A Very Merry Christmas

Christmas for every family is full of traditions. Ours is no exception. Every year it's baking with Bing Crosby playing in the background, an open house on Christmas Eve where sometimes almost 200 people show up, Dad reading the Christmas story on Christmas morning to all of us in our PJ's, Mom overdoing herself with gifts (EVERY YEAR),Grandma's for brunch...the list continues. 

This year we lost friends and loved ones. The mood was a little more subdued. It wasn't about who bought who what, but that as a family we were together. That was all that mattered this year. The traditions continued, with a little more thought, a little more appreciation and a little more love. This was one of my best Christmas' because it was about family and what we have today. I hope you enjoy a little glimpse into our Holiday season, and I hope yours was merry and bright!

Christmas Eve started before the crowd arrived exchanging gifts with friends...

My little Santa Baby all ready for the occasion 

I'm amazed that it was 5 Christmas' ago that we had just gotten together. I'm so much more in love now!

 Christmas Morning--dad reading us the Christmas Story 

Cheerios and presents--what could be better?

My dad LOVES big T-shirts. Well, "Big" would be an understatement. More like huge.

Love the little faces on Christmas morning

 An ornament to celebrate the love of frappes...

I got a GORGEOUS new camera bag from my man!

 ...and quite a shock to me, a laptop! (Which I am using right now!)

Stockings are the best Christmas tradition ever. 

The aftermath!

At Grandma's for brunch. Every year it's egg casserole, biscuits and gravy, sausage, potatoes and french toast sticks. Yum!

Christmas just wouldn't be complete without the "gift chair" and each person taking their turn to "open". Oh, and grandma yelling at everyone to sit down. :)

A little shy about presents with so many people watching 

And lastly, a family picture of us on Christmas day! I hope you all had a wonderful season with your family and friends this year! After all that food, I'll be working on my New Years Resolutions...how about you? ;)

The Family Christmas Picture

"I am NOT wearing those shoes".
 "Seriously? THIS red shirt?"
"Does this make me look fat?"
"My hair is not working. At All."
"OH MY WORD. You need a haircut. Yes, I know we have to leave in 15 minutes. Just go."
"I will say it again. I am not wearing those shoes. No. I am not."
"NO FLIP FLOPS!"
"Your shirt has a hole in it. OK, it's fine, we'll just make sure it doesn't show."
"Ummm....are you planning on ironing that?"
"Don't forget the chairs! And the bench! YES WE NEED THEM".
"Organize everyone!"
 "The camera timer is starting!"
 "HURRY UP IT'S BLINKING! 10 seconds!"
"OK, only a few more."
"I'm moving because you insisted I wear these shoes and they aren't even showing."
"SMILE! STOP TALKING! LOOK AT THE CAMERA!"
"Are we done? This is taking forever".
 "Once more..."

 And........
 Waa Laa....

It's the Family Christmas Picture.

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas from our Family to Yours! Family is especially precious to us this year. Enjoy every moment together! We love you all!

The Christmas Spirit

This year it's been hard to get into the "Christmas Spirit". Hearing "Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas" in the grocery store only makes me sad thinking of those who are hurting and won't have anything close to a jolly day. There will be a huge void left that holidays only remind them of what they are missing.

 And then I look around me. On Sunday night I stepped off an airplane and into the arms of my family and friends waiting for me. That night I stayed up until 4am talking and laughing with my sisters. Yesterday we baked cookies and ate dough, played our favorite Christmas songs and watched home videos from our past, much dorkier stage of life.
 We are all safe and Lord willing we will be spending our Christmas together this year. I know that life could change in an instant. If there is ever a time I realize that, it's now.But we have today and that's what I'm living for. Enjoying every moment-- loving more, hugging more, laughing more. Yes, we have all been left with a void this holiday season and it's very fresh on our minds. We are not immune to the grief that others--and ourselves--are suffering.
 But we must enjoy the moments that we do have together. And that is what I aim to do.

Even A Vapor...

On Monday, I got a call from my Mom telling me that a cousin of ours who was only 19 had died suddenly. Her husband (also 19) came home on Saturday evening at 11pm to find that she had passed away in bed. The cause was a seizure. The news was devastating. While I didn't know her well, she was family. She was married this past year and I remember seeing her wedding pictures. So young. So beautiful. So happy.

On Tuesday morning I woke up to hear news that my old Pastor's brother had died suddenly from a heart attack. Again, another person I didn't know well, but a friend of the family and only in his 50's. He left a wife, 2 daughters and sons-in-law and grandchildren. He was a faithful member in his church and lived for the Lord.

Within an hour of that news, I got more bad news. A very close friend of our family, husband and father of 8 had been hit by a car. He had stopped on his way to work to help someone who had slid into the ditch and while he was out of the car, another car spun out of control and hit him. The weather conditions were treacherous and he lay there, unconscious, in the snow. At first the news was grim but not life threatening. He would be in ICU for 2 weeks, but the Dr's were calm.
 And then a turn for the worse. Internal bleeding was discovered and he was rushed in for emergency surgery. 24 hours after being hit, he was ushered into Heaven. He was one of the best guys I've ever known. Always funny, smiling, singing and soul winning. He was a great testimony to all who knew him--a hero. He left a wife, 6 boys and 2 little girls who absolutely adored him--and many, many friends who looked up to him and loved him.

 Needless to say these have been some of the most sober days of my life. Are poopy diapers, runny noses, whining and little disagreements really that big of a deal? What if that was the last time I changed a diaper or wiped a nose or kissed my husband? What if the words I just spoke were my last? Would I want them to be my last?

 Laura's young husband didn't know when he left for work that he would never speak to his beautiful wife again. Larry's wife didn't know that when they turned off the light to go to sleep her husband would never wake up. Ken's wife didn't know when she looked into the eyes of her husband that morning that she would never see them again.

 Would we live life differently if we knew the day the Lord would call us home? Perspective is everything. The things that are a big deal to us wouldn't be if we knew they would be some of our last. The Bible tells us that our life is a "vapor...that appeareth for a little time and then vansisheth away." That little bit of steam coming off your coffee this morning? That's you LIFE. That's IT. A tiny little vapor. Here today, gone tomorrow. What are you--what am I--doing to make it count?

 Go squeeze your children tight. Kiss your husband when he walks in the door. Hug your friends.

And most importantly, go make your little vapor matter.

My Month in Pictures

 I've been MIA for the past month because I had the privilege of having family here with me for that time! It was SO much fun...here's a recap!

 I did a photo shoot of my little sisters and daughter in Tu Tu's that was adorable. Watch for an upcoming blog post on my photography blog...

We, of course, ate WAY too much...

 We had my Aunt staying here as well which was a blast :)

 The handsome men in our fam :) Left to Right, Rob (cousin) Greg (Brother-in-law) Nate (hubby ;) and Joe (Dad)

 We spent a Day in San Antonio that started at "Big Lou's Pizza" where they serve a 42inch pizza. It was the BEST pizza I have had in TX yet! The plate he is holding is a normal sized dinner plate by the way!

 After the pizza we went to the Alamo...

 ...and the beautiful riverwalk...

After most of my family went home, Greg and Claire stayed and one evening Nate surprised us with an amazing romantic dinner at a private patio at one of his buildings. It was amazing.

Thankfully, even though I didn't know what we would be doing, I brought my tripod and we were able to get a lot of good pictures. Most of these pictures should be a post in themselves, but I just don't have the time at this point in my life. :) I hope you enjoy what I did post! Next up will be some "Brookie Classics"--she's been full of it lately! :)

I'm Still Here!

Hi Friends,

I am still here. Just checking in to let you know I'll be posting soon! I had family with me for a month and in that time I shot a wedding (my first!) so I was very busy editing those pictures along with my normal photo shoots. My little boy got sick and in the past few days Brookie has been sick too with some sort of stomach bug for about 4 days. My house isn't 100% back to normal, either, so I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. Hopefully things will be back to normal (if there is such a thing) soon and I'll be back with regular posts'!

And because posts are better with pictures....

My little cutie's in the pumpkin patch, celebrating Fall! Hope you all are enjoying yours!

Sushi and Chocolate

Last week I found myself in a rare predicament.

I had over an hour in between appointments with nothing going on that I needed to burn.

Without children.

What a rare predicament indeed! As a Mom I weighed my options carefully. 2 hours without kids, away from the house?

I pulled into my grocery store and walked right to the sushi bar. There I sampled and purchased a spicy crab roll. After that I bought a Reese's Chocolate Peanut butter pumpkin.

(At Easter, they are eggs, and Christmas, trees. The Eggs are the best, but pumpkins are a close second. In case you were wondering.)

And then, I did something that I don't think I've ever done before. I went out into the very quiet parking lot, got in my car, rolled down the window and opened my sushi. And there I sat in silence, feeling the cool breeze, eating my sushi and reading blogs on my phone. No little mouths to feed, no one crying, no snotty noses to wipe.

For an entire hour.

After the blissful crab roll was savored, (or devoured? I was starving) I opened my "pumpkin" and ate it. Peanut butter and chocolate. What a combination. Girls best friend if you ask me.

After that I felt like a new woman. When I saw my kids I gave them huge hugs and kisses and my hubby an extra kiss (or many extra kisses... ;) seeing he was the one who was taking care of them during my heavenly moments alone.

I am learning to enjoy the little things. Sushi and Chocolate in a parked car, the breeze coming through the window, and silence are definitely little things that gave me a boost and made me a much better woman. I took this picture because I was so happy and wanted to remember this moment forever.....

Have you had any little moments lately? If you don't look for them they can be easy to miss, so look for them...every day! You will be much better for it-I promise!

By the Way...

I didn't mention that we decided to keep him.

It took all of....oh...ONE evening.

He's doing great with being house trained, very calm, perfect with the kids....he is an AWESOME little dogie and we love him to death. :)

His name is Buddy.

And here he is participating in my son's first birthday party.

He is officially my third child. He gets lots of hugs and kisses every day from me and the kids. :)

Isn't he the sweetest little fluff ball?!

It's all About the Cake

Turning 1, that is. We all wait for the moment at the one year old birthday party for the moment that the baby has free range of the cake and gets to smear it everywhere! This year was no exception! Here's a little story in pictures of my little man's first birthday party!

I really can't believe my baby is ONE! WHERE did the time go? Anyway, my friend Cassie and I had a party for our little boys together since they are only 6 days apart. At the beginning of the party we tried getting a good picture of them but they mostly ended up like this.....

However we did get a couple cute ones! Couldn't they be twins?!

Cassie and I with our little boys

With Brookie, I started a tradition of sauce at the first birthday party. I thought it would be fun to keep it up--and the guests don't mind eating such a yummy meal :)

So, he's not walking yet, but he's standing up all by himself...not sure how long until he walks but I'm not holding my breath. His sister didn't walk until she was 18 months old!

The boys were not at all interested in presents. Not the paper, nothing...

They just wanted to get out of there!

And the moment we all wait for...the cake!

And this one was a classic for sure! He felt it and squished it a little...

...and picked up the whole thing. The entire cupcake. And ate it.

It was gone in a matter of minutes.

I love this...caught the little boys sneaking cake! :)

...ahh....and we probably won't give him that much attention while he eats cake until his wedding day ;)

The clothes must come off! :) Trying out his new walker...he walks all over pushing it!

I took him out at the end to get some pictures really quick (I uploaded the one that wasn't cropped, you can see daddy's leg :)

My little cutie!

I love you Joe Joe! You love to laugh, smile, eat, play and wrestle with daddy, yell rather loudly, crawl all the way up the stairs in about 4 seconds and make a big mess with your toys. You bring Mommy so much joy and make me laugh every day! You have the chubbiest cheeks ( I kiss them 1000 times a day) and a chunky belly, but you are only in the 10th percentile for your weight! And 5th for your height...you are a short little Italian baby. :) You are 20 solid pounds of pure love! I am sad that you are already 1, but I love every single stage and I enjoy you every day. At one time I wasn't sure if I wanted any boys. But now I know why God gave you to me and with that he's given me a great responsibility! I pray that you are a preacher or missionary someday! I love you with all of my heart! xoxox, Mommy.