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~