Christmas Blessings

     I'm so sad...another Christmas has come and gone.  It always makes me sad after Christmas, just because I always feel so much joy leading up to this time of year, and now it's all gone. ;(
     Although I'm bummed, I have to say that we were so blessed to have spent another great Christmas together.  Each year that Cameron grows older, we get to see another side to the holidays.   This year we really focused on Jesus being born this day and the fact that Santa brings him 3 gifts because the Wise Men brought Jesus 3 gifts.  He seemed to really understand the overall concept, so that was a plus.   We had also been using the advent calendar to count down to the big day, and I was really happy with how Cameron kept track of the days. He would wake up each morning and first look for "Boy" elf and then remind us that we had to open another door on the calendar.
     Although getting home from Christmas Eve Mass was a little scary, it was all worth it.  We were also supposed to have a party that night with Vals' family, but because of the weather, we only had a few guests, and we managed to make the best of it. 
     Cameron was THRILLED Christmas morning when he saw that Santa had ate his cookies and that he brought him his Spiderman Mask and Web Shooter, a Transformer action figure, and a SuperWhy Computer.  What a lucky guy. Just like last year, everytime he opened a gift, he said, "Wow...this was just what I wanted!"  I'm guessing this phrase might stick around for awhile.  We then managed to make it over to my mom's to open gifts with my side of the family and then I came back with my mom and made my first Christmas dinner.  (Ok, my mom did 90% of the cooking, but I helped!)  I was completely exhausted by the end, but SO glad that we did it.   
     Reflecting on this day...it's kind of funny because it's been exactly one year that I had been praying to God for another blessing for our family.  At times I feel like he isn't listening, but looking all around me I know that I have so many blessings right in front of me to be thankful for.  God has his own path for our family, and I'm a firm believer that just because I'm not getting the answer I want right now, doesn't mean that God doesn't already have it all worked at for me in his own time.  As hard as it may be at times to accept that, I am praying on it each day.  I'm truly blessed with the family that I have all around me and spending this extra time with them this holiday just helped me realize it even more!  Here are some photos from the day...

Grandpa and Dani put a smile on his face!  They got him tons of X-Men action figures to play with and Cameron hasn't put them down since!

Buzz Lightyear...who broke a few hours later.  Bummer.  Luckily we found another the day after X-Mas.

Where's Daddy you ask?  Either passed out after eating dinner or playing Wii, we don't remember!

This was the best shot we could get of the 3 of them...we probably tried about 15 times!

Let it snow...

We have been gearing up for Christmas Day this entire week.  We've been busy making gingerbread houses, baking cookies for Santa, and building snowmen! :)  I was SO excited to get a white Christmas this year, and Cameron was thrilled to get the chance to play in it.  (Although we did a lot of praying while sliding all the way home from the Children's Mass on Christmas Eve!)  The Lord truly watched over us to get us home safely.

I think the Gingerbread house was supposed to look like this...

but our special house looks like this! ;)  Thank you Caroline and Andrew for helping out!

Getting those cookies just right for Santa!

Brrr..it was quite chilly out, but totally worth it for this snowman! (Cameron also spent

alot of time trying to catch the snow in his mouth to eat!!!)

Christmas Eve...how could Santa not love our cookies????

All Aboard the North Pole Express!

This past weekend, we had the chance to visit the North Pole Express in Grapevine.  We missed the opportunity to get tickets last year, so we were excited to have the chance to see what it was all about.  My mom and niece, Emma, had the chance to join us.  It was REALLY cold out there, but the kids had the chance to take pictures with Santa (this is Cameron's 3rd time at this!), play in a bounce house, and watch/be part of a Christmas show before boarding the train in their PJ's.  On their way to the train they had snow coming down which the kids thought was so cool!  Santa managed to make his way onto the train, and that was quite a hit too!!! 

Emma and Cameron getting the chance to be part of the show! (And I just realized that if you look closely they are holding hands...so sweet!)

Jolly St. Nick again!

Waiting for the train to leave the station.

Grandma and Emma!

He's BACK!!!!

"Boy" elf has made it back to our home for a second holiday season! :0  ("Boy" was the name that Cameron gave his elf last year.)  He made his way in from the North Pole on Thanksgiving Day, and hopefully he can work some magic on our little boy.  We've been going through a bit of a stage with Cameron these past few weeks.  (To give you an idea of what we've been dealing with, we've already taken away 2 gifts from under the tree that we had bought for him...(Santa's gifts come on X-mas morning, unwrapped...duh!)  Cameron's little elf goes to visit Santa every night to report on Cameron's behavior, and then reappears in a new spot the next day.  Here's the first day that "Boy" came in...Cameron seems pretty happy that he came back this year. 

Go Texas Longhorns!!!!!

No, it's not what you're thinking...Val and I have not become big Texas Longhorns fans. :)  But we are fans of the Texas team that Val has been coaching for the past few months.  His nephew, Chris, has been playing with the Frisco Football League for quite some time now, and this was their last year to play in this league.  Their goal was to finally make it to the championship this year, so Val was on board to help join the coaching staff, and it paid off!  Not only did they make it to the championship game...but they WON!!!  It was quite an exciting game, and Cameron loved cheering on his Daddy and his cousin.  I loved that Cameron got the chance to see such a big accomplishment happen for these kids, and he got to see his dad's coaching in action.  Congratulations Val...and to the entire team. :)  

My Little Champion

I'm sad to say that Cameron's 2nd season of soccer is officially over.  I am thrilled to say though that this season was 100% better than the first one last spring, and his team won every game!  The first time around it was such a learning expereince for the entire team who had never played before, and this time around Cameron was a seasoned pro!  He was so enthusiatic to get out there and score, and I have never been so proud as a parent with his attitude. (Granted...I pray that God gives me many more moments to be proud of my sweet boy, but I am blessed to already have these proud moments!) Now I know that the kids on the team ranged from 3- 4 years of age, and kids at this age can be very emotional.  There were kids out there crying when they got knocked over, crying because the didn't want to play, crying because they couldn't get the ball to score a goal.  You name it, there was a kid crying over it.  Thankfully...that was never Cameron.  When he got tripped up, he got right back up and kept on running to get that ball.  When others were crying because they didn't want to play, Cameron was ready to get out on that field and score.  If the other team (or his own teammate) had the ball, Cameron would run at warp speed to take that ball away and score, but if someone else happened to score, Cameron would happily skip back to the center of the field and was ready to try again.  Now,  I know he gets his love and talent for sports from his Daddy, but I'm pretty sure he also gets this attitude from him too.  I'm totally a sore loser when it comes to any sort of competition and when things aren't going my way with a game, I'm ready to give up. ;)  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Cameron doesn't one day wake up with my winning attitude...ha!

Here he is with his medal and his team...

Thank you Cameron for playing your heart out these past few months...you make your Mama and Daddy proud!

Now comes the next hardest decision for Val and I....T-ball or Flag Football next?  Guess we'll just have to wait until next year to see. :0

Trick or Treat!

Whew!  This has been an exhausting weekend for all of us! Trick or Treating can really wear you out!  In August, Cameron wanted to be Buzz Lightyear, but soon changed his mind to Wolverine.  He has been on an X-Men and Iron Man kick, so Wolverine it was.  He truly had a blast and was literally running house to house to get to the door first. My mom, sister, brother in-law, and Cameron's 2 cousins, Chris and Aaron, came over to trick-or-treat.  Lilly, or "Wonder Woman",  made a visit earlier in the evening for pictures.   I was sad that the 2 super heroes couldn't go out together for the night, but Wonder Woman had her own neighborhood to head off to!
Cameron had us cracking up as always.  He was so excited, that he kept mixing up what he was supposed to say.  He knew he had 3 main phrases, "Trick-or-treat", "Happy Halloween", and "Thank you.", but sometimes he would come back and tell us that he forgot to say "trick-or-treat" first, or he would say "happy halloween," but forgot the "thank you." I guess the sight of candy had him all confused!

Don't be fooled, he really didn't have much to do with the carving of this pumpkin! I have finally figured out that I am the only one in my house who really likes carving pumpkins. :) But Cameron did pick the design.

 

Here's our own 2 super heroes of the night.

Grandma and Wonder Woman

Cameron and Mommy!

Too cute!

Just had to post this adorable picture of Cameron, Emma, and Lilly. :)

Cameron's New Room!!!

Whew...I am thrilled to say that Cameron's new big boy room is 90% completed. Surprise, surprise, we went with a sports room. :)  We wanted a room that would last for quite a while, unlike his baby room.  These things can get expensive, so I told Val, he's using this until college!  Probably not, but it's worth a shot.

We had the worst expereince with getting his furntiure delivered though, and we are still waiting for a net sports rack to hang over his bed. Granted, he still doesn't sleep in his room, but we have mananged to get a few naps in with his new "big boy" bed. Val and I really don't mind him sleeping with us, but we figured he was getting to the age of switching over from baby room to big boy room.  Hopefully in the long run the new room will encourage him to want to sleep in there instead of in our room.  My overall theroy about it though is that life is short. He's not going to sleep with us forever, so as long as it's not causing a problem, why not get that extra snuggle in while he still likes us!!!! ;0 Not to mention, my sisters and I were all raised sleeping with our parents when we were little, and I don't think we are too dysfunctional because of it!

Here's his first nap in his new bed.

A friend of Abby's had these on her blog...and I knew they would be perfect for his sports room.

Corn Dog, Funnel Cakes, Turkey Legs...and Pumpkins!

I LOVE the State Fair of Texas! When Val and I first started dating, we started the tradition of going to the Fair every year together. Once we were married, we continued on with the tradition, and now that Cameron is here, we have kept it as a family tradition. Of course I just go for the funnel cakes, since I am getting too old to enjoy all of those crazy rides! :) The good thing is that now Cameron gets to enjoy them. (Although he not a fan of the crazy ones...and he let us know that right after a roller coaster ride with Val.) After that we stuck to the more mild rides. The weather was quite chilly, which is a first for the past 9 years that Val and I have gone together. I'm used to sweating bullets out there, but that's Texas weather for you! Here's our day of fun.



We then had the chance to go to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch this past weekend. That has become a Fall tradition for us too, along with baking cookies with my sisters and nieces. I LOVE this time of year because of all of the activities that we get to do with each other. This time of year always brings us back to doing things together as a family with my sisters and mom. I hope that my nieces and Cameron will be able to look back at the photos and videos during this time and cherish the moments as much as we do.

Football Fanatic!

Here's Cameron so thrilled today because Val went and finally got him the mouth guards he had been asking for. This kid sleeps, eats, and dreams about sports, and football is ranked #1 in his book. I just hope he has as much enthusiasm for the game in 15 years, and he does now! He would play football (well, actually he will play any sport), 24/7 if we would let him. Even at my school's family picnic on Friday, Cameron ended up playing football with some of the kids. I probably could have left him there and picked him back up at 8, and he would have never noticed. I think what I love best though is the smile on his face when is playing. There is this pure joy he gets out of it. :)
I can't wait to one day watch Cameron play on a real team, and I'm sure he's counting down the days too! Since he isn't old enough yet to play, he spends some of his weekend time helping out Daddy. Val now coaches on his nephew's little league team in Frisco, and Cameron heads off to each game ready to be on the sidelines. Val says it is so hilarious to watch him warm-up with the team, runs drills with them, and then he even goes through and gives the other team high-fives and tells them "Good Game" with the rest of the football team. We finally got a few videos of Cameron playing football outside with Daddy and his cousin, Aaron.

Dora+Cupcakes=Big Mess!

Oh goodness...we have fallen into the stage of the TV influencing Cameron. The other day, he saw an ad of how to make Dora cupcakes from scratch. Naturally, this made him get the crazy idea in his head that we HAD to make those cupcakes. I held out for a few weeks, but being the nice Mommy that I am, I finally went and bought all of the ingredients. Whew! I have to say, I think the ad should have warned that children would not be able to do much, and that the parent would do 99.9% of the work. Despite the mess we made and the exhaustion of putting these together, it was all worth it...Cameron was so excited to see the cupcakes turn into Dora's face! The things we do for our children! Here's the proud chef (assistant chef) with his cupcakes.

Soccer Star!

Soccer season for Cameron has started once again. We decided to take the summer off, and then we got an email from his old coach to come join their new team, "The Sprinters." We had our first game today and we couldn't be more proud of Cameron! His first season was a little rocky (Ok, I'm sure he didn't think so, but more so for Mom and Dad.) It wasn't that he didn't do well, I think it was just all so new for him, and it didn't help that they put his team on a division for more experienced players. This time he is playing against teams that have about the same amount of experience, which makes it more enjoyable for the kids.
Val and I can definitely see how much he has learned from already playing one season earlier in the year though. He went out there today and played his hardest. He didn't just stand around, but he would go for that ball every chance he could get! He even scored 4 times!!!!!! Of course here is a little video of our Soccer Champ scoring a goal. (He is in the red jersey #10. Please don't be frightened by my cheering, I know it can be loud!) It is so cute to see him excited and having so much fun out there.

Happy Birthday to Me!

On Saturday night, we had the chance to spend time with family and friends to celebrate my entrance into my 30's! Depressing as it may seem, I'm trying to follow my mom's advice. She always says, "Better to have a birthday to get older, than no birthday at all!" Isn't that the truth! As much as I hate getting older, at least the Lord has blessed me with another birthday to celebrate! Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate with us at Love and War in Texas. It was truly a perfect birthday, to sit and eat with the people that are nearest to my heart and who love me unconditionally. Of course I feel the same way about them. :)
The one thing I regret is that I wish I would have recorded my birthday song to post. Let's just say...it was unforgettable. I have NEVER heard someone scream "Happy Birthday" so loud in my entire life. Thank you Bethany for asking that sweet waiter to come over and sing to me. :) I'll be sure to pay you back on your birthday! Enjoy the pictures...