On December 22nd, Little Red turned 3!!!
My favorite part is all the kids gathered around the birthday kid!
Thankful for my baby boy.
He'll always be my baby.
I so get that now.
He denies it, but he's wrong.
I'm the mama and he's my baby boy.
Thankful another favorite part is the birthday child putting on their candles...so fun for them!
Love watching their little fingers be so careful...serious business.
Love watching their little fingers be so careful...serious business.
Thankful Doesn't he look grown up here?
I guess I can't pretend he's still 2.
Thankful for big trucks and big boys
This is serious business carrying your new truck down to the beach
OK well, we can stop at the hot tub for a little bit first.
It was a perfect day!
That was the last warm sunny day, I think it was in the 70's that day
It's been around 60 since (with one day around 50!)
Thankful who needs to plan a big party when we can just go to the beach?
and run into new friends that feel like old friends.
(and I don't mean age!)
This is Sherrie!
(and her beautiful grandson)
We met on the beach, we both like to walk with the sunrise!
She homeschools and is from Northern Texas.
Thankful people in Texas are SO nice!
Thankful
Thankful I get to watch all the fun they have, all the things they do and I never hear,
"I'm bored" at the beach!
Thankful for scenery like this!
I'm going backwards here for one picture.
Tom and I celebrated 18 years on December 20!
Thankful for the love of my life
and the life I get to spend with him.
Thankful the warm air and sunshine has done wonders
This is the first winter in a long time that he's felt this good.
He looks healthier too.
It's like a weight lifted.
Thankful this has made up our minds,
we are planning a move to ARIZONA
this next year.
For sunshine and health
Onto Christmas Eve Day
Had to get Little Red in action here, told the kids to line up and then told him to go stand
by his favorite 5 year old and you can see I snapped an in action picture, he was just passing through!
Thankful for snowman making (sandman actually)
Beach walking
Up until Christmas, we pretty much had the beach to ourselves
(except on weekends)
Now it's a little busier
Thankful for piggy back rides
and teen boys that turn our "Merry Christmas" into "Merry Ohristmas"!!
Thankful we all kind of matchy matchy for Christmas Eve Mass
Thankful for sandals and flip flops in December!
Thankful for our Christmas meal!
Stuffed Manicotti
Garlic butter infused garlic bread
We also had fresh fruit!
We also had fresh fruit!
and of course there is that bubbly stuff...
3 bottles of the bubbly juice gives us each one glass!
Thankful Christmas morning, the maintenance man, Eloy,
brought us up to the top of the 31 floor building and showed us the view!
It was amazing!
I know he doesn't do this for everyone, he's so nice to us!
We could see the whole island!
Back for our Christmas brunch
Monkey Bread
Egg Bake
Fresh oranges and grapefruit
And gift opening in jammies!
Later on Christmas Day
we went to the beach to play
and feed the seagulls!
The girls loved it!
Feeding the seagulls at the ocean is not quite like feeding the ducks at a lake in MN
She had not even opened the bag yet!
She had not even opened the bag yet!
Thankful for moments like this, growing friendships between siblings.
I forgot to take a picture of our Christmas dinner meal, but got a picture of the desserts!
3 ingredient fudge
Candy Bar Pie
Thankful (the day after Christmas here)
that even on cloudy days, we have the beach
and every single day is different.
these two were feeding themselves and the seagulls!
Pretty foggy here...much more in person
Thankful the humidity has done wonders with her curls!
and mine!!
Thankful on our way back in from the beach (the kids were soaked)
we caught Santa on his way out.
He was taking a much needed rest!!
Here in Texas!
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Merry Christmas and a year full of blessings wished for you!!
I'm so glad this visit helped your decision-making and that Tom is feeling so much better. I bet your friends up north are both sad and happy for you. You certainly make me want to visit. :) Merry Christmas!
ReplyDelete(And if this shows up 2 or 3x, I'm sorry -- I was having some issues!)
I love this one! I love seeing how you are all thriving in Texas! Merry Chrustmas to you!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're having such a wonderful time and that your husband is feeling better! Wish you were moving to Texas, but I know you'll enjoy Arizona. I'm actually a New Mexico girl myself-born and raised! We received a wonderful present on Christmas Eve-our 5th grandchild was born! We're here in Midland, TX visiting him and his Mommy & Daddy. Glad it's nice on the Gulf Coast-we're having an ice storm here and temperatures in the twenties!
ReplyDeleteThat view is gorgeous! It must have been even better in person!
ReplyDeleteYou are such a good cook! And I haven't even eaten your food, but all your dishes just look so yummy!
So glad you all are having such a great time--thankful for that!
Love these pictures. So happy to see you enjoying your Christmas. Praying for you always--you are a Godsend to so many, Jamie.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas! And Happy Birthday to one little boy!
ReplyDeleteWonderful, warm Christmas photos and thankfuls, Jamie. I enjoyed each one. I'm still trying to imagine Christmas in flip flops and sandals. Crazy, crazy. You all look well and have sun-kissed glows about you. Jealous. :) The views are amazing and that food also looks very yummy, even at 7 am.
ReplyDeleteKeep enjoying your days and all that glorious sunshine! Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas, sweetest Jamie. I have dreamt about you twice now since you moved -- you must be living in my subconscious mind! Love you!
ReplyDeleteIt just does my heart good to see all those smiling faces, lots of beach pictures and the complete and total absence of snow and cold! Happy belated birthday and Anniversary to you and Little Red!
ReplyDeleteSuch good stuff. Your kids always look happy and here they are beaming. Love that beach therapy. Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas and Happy Anniversary! What a gorgeous view from up so high. I would love to know how you're doing school. I would be like, let's go to the beach and do science. ALL.DAY.LONG. English? Write a sentence about what you did at the beach. Math? Let's count the shells we found at the beach. Social studies? Hmm, let's make some friends at the BEACH!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas...Happy Birthday...Happy Anniversary! Lots to be thankful for and celebrate. Like Kim..how do you do school...or get housework done. One very fun and cool place to be. Like others have said...family is what keeps us here also. We even moved more "north" to be closer to them. Brian gets to enjoy my family more then me because of all the hunting he does with them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I am sure it is good to know where you will be next year. What a shocker it will be to come back on March 1st!!!!
We have had a lot of sun..finally...but now it is cold. But...we had appts all morning. Forgot my fav. water bottle at one..ugh...now the fireplace is roaring...Ava is actually playing Monopoly with Colette and Jonathan. Big boys are downstairs getting ready for the party tonight....teen party. Cheese sticks are in the oven. Only bought those because a teen was along shopping....then he wondered off somewhere in Walmart. I had to call him over the speaker!!! gosh...teens are just like toddlers. Literally.
Thanks for blogging. really.
So good seeing your smile and curls!!
Hi Jamie, thanks for your blog comment! Would love to meet you in person once you move to Phx! my email is jrwahlund@gmail.com :)
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