Time and Season

This past week marked a year since we moved to Austin.  We have thought a lot about the last year and it is amazing to think about all that has changed and the blessings we have received, which are many.  Change isn't always easy and I will fully admit I get scared of it, so I had my fears when we decided to make the move to an unfamiliar place. All the change reminded me of my service as a missionary.  Things change all the time as a missionary, you learn an unfamiliar language, move to an unfamiliar place and then get moved to different cities/areas quite frequently. Near the end of my mission, I was a bit nervous to come home with all the change that was ahead once again.  I felt like I finally felt comfortable in my element and didn't want to have another round of change so soon.  In my letters home I had mentioned this fear and my dad, being the wise man he is, wrote back with this scripture: 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."  

He then explained that we all have seasons in our life that build us into the person we need to become.  Each season is unique and important in our life and we need to keep going forward in the midst of change and embrace it. I will always remember the letter he wrote me because it taught me I needed to to move forward with change when I feel it's the right direction to go.  There is a 'time and season' to every thing.
Our time in Virginia was perfect for that season in our life and was a huge blessing with all we learned, experienced and the wonderful friends we made, which we still miss.  But, as we have settled in Austin we have recognized that this is the right place for our little family in this new season of our life. Austin feels like home.  It is honestly overwhelming to think about the blessings that have come in the last year.  Like anything, each year is not without it's ups and downs, but 2013 was especially good to us. Growing up, I always use to think bad luck came with the number '13', but I now remain corrected on that. ;) As we have entered this new season and time in our life my heart is full because I can see the Lord's hand in it all. Now, onto 2014 to see what lies ahead this year. Baby Brother will bring a great start to the year since he will arrive in a little over 6 weeks.  Let's just hope he survives his sisters.



First year in Austin...

Christmas Card Pictures

We attempted to tackle some Christmas Card pictures of the girls this year.  They weren't too thrilled to have their picture taken when the park next to them was obviously much more appealing, I don't blame them.  We managed to get a few pictures before they ran free. ;)  We love our girls!  It is crazy how much they change every year. 

Christmas 2013

As you can tell, pregnancy is wearing me out this round so I haven't had the energy to use the nice camera much, but gratefully phone pictures work great for now.  Baby Boy is very worth it but I am one tired momma. (Though, I can't tell if it's pregnancy or Kate that is wearing me out the most... it's questionable.)

Christmas was nice and mild this year, other than a few rounds of sugar overdose with the children. ;) Grandma and Grandpa flew in from Colorado and we had a great time with them here.  The girls loved making necklaces and crafts with Grandma and reading stories with Grandpa. A highlight of their visit was definitely going to see the movie 'Frozen'. Ever since they saw the movie, I have heard the songs sung to me by the girls, with the dance movements…quite entertaining.
We had some fun throughout December doing the traditional gingerbread and peppermint bark.  Our friends from Virginia shared the great idea of opening a Christmas book every night before Christmas in the month of December so we decided to try that out.  The girls looked forward to every night they got to open a book to read together so it's a tradition we want to keep. There were also some great moments with the girls this year as they started to understand the importance about the Savior's Birth. Christmas is always a fun time and we are enjoying building traditions in our little family. 

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas! 

 We decided to get a real tree for the kids to decorate this year and they were soooo excited. I loved having the smell of pine in the house. 

Like I said, things can get a little crazy around here, especially with Kate.

 Our neighborhood got together and did hayrides to look at lights and the girls loved it! It was cute to see the older men in the neighborhood pull out their trucks and trailers to pull many loads of kids. These are the type of awesome people in our neighborhood that do nice things like this. 

 Visits to Santa with friends.

Traditional gingerbread.

Christmas tree fell on Brett. 

I was down doing laundry and I heard a huge thud upstairs.  I called up to see what happened and I heard a faint…"Ummmm…I think I might need some help?" Gratefully he was fine so we had a good laugh.  He was adjusting the tree holder tighter and I guess we will say that gravity won out during the adjustment. ;) (Kind of hard to stop it when you're underneath.) Haha. Poor guy.

Kate faces begging for chocolate.

Fun at the park since Texas weather is decent in the Winter months.

Class parties.

 Making peppermint bark for friends and neighbors.

 Crafts with Grandma.

Christmas Eve rolls.

The girls Christmas wish was a dollhouse and it looks like Santa pulled through for them. (I have to say we found this used and in basically perfect condition for an amazing price, like my family, I love finding a good deal. ;)

Santa crashed in the middle of the floor. 

The traditional wrapping paper wall for the kids to jump through Christmas morning. 

Fun at the park with Grandpa and Grandma.

Birthday Girl

Kate turned 3 this month and was very excited to tell everyone about it.  People would ask how she was doing and she was say, "I'm three, it's my birthday." I am a mean mother because the best day with schedules that would work with her annual Doc visit happened to be on her birthday. The poor kid had to get a shot on her birthday. Gratefully she had fun at the doctor all until the very end but a little ice cream bribery for enduring a shot made up for it.
Kate's wish for her birthday was to have a My Little Pony Party with her friends, so we did our best to make that happen.  The party went well, other than a minor incident with a friend shoving a bead up her nose. :/  Thankfully the moms were quick in their thinking and grabbed a bobby pin to get the bead out without a doctor visit. Phew! Brett commented that he thought that only happened in movies and I assured him that anything is possible with 2-3 year olds.  ;) It was fun to have daddy here for the party this time, because in years past he has had to work.  Kate loved all the attention and fun with friends so all in all I think it was a success.

We sure love our Kate! 

Happy Birthday!

Texas has awesome weather in the winter so we had them all eat out on the porch. ;)

Pin the tail on the pony. I was surprised they actually all sat down for 10 min and did it. Who knew?

Annual birthday letter:

Dear Kate, 

Ever since your entrance into this world you have brought a whole lot of fun and excitement to our house.  You never want to stop moving and soak in every waking moment you have.  In fact, speaking of waking moments, every day in the early hours of the morning you proudly declare, "It's morning, I'm awake!" You are up and ready to seize the day before the sun even rises and you want to make us aware that you are awake and there is no going back. We now really have no need for an alarm clock. You know how to ease a stressful day by getting everyone to laugh with your charming ways, even though at times you can be the cause of the stress. ;)  You can wear us out and melt our heart all in a matter of 30 seconds. 

There is not a day that goes by that you aren't begging for friend to come over to play.  You love friends.  Nursery at church has gratefully never been a problem for you because you look forward to the time with your pals and free reign of goldfish crackers.  We still can't believe you will be advancing to the Sunbeams Class at church in the next few weeks….(watch out world, this might be an adventure.) We asked Abby how it went when you visited the Primary with your nursery class and she said, "Kate 'kind of' held still." Sitting in a chair for a long period of time will be a good test for you.

Something we love every December is your fascination with the Christmas tree.  You can sit in front of the tree quietly and just gaze at it, mesmerized with all the twinkling lights. The ornaments on the tree are another situation, and don't involve you quietly gazing.  You love to gather the ornaments and play with them, leaving the tree quite barren by the end of the season. ;)  

Your fuzzy blanket still remains your favorite item of choice.  We felt really bad when we lost your original 'fuzzy' on the move to Texas, but you quickly gravitated to another blankie of equal value and now won't let go of it. (Phew.) Another favorite it digging through the dress up bin and twirling around the house in a tutu or princess dress. You love shaking your hips and posing for the family as you dance for your 'fans.'

It's been a big year of advancements for you because you are now potty trained and managed to stop sucking your thumb, two things which are nice to have conquered. Unfortunately, when you stopped sucking your thumb we basically said goodbye to you falling asleep for naps, BUT I think it will be worth the future dental bills we would get someday…or hopefully don't get.

We can't imagine life without you around and we are grateful every day for your smile, cuddles, sass and wet kisses on the cheek.  We love you Kate-Kate!

Love,
Dad and Mom

A Visit to Bethlehem

We found out there is a small town, Burnet, nearby that recreates 'Bethlehem' for the Christmas Season.  Since we had heard so many good things about it, we decided to see what it was all about.  We got there about when it opened and little did we know, we had a long wait ahead of us…2 hours!  Not expecting the wait, we weren't the most prepared, but gratefully our friends were kind and let us share their wagon.  We won't mention that Kate wet her pants while we were in line and went naked underneath her dress for most of the time. Opps.  It was at that point in our wait we were about to just go home, but the nice lady behind us kept telling us it was worth it and to 'stick it out.'  Gratefully we listened and even though it was a really long 2 hours, we loved what we experienced inside 'Bethlehem.' The girls thought it was real and were mesmerized the entire time.  This church had created a whole little city of what it was like when Jesus was born. There were demonstrations of different traditions and practices at that time and many sections to visit.  The whole event was even free with hot chocolate at the end. I think this is a place we want to make a tradition for Christmastime, but we will definitely come even earlier and more prepared with extra clothing and snacks for the next round. ;) I love that there is a place we can visit nearby that focuses on what Christmas is really about.  The girls talked about it a lot after our visit and we can tell it left a good impact on them. 

 When we reached the stable, the group of girls asked 'Is this what heaven is like?' So sweet. They stayed and just quietly watched the Baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary for quite some time.

Pictures as we waited in line.  So glad we had awesome friends to be with for the 2 hour journey.