Oh Christmas Tree!

Putting up decorations is exhausting! :)

Mr. Elf

  Our Elf made his appearance the morning after Thanksgiving but, he had a rough first day. :) James insisted on writing a letter to Santa and sending it back to the North Pole with Mr. Elf last night.

 Dear Mr. Elf,

I am so sorry I knocked Mr. Elf down when I touched the stockings. I want Mr. Elf to hide in a really hard place tomorrow. Thank you for sending him to us. Please give him his magic back!

Your friend,

James Gebhardt 

 I ended up writing the letter for James but he insisted on me writing down EXACTLY what he said. He was very serious about it and worried Mr. Elf would lose his magic! James named Mr. Elf two years ago when he was 2. It was between Beckett and Mr. Elf and Mr. Elf won.

This morning the boys woke up about an hour earlier than usual because they were so excited to go find where Mr. Elf  was hiding! So far they are on their best behavior because Mr. Elf reports everything to Santa each night.  Now if only Mr. Elf could help with potty training! 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! It has been so long since I have posted on our blog that I don't even know where to start. We have had some BIG changes in our lives since the spring and I need to write a more detailed update. I will do that soon! But, the short version is-we moved (twice), I spent many days of the summer visiting my Dad in the hospital (after 3+ months he finally came home & is well!), James started Pre-K at Dallas International School (where I am still teaching), my step-son & step-daughter now live with us full time, and our baby GIRL is due in 9 weeks!!! I could not be more excited for the final addition to our family. I was convinced we would have boy #3 (which would have also happily completed our family) then I got the surprise of my life! I will never forget the day we found out and cannot wait to write about it. I have over 1,000 pictures from last spring and summer. I plan on going back and writing a few blog entries for each month so I can document this pregnancy and all that has happened! I can't believe how fast the past 30 weeks have flown by. All of these major events deserve their own post so I will be writing more soon. 

We spent today enjoying Thanksgiving lunch at the club, just the five of us. Simon was with us but the picture of the boys I took was not good. He took the picture above. Ellie is with her mom this week, Grandma-ma & Papa are in Red River, Grandad is visiting Uncle Scott, Aunt B, Myla & Adyn in Colorado, and Nanie spent the day in Austin with Aunt Lea! I would have loved to have gone to Red River or Colorado but we did not have the whole week off of school so driving that far to stay only 3 days wasn't worth it! 

We are spending the rest of the long weekend doing a few projects around the house, shopping, watching movies, and decorating for Christmas! I love this time of year! 

James is 4! Birthday Party (Part 1)

I can't believe my sweet boy, James Peyton, is 4 years old! Where does the time go? We had fun with family in town and celebrating his birthday at Pump it Up. The boys spent the night at the hotel with Papa John and Nana Sandra the night before the party. Sean went to pick them up and they all drove over to Pump It Up together. It was one of those mornings that I had everything organized and was actually early! Nanie and I arrived at Pump It Up 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Well, the guests begin to arrive and the birthday boy was not there yet. Needless to say I was frantically call Sean wondering where they were? They were stuck in traffic and although it seemed like forever they were only ten minutes late. James did not even notice and had a great time celebrating his birthday with his friends!

James Peyton at 4 weeks old and 4 years old!

The invitation

Michael having fun at Pump It Up

The Birthday Boy

Beckett & James

Lining up to go to room #2

The Cyclone Blast

Chelsea, Hadley, & Alicia

Allison & Leigh

Grandma-ma & the wiggle worm

He loves his Daddy

Family Picture, the boys look thrilled :)


Next up-cake & ice cream in part 2!

Easter 2013

Nanie and Aunt Lea came to visit for Easter from San Antonio and Austin! They picked up Ellie on their way through Waco. On Saturday we went to the club for lunch and an Easter Egg Hunt. On Sunday we went to church in the morning and had lunch at Pappasito's afterwards. It has become our new Easter tradition. This is the third year in a row that we have fajitas after church at Pappasitio's and we love it. The Easter bunny was walking around the restaurant but Michael wasn't too sure about her (yes it was a her this year instead of a him!) He felt the same way about the bunny we saw at the club on Saturday too.

The night before Easter James asked me so many questions about Jesus and the true meaning of Easter. I had tears in my eyes as I explained the best I could. He has been learning so much in Sunday school, coming home and singing songs, and asking many questions. I need to get him a children's bible! His birthday is coming up at the end of April and I think it will be one of his gifts. He also asked me how the Easter Bunny gets in our house. I was caught off guard and said the Easter Bunny has a magic key to everyone's house who has been a good boy or girl! James then asked if the police would arrest E.B. while trying to get in the houses. Our boy is too smart! Ha! I hope everyone had a Happy Easter!

James Peyton

Michael meeting his new friend Trevor

Face painting

Blue Tiger

James & Everett

James & E.B.

Easter Egg Hunt

Love E.B. in the background

Go Michael!

Michael thought it would be fun to have his face painted but he was too ticklish for the lady to finish!

James & Mommy

 Sleepy Boys had a fun time!

Easter Baskets on Easter morning

Good morning sleepy boy!

Michael looks a little more awake

Looking at the sticker book

I think he likes it!

Miss Easter Bunny at Papasito's

James & Miss E.B.

Daddy & Michael relaxing waiting on our food

James, Ellie, & Aunt Lea

Ellie & Aunt Lea

E, M, J, & A.L.

Sweet Brothers

James and Michael are sharing a room now and they love being together. At nap time today I went in to check on them and found this. Michael had asked his Bubba to pat is back. My heart melted! I get tears in my eyes when I think about the life long bond and friendship that they will have. I love my boys so much!

Kids Night & Dyeing Easter Eggs

We went to Kids Night at Brookhaven Country Club and at the craft table was Easter egg dyeing. We brought a dozen hard boiled eggs with us and the boys had so much fun dyeing them! It was nice out so of course Daddy wanted to play a few holes of golf after dinner so we all went along for the ride. Michael and James thought it would be fun to run for a while too. 

Dyeing Easter Eggs with Ms. Nancy

James

Michael

Olivia

Eddie & James

Ta-da!

James & Olivia

Michael running next to the golf cart