Sunday, November 30, 2008

Starting a New Family Tradition...the Real experience










SO, I wanted to share about our experience to the Christmas Farm...our new "family tradition".  

Starting traditions aren't always the easiest to start, but once you do them, get going, you have it and it can be fun, life-changing or in this case, not so sure we need it.  

Stew and I decided we would start the tradition and pay the expense of going and cutting down our own Christmas tree and make it a "family experience".  Well, here is how our first try at it went:

Woke up early ready and excited to go.  Got directions, dressed kids, put shoes on 3 times, fed Karis, herded kids out the door only to find that it was much colder than we thought...forgot to check the weather.  So, back in to change clothes again...get hats, socks, shoes on again, and proper coats and gear.  Finally, 2 hours later, we are headed to the Tree Farm....only to realize none of us ate breakfast and Karis needed to eat again soon.  We decide we will just stomach McDonald's for time sake, but realized when we got there that they were no longer serving breakfast...so we all got yogurt parfaits and headed to the tree farm-again.  Sally breaks her spoon, wg decides he doesn't like yogurt and attempts to complain, karis is crying uncontrollably...so we stop...give new spoons, spankings and pacifiers...we are off again....We reach the tree farm...YEAH! We are doing okay....a little rough start, but no worries...here we go...family tradition!  

We get ready, and we are off...the fun lasts about 10 minutes...just enough time to get cute photos to put in our blog album....sally falls numerous times and gets stickers in her pants and shoes....wg insists on cutting the tree with a temper tantrum....but is distracted by his need to go to the bathroom....oh dear...do we pee on the Christmas trees? or wet our pants....we run back up and make it to a bathroom....BUT, we have found a tree! we cut it and head back to the gift shop and farm area for games and hot cocoa and cider...."here is some yummy hot chocolate/cider, kids!"...I was so excited about the hot drinks...it was so cold....until the kiddos burned their mouth and now were screaming from a scolded tongue....okay...now worries...we can do this!....Roast marshmallows!.....sure, until wg only wanted to eat the marshmallows out of the bag and cried when his caught on fire....has anyone ever taken these kids to the country?....."No, son...we can only have 3 marshmallows...I am sorry yours burned..."....our tree is ready, let's GO HOME!...then out of nowhere, it POURS DOWN RAINING!...yes....Stew and I get the kids buckled in, and attempt to tie the tree on top of our van as fast as we can in the pouring rain!....WG and Karis are screaming crying and sally is singing Jesus Loves me...Thank you Sally!....we did it...we are driving home finally until the tree starts to fall off...so we stop at a gas station for lunch! Water...an old breakfast taco and nuts...i mean, there  is not much at a gas station that fits the "maker's diet"....okay, we are almost home...SURELY!! 

We did make it home...only to find that the tree was larger than OUR LIVING ROOM!!!  So we trimmed it down and fit our furniture around it....got it decorated, had more warm cocoa, a Christmas movie and to bed....well, and a lot of pine needles that I am sweeping up everyday!

So, how was our family tradition?  I have to say, pretty funny in the end...We aren't sure if we will start that tradition again until the kids are older....but we are enjoying the beautiful tree and sense of Christmas in our home....and all before Dec. 1st!  That's the life in the Stewart household...just thought I would share it with all...Hope your experience is just as fun as ours! =)

Allen and Christina Moore

Some friends from our lives in Denton, TX during college days came through Austin this last week and it was refreshing to see them again! They came with gifts for all! Thank you so much, Allen and Christina! Hope the rest of your vacation and thanksgiving was wonderful!  It was great to see you!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Neal is moving next door with Christel soon to come!



Our dear neighbor, Susie, is one of our favorite neighbors who the kids love...but she recently bought a house way south and needed to rent out her house next to us.  She asked us specifically to find her some of our friends to rent it.  We were so excited to find out that Neal and Christel needed a place to live in after they get married in January 09....so finally, Neal is moved in as of yesterday and Christel will soon come in January!  We are so excited to live next door to them and continue living life here in St. Johns with them.  They both have a heart for our neighborhood and are like family to our kids.  Neal and Christel, we love you guys and are so thankful to have you next door!! 

Highlights fromt the Birthday Party!












These are a few weeks late, but here are some pics of WesleyGrant's Incredible Birthday party!  It was freezing cold...but our friends indured the cold with us to celebrate!  We had a great time and love all of our friends and family here in Austin!!

Friday, November 14, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WESLEY GRANT!!!!


Today WesleyGrant is 4 years old!! We have a tradition of happy face pancakes on the morning of our birthdays and this morning wesley grant just wanted a waffle with a candle...he is getting quite an opinion the older he gets...=)....then it was off to Anna's Toy Depot to pick out his birthday gift. My kids love that place! He had fun playing in the store and with the owner and finally we were off with superhero figures and a Knight armor kit. Then it was off to eat lunch at Whole Foods (yes, wg loves that place...but it also went well with stew's new diet!...will blog later) and enjoyed some good food! Tomorrow is the big birthday cake party with friends and neighbors...pictures to come! HAPPY BIRTHDAY WESLEY GRANT! you are SO LOVED!!

The Fulfers


We had the privilege of hosting some friends from Argentina this week! They are American, but have been serving in Argentina for the past 2 years. It was wonderful to see them and meet their kids! They got to share with some college students and friends of ours while they were here. It was such a joy!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Vacation with Friends



We just returned from a relaxing time with friends. We were all without kids, except for Karis. (There is 12 kids between all of us!) We love the team we work with here in the city of Austin and they are slowly turning into our family. We had a wonderful time and are ready to hit the ground running again.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Fall Festival!





Between school parties and fall festivals in austin, we had a fun day of games and eating candy! 

KARIS ELIZABETH






Here are some recent pictures of Karis...She is a true joy in our home!!