Tis the Season...

...to be busy. And busy we have been. So many activities, parties, gatherings, friends and family. But even with all the activities and especially because of all the friends and family we had a great holiday season.

...to be sick. All of us except Brandon, who never catches anything, has been sick at least once this holiday season. Rylie had a stomach bug that lasted six days and then shared it with Reese and I who were both able to recover much faster. We only had to cancel one family Christmas gathering, so while it was not what we would have planned, it was not as bad as it could have been.

...to celebrate special days. As if celebrating the birth of Christ isn't great enough, we also get to celebrate the birth of our first born on Christmas day as well. It's hard to keep all the fun Christmas gift giving traditions and Santa in perspective when you have a three year old and a 20 month old, but throw in a birthday and it's even more overwhelming. We managed though and I think Rylie actually understands (at least somewhat) we celebrate Christmas because God gave us a gift that very first Christmas day.
To make Rylie's day special we ate birthday cake for breakfast Christmas morning before we headed out to spend the remainder of the weekend with family. We intended to have a small birthday gathering for him at some point, but that may not happen after all...we'll see.
And the other special day...our anniversary. On the 29th we celebrated our seven year anniversary. We didn't do anything extra special, but we were happy just to be together and hope to go away on an anniversary (childless) vacation next year. I can't believe we've been married seven years. (I am seriously getting old).

...to move. At least it seems that way for our family. Three years ago we were packing right after Christmas to move back to Texas from North Carolina. And just two years ago we moved from Mount Pleasant to Weatherford in late January. This year we are doing it again. For those of you who haven't heard yet...we are moving again! A couple of weeks before Christmas Brandon got a random (Yes, God I know it wasn't really random) phone call from a company in Greenville, Texas and they wanted him to come in for an interview. He did, they offered him the job on the spot, we cried, we rejoiced, we were so confused, we prayed...a lot...and he accepted. It's a pretty sizable pay increase and we will be much closer to all of our family. So tonight I am sitting in our living room that is stacked with packed boxes as we prepare to move again. I do hope this is the last move for a while. I'm just tired of moving.

All in all we had a wonderful holiday season, but I am glad it's over. We have so much to look forward to and so much to be thankful for...2008 was a great year. There were ups and downs, but so many great memories! The boys have grown and learned so much, and they continue to amaze both of us every day. God has poured blessings on our family time and again and we are oh so thankful and gracious because we both know we don't deserve all He's given us. We have been blessed with wonderful friends that we actually consider our family, all of whom we will miss dearly. Now we look forward to a new year with so much in store for us, and I am looking forward to sharing our special memories of 2009 with you.
Love to all my bloggin' buddies. May you all have a blessed 2009.