Christmas #1 with the Mota Family

We were so blessed to be able to have several Christmases this year! Our first was with Stephen's family. We celebrated at Steph and Gene's house and decided that this year we wanted to try to make tamales! We spent the entire day in the kitchen! We had heard it was a process, but boy was it ever! We had a lot of fun! Lots of laughs beginning with the amount of lard needed (sometimes you just really don't want to know what all goes in your food) ;) , then the mixing the masa with our hands and then everyones various methods for spreading the masa and filling the tamales! We had a lot of fun and learned a lot along the way! It was definitely good family time! The tamales came out delicious! I think we were pretty successful (I could be a little partial). Not sure if this is a tradition we will continue or not, there seemed to be altering POVs on this. Regardless, we had fun! After all day cooking we opened gifts. We draw names on this side of the family, so it made it fun to see who everyone got. Preston of course gets spoiled at every Christmas, and he got some awesome stuff like a NEW BIKE, a snuggly Elmo, not one but TWO stuffies and some awesome super heros, just to name a few of the items. He is super blessed! After gifts we closed out the evening with karaoke, and learned that our son is a natural with the microphone (watch out world)! It was fun to see him want to be in the spotlight! We all spent the night at Steph and Gene's and woke up together to eat more left overs. All in all it was a very blessed Christmas on this side of the family! Good memories were made as always!

Elf on the Shelf 2014

One of our favorite Christmas traditions we've started in our family is the Elf on the Shelf! For those not aware of the "Elf" essentially Santa sends an elf that you get to name and everyday that elf appears in new locations, sometimes with a gift and is always on a mission to report back to Santa each night to update on the progress of Preston. Last year we had Jingles and this year, we had Bell the Elf come to stay with us. She was so much fun! Always had fun places to find her and brought a lot of neat treats for Preston throughout the month. Really gave us something to be excited about each day leading up to Christmas! Can't wait to have Bell back next year, who knows maybe we'll get lucky with 2 kiddos and get Jingles and Bell back!! Its a super fun tradition! Here are some of the fun ways Bell showed up at our apartment this year.

Bell came and brought a fun advent calendar to count down until Christmas!

Bell in a bubble bath of marshmallows

Bell playing with legos

Santa wants to make sure Preston continues to be a BIG boy and use the big boy potty

Bell's special Batman package for Preston to keep him warm

A special package from Bell

Yay! Bell got us tickets to go see Frozen!

Bell riding the train and bringing a fun Christmas movie

Bell decorated our tree with candy canes

Roasting marshmallows on a candle (silly Bell)

Bell got a special video from Santa

A little something to write Santa a letter

Bell brought a letter and certificate confirming Preston made the NICE list! =)

Bell catching up on sleep

Silly Bell wrapped Preston in his room

Awesome Ninja Turtle jammies

Bell brought candy and snuck a few bites!

Bell brought us tickets to go on the Polar Express and meet Santa!

Some little treats from the North Pole

Bell brought a movie to watch with Preston's stuffed animals

Goodbye letter from Bell

Saying goodbye to sweet Bell-the only time he gets to hold her!

All Aboard The Polar Express

Last weekend we took Preston, Nana, Mimi and Papa to Palestine for a fun evening on the Polar Express. It was such a neat experience! We took a real train to the "North Pole"! We were greeted with super friendly waiters who brought us Christmas candy and hot chocolate. We read along as they read The Polar Express on the ride to the North Pole. We got to see all the elfs in action getting gifts together for the big day, and then we were surprised to have Santa himself jump on board to greet the kids. He also gave Preston the first gift of Christmas, a bell from Santa's sleigh. Santa signed Preston's book which was very cool, he signs his name "Mr. C". On our way back from the North Pole, we all sang Christmas carols and enjoyed the ride. Preston was very excited about the whole evening! He had a blast. I have to say, I think the adults enjoyed it just as much as Preston! We all heard the bell ring, so we must all still believe. What a neat little adventure, amazing to see the magic of Christmas come to life in Preston's eyes! So blessed to able to share this time with Preston and for all of us to be able to share this time during the holidays as a family!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!

This year Christmas hasn't felt quite the same. We aren't in our house yet with all of our things as we'd hoped and all of our Christmas decorations are in storage. =( That hasn't stopped us from celebrating though! We went and bought a little tree at Home Dept and let PReston go pick out a bunch of ornaments to decorate it. We had fun listening to Christmas music and decorating. Kind-of makes you realize that its really about the time we spend as a family doing these festive things and not necessarily about all the big, beautiful decor. Preston didn't know any different, he LOVES his little tree. =)We've bought a few other decorations to have around the apartment, so its turning out to be a nice little Christmas season in our apartment. Another one of our holiday traditions is to do the Angel tree. Every year we adopt a child the same age as Preston, talk to Preston about children just like him who don't have the things that he has. We always enjoy shopping for our angel and truly taking a step back to thank God for all of our many blessings! I pray this little family has a Merrier Christmas with these little treats we are sending their way. We have also enjoyed "Bell", our Elf on the Shelf this month! Excited to share all of the fun our Elf has brought Preston this year. Stay tuned for another post about Santa's sweet Bell that he sent our way this year. Can't wait to see what else Bell comes up with! Looking forward to a super fun Christmas at my moms this year! She's been hard at work getting everything decorated. I know that we will feel completely emersed in the Spirit once we arrive there Christmas week. Can't wait!

Thanksgiving 2013

We spent Thanksgiving here in town this year. We went over to Steph and Gene's to cook the night before and get things ready for the big day. We all enjoyed hanging out in the kitchen all night, good family time! Thanksgiving morning, we got an early start and headed over to finish up all the cooking. We had quite the menu! We had a lot of fun doing it all together this year. I actually made all of the pies this year (pumpkin, pecan, lemon and peanut butter) along with some potatoes, corn bread and sweet potatoes. Steph and her mom covered the turkey, dressing, deviled eggs, green beans and dinner rolls. Everything came out delicious! Gene's parents were also able to join us, so it was nice catching up with them too. We cooked, ate, relaxed and ate some more, The boys got to play a little football, we watched the parade and watched some football, all in all a perfect Thanksgiving! We spent the night at Steph and Gene's to avoid heading back to the apartment on a fun holiday. Made it feel even more like the holidays. =) We all went downtown McKinney for a fun festive Dickens of a Christmas and had a delicious Mexican dinner after all that turkey. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have so many things to be thankful for!

I thought it would be fun to do a month of thanks during November and everyday we all talk about the things that we are thankful for. Below is our list from this year, P=Preston, Dad=Stephen and Mom=me. Could be a neat tradition to start and see how the answers change year over year. We are truly blessed!! 2013 November days of Thanks: Day 1- P: for teachers Dad: for family Mom: for FRIDAYS Day 2- P: for picking me up early Mom: my wonderful family Dad: a wonderful son, a great wife and a new baby daughter on the way Day 3- P: the trees and the leafs and the cars Dad: fun date nights Mom: relaxing mornings with my family Day 4- P: thankful for my tball medal Dad: thankful for a great wife to be the team mom Mom: thankful to have a wonderful husband to coach my sons tball team Day 5- P: thankful for my Lego people Dad: thankful for everyone's health Mom: thankful to have time with my mom picking out stuff for my baby girls nursery Day 6- P: thankful for my train set Dad: thankful for relaxing times with my family Mom: thankful for a wonderful son who has fantastic manners! Day 7- P: thankful for my tee ball medal Dad: thankful for a beautiful wife Mom: thankful for a family fun night Day 8- P: thankful for my new gloves Dad: thankful for Weekends Mom: thankful for a healthy pregnancy Day 9- P: thankful for my treasure Dad: thankful for beautiful mornings Mom: thankful for a beautiful Fall day Day 10- P: thankful for my new gloves Dad: thankful for fun mornings at home Mom: thankful for snuggle time with my hubby Day 11- P: thankful for his Batman toy Dad: thankful that we can get Preston things other kids aren't fortunate enough to have Mom: thankful for doctors who can give me peace of mind that everything is okay with this Pregnancy Day Day 12- P: thankful for my army men Dad: thankful for nature- animals trees fishes Mom: thankful for Fall weather to make it feel like the holidays Day 13- P: thankful for my guitar Dad: thankful for God/ religion Mom: thankful for answered prayers Day 14- P: thankful to help aunt Stephie open her birthday gifts Dad: thankful for Thanksgiving Mom: thankful to have a growing family! Day 15- P: thankful for my Christmas decorations Dad: thankful to have an awesome cool wife! Even 6.5 mths pregnant Mom: thankful for some time away with my hubby! Day 16- P: thankful for Mimi and papa Dad: thankful for Christmas Mom: thankful for a great hubby that makes me proud Day 17- P: thankful for my tomahawk Dad: thankful to be back home with my family Mom: thankful to be home with my family Day 18: P- thankful for doing fun things at Mimi and papas Dad- thankful for days off with family Mom-thankful for a family that enjoys singing Christmas carols Day 19: P- thankful for the trees and the grass Dad- thankful for Thanksgiving Mom- thankful to be able to celebrate Christmas even with a little tree in a little apartment Day 20: P- thankful for new army men Dad- family fun nights Mom- snuggle time with Preston Day 21: P-thankful for my big Batman Dad-thankful that Preston is having fun at school Mom-thankful for multiple Thanksgivings and one we got to share with Preston and his class at school Day 22- P-thankful for a fun weekend at the Gaylord Dad-thankful for hanging with family at the Gaylord Mom-thankful to spend a weekend with my family Day 23- P- thankful for my new teddy bear Dad- thankful for a new house Mom- being able to bring in the holidays with family Day 24- P- thankful for a sweet Nana Dad- thankful for good fires Mom- thankful to get to snuggle by the fire with my boys Day 25- P- thankful for a good daddy Dad- thankful for cold weather Mom-thankful for good family Day 26- P thankful for my big and little Batman Dad- thankful for everyone being healthy Mom- thankful for the upcoming holiday Day 27- P thankful for my mommy picking me up early from school Dad-thankful for traditions Mom-thankful for good family Day 28: P thankful for toy snakes Dad- thankful for a perfect wife, son and soon to be daughter and thankful for laughter Mom- thankful for an amazing hubby and son that I get to share Holiday traditions with! Day 29: P: thankful for the number calendar (advent) Dad: thankful for good fires Mom: thankful for a beautiful family Day 30: P: Thankful for my castle Dad: thankful to be so blessed Mom: thankful that we have so much to be thankful for!