December Fun in Houston

Sorry we've gotten so behind on blogging. :) Enjoy these pictures from before Christmas, while we were still in Houston. COMING SOON ... our fun time in Albuquerque as well as what we've been up to in January! :)

Some friends told us about Santa's Wonderland, an amazing Christmas light exhibit near College Station, TX. We decided to check it out!

Ian thought it was very fun to take a hay ride through all of the lights!

They even piped in Christmas music for us to enjoy while taking in the festive lights.

The tour ended at "Santa's Town," where we got to warm up by the campfire (yes, it was actually a chilly night!),

walk through a "light maze" (this was possibly Ian's favorite part of the entire night. He probably walked through the lights 8 times!),

meet Frosty,

and even "see snow."

These Texas kids were easily fooled into thinking that the bubble globs were actually snowflakes. :) Thanks for the great idea, Lueckemeyers! What a fun family evening!

A few members of our small group, plus one of Matt's coworkers and her kids, went caroling at a local nursing home.

The residents sang along on most of the Christmas carols but seemed most excited about the hugs and high fives from the children after we finished singing.

Of course, we took a little time to be crafty in December. My friend Aliceson had seen a neat idea on Pinterest that used handprints to make a Christmas tree.

Ian got the hang of it very quickly and, of course, was excited to do it HIMSELF!

Later, Kim added a trunk and a star to the tree.

 

Finally, Kim added some sequins as garland and some pictures of Ian throughout the year as ornaments. I think the finished product came out pretty well, and we'll certainly enjoy looking at it for years to come! 

Kim also had fun sewing a couple of gifts for Christmas -- some tooth fairy pillows for two precious girls! Hope you enjoy them, Melissa and Hannah! :)

Ian was a HUGE fan of starting Advent boxes this year. He seemed equally excited by the candy in every other box as he was by the family activities in the other boxes. Some of his favorites, though, seemed to be looking at Christmas lights in a local neighborhood (Prestonwood) where every block is decorated according to a theme and going with Daddy to the doughnut shop to choose (and then eat!) his own doughnut!

We had the privilege of meeting a very kind lady from our church this month, Mrs. W. She is a former 3-year-old Sunday school teacher who still has a huge heart for kids! Kim and Ian plan to make monthly visits on her in the nursing home. The first visit included singing Christmas carols and getting to know each other. Ian was thrilled that Mrs. W. gave him a small stuffed monkey before we left. He slept with that little monkey for days afterward!

Matt and Ian did a great job of helping Kim celebrate her birthday a little early. We went to Bullrito's for a yummy lunch and then each chose our own dessert at RJ Goodies bakery. Kim went with a chocolate brownie cheesecake, Matt tried the normal cheesecake,

and Ian went with the double-decker cookie with TONS of icing! What a fun birthday celebration!

Stay tuned for some videos ...