The weekend after Thanksgiving is when we pull out all our decorations and get the house all dolled up for the holiday season! I have been doing this since I was a child, and I love this tradition, hopefully Sawyer will too. Normally we don't get our tree until the second weekend in December, because we don't want it to be brown for Christmas. However, this year we will not be home on Chritsmas, we will be in San Diego. We are so excited to go home!!!!! We are already counting down the days(13), with a little help from Sawyer's paper chain. So we got a tree this past weekend so we could enjoy it as long as possible. A guy that Paul works with told him about a fram where you can go and cut down your Christmas tree. When Paul came home and told me about it, I was instantly sold. I loved the idea. So we talked about it and decided that this is how we would get our tree this year.We were excited about a family day filled with fun and memories.OK lets be honest it would also include some arguing aover which tree to pick, and who should be helping cut it down! Paul and I are both very picky when it comes to Christmas trees. While Paul was looking up the info on the farm, he decided to check out the types of trees thay had. Apparently the only kinds of trees that grown in Texas are pines. I suppose all Christmas trees are pine trees, but we prefer firs. I really love the way they look and there thick needles. He looked up several other farms and they only had these"pine" trees as well. All the farms had pre-cut firs, but the whole idea was to cut it down ourselves. So we, (I say we but really it was me) were torn. Have the experience or the pretty tree? I guess i'm a tree snob, because we decided against the "Pine". We also decided that if we weren't going to cut it down ourselves, there was no reason to drive for over an hour to get a pre-cut tree when Home Depot is right around the corner. So we ended up at Home Depot. We know have a beautiful Christmas tree in our living room, filling our house with a wonderful smell, and so much happiness.Maybe next year my desire for family experiences will win over my selfish desire for beauty:) Here are some pictures of us decorating the house and of tree. Enjoy

Sawyer's favorite decoration. Santa's Sleigh.

Paul bringing the stuff in the house.

Sawyer's Favorite Christmas movie, and book.

He turned the tree skirt into a cape!

Sawyer helping daddy open the tree!

Daddy and Sawyer with our tree!

Mommy and Sawyer with our tree.

Paul tying th tree to the car.

Just like daddy.

So excited to see all the ornaments

Sawyer put the first ornament on the tree. He picked a Jimmie Johnson ornament! Daddy was so proud!

Sawyer putting the star on the tree.

My boys!

All finished!

1st Texas Thanksgiving!

This year we celebrated our first Thanksgiving in Texas. For the first time in our lives we didn't have a big family get together. It was different, and of course we missed everyone back home, but we embraced the idea and had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We got up around 8 turned on the parade and began preperations for our turkey day meal. Since neither Paul or I have ever cooked a turkey before, we decided to tackle it together. Cooking the turkey was much easier than we expected. It was pulling all the stuff out of it, that presented a challenge. As you will see from the photos below, Paul and I are not super excited about pulling things out of a raw, dead animal. I have chills as I write this, remebering the event. After we got the turkey in the oven, Paul went to play football with some of the guys from our church. I'm so glad he was able to go,I think this is the thing he misses most about Thanksgiving back home(except for his mothers homemade rolls). Sawyer and I sat around watching the parade. When the parade was over, Sawyer and I made mashed potatoes, cheesy broccoli, rice, stuffing, and rolls. I have so much respect for all you mothers, grandmothers, and everyone who has every prepared a Thanksgiving meal. When Paul got home, and was ready. We sat down to our first Texas Thanksgiving, just the three of us. We were reminded of all that we have to be thankful for, God has been so kind to us. When we were finished and had everything put away, we headed to our friends the Palmers for games, football, and of course dessert. It was a wonderful day filled with many firsts, and fun. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Be warned there are way to many pictures. Enjoy!

Sawyer named our turkey, Sawyer!

Watching the parade!

Helping mommy make the stuffing!

He has no idea what is coming.

See. Just look at that face now.

Here you go Julie.

There are no words.

Our 1st turkey!

Our feast.

Paul carving the turkey!

Thanksgiving Feast

This past Thursday was Sawyer's Thanksgiving feast at school. It was a wonderful party complete with, food, crafts, games and more. The kids made apple turkeys, had lunch and played a rousing game of pin the feather on the turkey. The kids had a blast! We have a great class, wonderful parents and amazing teachers! Here are some pictures of the party. Enjoy!

Sawyer's placemat and turkey hat.

The table all set.

Sawyer making his apple turkey.

All finished.

Sawyer's turkey hat.

Yummy!

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without Oreos.

Sawyer playing pin the feather on the turkey.

Our little turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!