Finally, The Christmas Card Pictures

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about us taking Christmas pictures. But, I couldn't post the pictures because I wanted the Christmas card to be a surprise. Well, I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from that day.

This was the winner from the "entire family" category:


(for the record, Clark didn't smile much that day... he says he wasn't in a bad mood, but I'm not so sure)

This one was a close second... too cute:



And, I just love this one, because my little man is checking me out!



The babes with Daddy... oh, wait Everly, don't take your bow off!



Our attempt at getting the babes together in a shot... I don't think they cared much.



And, there goes Everly!



A try in the grass wasn't much better:



Individual shots are the way to go! These two made the card:





These types of pictures are the best... candid fun shots!



I loved how our card turned out... hope you all did, too!

Merry Christmas from the Woods!

Mr. Shuffleboard

We recently figured out that Walker is a master at shuffleboard! Bunny and RayRay have a table in their game room and Walker LOVES it. I am amazed at how good he is.... I feel confident that he will be beating his mommy very soon!

Check out his moves:



And, while we're talking about Walker, I have to share about the big milestone we had last week.

Walker is officially paci free!

For the longest time, he only had his pacifier in the bed. But, he's been napping at preschool without it, so we decided to try napping here without it. He went to sleep right away without shedding a tear. So, that night we put him to bed without the paci and again he went right to sleep, slept all night and hasn't looked for the paci since. Yep, this kid is amazing. It's just one more thing we can say was so easy for Walker! I'm hoping we can add potty training to that easy column!

It's Holiday Time!

We are already celebrating Christmas and I am loving it! I'm not sure if I've mentioned that I love Christmas... ha ha. I think all the readers of WoodWords have figured that out.

We took over 200 pictures and I added 30 to Facebook. But, adding pictures to the blog is a pain, so I'm trying to pick my favorite five pictures right now. Who am I kidding, five isn't possible... I picked my favorite ten pictures!

My most favorite picture from the weekend should be a really cute one of Walker opening a present or Everly smiling or something of that nature. Nope, my absolute favorite picture is this:



Oh yes, me and Trisha in our TCU snuggies! How awesome is this? Not sure if you all know this, but TCU is going to the Rose Bowl! I am ready. I will wear this the entire game!

Continuing the TCU theme... Everly got a Horned Frog.



I told her she shouldn't eat it!

Walker and Ryder:



Smiling Everly... love it when she laughs.



Bunny with Walker and Everly. Seriously, babies in Christmas PJs... the best!



Walker in front of the tree.



The Snow/Wood cousins:




Bunny and RayRay with all five of their grandkids:



Our attempt at a family picture... note to self. Little ones don't last in front of the camera long... do the immediate family first!



After our celebration in Bentwater, we celebrated with Peepaw and Maggie. Walker is a fan of more gifts!



I can't believe all of this is just the beginning... we still have Christmas Eve at home and Christmas Day in Lufkin... so much fun!!!!

A Magical Evening

There is a group of ladies that are very special to me. They are called the Tiffanys. I won't go into all the details about the name or how the group started... bottom line, it's a fun group of women!

If you were at my wedding, then you know about their handy work. The "flutter hearts" that you all threw as Clark and I left the reception... these ladies cut them out.

We don't get together as often as we used to, but Christmas is special. Diana hosted us at her house. And, her house at Christmas is a very wonderful place! Her decorations are out of this world. She served beef tenderloin, fine wine and fabulous champagne. (Have I mentioned that it's the Christmas season and I'm not pregnant?? It was quite fun to be able to partake in the fine wine and fabulous champagne!)

So, all that sounds great, right? Well, that was just the beginning. As we finished our dessert, we heard jingle bells from the back of the house. Low and behold... Santa had appeared!! Here we are, six adult women, and Santa came to visit. You would have thought we were five year olds. Each one of us got to sit on Santa's knee and tell him what we wanted for Christmas. (He soon realized that it was a tough room. The list? Tiffany's (of course) jewelry, diamonds, Louis Vitton, etc.)



Having Santa at our dinner party was such a treat. After we all told him what we wanted for Christmas, we sang Christmas carols with him and then he did "Twas the Night Before Christmas". But, he was quick to point out what his favorite Christmas story is.... the birth of Jesus. Then he read the Christmas story from the Bible and we all sang Silent Night. As the song ended, he disappeared... just as magically as he had appeared! Magical is the only word to describe it.



Christmas is not just for kids. Letting yourself get lost in the magic of the season is for all of us. Spending time with good friends and family is so much better than presents. Reading about the birth of Jesus makes you realize that nothing else matters. All of this coming together in one night... fantastic.

Having Santa come visit will be something that none of us will forget. Did I mention that it was magical? Seriously, so special and so much fun. Here are more pictures:

The group with Santa:



Walker wouldn't be happy to see Mommy and Bunny spending time with Santa!



Our lovely host, Diana, with the big guy!



I just had to add this one.... Debra doing her best Everly impression!



Diana, thank you for such a fabulous evening!!!!!!!!

Walker's New Toy

Oh, wait. It is actually Walker's old toy and Everly's newest toy.

I guess he wants it back!

Tis the Season

I hate it when I have a lot of stuff to blog about, but not a lot of time. Really, I don't want to post a whole bunch of pictures and just explain what they are. I like to think about my blogs. I like to try to come up with something witty and clever. But, it turns out those blogs are rare.

If I had time, these would be my topics:

1. TCU is going to the "granddaddy of them all" bowl. The ROSE Bowl. Seriously, are you kidding me. I never thought I would see it in my lifetime. Two BCS bowls in two seasons. I can die.

2. Texas didn't make it to a bowl. The old "hater" in me would like to blog about that. Snicker, snicker. But, since I love my husband and came over to the dark side, I guess that wouldn't be nice.

3. I am annoyed at the kid holiday shows. It turns out that Elmo likes to celebrate Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and doesn't mention much about Christmas. Infuriating.

4. I've decided that I want to bake. I really like to cook but, I've never been a baker. I really don't even make brownies out of box. But, I want to learn... I think the thought of getting my kids to decorate Christmas cookies inspired this. I'll keep you posted.

5. Clark has been an awesome Daddy and husband this week... I went out to three different "girl" events and he didn't complain at all! I have one more holiday event this week... I think I will get paid back with a hunting trip sometime soon.

6. The plethora of pictures! We went to a fantastic new park last weekend:

Walker on the seesaw.



Fun slide!



Cutest picture ever! (this could create another blog topic. I want to become a better photographer... this picture inspires me.)



And, all these pictures are just fun from today. Nothing cuter than babies in Christmas pjs.



I love these eyes:



Check out how Everly looks at her big brother... I love it!



This girl loves to stand up:



Sweet siblings.



Did I mention that I hate posting a ton of pictures and just explaining what they are? Oh well.

Christmas Pictures...

... but, not yet!

We took pictures today for our Christmas card. I would love to share them, but if I put them on the blog, then the card won't be a surprise! So, I will post them AFTER everyone gets their card! (yes, I realize the blog won't be a surprise at that point, but I've got to have them on here!)

But, I did want to thank Bunny and RayRay for coming over and taking the pictures for us... not an easy task!