the final chapter

We knew our church was having identical services both on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day and New Year's Eve/New Year's Day.  We decided we would try to go to the service on New Year's Eve.  Then I looked up the time.  It started at 10:30 pm!  Hmmmm.  I still wanted to go but that is past my bedtime, let alone the kid's.  But when we found ourselves eating dinner at 8:30 pm, I decided it was manageable.  I knew we might regret it, but we made plans to keep the kids up and occupied until time to go to church.  They thought it was great fun getting to stay up until 10:30.  We packed kids Bibles and coloring books and markers since they would be in service with us.  When we arrived, I feared I had the time wrong.  There were just 10 or so cars in the parking lot of our mega-church.  The sanctuary filled up to a couple hundred people but that was all.  So nice and intimate!   The kids enjoyed the singing but midway through, E sat down and was out for the night.  David was just about to start snoozing in his chair during the sermon when they passed the communion plates.  That woke him up.  A (as typical) was going strong.  We had a countdown to midnight as the service wrapped up!  The pictures we captured after the service show the tired little crew (E still completely out), but the kids were calmer than normal and I think it might well be a tradition for the future!

lethargic elf and other happenings: wrapping up

The last few days were spent doing legos and visiting some more.  I think the last picture pretty much sums up how we all felt by the end!  It was a wonderful, memory-making time but non-stop full of activity!

lethargic elf and other happenings: Birthdays

Per usual, we had the opportunity to celebrate Michael's birthday with all the family.  But unlike in past years, this year we had a double birthday celebration.  Joshua turned 2 on the 27th and M just a bit older on the 28th.  We celebrated both on the 26th.

It was a lovely, warm day and so we made plans to do something for Joshua.  We went to Woodlands Waterway splashpad on the chance that it would be running.  And it was!  We had had freezing weather the week before so there were fall leaves all over the ground, but other than that, you would have thought it was a lovely spring day!  That and the Christmas tree in the background!  I love the pictures of the kids playing in the water with the leaves all around and the Christmas tree as a backdrop.  Only in Houston in December.

 (these next three courtesy of Sarah--especially love the first one)

We had planned to try out a chicago style pizza restaurant afterward, but the service was so bad upon entering and the anticipated wait so long for the pizza that we left and went next door to Carrabbas.  The food was nice and the atmosphere much better.

We wrapped up the celebrations at Baskin Robbins...