40 degree swing!

It was 82 degrees on Tuesday. It was 40 something degrees on Wednesday. We still went to the park and now we all have runny noses.

MERRY CHRISTMAS from TEXAS!!!

Love,

Leah

Happy

I am so thankful for these Happy kiddos!

Jackson and Will

Love,

Leah

Downtown Funky Town with Santa

Yesterday it was 82 degrees.....Much different from the snowstorm of last year. We decided to take the boys downtown to see the big Christmas tree and maybe even Santa. It was funny seeing everyone walking around in either shorts or Christmas sweaters.

Little Man in the big city.

He stopped me and said Mommy! Look! Someone wrote Jackson on the sidewalk!.....New Years resolution #1. Teach Jackson his letters
We made it to the Christmas tree and Santa. The boys were more interested in climbing on the decorations than in Santa or the tree.

Just his size.....

Jackson kept checking on Santa. He decided eventually that he wanted to go tell him his Christmas wish.

When it was finally our turn Jackson was hesitant to sit by Santa. He just stood there and told him what he wanted. But for $10 I was going to get a picture! So I hopped up on the sleigh too. Grant was not impressed. Jackson told Santa he wanted a "real Woody doll that when you pull the string he talks."

Cheese!!

After that we sat out on the patio and had dinner. It was so nice outside.

Jackson kept an eye on Santa for the rest of the night.

Love,

Leah

Christmas Playtime

Just a few pictures from playtime around the house last week.

Both boys love playing with Mommy's iPhone. Yes, my 14 month old knows how to work an iPhone.

It is pointless to have any Christmas decorations up that are "off limits." The current favorite are some silver Christmas trees from the hutch. The boys like to put all of our Nativity characters and Woody and Buzz inside the trees.

I love watching them play together.

Love,

Leah

Don't Mess with this Mama!

Love,

Leah

Engaged - December 17th, 2005

Leah, Marshall and Star Dog

I don't think I've ever written about our engagement.

Like most things in Marshall's life.....there is a story to tell.

I had been waiting for him to pop the question for a long time. I knew he had the ring but I had no idea when it would actually happen. I assumed he was planning some very romantic and memorable evening. Was it romantic?....No. Was it memorable?.....yes.

I was training for a half marathon. My friend Amy and I got up EARLY Saturday morning and ran 10 miles along the Trinity. It was my longest run ever. I was so excited when I finished the run I went straight to Marshall's house to tell him all about it. I was sweaty and gross but I didn't care. I really wanted to see him. So I went over to his house around 10a and we talked about my run and what we were going to do that evening. I was exhausted so I decided to lay down and rest. I fell asleep.....hard. About 30 minutes into my nap Marshall wakes me up. I barely open my eyes and see that he is on one knee. He says, "Leah, I need to ask you something." I looked at him and said "whatever." rolled over and laid back down. Lets pause.....I had not showered since my race, I had bed head from my nap and I'm sure there was some "nap drool" going on. He said, "No, really, I need to ask you something." At that point is when I realized what was about to happen. I POPPED right up and started smiling. I'm sure he was looking at all my current "beauty" thinking am I really about to do this? But he did, thank goodness! I said yes, we hugged and we were engaged. After the fact he tells me that he had a huge knot in his stomach and he couldn't wait another minute to ask me. I think...that is sweet...I guess. Then he tells me, "No really. My tummy is upset and I need to lay down." Ok. So Marshall goes to bed and stays there or in the bathroom for the rest of the day. My parents take me out to dinner that night to celebrate. I am bummed that Marshall isn't there so my Mom is telling random people at El Fenix about my engagement to cheer me up. I went home after dinner and went to bed.

That is our story.

Romantic or not, my best friend asked me to be his best friend for life.

I am thankful for all the stories he brings to our life.

Love,

Leah

Baby It's Cold Outside

It is actually cold enough to wear a sweater today. The first time this December. Don't worry, I think it is supposed to be 75 by mid-week.

What am I going to do with this kids hair??

Love,

Leah

Favorite toys of the Shepard boys

I thought I would do a post of the boys current favorite toys. I think it will be fun to look back on and also might help any of my friends out there shopping for their kids.

1. Woody and Buzz figurines from Toy Story. Jackson loves these and keeps Buzz with him at all times.

2. The Batman Cave. This is like the Barbie house for little boys. Both kids play with it. Batman doesn't hang out here much. Mostly Woody, Buzz and Grant's "Little People."

3. This is a tunnel Grant got for his birthday. It folds up really small and I only get it out about once a week. They crawl through it, roll each other around in it and run their tractors through it.

4. A Pirate Ship. Jackson has been telling everyone at Mother's Day Out and Church that a Pirate Ship is the best gift of Christmas. (Sorry Jesus...I am doing my best to convince him otherwise.)

(I promise my children have clothes...I took these pictures on casual Friday.)


5. A Nativity Scene. Hopefully the fact that Jackson loves to play with Baby Jesus and the Wise Men makes up for the whole pirate ship thing. Granelly gave this to Jack and he hasn't stopped playing with it since.

Poor Grant....Jackson on lets him play with the rocks.

The Nativity Crew moved into the kitchen....It is 2 story and has a jacuzzi. More cabinet space for the frankincense and myrrh.

That is our top 5 toys right now. I conclude this post with Grant's Granelly pants. Anytime we spend time with Granelly she pulls his pants up pretty high. I'm am convinced this is why Marshall wears his pants so high and not because of his self proclaimed "high waist"

I love you Granelly.

Love,

Leah

Jackson's 1st Christmas Program

Jackson Kelly had his first official Christmas Program last week. He sang Santa Clause is Coming to Town. He even did a few of the hand motions. Most of the time he was making sure his antlers were on correctly. Overall is was a success. No crying. No running off the stage. No pushing other kids.

Love,

Leah

Family Photos 2010

Our very talented and patient Aunt Kelly took our family photos in October. She did an amazing job as always. The boys had a negative 3 second attention span and she still managed to get such great shots. We love you Aunt Kelly!

www.gigglepic.com

What I love most about Aunt Kelly's photos is that she gives you the not-so-great photos too. The picture below is one of my favorites because it is total reality.

Love,

Leah