Kids and Christmas!

As usual, life just continues to speed up. Landry is 4 months old today! I can't imagine life without her. She is my favorite girl. She is starting to get tickled and giggly.. It's so cute! She laughs when we hold her and swing her down towards Luke... When she gets to laughing hard, it always turns into the hiccups (Luke calls them pea-cups). Above her changing table in her room, I have a sign hanging with a verse from Psalms that says "He shall give His angels charge over you." Call me crazy, but I swear her guardian angel hangs out over there. Since the day we brought her home, that table has been a happy place for her. She's really got me thinking that little ones can see into the spiritual realm in ways we adults can't. She always smiles and coos while she's laying there. Makes me wonder, any way!

The holidays go way too fast when kids are in the picture. We barely had enough time to get Luke into the swing of things for the holidays. Heath and I discussed almost daily about where to draw the line in teaching Luke about Christmas festivities. It's not easy to conclude! I think I want to make Christmas fun for him and don't want him missing out on stuff, but lies tend to snowball at Christmas time. I struggle with the guilt associated with all of that.

When my brother and sister-in-law were in town, we got to talking about it, and she shared with me how she had read a blog where the family buys their kids "something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read." I liked that! I still have gifts wrapped for our kids they never opened, and they aren't missing them! After all they got from family, I decided to hold them back for later.

So this year, we got to participate in our church's dinner theater. Heath, Landry, and I were part of the live manger scene and stood in as Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. Landry did awesome both nights! It was a humbling experience for me because I had the comfort of knowing that the real baby Jesus was born to die... So, my babies already have a Savior!

The dinner theater kicked the holidays off for us... And then during the week of Christmas, we met up with friends and family for 6 nights in a row! We were super busy. Here's what I mean..

We started out at the Roses.... John Brandon with Landry.

And Baby Courtney with Baby Norah. :)

The kids all opened presents... This looks like a "(Gasp) What'd you get!?!" look. :)

Luke with his little gator. His first present! He was pretty excited about it.

Jeremy and Landry.... He got some daddy-to-be practice.

Then we had Christmas at my parents' house. I love being home with both of my brothers and their families. It just warms my heart for all those little cousins to play together just like we did with our Rose cousins!

Luke, Jaxon, and Miley decided to join Norah for her bath.

Look at the beautiful skin that baby girl has! Just like her Mama! The hair..... well... that must be from here Mama, too. :)

Dustin, Jordan, and Heath

Rachel & Norah Rose

Opening presents - Jaxon & Papa

Dustin & Steph

All 7 of the kids! Luke, Jaxon, Keeton, Emma, Miley, Landry, and Norah

Next, we went to visit the kids great-great grandparents on Heath's side...

Between babies and Nanny, we can't always get a good picture!

And then to Heath's parents - Guggy and Kakee.

Ben and Luke helped Londyn with her gifts.

Keelee and Londyn checking out her presents. She is sweet and super sassy!

Heath's Aunt Kim joined us for Christmas this year.

Landry just chillin - I had to fold up her Christmas tree on her shirt to keep her from choking on the bow.

Luker and Mama - He cheeeeeeeses it big! :)

Here is Luke reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to Landry. Sweet boy!

Christmas morning - Luke woke up saying, "My gator!?" :)

Ready to ride - even though there's lots of snow outside!

Overdue Pictures and Thanksgiving!

I'm taking the day off today. I rarely do this, but it sure feels good. A day off for me means sweats and DVR. I still change diapers, wipe bo-bos, prepare and serve meals, help get toys out of reach, etc. I just spend all the time in between laying on the couch. It's a treat!

I enjoy having a day at home with just me and my kids. I know it sounds crazy, but Luke sleeps better at night when he gets good one-on-one time with me during the day. He's never been a good sleeper, but when he gets in a slump of not sleeping good, I can usually look back and realize I've been too busy. People might think, "Uhh, you stay at home. What do you mean, too busy for your kids?" I think this house takes lots of maintenance because we ARE here so much. Between a new baby and house chores, I think Luke misses out on some of the TLC he requires sometimes.

I realized I haven't uploaded pictures from my camera in a while...

Landry's first sponge bath after we came home.

Landry meeting cousins Miley and Emma!

Luke was pretty skiddish of her in the beginning.

Landry meeting the Abneys.

Ben and Londyn... Our last summer family get together!

Kakee always has her hands full... Luke and Londyn.

Mimi and Landry

We've had our first broken bone! Luke broke his collarbone somehow. We can't even really recall how it happened. He was fine one night, and the next morning, he cried to be picked up, put in his car seat, etc. We were thinking it was just lymph nodes from the cold we've all been passing around, but we got home after Thanksgiving from Kerrville and noticed the knot on his shoulder. A trip to the ER and X-rays confirmed the break. He's been a trooper though. It was a clean break - didn't need set or anything. They expect it to be healed in 3-4 weeks.

For Thanksgiving, we spent Wednesday evening with Heath's family and Thursday with my family. Afterwards, we took the camper and met up with Heath's parents at Kerrville to visit his Daddy Don. We planned on going to Sea World, but we all got sick, so we're saving that for next time. We are lucky to have both sides of our immediate family in town. Holidays for us are pretty easy going.

Luke loves driving his tractor at Guggy and Kakee's.

Londyn - She's 8 1/2 months and a sassy mess!

Landry's first Thanksgiving - almost 3 months!

Courtney and Aunt Cindy with Landry.

The boys wanted to be in this picture too! :)

Emma, Miley, Jaxon, Keeton, Dustin and Steph

The oldest and youngest grandchildren, Keeton and Landry.

Cousins - Missing Norah Rose!

Best buds - Jaxon and Luke

The Rose Fam

Heath and I with our tired babies!

Papa and Mimi

Daddy Don and Judy at Pappadeaux in San Antonio.

4 Generations around 1 toy :)

Heath's new hobby - RC cars. This could save our marriage during the slow months of farming. Ha! :)

Luke got a balloon bouquet from his Stanley friends for his big boo-boo!

Giving Thanks

Thankful. I think I constantly make mental notes of the things I'm thankful for, but I never really sit down and take the time to let it all soak in because I think it would bring a flood of emotions I really don't have time to handle most days. It's almost a blessing to be forced to take time and just be thankful.

So cliche, but I'm thankful for the cross.... without it, my life would be meaningless. I can't explain the humility I feel in knowing that while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me. If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking. Lord knows I need an ocean of grace at times in my life.

I'm thankful for Heath and the opportunity to get to share my life with him. He's like my other half! We have 2 farms side by side out in front of where we used to live, and I've told him how I used to ride 4wheelers out on those farms. He said, "I bet you never thought you'd be farming them one day." It's true! At 13 years old, I didn't know Heath would be the guy I'd marry, but I'm proud to call him my husband. He is the best Daddy my kids could ever have. He's handsome, loving, witty, hard working, kind hearted, and genuine. I love him so much!

My kids have shown me just how deep my love can go. I'm so thankful to have wonderful, healthy kids. Luke is just a little firecracker around here. He keeps us smiling and is tender hearted. When it comes to loving Heath, Luke gives me a run for my money. He loooves his Daddy. Heath puts him to bed at night, and I love listening to Luke tell Heath about his day, say his prayers, and then they tell each other "I love you." He makes me proud.

Landry is still the best baby and has made our love just multiply. We are thankful to get to experience life with a daughter. We see every new stage of hers as bitter sweet because it means we're leaving the previous stage for the last time. However, we are glad to be ending the baby phase on such a good note with a happy baby.

Luke giving Landry "fly fly kisses".

I'm thankful for all of my family.

My parents have always supported me and had realistic expectations of me. I've never doubted their love for me. My kids are blessed to have them as grandparents.

My brothers and their families mean the world to me. I can't imagine life without any of them, and I'm proud to have their wives as family. I absolutely love when we're all together.

My in-laws have been a huge blessing to me. They've all taken me in as their own, and they've believed in Heath to be able to farm - which has provided a way of life for us. My kids are blessed to have them as family, too.

I'm thankful for my extended family - The Roses in particular. I'm thankful for all of the memories I have with them. I see my kids building relationships with their cousins, and I pray they're long lasting like ours have been.

I'm thankful for our friends. We are really blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives. I'm especially thankful this year for Traci Stanley and the blessing her and her family have been to us. I wouldn't even know where to start with "thank yous" to them. Life is just sweeter with that family in it.

And last, I'm thankful for our church. I'm glad we can have a place to take our kids outside of our house that will echo what we are teaching them here. I'm thankful for our home, and the confidence I can have in providing a stable place for my kids to grow up. I'm thankful for rain. I am extremely thankful for technology because it is so easy nowadays to capture memories with cameras and video cameras on our phones. I'm thankful for 2 healthy pregnancies and 2 fairly uncomplicated births. I'm thankful for holidays and the opportunities I get to spend time with all of these people I'm so thankful for!

In everything, give thanks. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Harvest and Halloween

Harvest.. I can't believe it's already over! We're glad to have Daddy home at decent hours because of the chaos around here at times, but the circumstances for the short harvest are not all that great. This year has been unbelievable! I know we'll always talk about what a record breaking year it was, highs and lows, for the weather and the crop.

So, we have just been adjusting to our new life with four. It's been challenging here and there! I feel like I need another hand sometimes. It's hard to hold a baby and help a 2 year old potty! Some of my challenges are petty, I know. I really do feel like superwoman sometimes though. I can carry an infant carrier with a baby in it, a 30 pound toddler, a drink, AND a portable cradle in the house at the same time from the car. I'm pretty proud!

Luke has adjusted really well to having Landry here. He was shy towards her at first, but now, he rubs on her head, shows her toys, and kisses on her. He helps me out during the day by fetching diapers or rocking sister in her cradle. His Daddy is his #1 buddy. When Heath is here, he insists on him to do everything... Get him in and out of his car seat, get him a coke for lunch too, put him to bed, help him potty... I can't even tell you how often I hear him say, "No! Daddy do it." -- Heath will take him to run errands in town, and Luke always comes back walking tall. He proudly told me one day he went to "John Deere's house."

Luke was Buzz for Halloween. Getting him to put on his costume was no simple task, either. He's kinda spooked of people dressed up, so he wasn't sure about it. He cried for about 45 minutes after he had it on... He even broke out in his splotchy face from crying - that's bad! Once we got going, he caught on and enjoyed it. We were proud! His cousins dressed up too, so that made it fun for him. Jaxon was Woody, and Miley was Jessie.

We took the kids by to see their great-great grandparents on Halloween. I'm still thrilled that Luke and Landry have gotten to meet them!

Landry with her great-great grandmother, June Moreland.

Landry is smiling all the time now and cooing like crazy. She's talking even when no one is around! She's a picky girl... She doesn't take a paci or a bottle. We've tried all kinds! She, like Luke, is lactose intolerant at this point, so I have eliminated all dairy from my diet. This will surely put a damper on my holiday feasting!!

She is sleeping less during the day, but she still has days where she may only be awake for 2 hours. The last 5 nights, she's slept 9 or 10 hours straight! This is a far cry from our Luker baby. In fact, Luke just now started sleeping good. I'm glad she's so easy. I can disperse my love more equally that way. :) She fusses in the evenings. She starts getting worked up around 6 and we just do whatever we can to keep her content for a few hours. I think the new term for that is "purple crying." But, she sleeps really good after that, so I can't complain.

Gotta share some more Shane and Shane..... I'm loving their new album! I went with a friend to see them about few weeks ago. I've been watching them for a long time, and it's neat to see them in completely different phases of their lives from when I was first introduced to them, probably, 12 years ago. They used to play barefoot with their khaki shorts and maybe have a drummer. Now, their concerts are very instrumental, and they tote their families along and dress kinda preppy. :)