

Here are the boys playing before they had to go to bed. They both got to stay up past their bedtime!Sunday morning, Tricia made muffins for breakfast. Jace LOVED them!Dylan's party was at the Dallas Museum. There were so many fun things for the kids to do. Their first stop was to play in the "Fire station." Jace fell asleep on the way there (it was nap time) so it took him a little while to wake up.

My cute little firefighter still half asleep!The fire truck had a slide down the back.Dylan and Jace driving the truck. Next stop, LEGOS!
I think this part was most kid's favorite, it was a water station. It was just a shallow table of water for the kids to play around in, but they LOVED it!

Jace and Dylan, and Dylan's mommy, Tricia.This is Dustin's little cousin, Will, and Brenley. Will is 2 1/2 months younger then Bren, and just as long as her!My little cowgirl and cowboy.
Jace and Jake milking a cow.

"What do you see?"

After all of the play time, it was Jace's favorite part of any party, CAKE TIME!

Karoline, Dylan, and Jace walking back to the party room.

Jace finished every last bit of his cake!
Thank you Dustin, Tricia, and Dylan, for having us! We can't wait to see y'all again!

Santa's Wonderland

Last week, we went on our annual outing to Santa's Wonderland! I always look forward to this trip! I love the time we get to spend as a family, and I LOVE to see how much fun Jace has! I know Bren will really enjoy it next year, when she knows what's going on!

Here's a quick look back at the past two years...

December 2007, Jace was 4 months old.

December 2008. Jace was 16 months.We were planning to go last Friday, but with the forcast calling for SNOW, we went Thursday. We hadn't been on a weekday, but it worked out GREAT because it wasn't very busy, which meant NO LINES!! The kids took their picture with Santa first. Last year Jace screamed like crazy when we took his picture, so this year I kept telling him ALL DAY that he would see Santa and he could tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas, BUT that he would have to take a picture first. Well when we got there, he was SO EXCITED to see Santa, he knew exactely what he wanted to ask him for. Once he actually had to sit on Santa's lap, he almost started to cry. I quickly reminded him he need to tell Santa what he wanted. That changed his mood immediately! He was really excited when Santa gave him stickers!
Jake and Jace as we went in. Jace is a big animal lover, so we HAD to visit the petting zoo!
Dad kept Bren warm by the campfire. I had to MAKE Jace sit by the fire to warm up! My little Cowboy riding the pony! Jace was so excited to see Frosty the Snowman! He wants to be a snowman himself! Family picture time!We had so much fun! I hope our little Christmas tradition is something the kids look forward to as much as we do!

A little of Jace, A little of Bren...

A few weeks ago, Jeremy, Aimee, and Baby Gavin, were able to make a quick trip home. Jace LOVES LOVES LOVES Aunt Aimee and Uncle J! It was so great to spend time with Jeremy before he had to return to North Carolina to prepare for deployment. When we were telling him bye, I had to take a picture of Jace giving him a hug.

Jace thinks it's so funny to rub Jeremy's head.We will miss you, J, and can't wait for you to return home again!We spent this Thanksgiving in Victoria. Jace LOVES to visit everyone, and LOVES to play with Dominic! I think Dom draws out even more silliness in Jace. He found Jacob's boots and decided he wanted to wear them. He make a cute little cowboy!...you know, just being cool...Jace was so excited to see real snow last week. All week, he kept telling me he wanted to be a snowman (not sure why), so when I told him it was snowing he thought it was the coolest thing ever! Of course it didn't even stick to the ground, but be did get to enjoy trying to catch it! For Jace's first Christmas, I took a picture of him laying under the tree with this little Santa hat on. He was so chubby and cute!

I thought it would be fun to take the same picture of Bren. Well, Little Lady has her own agenda, so every time I put her on her back, she would immediately roll over. I tried SEVERAL times to get her on her back, but as most times, SHE WON! I can't argue with this bright eyed, beautiful face!
We call this the "Bren Face" it's like she's thinking, "What do you want!??"

MDO Harvest Feast

Right before Thanksgiving, Jace's Mother's Day Out Class had a fun Thanksgiving Feast. They have all of the kids (or should I say Parents) bring something, and it really did turn into a feast! They had Chic-fil-a nuggets (the turkey), green beans, corn, crackers, cheese, strawberries, grapes, watermelon, and for dessert, chocolate chip and M&M cookies!!

Just look at how cute my little Indian is!Jace has the best teachers ever! Ms. Kim and Ms. Natalie are so sweet and patient! They were really digging in!

Since he really only had nap time left after lunch, we took Jace home with us after he was done eating, but of course not before he took a quick pic with sis.

I know it's a bit late, but I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Fun at the park!

We have made it our "Monday routine" to spend the morning at the park. Unfortunately the past two Monday's have been rainy, so we are hoping next week we can make it back out.

Our last trip to the park, my niece, Ava, was in town and joined us! Jace was happy to have someone to run around with!

Of course, the chances are slim that My child would smile for a picture! Here is Ava getting ready to climb up.They just wanted to swing most of the time.
Once I told Jace they could play in the field, he was SO excited. He even got Ava to play football with him!

Thanks Ava for coming to play!

Cereal Time!

We recently started Brenley on cereal. She found it more fun to play with, then to eat at first, but now is getting the hang of it! She loves to sit in her big chair, but insists on sitting completely upright, so she doesn't miss anything that may happen. Her personality comes out more and more everyday. This little one brings us so much joy, and keeps us on our toes!

Here is our Sunshine the first time she had cereal!

We love you Buttercup!