Watermark Family Christmas!

We had such a fun night on Friday at the Watermark Family Staff Party. Every other year we bring the kids to the party . Next year will just be adults. Our church can for sure throw a party and we are so blessed to be a part of such an awesome church. The church just opened a new part of the building area with a new lobby which has a fire place, couches, coffee bar, etc.. it for sure has a Texas look to it. We are so excited to be able to use this new space for meeting people, student ministry events, etc... we are running out of room which is a great thing! Mike and I often lay in bed talking about how thankful we are that God brought us here to serve Him and for our family to grow. We've been challenged so much with the truth that is taught every Sunday and how we are challenged to live it out daily.

Anyways, the party was so fun. They really want kids to grow up thinking their dad or mom works at the greatest place. We want our girls to grow up excited that their dad is a pastor at a church. They had bounce houses set up, skee ball, basketball, pony rides, a photo booth, and more. There is always a game that we all play each year with some fun prizes. There were all kinds of presents for kids set up under the tree. We played family bingo so each child received a present as they got a bingo. Anna got a princess memory game and Ellie got a fun remote control puppy. The big prize was given for the adult who could "black out" their bingo card first. Jarrod our new student worship leader won! We were so excited for he and Whitney!

It was such a fun night and the girls are still talking about the Watermark Party!

Nutcracker!

We got to take the girls to see The Nutcracker last weekend. Two of my high school small group girls were in it. Rebekah got to play Clara the lead part. She is an amazing ballerina and it was so fun to see her perform. It was performed by the Dallas Ballet Center and had dancers from the age of 4 to 18. The little girls were precious and Anna loved to watch them. I know she was dreaming of being on stage one day as she is always acting like she is a ballerina! We all really enjoyed it and I hope to take them in the future.

Shadow....

We had a family from church offer us their dog. Mike loves dogs and I am okay with them as long as I have little responsibility over them. Our last dog was a pretty bad/strange dog. He got dropped off at the pound before we made the big move from NC to TX! The girls love dogs and always are asking for a puppy. I would love to have a cute little Shitzu or Yorkie, but with the barking etc... I realized that might not be a good idea with 3 kids.

We did a 10 day trial with Shadow to see how she did with the kids and if we liked her. She is the best dog. She is really obedient, doesn't bark, sleeps in a crate, gentle, etc...Ellie and Anna LOVE her! Anna especially has bonded with Shadow. They love to walk her around the yard with a leash. Shadow has even gotten to go down the slide. Shadow has gotten stickers put on her and all kinds of other exciting things. Mike needed a dog with all the pink around here. We thought Shadow was a boy, but sure enough Mike now lives with 5 girls!

Video from Matt

Video from Matt

This was a video posted on Matt Chandler's church's website over the weekend. Incredible faith, greata encouragement for life. Enjoy.

Dresses.....

Anna is obsessed with wearing a dress. My mom had to bribe me into wearing one and forget the tights. I was all about playing outside, shooting baskets, etc.. so this whole princess thing is all new to me! She is so sweet each morning begging me to wear one of many Christmas dresses we have in our closet. Some nights we just leave the dress on and sleep with the sparkly shoes as well. I try to not force her in jeans as I want her to enjoy what she wears, but I also don't let her play in the mud in a good dress. Lately, we've been wearing playclothes with the sparkly shoes which seems to be a good compromise. I have a feeling she is going to be quite the leader one day as she is very bold and sharp with her words. She is not afraid to tell me:
"mommy, I'm cute as she fluffs her hair" or "mommy, I will be a princess and Ellie will be a super hero and she cannot come into my castle or my party". We are working on kindness these days! Any tips for the wardrobe battle would be helpful. At least, they are not fighting over clothes yet as Ellie begs me not to wear tights or a dress. Blue Jeans are just fine with her.

Ellie...

Mike took this picture of Ellie and I think it is one I will always love. She gets excited about seeing any water fountain and is so proud cause she can do it by herself now.

Santa....

When we were in Georgia over Thanksgiving we drove to a small mountain town. When we arrived there they were having all kinds of fun Christmas events going on. The girls spotted Santa and he was there with his sleigh. The pictures were free so they jumped on his lap! I was so excited cause every time we are at a mall they beg me to go sit on his lap and I really don't want to pay the $20 for a 5x7 that I won't know what to do with the picture.

Anna told Santa she would like a present. Ellie said she would like a super hero computer for her room! ha! They are funny girls that make me laugh daily. Mary was asleep at home during this trip.

We love this girl....

Mary is 6 months old tomorrow. I can't believe it and it has been such a great 6 months. I can really say that I have enjoyed her baby stage so much. I think because I know how quickly they grow and how the baby stage is so easy compared to her big sisters! She is so sweet and happy most the time. I love her sweet smile and her laugh. She loves her family and smiles so much when her sisters talk to her. Here's what Mary has been up to this month:

She sucks her two middle fingers to calm down or go to sleep.

She wears size 1/2 diapers.

She wears 3-6 month clothes.

She loves the exersaucer and just rolling around on the floor.

She finally is liking the car seat! I am so thankful cause there for awhile it was some pretty loud car rides.

She loves Ellie and Anna. They love her as well and are such good helpers. They never miss telling me when she spits up!

She loves her crib. When she is tired she really just wants to go to bed.

She started eating baby food this month to gain some weight. She has liked it all, but rice cereal. She spits it out.

She still loves to nurse and is anti-bottle. She has not taken a bottle in 6 months. It is crazy for me to think of how dependent she is upon me. It has gotten a lot easier since she is eating food and I can be gone a little bit longer than 3-4 hours. I'm thinking I will make it all 12 months unless she weans herself.

She loves her Daddy and when he talks to her each night.

She does not like getting new teeth. She's been somewhat fussy on the days that her little front tooth is hurting her.

She still spits up pretty often. It is not to fun now that it is orange. I am becoming quite acquainted with oxi clean.

She's starting to realize when I leave the room. She will cry sometimes when she can't see me.

We love her so much and are excited to see her grow each day. I saw this verse the other day and am once again so glad we named her Mary.

" But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart." Luke 2:19

I love that Mary treasured Jesus and remembered Him in her heart. It has been our prayer this Christmas season that we would treasure Jesus and think about Him during Christmas.