Christmas with Bobby's Dad

Our final Christmas celebration was yesterday afternoon. We had Bobby's dad, grandma, aunt and sisters over. Here are a couple pictures from our day:



We have four generations in this picture!

Best Gift of All

All month long we have been talking with Ethan about the true meaning of Christmas - how God loved the world so much that he decided to send His son, Jesus, to earth as a baby, so that everyone who receives Jesus into their hearts will have everlasting life. And that the reason we give gifts to each other is because Jesus was God's gift to us. We have also had numerous conversations over time about how we are all sinners and we need a Savior - that Jesus is that Savior if we ask Him to come into our hearts.
So, the day before Christmas Eve, I was running errands with Ethan & Annaliese and Ethan & I were discussing this on our drive. He asked me if I have Jesus in my heart. I told him yes, I did. He then said, "Pray it again." So, I indulged him and prayed the prayer of salvation for myself. Then he said, "Pray it for me." I told him that I can't ask Jesus into his heart for him, but that if he wanted to make that decision for himself, I would help him pray the prayer. Ethan told me that he did want to ask Jesus into his heart. So I lead him in the prayer with him repeating every line: "Dear Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. And you came to give me everlasting life. Please forgive me of my sin. Please come into my heart. Help me to be like you. I love you, Jesus. Amen."
I know Ethan is young, but I am not about to discount the fact that the Holy Spirit resonates in the tiny spirits of children. The bible says that, "From the mouths of babes and infants, you have ordained praise." I know the angels rejoiced with me & Bobby over his decision!
Thank you, Jesus, for giving Ethan a heart after you. Help him to be more like you and have an ever-increasing desire to know you. Give him a heart for righteousness. Help him to be a leader, standing strong in his faith. Protect him and keep him healthy. Praise you, Lord!

Christmas at Pop & Gigi's

After a leisurely morning at home with the kids, we headed over to Pop & Gigi's house for more Christmas merriment that afternoon. We had a fun time with Pop, Gigi & Kyle. There was a Scrabble game that I demand a redo of!


Ethan, Bobby, Heidi & Annaliese


Ethan, Pop, Gigi & Annaliese


Kimmy, Mom & Heidi


Ethan, Gigi & Aunt Kimmy


Gigi with Annaliese

Christmas Morning

For the first time as our little family, we celebrated Christmas together on Christmas morning. It was the most fun I have had at Christmas since I was kid! I have always heard how Christmas is for the kids, and for the first time I totally got that. I was so happy to see Ethan & Annaliese with their wonder and excitement, that wondering what I received for Christmas was not even a thought this year. I will really treasure the memories we made!

Here are some pictures from our fun-filled morning:


Here's the kids with their stockings


Ethan playing with his new kaleidoscope, Bobby checking out Ethan's pop-up bug book and Annaliese on the move


Sweet Annaliese taking it all in!


Annaliese playing with new toy


Handsome Ethan on his new bike!

Christmas with Dad, Laura & Kimmy

On Christmas Eve we had Dad, Laura & Kimmy over for Christmas dinner & more presents! We had a GREAT time!


Ethan waiting to open presents!


Laura, Dad & Annaliese (with Ethan's arm - sorry!)


Laura, Ethan & Dad


Bobby & Ethan


Ethan with his new bike!

Christmas with Bobby's Mom

On Christmas Eve Eve, we had Bobby's mom, step-dad & sister over for a Christmas dinner and presents. Here are some pictures from our time together:

Annaliese & her new Waterbaby


Ethan on his new scooter!


Ethan with Aunt Holly


Roy, Annaliese, Sandy, Ethan, Bobby & Holly

Santa Picture

We almost didn't get a Santa picture this year, but we managed to sneak away for a little bit on Christmas Eve morning to go get a picture. Boy am I glad we did! Check out the picture:

Ethan was excited to see Santa and asked for toys (nothing specific, just a general wish). Annaliese on the other hand was not so happy.....Oh well, she'll get a kick one day of looking at this picture!

Silly Little Elves

A couple of my blogging friends posted similar videos and I just had to copy their idea....I knew Ethan would get a kick out of it!

So, enjoy our silly little elf video!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Pudding Face

I just thought this was funny.....

Ethan was eating chocolate pudding and when he was finished, his face looked like this:

It looks like he has a moustache & goatee! He looked in the mirror and laughed and said he looked like a pirate!

On the Move

I thought that my little Annaliese would be a late-bloomer with crawling & walking because of her size. For the last couple months she's been perfectly content to sit in one place and play with whatever toy Ethan would bring her. Well, someone must have sent her the memo that she turned eight months old because she decided to do just about everything this past week! She is scooting, crawling, pulling up, cruising along furniture, and standing for a couple seconds at a time. She can get from one end of the room to the other and has even pulled off a couple Christmas ornaments!

That will be the last time I underestimate my little girl! She is small, but MIGHTY!

I caught a few pictures of her in action.....

Hmmm, something over there looks interesting. I think I'll check it out!


Oh wow! It's a neat bar stool!


It is just the perfect place for pulling up and standing!


Big brother had to see what all the fuss was about!


Peek-A-Boo!



Mommy realizes her world just got a lot more busy!

Christmas Fun

Gigi took the kids & I for a trip to the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine to view all their beautiful Christmas decorations. They have a huge train display which Ethan LOVED, life-size gingerbread house, huge tree and decorations galore! It was a fun little "field trip". Thanks Gigi!



!

Two More Short Videos

Here are two more short videos:

Sorry....this one is sideways, but cute!

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And this one is dark, but sweet!

Video of Ethan & Annaliese

I finally have a videos of Ethan & Annaliese to share with you! Here's the first one. It's from a couple of months ago, but it is really cute! You can see the typical interaction between Ethan & Annaliese. Watch til the end if you are a Pogue or Sondeno great-grandparent for a special message from Ethan!

Thanksgiving

I'm Thankful For.....

1. The free gift of salvation
2. My wonderful hubby
3. My sweet, sweet kids
4. All of our family...parents, sister, grandparents, great-grandparents
5. Our home
6. Our awesome church
7. All of our fun friends
8. All of our other friends who aren't fun (ha ha, just kidding)
9. Thanksgiving Leftovers
11. Gas at about $1.60/gal
12. Christmas music and decorations
13. Mi Cocina, La Hacienda and Los Molcajetes
14. Singing on the worship team
15. Stein Mart
16. Texas
17. Disposable diapers
18. The Food Network
19. that Bobby keeps our cars in working order
20. that Bobby loves to play with the kids
21. that Bobby is so handy
22. Ethan's sticky kisses
23. Ethan's infectious laughs
23. Annaliese's sweet smile
24. Annaliese's cuddles
25. online shopping
26. Southlake Town Square
27. our sweet nursery workers
28. Spinach Cheese Dip in a Sourdough bread bowl
29. my digital camera
30. my Chi hair iron

Ashley's 30th Birthday

One of my best friends, Ashley Hicks, turned thirty this past week. (Man, do I feel old! But she still has a couple years on me! Ha!) To celebrate we had a girl's weekend at the Gaylord Texan hotel in Grapevine. We got pedicures, had dinner, put on a play-pageant and spent the night together in a beautiful suite. It was soooo much fun! We were a bunch of silly girls all weekend, but it was a blast! It was my first night away from Annaliese, but Bobby & the kids did great and had a great time together!

Getting Pedicures Together

(Alyse, Ashley, me, Dana)

Group Shot from Dinner

Me & Ash

Pageant Contestants

Me trying to steal the crown away from the winner!

Cutest Kids in the Whole Wide World!

I have decided that I have the cutest kids in the whole wide world! I know I'm going to have friends that disagree with that statement, and that's okay! To me, no one is cuter!

(Daddy's pretty cute too!)

Very silly Ethan!

Playing Dress Up

Because Annaliese is on the small side for her age, we had a couple warm-weather outfits that were too big for her until now. This little dress & hat is one of my favorites. Even though it is too chilly to wear the outfit now, that didn't stop Mommy from having a little dress-up photo shoot with Annaliese!

Fall Fest

As an alternative to Halloween, our incredible church hosts a Fall Festival at Dragon Stadium every year. They have bounce houses, petting zoo, rides, food vendors and lots of games and candy. We bundled up and met all the grandparents for a fun night!

Ethan had a Buzz Lightyear costume to wear, but when it was time to get ready to go he told me, "I don't want to be Buzz. I'll just be Ethan.". I told him that was just fine and a very good thing to be. We brought the costume with us, just in case he changed his mind, but he was happy being Ethan all night! He reminded me of myself. I remember several years growing up where I just wanted to be me too!

Pop, Gigi & Annaliese

Grandpa and Ethan eating pizza. (With his hood & sunglasses on, it kind of looks like we dressed him up as a rapper! That was not intended!)

Pop helping Ethan with the golf game

Grandpa with Annaliese

Ma with Ethan playing a game

Mommy with Annaliese (where is she under that fur hood?)

Happy Boy!