Wednesday, February 28, 2024

February 2024

 A few pictures from February...

Two of the three bunnies and one of the two tortoises.  :)


Heather and Jacey and I went to College Station to tour Texas A&M, where Jacey is considering attending.  We had a blast together, and it was so fun to be back!


Eric and I got to spend a weekend at the Cooper Hotel in Dallas, our favorite spot for a little getaway.


Eli and Timothy are always hard at work on their turtle pond.  


On Valentine's Day, we made our traditional crepes!


We've had a couple beautiful winter sunsets this month!


These are terrible pictures, but they'll never stand still for me to take their picture!  :)  I love seeing the boys and their friends in our backyard playing airsoft.



Spring is SPRINGING in Texas, and I love it!


Back to A&M for some reason!  :)


And that concludes February.  LOVE to you!!


Thursday, February 1, 2024

January 2024

 Just a handful of pictures from the first month of the year...  my phone is full of pictures of bare trees and blue sky, a scene that always catches my eye in January.  Light on the actual people photos though!  :)  I love the slowness of January.

We had a very light snow one day this month, which was enough to shut down the Dallas area for a day.  Texas can't handle winter weather!  :)  Eli's school service project was canceled, Eric happened to already be off of work, and my office closed for the day.  We so enjoyed this unexpected snow day.



True to Texas weather, we've also had some beautiful warm days.  Eric and Eli both have been hard at work on the ongoing back porch project.


This has become a favorite evening activity of ours- sitting on the porch by a little fire.


At the beginning of the month, the youth had a lock-in at church.  It was hard for this old lady volunteer to stay up all night :) , but it was so worth it.  The kids had a BLAST.  This picture was taken in the church parking lot at 4am!  :)


And that rounds out January.  LOVE to you!!

Friday, January 12, 2024

December 2023

A smattering of December pictures to finish up 2023...

This is the youth group Christmas party...


We got a little fire stove for the back porch and have been enjoying sitting outside in the evenings near it, with or without s'mores.  Notice Hank's rapt attention...  :)


Eric took me to the Dallas Symphony's Christmas pops performance for my birthday, which is one of my favorite things to do each year.



Elizabeth and I went to Bin 303 to celebrate our birthdays, another tradition I love!


The boys built a couple platforms/elevated forts in the woods behind our house on their airsoft course.


On my birthday, we went to breakfast at my favorite spot, and we finished the night off with my FAVORITE cake from Breadwinners.


Steaks and scallops on Christmas Adam!


Christmas Eve, before church.


On Christmas Eve evening, we played games and enjoyed yummy food with the Heinzes, another favorite tradition.


Sunrise on Christmas morning!


Christmas 2023 was lovely!  We opened gifts and ate cinnamon rolls just the 3 of us, and then we headed to my parents' house with the whole family for more gifts, food, and games.



I forgot to take a New Year's Eve picture, which was also spent with family (Eric's side for Japanese food, and the Bergstroms for NYE snacks and games).  So we'll close the year with a picture of our 3 bunnies eating bananas.  :)


Welcome, 2024!

 

Thursday, November 30, 2023

November 2023

Some pictures from November...

We went camping at Huntsville State Park for a long weekend.  The weather was gorgeous (despite FREEZING the first night! :) ), and we had such a good time being together outdoors, hiking and fishing and enjoying the beauty all around us.



Notice Hank's location in this photo.  :)









Moments like these are my favorite- time spent at home doing what we love (which in this case was sitting on the back porch shooting an airsoft gun at pumpkins on the fence :) ).


The boys have been playing lots of Blitz Ball.  I love their friendship.



On Thanksgiving Eve, as per our tradition, we ate our own Thanksgiving dinner and watched "Elf."  This is one of our favorite traditions each year.



On Thanksgiving Day, we spent the morning/afternoon with Eric's family at Uncle Albert and Aunt Kathy's house, and then we spent the evening with the Bergstrom family at my parents' house.  It was a full and lovely day!


The boys decorated "their tree," as they have been doing every year since they were way too little to climb it!  :)


And now onto December!  Love and blessings to you!

 

Thursday, November 9, 2023

October 2023

 Happy November!  Here are October's pictures, out of order of course.  :)


On Halloween, we carved a pumpkin (in honor of the Rangers in the World Series!).  Eli went to Awana to help, and Eric and I stayed home and handed out candy while watching the baseball game.






We got to spend some meaningful time with my dear Granddad Bergstrom here in Texas.  We are ever more grateful for this time, as he passed away very peacefully at home, with loved ones, back in Pennsylvania on November 5.  There could not be a kinder, more gentle man, and we are honored to have been impacted by his life.  We miss him dearly, but are so thankful for his sake that he is HOME with his beloved Savior.


Our whole family spent a long weekend at Daingerfield, our favorite place.









I got to spend a week in Maine with my Vaillancourt grandparents!  I could not have asked for a more meaningful, special week with them.  We saw beautiful sights, including the mountains and the beach, ate lots of great food (lobster!), and just enjoyed being together, talking and laughing.  I wouldn't trade the time with them for anything in the world!!









Back at the beginning of the month, the youth group went to Daingerfield for the weekend.  We had a blast playing outside, learning God's Word, and growing closer to the Lord and to each other.  We are so very thankful for this beautiful group of teenagers!



Eli and Timothy added to their turtle collection this month as well.  No turtles have a better life than the one that Timothy and Eli give to theirs.  :)


Eric and Eli spent a day fishing together while I was in Maine- their favorite activity, always!


Eli, Timothy, and Charlie ran a game booth at our church's fall festival.  


We were so thankful to have our dear friends the McDonalds over to visit while they were in town this month.  I love how the girls cling to Eli.  :)  We miss them so much but are so thankful to see them every couple of months.


And that's October!  On to November and the holiday season!  LOVE to you!!