alamo bowl...

after christmas we headed south to san antonio to watch the bears play in the alamo bowl.  if you have read my blog for any time at all, you know that we are HUGE baylor fans. baylor football is a big part of our fall schedule and the time we spend together as a family.  mark has been going to games his entire life and we have been faithfully going to every home game in waco since our college days.   baylor football is just part of being a bowlin.  :)  after years of cheering on the bears to see them loose most of their games, this season as been so much fun to witness week after week.  it is a great time to be a baylor bear.  if you haven't kept up with baylor football let me do a quick recap...

baylor beat tcu 50-48!   baylor beat sfa, 48-0!  baylor beat rice, 56, 31! baylor beat iowa state, 49-26! baylor beat mizzo, 42-39!  baylor beat kansas 31-30!  baylor beat oklahoma 45-38! baylor beat texas tech, 66- 42! baylor beat texas, 48-24!  i still don't want to talk about the loss to a&m, boo!  and of course the osu cowboys killed us.  but that fun season lead to a heisman trophy winner, RG3, ranked no. 12, AND an invitation to...

my fabulous, number #1 baylor fan father-in-law, jumped at the chance for us to go cheer on the bears in san an and bought us tickets to the bowl game.  it was a stressful game but still lots of fun, and i was so relieved that the bears pulled out a win against washington.  sic em bears!!

RG3 had a good game! he usually does.

but, this guy, terrance genaway #24, had an amazing night!!  sic em terrance!

 this was the scene at the end of the night because the entire team effort and the coaching staff...

BAYLOR WINS!!!

already looking forward to next season.  whether RG3 stays or goes to NFL, i will still be sitting in section F, row 16 next fall cheering on the bears.  i am grateful for robert his talent and the excitement he brought back to baylor football, but i respect whatever decision that he makes about his future.  there is a whole team and coaching staff full of talented individuals that i believe can give us another winning season!! 

SIC EM BEARS!!!!

christmas morning...

santa came!!!  he was very generous this year and the kids were super excited about their gifts.

our kids get three gifts from santa, just like baby jesus received three gifts from the wise men. (yes, i recognize the gifts are a bit different, but it makes sense to them.)

jack asked for:  a big boy bike, a train table, and cars 2 dvd 

olivia asked for: molly the american girl doll (and best friend of emily, the doll we already have), a make-up mirror, and mary poppins dvd

jack is so proud of his big boy bike!

olivia is over the moon with her girls.  she loves emily and molly!!

then it was time to exchange gifts from mommy and daddy.  mark and i always have so much fun picking out gifts that we think the kids will enjoy.  this year they got several games that we are looking forward to playing together.  They also got a soccer goal that will be lots of fun to play with in the backyard.

 as usual, after our morning together as a little family we got ready and headed out for the day to spend time with the blanchettes at gramps and nana's house and then then bowlins/fifers at b and pop's house.  we are beyond blessed to have our families in town.  it is a crazy day, but we are thankful that we get to spend time with everyone on christmas day.  merry christmas!!

on christmas eve...

we baked cookies for santa claus...

olivia and jack did a great job making rudolph cookies (pinterest idea!).

opened our traditional "christmas eve" gift...

o couldn't wait to rip into that wrapping paper.  she was soooo excited to finally open a gift.

jack was a bit slower, but just as excited.  :)

this year i did a blanket/pillow instead of our traditional pajamas.  o was thrilled that hers was owl themed. 

jack immediately snuggled under his dinosaur blanket and loved his dino pillow.

got all dressed up and went to church...

oh the bribery that took place to get this picture= jack's completely fake smile!! :)

went to the hopkin's house for an amazing meal with precious friends.  (sorry no pictures of that!)

came home and changed into our christmas pjs...

checked the chimney to make sure it was clear for santa's arrival...

set out cookies and dr. pepper for santa...

our kids have decided that santa might get tired of milk, so they leave him a dr. pepper instead.  :)

read "twas the night before christmas" and "the REAL christmas story" from the bible...

and went to bed in hopes that santa would arrive soon. :)

it was a full day and long night for santa's helpers (train tables have a million parts!!!), but i loved every minute of it.  so grateful for these years with my kids and experiencing the magic of christmas with them.

"happy christmas to all and to all a good night!" - santa claus

party at our house...

this year the everitt/bitysbug/lewis christmas party was at our house.  if you know my husband, you know he LOVES a fancy meal.  so even though the setting was our house he still wanted to create a one-of-a-kind restaurant quality experience.  i think we succeeded!!

my mom helped us decorate  transform the garage, yes the garage, into the dining area.

 my brother, chef sean, lead this team to create some AMAZING italian food for the evening.  it was way better than anything we could have gotten in the best restaurants in town.  apps- fried rizzoto balls with crabmeat and italian meats and cheeses/ soup- sweet potato and red lentil soup (it was delish!)/ salad with homemade vinaigrette/ pasta- shrimp carbanara/ main course- herb crusted pork tenderloin OR seabass (amazing!)/ and for dessert- tableside bananas foster, plus chocolate truffles and toffee.

austin, jill, and chef sean

the culinary action in my very average kitchen

all in all, i felt the party was super fun!!  i am so happy that we were able to have all of mark's employees in our home for christmas.  i know he was equally happy to host them and express his appreciation for their hard-work and dedication to everitt/bitysbug/lewis.

ccdc christmas...

this year jack was on stage for his school's christmas program.  it is a very simple program.  they sing a couple silly songs ("i'm a nut" and "jingle bells") and a couple christmas songs ("go tell it on the mountain"and "somebody's knocking at the door"), but absolutely love it!  there is nothing sweeter to me than 3 year old singing about the birth of our savior- jesus!!  jack did a wonderful job!  we were so proud of him for singing and doing all the motions to the songs.

singing so loud and proud!

this was the look we got once he spotted his row of family in the crowd. 

and this was the nervous look he had in between songs.

 and here are some of his biggest fans that came to support him.  he is so lucky to have each of the ladies in his life and love him so well.

rara, chrissie, nana, and b with jack-jack

sitting on santa's lap...

christmas 2011

the santa visit has become an annual event with nana.  this year santa moved across the street from his old spot, but the rest of the visit was pretty much the same as in years past.  we wait, the kids are excited yet nervous to talk to the big guy, they politely give their requests to santa, pose for a picture, and we are off.

honestly, mom and i think it is a little bit of a beating, but i would be soooo sad to not have the picture, so i guess it is worth it.  my kids LOVE santa and totally believe in him, but they do not think that any santas that pose for pictures are the real deal.  their reasoning:  "the REAL santa is too busy at the north pole getting ready for christmas to sit and pose for pictures all day."  i can't argue with that logic.  :)

a festive night with the fifers...

when sarah asked her girls what they wanted to do this christmas season and abby responded, "go over to t and mark's house for dinner and look at christmas lights!" i was thrilled.  this is something we have done for the last couple of years, but i wasn't sure if anyone enjoyed it as much as i did.  now, i am fully aware this was probably not at the tippy top of abby's holiday must-dos, but none the less i was so happy to host the fifers for the evening.

the fifers arrived, the kids played, and as soon as it was dark we bundled up and loaded up the truck to go and check out the lights and decorations.

kk, abby, and o all set and ready to go!

the boys were ready too!

piled in the back of christman's truck and covered up with baylor blankets.
(don't worry grandma's the mama's climbed in after the pictures. ) :)

our neighborhood doesn't have any big attractions or even elaborate decorations that draw a crowd, but we have a great time oooohing and awwwing at the humble/average christmas displays.  the kids love it!   this year we did add a new feature to the tour.  we took the fifers to the "train house" in our neighborhood.  there is a sweet man who for years (decades) has been decking his backyard with thousands of christmas lights and a train.  he offers FREE rides to all the kids and adults in the neighborhood.  he is open for business every night in december.  the kids (mark is included in the group) had fun on the train.

o, jack, kk, and abby with santa waiting to ride the train.

abby and jack rode together.  oh, mark was there too!

kk and o were riding buddies.

and then they were off... (round and round and round they went)

then we came home, had dinner, warmed up, and settled in to watch the heisman presentation.  it just worked out perfectly that the heisman trophy presentation was scheduled for the same night, so we could all cheer together for RG3!  we were so excited that he won!! sic em bears!!!

"The hotter the heat, the harder the steel. No pressure, no diamonds. We compete. We win. We are Baylor Baylor we are and Baylor we’ll always be, but it’s up to us to define what that means. And this Heisman Trophy is only the beginning of that process.” - Heisman Trophy Winner, Robert Griffin III on December 10, 2011”
i think we can call this a tradition at this point, and i am hoping it continues for many years to come.  i'd also love to see baylor start a tradition of winning the heisman.  a baylor girl can dream, right? :)

merry christmas...

wishing you and your family a christmas season filled with JOY!!

our christmas card for 2011

christmas on 5th...

is a BIG deal on the baylor campus these days.  our good friends, the herridges, told us about how much fun this event has become and so we were so excited to have the opportunity to go down to waco and check it out.  i am pretty sure that the event was created for the college students (there is an outdoor christmas concert to end the evening), but word travels fast in waco and it has become a popular community/baylor family event that is SUPER family friendly.  the kids had loads of fun and it really got us into the christmas spirit.

first was a short wait in line, and perfect picture opportunity...

grant, jack, and olivia

to decorate and eat cookies while waiting to see santa and ms. claus...

choosing their cookies before they added TONS of sprinkles.

then, we were finally close enough to sneak a peek...

love this picture.  they were so excited!

it was finally our time to go tell the jolly couple hello and snap a few pictures...

jack hopped right up on santa's lap and immediately told him he wanted a toy he already has! :)  o was more reserved and took care of the business of making her request before climbing up on his lap.  they both pretty much ignored ms. claus.  :)

after our visit with santa and the mrs.,

we headed outside to take a look at the live nativity (too dark for good pictures of that).  o was disappointed the baby jesus was not live, just the animals, mary, and joseph...

a visit to the petting zoo corral...

o and j loved feeding the donkey.

a pony-go-round ride...

she wasn't so sure she wanted to do it, but i think her expression in this pic indicates she made the right decision to give it a try!

although disappointed he didn't get his first choice of horse, jack had fun too!!  he wrangler had to talk him into though.

and the best part of the night for the kids... rolling down the hill about 100 times!

minglewood bowl + 50 kids= tons of giggling and fun

fun night, great friends, in one of our most favorite places ever-Baylor U, and a perfect way to kick off this christmas season.  :)  now how many days until christmas?  (only 22!)

thanksgiving at the farm...

this year we spent thanksgiving with my family at my parents farm.  it was an extra special year with my family because my dad's entire family was there.  his brother and his family traveled all the way from florida to celebrate with us.  and his middle brother drove up from houston.  it was very special for my grandmother to have all her boys and their families all together.  however, we did miss my mom's parents.  last year both of them were seated at the thanksgiving table and this year they are in heaven.

our long weekend was spent hanging out at the farm and loving to chance to spend quality time with family.  we even convinced them all to take a family picture.  (yes, this group takes some convincing to smile for the camera.)

we also...
watched some football.  go cowboys!!  (mark and aunt laura were happy.) sorry lions! (uncle pat and timmy were not so happy.)

prepared three turkeys for the thanksgiving meal (baked, smoked, and fried) along with tons of yummy sides.  all the turkeys were delicious, but my favorite was the fried. yum!!

uncle sean (the professional chef) did some cooking as well.  he makes the BEST green bean casserole and some really good gravy too!

jack loved dessert- and there was plenty of it.  his favorite part was "helping" beat the whipped cream for the pies.  the boy loves dessert!!!

oh, one of the most exciting events of the weekend was one of my dad's cows gave birth to a calf on thanksgiving!!  my dad named her "pilgrim" but the kids and i are calling her "cranberry."  we think that is a much cuter name. ;)

most of all, i loved having a break from our routine and getting to spend lots of time with these two (and mark)...

this thanksgiving we had so much to be thankful for, but here are a few of the specifics... the chance to spend time with extended family, a table full of delicious food prepared with lots of love, laughter, friendly competition at the shoot range, cool fall weather, friends that we consider family who were able to gather with us, good dinner conversation, gram lois' homemade rolls, smiles for the camera, time to relax, and for the chance to thank god for our many blessings while praying together as a BIG family.