Simple, Splendid, Stewart Christmas

We have always had so much fun going away for Christmas- Nebraksa snow, Austin charm, France beauty, but there really is no place like home so this was a special Christmas for us...

Christmas Eve
We had a wonderful 24th with Kris and Crystal and their kids. It was lovely to see the girls and their cousins indulge in the joys of the holiday-gingerbread houses, singing carols, new pajamas, and treats...lots of treats. I can't believe I snapped a pic of the gingerbread house together because the icing was so runny it kept falling apart. We were all laughing and the kids were good sports about it not turning out so great.

Thanks to a dear friend and her idea we decided to start a new tradition this year of giving the kids a Christ centered gift on Christmas Eve. It is nice to be able to teach them the true meaning of the holiday and watch them grow older and begin to understand.

Christmas morning

Santa brought Sophia a bunny rabbit this year. One night she stood in front of the Christmas tree and kissed her hands then threw them up in the air and said "I wish for Santa to bring me a cat." Well, Santa was not ready (nor will he ever be) to give her a cat but he did find her a bunny and as you can see it was a hit. She looked at us and said, "I am glad I got a bunny rabbit because I hate cats."

She doesn't usually talk like that especially about an animal but it just goes to show how overwhelmed and excited she was.

Have you ever seen two kids get so excited over oranges in their stockings? (they were actually grapefruits- silly santa)Esme loves books so she enjoyed her gift and reading with Dad first thing that morning.

Surprise, Surprise, Ava enjoyed a little more HSM- mom is just about done with that... soooo wanting to go back to the Little House on the Praire craze. (Ava is giggling with her hands on her hips as I type this)We wish you all a Happy New Year!

#6 for AVA- High School Musical Style
She wanted to be Gabriella for the second time this year and of course Dad had to be Troy. It's darn cute-they both get really into it. It was complete with cousins, a HSM Karoake, and a few close friends-one of which was Troy -more her size :).

We are loooooving this time of year

And visiting with Nani and Grandpa who traveled so far to see us. We will miss them till we see them again.

Ava has had...

A new haircut
and a yummy Thanksgiving Feast

WILDCATS IN THE HOUSE!

For those of you who are High School Musical fans here we are. From left to right -Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Wildcat Cheerleader, Ms. Darbis
Dan and I agreed that he and I ended up looking more like a wood cutter and Sarah Palin.
The girls were more than excited that the whole family dressed up and played the partsEven Aunt Katie showed her spirit

The night was complete with Trick-or-Treating with friends and way too much sugar.

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!

I have always said my favorite month was December but Ocotber is trying to move its way into first place-at least this year. Below you will see several reasons why...

#1 Decorating for the spooky holiday-and what better way to do that then with cousins who live so close now. I think we have started a family tradition of decorating a haunted house- kind of like a gingerbread house for Christmas but we get to use black spray paint, googly eyes, and candy corns (oh did Esme looove being introduced to candy corns!)

#2 MOTHER CAME FOR A VISIT

She brought these apples from her apple tree and made us fresh apple juice and yummy apple crisp.

She brought her sense of humor and warm smile

She brought her two youngest which made my three thrilledAnd of course she did what she does best...#3 GOING TO THE ARBORETUM- So, as long as I live where I live you will see pictures of this place throughout the year. There are pumpkins everywhere this month and the girls and their cousins and aunts had so much fun.

#4 SUNSHINE GENERATION-Sophia had her first performance with Ava and loved it. Here they are waiting to go on stage.

#5 ESME TURNS 17 MONTHS OLD-her nickname is Boodgee- may seem silly but I promise you spend one weekend with us and you'll be calling her that too. She is just as sweet as she looks- but she can really hold her own these days (see very large water bottle below that she picked up and took two swigs of without spilling a drop)
My sister Katie is living with us and Esme has really warmed up to her-hmm maybe it's time for a trip away with the hardworking husband...#6 MAKING OUR HOME "US"- this has not gotten my full attention due to the activities above and it will for sure be a long process but we are feeling such joy in our space already. We want our home to show off what we love and cherish most Christ, family, friends, reading, traveling, art, and music. Here is a glimpse at half of our living room-the other half and pictures on the walls to come as time and ideas roll in.
This is one of my favorite nooks in the house. It was meant for a huge flat screen t.v but we found better use for it :)

HOME SWEET HOME

Flowers to water

Grass to mow

Our family favorite spot. The doors leading to the covered porch and backyard are off the living room and thanks to the weather they have been open all day everyday since we moved in. We eat breakfast, lunch and dinner out here.


We love playscapes- especially ones that look like forts- the girls were so excited it was left here

If you want to see the inside don't try to break in... just come visit us :) Sophia is MIA above only because she was napping-she is my little outdoor girl and has spent most of the last two weeks exploring the backyard.

My View