Peace Be Still

Nothing like sitting back and letting your kids remind you about the true meaning of Christmas.  St. Paul's CDS always does a great job making sure we are reminded that Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

2012 Lighted Christmas Parade



"Christmas Around the World".... the 2012 Lighted Christmas Parade in Downtown Brenham took place last weekend.  The sidewalks were packed and the streets were all a glow as floats for differnt community organizations/businesses and schools paraded down the streets of downtown Brenham.

 Frenchman Caleb Maurer

 St. Paul's CDS Ocean Treasures showed how the county of France celebrates Christmas.

 Salem Lutheran Church trailers.... 3 Maurer kiddos rode along

City of Brenham flaot.  A&A rode along on this one...

Successful Night with Santa

Nothing but smiles for Santa this year!!  As we all know, the "real" Santa comes to Brenham very early in the Christmas season to get all the kids' wishes.  A&A&C were super excited to share the "top 3" with the man in the red suit and white beard tonight.  Not sure if Santa can fulfill all the wishes, but I'm sure he's going to try.

From 4 wheels to 2

One of the best things about living in the country is the acres of green grass and lack of concrete everywhere.  One of the worst things for a kid that loves to ride their bike is acres of green grass and the lack of concrete everywhere.  Avery & Austin have had bikes for a year and a half and the majority of their riding time has been spent riding in circles in the garage and small slab where we park.  As much as I'd love to have a concrete drive way for them ride on, I'd prefer to spend that $10,000 else where.  (I despise spending money on things like concrete and rock!)

So... on Thanksgiving when we knew we'd be spending the day at Aunt Bonnie's, we knew it would be agreat time to bring the bikes and scooters along.  It was a great day to try taking off the training wheels and see if we could go from 4 wheels to 2.

Coordination, agility and balance come easy to this girl.  Didn't take her long to catch on to riding without training wheels.

Austin needed a little more help, just a little more reassurance.

And he's off.....

He took a bit of spill and hurt his backside.  As you can see, he was not happy that I was capturing it on camera.

Had to include this picture.... Uncle Jason spent Thurs - Sun with us.  What a treat!!!!  

Welcome back, Little Red!

He's back!!!  Friday afternoon we got back from a little shopping and Little Red was sitting there with a note to the kids letting them know Santa had asked him to keep an extra good eye on them this year.  This little guy is magical and a great way to get the kids up in the morning ;)  Can't wait to see what mischievous pranks he'll pull this year.  Sunday morning we found him fishing for goldfish.... crazy elf!

We are thankful...

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving Weekend.  We started with a nontraditional Mexican Feast at Toppe's on Wednesday night.  Thursday we feasted on turkey and all the trimmings at Aunt Bonnie's and then Saturday we spent the evening at Aunt Jerri's for Maurer Thanksgiving with chicken and stuffing.  In between all that feasting, we were able to get  all the Christmas decorations up, enjoy the awesome weather, and spend lots of time with family.  It was perfect!  

SO thankful...

2012 THANKFUL LIST

I am thankful for... mild Texas winters, Avery's back handsprings, Chick-fil-a waffle fries, positive parent/ teacher conferences, seat belts, Friday night lights, Austin's love to hunt with his daddy, ice cold diet coke, my mother-in-law's sewing ability, random "I love you's", new wood floors (no more carpet!), Easter egg hunts, Ms. Deramus, wii Just Dance, pretzels with dip (hummus), pedicures, Wes's love for the outdoors, trampolines, kids sleeping past 7am on Saturday morning, vodka with sprite and lime, Brenham, TX, my new work office location, memories of all my grandparents, the Ten Commandments, running, my mom's voice on the other end of the phone, Twizzlers,  Jack Elliot, Jason & Bruce's hospitality, good hair days, full days at the beach, Christmas lights, night time prayers, Caleb's smiles, Forest Grove Church, American soldiers, seat warmers, St. Paul's Christian Day School, 4-hour spans at the pool, fresh garden veggies, marriages that truly stand by "for better or for worse", Adam's Angels, God's love for all.....

So much to be thankful for!  We are truly blessed to live in a country where we are able to express our opinions and worship our Lord and Savior.  We are blessed to be surrounded by family and friends who truly stand by us through the good and the bad...and we are lucky that there is very little bad.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!