A REAL tree this year! YAY!

I am WAY behind on posting, but this year we opted to leave the fake tree in the attic and go get a real one.  I'm so happy we did!  We always went and picked out a real tree in the country growing up, so I was happy to keep the tradition alive with my family.  We didn't actually cut it ourselves, but close enough...

 

Nothing like picking a tree out in SHORTS.

Nana & Cyndi joined us too!

Which was a good thing because little man was more interested in drinking Sunkist and eating popcorn.  Mommy & Daddy were being too picky and took too long to find the perfect tree.

 



 

Family pic!

 

We got one!

 

Helping Daddy get it put up.

 

Our little tree BEFORE. We ended cutting off the top since it was a little sad looking...

 

 

And AFTER...

 

 

The funniest part of the day was definitely when the "kitty cat ate my arm."  So, there was a cat at the Christmas tree place that (I guess) didn't like kids near it.  The cat gently nipped at Carson when he got too close, but my goodness... you would have thought Carson was just mauled by a tiger.  He cried and cried.  He was hysterical.  When asked what happened, he told us that the "kitty cat ate my arm."  I guess I'd be hysterical too if a cat "ate my arm."  Drama queen.

 

It's pretty crazy how such an innocent, fun day changed right before midnight.  This was the day that the crazy man broke into our home.  I'm glad that we at least have some good memories from that horrible, horrible day.

Our Thanksgiving at the Farm

On a much lighter note than some of my more recent posts, we had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving weekend at the farm.  The only negative to having Thanksgiving at the Farm is that my family wasn't there.  The Thanksgiving holiday at the farm is without a doubt one of my absolute favorite times of the year. 

Hunting was good...

Shooter was gray...

The land was DRY...

The food was good....

...and PLENTIFUL!

Our son was silly (he LOVES playing in the kennel)...

Our son was precious in his construction PJ's.  They have "excabators" on them...

We went on walks with Khaki...

We ran...

Carson sported his Daddy's old Levi's (that he wore when he was 5 or 6)...

We got thirsty...

We hung out with Cousin/Godfather Jeremy ("Jimmy Jip".. i.e. "Jeremy the Jet"... it's from Thomas)

Again, the hunting was good....

We wore our shades with Cousin Jamie...

We cut down a dead tree...

We rested and watched football...

We attempted a family photo...

Silly "cheese"

Goober

Gig 'Em!

Love this munchkin!

We sang Happy Birthday to Mommy (and Auntie Amanda a couple days earlier)!  Hello, 31!

We look about as redneck as they come... two TV's, busted lampshade, clock (that doesn't work) on top of a picture of bluebonnets...

Carson sported his hand-me-down coat from Grandma Connie to Clayton to Alexander to Carson!  He looked so cute and it fit perfect!

Quit growing up so fast!

Checking out where the cows sleep...

It was sad that I didn't get a deer.  It was a little sad to not have the traditional A&M vs. t.u. game.  However, it wasn't sad to watch the sips lose to TCU.  It also wasn't sad to see the Ags BTHO Missouri and watch Johnny Football {hopefully} seal the deal for the Heisman.  Overall, a GREAT long weekend!!!

Random Carson Update

I realized I hadn't posted in a while about what our little 28-month old is up to.  So, here's some random stuff for you...

He LOVES all of his Daddy's old He-Man toys.  These toys have 1981 on them... over 30 years old.  He knows who He-Man, Cringer (i.e. Battle Cat), Skeletor (he calls him the "Evil Pirate Skelator"), Man-At-Arms, etc. are.  He also likes reading the old books.  They are long, so Mommy and Daddy tend to just make up a shorter story as we go based on the illustrations.  It works.

He still loves his race cars, trains, and construction toys.

His favorite TV shows at home are Thomas and Dora.  He will also watch Cars or Toy Story for a while.

He is so cute when he says "Swiper, no swiping" and "Oh, maaan." (Both from Dora)

He copies everything we say.  So, watch out!

He adds "Mommy" or "Daddy" after everything he says.  I guess he really wants us to know that he's talking to us.

He's in a bit of a whiny phase that Mommy and Daddy do NOT like.  He'll eventually learn that whining will NOT get him what he wants in this house.

On the flip side, he is doing really well with "Please" and "Thank You."  He even says "Excuse Me" after he sneezes some times.

He loves to "wrastle" with Daddy... which... recently got him in trouble at school.  He apparently was pushing his friends and playing too rough.  Guess he hasn't figured out that he should only play like that at home with Daddy.

He eats the broccoli and crust off his bread first... weird kid.   He doesn't care for "normal" kid food like mac & cheese, spaghetti, etc...

He loves to run, and he can run FAST (for a little guy)!  He runs all the way up to the gate at the farm and back... a 1/4 mile, and sometimes will do it twice in a row.

He says "Pick you up" instead of "Pick me up".

Parker is his new little "girlfriend".  He does get in trouble a lot because they love to play and 'fight' with each other.  Sounds more like a brother/sister relationship to me.

He thinks it's so fun to "tickle, tickle" Mommy.

If you ask him what he wants Santa to bring him for Christmas, he'll tell you a "green bicycle."  I have no idea where that came from.

I made the mistake of getting him a Thomas ornament.  Someone pretty much just took the Christmas Thomas train (for the wooden rail set) and added an eyehole screw with a ribbon.  Let's just say Carson doesn't quite understand what an ornament is and why he can't play with it.  The threw a HUGE tantrum after I gave it to him and then took it to hang on the tree.

The Most Terrifying Night of Our Lives

Saturday night, just before midnight, someone kicked through the glass our front, French door.  It was obvious that we were home, which made it all the more terrifying.  I was always under the impression that the 'normal' burglar didn't want confrontation, to break glass, etc.  They wanted to get in, get whatever they wanted, and get out.  It was the people that were willing to break in to a home when they knew the homeowner was there that you really needed to worry about.  Well, that's exactly what happened.  I don't think this was really a burglar wanting to take things from us, he was so doped up and high out of his mind that I didn't know what he wanted.  He was crazy.  He had a knife.  He threatened us.  I've never been so terrified in my life.  I'm not going to rehash the entire event, but post this more as wake up call to everyone out there. 

PLEASE, be as prepared as possible to protect your home and family.  You NEVER think this will happen to you, but it can. We live in a decent neighborhood and our city is very low in crime.  This is small town America where everyone knows everyone and people often don't lock their doors.  From what the police can tell, this was a completely random act by a very drugged up guy.  On the news they said that in 4 years, this was only the second home invasion.  If it weren't for the alarm and having a gun that we were prepared to use, I don't know what would have happened.  It certainly could have ended very differently.  God was certainly watching out for us, and I am so thankful for how fast all the local police departments responded.  By the grace of God, we are all okay.  We thought we were adequately prepared since we have an alarm and both own guns , but when under pressure, it's a whole other ballgame.  After the fact, we realized that simply having those things wasn't enough.  So many people are quick to say they would have handled it differently and killed him dead, no questions asked.  For those people... you have NO idea how everything is going to play out and how you will react when actually faced with this situation.  I could not be more proud of Andrew and how he protected our family.  The "what ifs" could go on forever, but I am so thankful that everything ended the way it did.  Please pray for our peace of mind because it is absolutely horrible to feel unsafe in your own home.  Also, please pray for the man that did this to us.  He obviously has some serious problems and is lucky to be alive.

For those wondering... Carson slept through the whole thing.  He didn't stir until there were a ton of policemen at our house.  Having him safe and sound sleeping in his room was the best place he could have been. Thank you, Jesus!