People in our mailbox

Everyday when I get home from work, I check our mailbox. Some days it's empty, other days it's filled with bills, coupons or endless amounts of credit card applications. But for weeks, I have been opening up our mailbox to find hand-addressed envelopes filled with people I love. It's so much fun to see their Christmas cards and watch their families grow. Add it to the many things I enjoy about this season.

I have been on Christmas break for several days now. All of our presents are bought and wrapped up with bows, so I thought now would be a great time to give you a little update. I have a personal rule to never decorate our house before Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't wait this year. My coworkers and friends were starting with their decorations early. They helped me reason that because Thanksgiving was later than usual AND we were leaving for vacation on Dec. 18th, we better get our tree up so we could enjoy it. I did all of the decorating while Kyle watched sports, so we both had great afternoons! :)

Our porch looks SO much better this year thanks to the 80% off Hobby Lobby holiday sale after Christmas last year, which got us those trees and our new wreath. 

So our halls were decked by the time December rolled around. That left lots of time for bedlam weekend, shopping trips, snow days, Christmas parties, crafting and light seeing. Unfortunately we didn't make it to San Antonio as planned because Kyle had to work. Instead, I took my days away from the office to catch up on housework and Downton Abbey (thanks, Michal!). Overall, it's be a great holiday season, and I am so excited for Christmas to get here. Four days and counting...

 We went to Hennessey one weekend to help Mom and Dad put up their tree. Asher got to climb up in the attic to help find the right boxes.

He told Dad he didn't need any help getting down because he's not a baby anymore, he's all grown up. 

 Asher didn't care about anything else but finding the nativity so he could play with the animals. 

 Let the tree decorating begin. 

 Asher wanted to put the star on top, but he's developed a fear of heights. He thought the step ladder would be tall enough, but as it turns out, he still needed Dad's help. 

 Dad had to promise not to put him on his shoulders and Asher held on TIGHT, but he placed the star perfectly. (Don't you just love his shirt, by the way!)

 Back in November, we found out we got approved for a grant program to have a storm shelter installed. Since we applied so long ago, we figured it would never come through, but it finally did, so we had our storm shelter installed this month. 

 Kyle couldn't resist the wet cement! 

 They installed it just before the snow started. And by the next morning, the Foundation was closed and our house looked like this. I LOVE snow days! 

 

 But even with the snow and ice, bedlam weekend must go on! We bundled up for the game to cheer on the Cowboys. Unfortunately our smiles didn't last long. (Yes, that is a man's coat I'm wearing. Every heavy coat I have is red. How did that happen?!) 

 The Foundation Christmas Party was at Fuzzy's again this year, but the new twist for 2013 was an ugly sweater contest. None of us won, but we had a lot of fun and looked fabulous doing it! 

 The real winner at the party was Lindsay who went home with the game Doggie Doo. It was the most hilarious dirty Santa gift ever but also the most concerning. Who would buy that game for their children?! 

 The next week, we had our department Christmas party/team building exercise. At the beginning of the fiscal year we each chose a word that we were going to focus on in FY14. We then painted a picture that represented our word so we could hang it in our offices.

 I was pretty stressed out when we started, but it was SO much fun! In the end all of our paintings turned out great. I wish I had a final version of them all. 

 This is how mine turned out. I was pretty impressed by it, but my expectations were low considering my past artistic experiences.

 When we found out we couldn't go to San Antonio, Kyle took me out for dinner and a little light seeing to cheer me up. This house was my favorite.

 Henry would have LOVED this Mickey. 

 And the house just down the street was hooked up to music again this year, so we enjoyed a little show as well. We also discovered that you can't use a flash when taking a selfie. Such a shame.

 Zach got to come home for the holidays, so I headed to Hennessey Thursday night to spend a little time with the fam. Asher loves having Uncle home, almost as much as he loves playing with Mamo's new tablet. :)

 Kyle surprised us on Friday night, just before the ice storm began, so we've been enjoying a long, quiet weekend here in Hennessey. I am in heaven and Kyle is starting to loose his mind. Hopefully the ice will clear some tomorrow so his cabin fever will come to an end.