Post Holiday Hangover

She went from dressing up with her Dad's underwear around her neck and every single one of her Mom's bangle bracelets on her arm......to barely being able to finish her supper.  And the hat?  Well, she loves her stocking hat. What can I say....

And on the 27th day, we rested............

Levings Family Christmas

The magical and wondrous Christmas season has drawn to a close. We thankfully got to see all of our family as originally scheduled. The weather was beginning to wreck a little havoc on initial plans, but God saw to it that we all spent time together as scheduled. We say this often, but truly mean it.......we are blessed with wonderful family and friends. And I love the holidays because we get to hear from and see those special people, we get to re-discover the true magic of Christmas through our children's eyes and we hopefully get to slow down a bit and reflect on the true reason for the season (that last one is the hardest - and it should be the easiest!).

So we ended our Christmas journey in Garber, Oklahoma at my parents house . We drove down Saturday morning, spent the day with family and came home that evening. Trying to keep the attention of 12 grandkids is no small feat, but it sure is fun. I could post 100 pictures of these sweet kiddos' that continue to get taller and cuter each time we see them, but here are a few snapshots of our organized chaos. What wonderful memories.....I hope these kids always love spending time with each other and with Me Ma and Pa Pa. I know I will always love it.

Christmas Day at home

The kids patiently waited for Santa (and their parents to wake up!) and we discovered in our living room a multi-game unit for Beau, a pink rocking horse for Brenley May, and a little vanity for Bren.  Whoo Hoo!  It was a great way to start the day!

The kids were super excited to play with their Santa toys, although Brenley would have NOTHING to do with the pink horse until mid morning, then she loved it.  But she went right up to her vanity and started getting ready for the day!

We opened the rest of our toys and then Mom made french toast! Then we played, played, and played. Glorious day. Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Grant Family Christmas 2009

Our first visit was Christmas Eve and we drove to McPherson around 12:30 that day and spent the afternoon with the Grant family, headed to Christmas Eve service at Trinity Lutheran around 5:00, and then back to their house for presents and pie! Mmmm!!

Brenley's Christmas Program at NRA

Our Brenley May has been practicing for a while only to come out and rock her performance!
She beat on tubs of butter and cool whip to Little Drummer Boy. She shook bells to Jingle Bells. And she waved ans swayed to We Wish You a Merry Christmas!  She did so well and we were so proud!

She had a great little Christmas party and program at Northridge Academy. She got lots of treats and they had a gift exchange where she opened a froggy backpack, which she loves. It was a great little morning and we had one tired girl that night!

Basketball at the Y

Beau finished his "Fall" session of YMCA basketball. Always fun to get a medal. We are proud of him for improving his skills, listening to coach and being a good sportsman.

Checking out the scoreboard. He was always concerned with who was winning and losing. Quite the competitor!

He got his defensive skills from his Mom!  ha ha

Shooting a free throw for the first time. He didn't make his shots (he was fouled twice in the game, so he got to go to the line twice for four shots), but he did really good! And got his rebound both times and put it right back up!  Atta boy!

Moments of Brenchilada

I don't know what to say. She is just funny. Had to capture these. From applying make-up to wearing Mom's hats...........she is a little chameleon.

This is her Gymboree Ad! Ugh. So cute!

Santa

We visited Santa tonight.  We started off with a drive thru light expedition benefiting ARC. It was so pretty. Then we went inside and said hello to Santa. Beau couldn't remember what he wanted and sister wasn't so sure of him - she for sure wasn't sitting on his lap - so in went Mama (can you tell I wasn't expecting a picture to be taken?). 

They were facsinated by his sleigh bells. So cute. Ah........the magic of Christmas is alive and well.

Brenley May - 22 months

I'm a few days behind in getting my monthly Brenley update logged on and I'm not sure where to begin. This chick is so darn funny (not sure what is on her face. Her Dad snapped this cute pic while Mommy was away). But I am so smitten with this one.  She is onery and smart and dramatic and stubborn - all wrapped up into one precious blond haired little ball!

She is talking so much now - mostly still in her native Mandarin language. She can say Christmas Tree pretty well and is very good at saying basketball or football, which is on our TV most all weekend.  Let's just say, Dad is quite proud of his girl on this one.

She still isn't an eater, unless cheese counts as the most nutritious food group there is.  She just moved up to a new room at school (about 2 months early, but they had a spot and some of her older friends were moving up), and the first note the teacher wrote was that she hardly ate any lunch. I had to write her back and tell her not to worry, but that was typical.  Mom of the year - right here.

She still basically has the same loves in her life.........puppies, babies, her blanket, and cheetos. We are anxious to see what she thinks of Christmas this year - if she will be overwhelmed by it all or just love every minute of it.

She still imitates about everything we do. It's awesome watching yourself through someone else.

We just continue to enjoy every minute of her and every month.  Speaking of, tell me my baby won't be two in two short months?  Ugh........time slow down!!

Beau's face

Okay, I better do a little catch up here before Christmas! 




This post is about Beau Grant, our big boy.  First of all, I just love this pic of him and and his Daddy.  How cute are my boys?

But Beau also hit a milestone and got his first pair of prescription glasses.  We knew this day would come considering his Mom got glasses when she was 10. His Dad got his glasses in late junior high/early high school.......and both of our distance vision is BBBBAAADDD. So now Beau inherited our vision genes and has a slight vision problem and wears his glasses only at school when reading something at a distance.


And can you stand how cute he is?!?!?  Wal-Mart Optical (and I NEVER sing the praise of Wal-Mart) got us hooked up for $39! Just the write price for a 6 year old boy that loses gloves on a daily basis and would forget his backpack each morning if it wasn't for his 2 year old sister handing it to him!

He is adjusting to them well and still looks like a little stud.

Basketball is going well for him. His team is not outstanding, but Beau is getting pretty darn good. He has been so much fun to watch. He is progressing so well and figuring out where to go, what to do. It's just been amazing as parents watching him develop like this. We are certainly very proud, and have had a few talks about sportsmanship and teamwork and he seems to really get it.  Only one more game before the Fall session is over and then he will start Winter ball in January. Where does the time go?

Thanksgiving 2009

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  What a blessed and thankful family we are. We have a healthy, happy family that bring us so much love and joy.  We have friends that will be in our lives forever. And we are thankful for a job to go to each day, a roof over our head, and food for the nourishment of our bodies. We thank our Savior for all our blessings.

Here is what Beau is thankful for:
"Mommy, Daddy, Brenley, and myself"

Brenley is thankful for:
"Blankies, puppies, and her babies"

Daddy is thankful for:
"His healthy family, a great job, and his loving wife"

Mommy is thankful for:
"Kids that bring a smile to my face each day, a daughter that loves to put on make-up, a son that is aggressive under the basketball boards, and a husband that does laundry better than I do."

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Here are some pictures from a great Sunday spent at the Grant house in McPherson celebrating Thanksgiving together. Awesome meal, good company, sweet kids.

The Imiatator

Brenley loves to hang out with Mom, and one her favorite things is to put on make-up just like Mommy. Her favorite (and only) shade that draws her in is a purple shimmer - of course!  Here she is getting beautiful in the morning.

Here is another cute pic of our little beauty "talking" on the phone. Her other favorite imitating past time!

Beau - the Defender

Our guy is so awesome. He continues to amaze us.  Basketball started two weeks ago.  On Saturday at his second game, he did a really good job. He'll tell you he scored 8 or 10 points - depending on what mood he is in!  ha ha We hope he continues to improve each game and has fun!  He is quite the big boy!

And here he is going on a jog with Dad (his idea).  Are you kidding me?  How cute is that?