Grandma and Papa arrived on Christmas Eve and it made for a perfect evening. 
Burke perfected his smoking technique and made an incredible bird for dinner.
Story time with Grandma
Christmas Jammies
J…h left a present for Santa Claus this year and S…a made sure that there were plenty of carrots for the reindeer.
We were so blessed this year to be Santa’s helpers. Our friend’s 91 year old grandfather built a beautiful doll house to donate to a four year old girl for Christmas. We were able to help by making a bedspread for the bed and pillows and cushions for the chairs. The girls also helped me pick out fabric for custom drapes. We were able to decorate the house and then deliver it. I hope my girls will always remember how they felt while performing this service.
S…a’s Joy School had their Christmas party at our home complete with a nativity pageant and musical program. Getting up in front of people and performing is very scary for her. We practiced a lot and talked about being brave. They performed the program at a rest home the week before and she did an amazing job singing all the songs and playing her part as a wise man. She was very excited to perform for us at our house and did a great job once again. She loves Joy school and has learned so many things; most important is that she can do hard things.
The next evening we hosted our 4th annual Christmas Singing Program. There was a great turnout and we had so much fun. There are so many musically talented people in our area and we enjoyed performances from three BYU music majors and a few wanna be’s like myself.
It was glorious to sing Christmas carols with my friends till almost midnight!
The Tree Lighting Ceremony at Randolph Air Force Base
All Dressed up for Mommy’s Messiah Concert
Christmas Lights ……
……and Christmas Roses
We are so lucky to have some great friends that live here in TX. They are three hours way in Houston but it was so worth the drive to go visit them for Thanksgiving. Burke served his mission with Tyler and Burke and I met Lacy when they were dating so we have lots of history together. They are about as close to family as you can get. They also have the most adorable girls who are roughly the same ages as ours. They had so much fun together. I forgot my camera but they took some pics so I hope to post them soon. I just had to take a minute to thank them for the fabulous weekend. We loved every minute and it was such a nice change from our normal holiday-with no family- routine. We sure did have something to be thankful for!
I overheard a conversation between my girls the other day. J..h was talking about how lucky she was that she got a whole week of school off and S..a said "Because you are super duper beautiful and big!" Super Duper is her new catch phrase and she uses it all the time. I can't figure out where she picked it up from but I hope it sticks around for while because it sure keeps me smiling.
My Biddy is such a character. She makes us smile and laugh all the time. She is growing up so fast. Right now she is in love with the word cute. "It's cute" she says about everything from her shoes to the potty to daddy' nose. I love it and we think she is pretty darn cute herself.
I love Christmas cards, sending and receiving. This year I am going to use Shutterfly. I have done other stuff in the past but not this year. Shutterfly has the cutest designs and an awesome promotion going on right now for all you bloggers. I am caching in right now by writing this post-you can ask me about that later. What I am excited about are their new folded cards so I can put a bunch of pics on the card and share a little story about my family's adventure this year. It is going to be awesome. You have to go check out the designs.
J..h’s primary teacher shared this cute story with me.
She asked all the the children to stand up if they wanted to be Disciples of Christ. They all stood up but J..h who half stood up then sat back down then looked kind of nervous. Her teacher asked her why she was not standing up, “Don’t you want to be a disciple of Christ?” J..h shook her head “ I want to be a paleontologist.”
I know it has been weeks and weeks since my last post and you have probably all been dying to read about my birthday surprise and see pictures of the girls on Halloween. Sorry it has taken this long. I was sick with a really bad case of Bronchitis and then my laptop got sick too and had to be sent the Dell doctor. Now we are all better and here are the long awaited posts. Enjoy!
I have the most amazing husband on the planet! He loves me so much. I also have the best family in the world not to mention incredible friends. Because of the wonderful people in my life I had a birthday weekend that was beyond anything I could have dreamed.
Since we moved away my birthday has always been kind of a let down. My Dad and I share a birthday and I miss celebrating with him. I love parties and presents and people making a big huge fuss over me and it just hasn’t happened the past few years. Last year was a particular low point. We didn’t do one single thing on my birthday because we were moving. I thought I might get a card or something but nothing….. I decided I better give Burke fair warning that I had some expectations for my 30th birthday. He had some work to do to make up for the last few years.
Then we moved and his plans for a huge party fizzled. All my friends and family were miles and miles away. He told me that he would spoil me with presents instead and asked for a substantial amount of money from the budget. I handed it over with great trepidation. I am the type that picks out my own presents since I know exactly what I want and like to get exactly what I want. Burke didn’t even ask for a list! I spent months worrying about what he was going to get me. Would I be disappointed? Would it be a waste of our money? Don’t get me wrong Burke is a great shopper. I just don’t love surprises. So I shared all my worries with my Mom, Sisters and a few of my friends hoping they would ease my mind, and they did for a while. But with my birthday just days away my mind would not stop racing…”what in the world is he going to buy me with all that money!!”
I was in this state of anxiety when I casually went to get the door, (probably another meat salesman), on Wednesday afternoon. As the door opened a chorus of “Happy Birthday” rang out. I stood there in disbelief. My Mom, Dad and sister Jennie were standing on my front porch adorned in birthday hats. As the reality of the situation sunk in my shock turned to raw emotion and I burst into tears. Jennie attacked me first, enveloping me in a hug. Then my Mom and Dad wrapped their arms around me and I cried even harder. They were really here! Burke had realized my hearts desire and given me a priceless gift. He got a big hug too.
It took me a while to truly understand the magnitude of what Burke and my family had done. It had taken months of covert planning. To cover the cost of the flights Burke used my birthday money and my parents donated their birthday money( both having October birthdays) , then he sent an e-mail to my friends and I couldn’t believe how many of them sent in donations. Jennie sacrificed so much to be there and Morgan took work off for the weekend to watch their three boys.
Burke knew I might be embarrassed if the house was not in order when they arrived so to help me un-knowingly prep for their arrival he enlisted the help of our friends by having them fake a plumbing emergency at their house. I was expecting them to stay with us for the weekend so I had already cleaned the bathrooms, changed the linens and finished the girl’s Halloween costumes. They did such a good job fooling me that I panicked just a little when my family showed up and whispered to Burke “Where are they going to sleep with our friends staying here!” He just started laughing and then it hit me “You made it up!”
The girls were equally shocked to have their Grandparents suddenly appear. They could not stop laughing and grinning and talking to them. Even biddy was giving out hugs in no time at all. It was my family’s first visit to TX so we had tons to see and do. Burke planned an itinerary for the weekend and took extra time off. It was amazing!
That night we had a celebration dinner at a True Texas BBQ Restaurant.
We toured the Missions on Thursday
I love this picture..
It was just a tad bit windy:)
Mission Concepcion
Friday was mine and my Dad’s birthday and it could not have been more perfect.
We visited the Alamo.
Then we had an authentic Tex-Mex lunch on the River walk.
We had so much fun at our ward’s Trunk- or- Treat.
That night they made a big fuss over me with a cute family party. 
The girls gave me a darling apron and J..h, who knows how much I love fabric and sewing, made me an embellished fabric panel to “sew something cute with”. She collected the fabric and taped it together all on her own. It was so sweet.
We spent Saturday enjoying the gorgeous weather and scenery at the Japanese Tea Garden
We had lots of fun hanging out at home playing, sewing, talking and enjoying the precious time we had together before they flew home on Sunday.
It was a birthday I will always treasure and definitely one that will be hard to top.
