Brown Family Christmas

Christmas eve we spent with the Hall side of Jared's family. Russ and Cindy had a fun game to play. Essentially you have to open this present that is put in 5 boxes dressed up like this. Pretty funny!

The boys with their Gamma.

Christmas morning we spent with the immediate Brown family. The boys had fun opening up all their presents. We also had a gingerbread house decorating contest. Most couples gave up.... so I think we won. Cal's creativity was the key to our amazing house

Christmas afternoon we went to Mammie and Pawpaw's house. Cal is so sweet with his Cousin Cole. He got a cool remote control train.

Our Family Christmas

We had a great little family Christmas. For breakfast we had a yummy breakfast casserole. Cal got a recorder, Donkey's Christmas (from Shrek), and two Choo-Choos. Obviously the trains were the big hit!

Shaw Family Xmas

We had so much fun with Grammie, PopPop, Uncle Dennis, Aunt Kris, Cousin Kenzie, and Cousin Dawson!!! Here are some pictures to sum up our family fun :)

December

I have finished my Fall 2010 semester... Praise God!! I'm only two semesters away from finishing!! This semester hasn't been as bad as others because Jared wasn't working. At first, when Jared couldn't get a job, we were discouraged and disappointed. Now we see God's big plan... sanity for us all! Jared has been so wonderful this semester with helping around the house and with Cal. He has finals this week, so please keep him in your prayers.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks.....

Baking Christmas cookies with Mommy.


FYI - don't make them with premade dough... they don't turn out as well.

Handmade Advent Calendar

Check it out!
http://www.stylelushblog.com/2010/12/my-handmade-advent-calendar.html
This is a great idea!!!

Getting ready for Christmas!

Thanksgiving!!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year! Some of you may remember that Jared had to "stay behind" last year. Thankfully God has blessed us this year and we were able to spend this Thanksgiving as a family. We drove to Canyon Lake, just 20 minutes from New Braunsfels. It was the same lake house we stayed in last year, which was big enough to fit everyone! I think Cal loved playing with the big kids and taking care of his little cousin Dawson... so cute.

"Krafty Kris" (aka: Aunt Kristen) brought a fun turkey craft for Friday. It was so cold out we didn't get out to play much. The kids had fun making their own Turkey treat :)

Pre-Thanksgiving

We headed down to Austin Monday for Thanksgiving week. Jared had an hour class that afternoon, so Cal and I hung out on the University of Dallas campus. We had coffee, milk, and a muffin in the cafe. He had a blast exploring and running around. Of course everyone thought he was so cute :)

Tuesday morning, Jared did his "half-price run" while Cal and I headed to my mom's school. She works with 3-5 year olds so we thought it would be fun for Cal to come during recess. He had a blast hanging out with the kids. For lunch we met Kelly, Rachel, and Adeline for lunch but I didn't take any pictures. It was great catching up with old friends!

Baby Cole

Janna (Jared's sister) and JT Murphy have a new sweet baby boy! Cole Henry Murphy was born on Friday, November 19th. Mom and baby are doing well.

We went to go visit them... Cal and Liam were too busy playing to even notice Cole.

Fall Fun

A cold front came in last night and we have been enjoying the crisp weather. We made chocolate chip cookies as a family and snuggled in the cold. Here are a few pictures from the past few days.

Gig 'Em! Dada found Cal an Aggie hat for only $4!


















Dada also found a used desk at a garage sale for only $1! He is such a bargain shopper.



















My men in deep thought.















Cal playing the violin. Maybe he will be musical despite his parents. :)