Our Christmas Party with Friends~

God has truly blessed us with so many wonderful friends. We love them and are so grateful to share a fun night of pizza, brownies, cupcakes and lots of laughter and love with them this Holiday Season~

Tanya has been 1 of my closest friends for 9 years...she was my "big sister" in our sorority and we have remained friends for so long. I adore her and her sweet family. Her daughter, Theia, is one of the sweetest baby girls I have ever met. So calm, happy and full of love!

Daddy and Luke opening presents. All the kids exchanged gifts together

Tony is Lukes very best friend. These two are silly sillyyyy together, but they get along so well. Our families always have fun together!

This age...

I know I have said this before, but really, I LOVE the age Luke is at right now! I really do. I like how everyday is a new adventure. Luke has recently become friends with Doobie. Doobie is his "imaginary" friend dog. He comes out every once in awhile and Luke always lets you know. We spend time playing "catch" and "petting" his ears and tail. Its funny to Justin and I because Luke has 2 dogs that he always says are his best friend. I don't know a lot about imaginary friends, but all the research I have done says its "normal" and shows a creative side to a child. Luke is a very creative boy so that makes sense to us. He has always had an imagination and we have always just gone with it while explaining in his terms whats real and fake.

Anyways, on to this 2 1/2 year old ball of energy! This Christmas has been so much fun already. It's the little things that make him happy and it shows in his big brown eyes and huge smile. He is obsessed with Christmas Lights, music and ornaments. He will take the ornaments off the tree and re-organize it multiple times during the day. He is fascinated with Santa, but does NOT want Santa too close to him. And every night we are singing Happy Birthday to Jesus. I explained the best I could in 2 year old language why we celebrate Christmas. He knows its Jesus' birthday and he thinks we are going to eat cake. So, we may have to make that a new tradition for him! I cannot wait to watch Luke grow with every year and every Christmas. But, for now, I am enjoying every precious second of this age =)

Chemo Angel

Recently, I learned about a fun group called "Chemo Angels". I had a couple of friends become one in honor of my sister, so I looked it up. After reading about it, I signed up instantly. Justin was on board too. Since, it is such a good cause, I thought I would share it on my blog.

Basically, you are assigned a person who is going through chemo. You become their "angel"...a member of their support team. If anyone has dealt with Cancer, you understand how important it is to have a strong support system. Watching my sister go through chemo is hands down 1 of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Every time its chemo time again, I hurt for my sister and she never leaves my thoughts. It makes patients, soooo tired, sick, irritable, they dont sleep well, they have severe night sweats and their appetite changes. What better idea than to be available to someone in need?! I know my sister loves getting notes in the mail from friends, cards and flowers. Its such a small gesture that goes a long way.

As an angel, we write letters of support, occasionally send a little gift basket, etc. My angel is a 35 year old female battling breast cancer. I just sent her christmas stocking in the mail. It included: cookie mix, cookie cutters, an ornament, a magazine, crossword puzzle book and a note from me. It was simple, but i know it means the world to her! We exchange letters weekly of support and bible verses. It takes about 15 minutes out of my day once a week. A perfect opportunity to help out in this world for a busy person!

If you are interested their website is : www.chemoangels.net

Christmas Walk at Vintage Township

Christmas Lights are the cheapest& best entertainment for a 2 1/2 year old. Luke is obsessed with all the colors. So, it is becoming a nightly "thing" to load up in the car after dinner and go look at lights. Sunday night, we took him to the Vintage Township lights. He really enjoyed walking through the lights and listening to music.
* On a side note, it is getting a little more frustrating for him to wake up everyday and see Christmas presents under the tree. We go through the same daily routine of Luke asking, "Christmas present time?" as he runs to the tree. Its pretty comical the way he shows his pure dislike in his facial expressions. Like I just took his whole world from him lol. I am sure it is torture in his innocent eyes. But so far, no presents have been opened!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Season!

Luke loves Christmas Lights! After spending an afternoon at the park we put up our lights and our tree! Luke picked out color lights for the house and so we matched our tree with color lights this year! All we have left to do is put up the bush lights~

Buffalo Wallow

I officially completed my 2nd half-marathon! I competed in the Buffalo Wallow half marathon in Lubbock and it was HARD. The hills were nowhere near as tough as San Francisco's. But, of all the places in Lubbock, I swear to you Buffalo Lake is the only place that has continuous up and down baby hills that are killer on the legs. I did not beat my previous time, in fact, I added 12 minutes to it =(. But, for this race, I was just happy to finish! (In the above picture, I am loosing my legs lol as I cross the finish line. So thankful my lovely husband got this pic of me ha! Sometimes, as soon as I stop my run, my legs go completely numb. Not fun)

Cruising through the 6 mile point

My running partner and neighbor Ginger! She is awesome. I am so lucky to have her as a neighbor and a workout partner. We meet at 5:30am at least 3 days a week to workout and we run our long distances on Sundays. She is a blessing to me in every way =)

An Early Thanksgiving

*Thanksgiving came early in New Mexico this year! A big majority of my husbands family lives in New Mexico, the rest are scattered out around the country and they travel a lot. Justins uncle is leaving for Afghanistan again in 1 week and his aunt lives in New York and has house in Panama. So she is one busy, traveling lady. So, while everyone was in town, they decided to have an early dinner to celebrate family and being together. It was a good time, and its always fun to see Luke playing with his relatives, working his charm ;)

Luke's 1st Tech Football Game!

Playing with popcorn is always fun lol

Getting into the game =)

Saturday, we took Luke to his 1st Tech game! It was a special moment for Justin and I lol! Luke had his "guns up" for almost the entire first half. He was very into the band, he loved seeing the "horse" and he got all excited when all the fans started cheering. He had a blast!! Tech came out with the WIN against Missouri and we needed that boost of confidence for our Red Raiders. It has been a tough season, but our guys have held on and played their little hearts out. Go Tech!

Luke's Halloween!

Since the Rangers were in the world series, my sister&I thought it would be fun to dress Luke up as Josh Hamilton! Tattoos&all lol. I loved that my sister got to go trick or treating with us this year. She loved every minute of watching Luke go from door to door with his friends asking for candy =)

my first half-marathon & my love for my sister...

After 7 months of training, I have officially completed my first half marathon! I am very proud of this accomplishment, and the whole experience is something I will never forget!

Running in the Nike Women's marathon among 30,000 other strong women!

Tamara's Dream Team! Her 10 close friends and family from all over the country who run to support her! We are on a mission to bring awareness to blood cancers and make a change!

Best husband ever. I do mean those words. He traveled to San Fran, hung out with 10 women, took care of us when we were tired, got our coffee in the morning, and our fruit! And did it all without complaining! Here he is at 5:30 am ready to support us girls in our marathon! He is amazing and he is mine =)

My sisters motivational speech at the Nike Womens College Night! Such a fun night! I have heard her talk for 29 years and she still amazes me. Always such a positive attitude and such a servant of our God.

My running shirt!

T's Dream Team!

My sis&I hanging out in Nike Town

Lately...

Justins uncle, Bill Jr, came in to visit! He has been in Afghanistan for the past few years and it was great seeing him. He is such a fun guy and we always have a blast when we are with him! He took us out to dinner, played arcade games with Luke, then came back to our house and had some dessert. It was a great visit :)

September 24th we made a trip to Dallas for a special celebration. Our family and friends celebrated my sisters 1 year life celebration since being diagnosed with cancer. My brother travels all over the country for business, so it was amazing to have us all together for such a celebration. Tamara looked beautiful as always and she was a bright light to us all! We are at Ama Lur at the Gaylord Texan. Great food, drinks, family and friends!

Wonderful friends

Luke celebrating his Aunt T :)

In September, one of my very best friends, Brie got married!!! Luke and Ava were the ring bearer and flower girl!

I met Brie when I first came to Texas Tech. She was my sorority sister and 1 of my very first friends. We have been close every since then...10 years! We have been through so much, deaths, love, break ups, marriages, trips and pregnancies. We have a bond that only God can give 2 friends. I love her so very much and I know we will be in wheel chairs 1 day and still be each others bestest friends in life. She was a beautiful bride! :)

Bridesmaids at the Rehearsal dinner

My handsome husband and hot date! Brie told us we would get married 10 years ago, then she was my bridesmaid when I did marry him! ;)

Our family after the wedding!