CHRISTmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas. I picked up my Grandmother early in the morning and we were opening our gifts by 9. Levi was ECSTATIC to get trains from his Aunt Hannah and a huge train set from Uncle Jacob. He lost all interest in everything else and just wanted to play with his trains. Mattie liked eating the bows and anything else she could put in her mouth.

Later while Levi was napping, Jacob and I set up the train set using one of the included guides. Of course once Levi came down and started playing it didn't last but we all had fun. We also brought out Mattie's activity table for her to play with but Levi has played with it as much, if not more than, his trains. He loves the music on it and pretending like he is a concert pianist; he looks like Schroeder from Peanuts.

We all sat down for lunch at noon and feasted on a roast, mashed potatoes, sweet peas, black eyed peas, and rolls. Merry Christmas everybody!

Helping Mattie open her Santa gift

Bear feet!

Hannah provided us all with poppers that had the paper crowns in them.

The first of the trains...

Grandmother getting buried in gifts!

Trains!

Playing trains with Mom

Bows!

Setting up the train tracks

Coming down from his nap to see the train tracks

"Mom! Help!" After he knocked it over the first time. It eventually became a one level track...

Christmas Eve

We didn't do much on Christmas Eve other than spend time with family and get the last of the presents wrapped. Santa visited in the evening to stuff the stockings and leave gifts for Levi and Mattie.

Mattie and her Great-Grandmother

Busy Busy Busy

Things have been crazy busy in the Clem House.  We found a beautiful piece of property that we put an offer on (beat another one), sold our house (3 offers in the first 2 days on the market), spent Thanksgiving in Nacogdoches, been sick, and moved. 

Our new place is an 890 sq ft cabin in the middle of almost 18 acres.  So we had to downsize quite a bit and put most of our stuff in storage.  We also don't have cell service there (yet), a phone line, cable, or internet.  But we are working on getting that set up because I plan to blog about living in our cabin in the woods on a new blog: ourhomesweetcabin.blogspot.com.

In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the last few weeks that I haven't had a chance to post:

Family Pictures

I wasn't going to post our family pictures yet because I planned to use them on our Christmas cards.  But things are quite hectic and crazy right now and I do not have time to do them this year.

I had been wanting to do family pictures this fall, all year long. It would be the perfect time - update our displayed pictures, Mattie should be sitting up, use them on Christmas cards, etc. But then I was trying to find a photographer that didn't cost an arm and a leg - and was having a difficult time. Now, I had also been looking forward to going to our church craft fair this year. I went last year and almost bought these beautiful quilted fabric books for Levi but didn't.  And regretted it all year.  So I planned to go this year hoping those ladies would be back and selling them - they were!  Well, as I'm walking around (our craft fair is huge and lugging two kids through the maze in a one kid stroller was lots of fun, by the way, - but I really wanted those books), I stopped at a photographer's booth.  I added my name to her list to win a free mini session.  She handed me a card and said if I go to her facebook page I could get a second entry.  I liked the pictures she had on display but I loved her price list.  Now, I normally don't enter any facebook contests - you have to like and share their stuff and then you get bombarded with all of their updates.  But I figured, what the hell, I really wanted some pictures. So I entered. And WON!! I had already decided that I would book a session with her if I won or not, so this just worked out in my favor. We set up a date and time for our 30 minute session which came with 12 edited pictures that I can reproduce/print as I see fit.

I know that was a long story, but that was all to tell you that this photographer, Heather Armijo, was great and we are very happy with the results. And best of all, it was FREE!

Levi was being a bit of a butt because he was tired and hadn't napped well.  We had to wake Mattie up from her nap and she was just all smiles luckily.

He kept roaring and growling and getting up from the chair and running away.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture of us.

My beautiful children.

Halloween 2013

Halloween wasn't a huge deal this year.  Levi doesn't quite understand trick or treating and really didn't seem to be very into it.  We hit just a few houses on the block before Mattie was loudly proclaiming her displeasure at being strapped in a stroller.  I didn't really get very good pictures as it was just a crazy day between the constant rain, Levi's preschool, Gigi coming over to help Trick or Treat, rushed dinner, and getting into costume.

Mattie was a peacock.  I made her tutu, hair bow and feather bouquet.  Levi was "Super Levi".  He wore his cape and mask and I made him a shirt to wear. Both were simple and inexpensive.