Christmas 2011 Recap . . .

We had a blessed Christmas, made full with two very excited Littles, three out of five of our Bigs, and the other two Bigs a Spokane Skype away.  I have never been so thankful for Skype as I was on Christmas day-- allowing me to have all five of our bigs "almost in the nest" for a bit.  Here are a few of the Christmas memories from our nest, as well as a few from Spokane.  

Enjoy!

Christmas eve candlelight service . . .

(Taye and Frankie had to work, but we were blessed to have Bryce with us!)

after church . . .

How are they getting soooo big?

Later in the evening . . .

much, much later . . .

not a creature was stirring . . .

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Taye and Frankie watch the Littles get the party started . . .

Bryce joins in . . .

Brady and Sloane--with the gifts that Brady sent, under the tree . . .

Cool new shirts designed and silk-screened by Brady!

And the Spokane Christmas day activities . . .

Brady pays tribute to his former employer 

(and Taye's current employer) --

HEB grocery store, a Texas landmark.

Sloane goes all out with her gingerbread chalet . . .

complete with an igloo, and gummi bears building a snowman!

Good job guys!

Back at the ranch, our lil' ol' Tex-Mex mutt Aztec,
stayed busy guarding his new treat . . . 

keeping it safe from Mr. Snowman!

A quick snap after Ted's ballet recital

 is as close as we get to a family photo this year . . .

with an "add-on" of our Washington 

soon-to-be-Newlys!

Thank you for stopping by for a visit!

My prayer for you in 2012  .  . .

May the Lord bless you and keep you--

the Lord make His face to shine upon you,

and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

and give you His peace."

                                -- Numbers 6:24-26

Blessings from my nest~

Tina

He's Home!

 The Littles, patiently watching the escalator 

. . . at midnight  . . .

 Here he comes!

 The Grinner gets scooped!

 Make that a double!

 No words needed.

Taylor and Frankie take a moment to enjoy the

airport scenery

 . . . the only snow in San Antonio.

So happy to have my oldest Big home.  

Looking forward to a visit from Brady and Sloane in February!  

Blessings from my little bit fuller Christmas nest ~

Tina

My Three Sons . . .

This son, my "original baby" (who works in retail and cannot have any holiday time off) will be spending his first Christmas away from the nest. My heart is sad, more for Brady than for me--but also for my sensitive little man whose heart is breaking for his brother who has to be alone.

Thankfully Brady won't be all alone because his sweet fiance (who also works in retail and cannot have time off) will be spending Christmas in Spokane --yet away from her family as well. I am proud of Brady and Sloane's maturity-- and absence of pouting (which I'm sure I would do plenty of if I were in their shoes)! I'm also grateful for the blessing of Skype!

This son, my firstborn, will fly home at midnight tonight! I haven't seen him since this picture was taken last March, in Spokane. That's a long time for a mama. It's a long time for a little brother too, in fact it makes you so excited that you stay up very late keeping your mama company because you cannot sleep.

This son-- my third, the one who is a big mix of happy and sad (and tired) has said a couple of things this week that I just need to share . . .

On Sunday afternoon while waiting in a checkout line, Teddi was whining over a toy that she had seen and whaaaaanted. Brogan looked at his little sister very seriously and reminded her that, "Sometimes Teddi, less is more."

Oh yes, he did.

Is that not a wise Christmas reminder for us all?

A day later, from the back of the van I heard my wiseman say,

"I get what I want for Christmas every year!"

To which I curiously responded, "You do?"

At which point I caught a glimpse of his grinning face in my rear view mirror as he shouted, "JESUS!"

Brogan sooooo gets it.

Someone is having a birthday, and guess what? It's not us. Unless of course you share a birthday with Jesus.

Less is more.

We can get what we want every year for Christmas, year after year, after year . . .

Jesus! The Light of the world. God's own Son-- who came to earth with skin on.

To save us all.

His son, the Perfect Gift.

My sons, near or far, perfect gifts--

from Him.

Oh how richly blessed I am!

Blessings from my nest ~

Tina

Guess Where We Went?

This morning we had the privilege

of attending

"The Nutcracker"

with some of our homeschooling friends--

at the historic

Majestic Theatre in downtown San Antonio!

The theatre truly is a show all on it's own!

The ceiling is extremely high and domed,

and when you look up . . .

it's as if you are stargazing!

Waiting for the show to go on . . .

photography isn't allowed during the show--

but I found these to share

there was so much to behold!

Aren't old downtowns just the best?

So much to look at and enjoy!

The ballet was great!

I love seeing (and hearing) people using

their God given talents to the absolute best of their ability.

Beauty!

Blessings from my "we're a little more cultured today" nest ~

Tina

* To my Brady boy, thank you for the use of your Nutcracker for our pictures! We miss you.

Three Word Wednesday

faces I love . . .

Blessings from my reminiscing nest ~

Tina