{Thanksgiving 2015}

I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving!!

We sure did! We had so much family time and it left my heart so full. We have been super blessed in the Thanksgiving department for a few years now. We get one whole day devoted to only 1 side of the family. Thursday is spent with Nate's family and Friday is spent with my family. Blessed. It wasn't always like this, though. I can remember the years of having to split Thanksgiving day into 4 different places. That makes the holiday so stressful! I am so thankful we don't have to do that anymore.

Thursday morning I woke up early to go with my Mother in Law to her mother's house to prepare for a Thanksgiving lunch. It was so much fun getting to spend time with two women that I adore so very much. We got there about an hour or an hour and a half before the rest of the family arrived. We had lunch with them, visited and then headed back towards our neck of the woods. We grabbed Diesel and went around the corner to spend the rest of the evening at Nathan's parents house. We had a Thanksgiving dinner, watched football and played games! Such fun times.



Friday we slept in a bit before heading over to my parents house for the day and evening. My mom had to work so my sister, my brother's girlfriend and I prepared Thanksgiving dinner. It was so much fun getting to spend the day in the kitchen with my girls! My mom got home around 5:00 and we ate supper around 6. After that we hung out and and watched a couple of good movies! It was a good, good night.

And looking back, I didn't take hardly any pictures. But, I am okay with that. I was too busy being present and enjoying my time with family and the ones I love dearly. The memories will forever be photographed in my heart!

How was your Thanksgiving?

{Happy Thanksgiving)

One of my sweet friends posted this on her blog this week and I knew I wanted to do it too!! 
The prompt is to create an acrostic poem using the world Thankful.

T- The gift from God - Jesus Christ.
Thank you God for sending your son, Jesus Christ into the world to save us from our sins. 

H- Health and Happiness.
I've shared briefly about having Hypothyroidism here on the blog. I've been on medication for almost 2 months now and starting to see improvements and starting to feel better overall. For that, I am very thankful. My condition was pretty easy to get stabilized. Praise Jesus! And also thankful that Nathan and Mason are healthy guys. And happiness....so much happiness. We are blessed, indeed. 

A- Adventures.
So thankful for the ability to get out and do and go. And to create so many memories with my sweet family. Adventures are just about my favorite thing.

N- New mercies every morning. 
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

K- Kindergarten.
More specifically, Mason's Kindergarten teacher. She is amazing and Mason has grown and learned so much the 3 months he has been in Kinder. He is reading above his level and amazing us daily. So thankful for teachers that love their jobs!!

F- Family and Friends.
I am blessed with an amazing family and group of friends {that are more like family than friends}. Thank you Lord for hand-picking me to be Mason's mother and Nathan's wife.  

U- Undeserving Grace.
Can I get an amen?

L- Love. 
It is everything. 

What are you thankful for?

{2015 Christmas Bucketlist}

Making bucketlists for each season is one of my favorite things to do! If I am being honest Christmas time is my favorite as far as activities and festivities go {with fall being a close 2nd}. I am so looking forward to all that we have planned for this year.




What do you have planned for this season?

{Diesel has been home for 1 whole year // Our miracle pup}

Today is a very, very special day in the Hall household!! Today marks one year since Diesel's homecoming. One year. 365 days.

I can hardly believe it.

{If you need to catch up on the Diesel miracle click here.  He has one amazing testimony...}

It's been an incredible and happy year. Diesel fills our hearts with so much love and joy and we are so happy that he is home. Those three years without him left a big hole in our hearts. We are so thankful that hole has been closed. Mason is over the moon in love with him and it's been amazing to watch the bond between them grow.

We are so, so incredibly thankful that our boy was brought back to us! Thank you, Jesus!!

{The Versatile Blogger Award}

I just have to say...I have met the sweetest ladies through this blogging world. I feel so blessed to be among a group of such amazing women. Whitney at Work It Mommy recently nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you so much, Whitney!! I truly appreciate the nomination and feel so blessed to have met you in this online community.



The rules of accepting this award are 1.) thank the blogger that nominated you, 2.) link back to their blog in your post, 3.) share 7 facts about yourself, and 4.) nominate up to 15 other bloggers.




one.

I am a worry wart. Always have been and afraid I always will be. I worry to the point of anxiety.

two.

I despise seafood. I've tried a couple of things and can sometimes stomach fried shrimp with lots of ketchup, or fried coconut shrimp with a sweet sauce {and lots of it}. But that's about it. I can't even get past the smell of fish or any other seafood for that matter.

three.

I am completely in love and obsessed with my boys. Not in an unhealthy way. Just that I love them and love being around them. They are my people. They are my favorites. If you invite me out to a girls night on a weekend I will more than likely {and kindly} decline because that takes away from our family time.

four.

I put yellow under my eyes to get out the purple and use purple shampoo in my hair to get out the yellow. Oh the irony.

five. 

I have a weird addiction/obsession with office supplies, planners, stationary, etc.

six.

I have somewhat of a gypsy soul in that I love to travel and go and do. I love to go camping or on weekend road trips. To get out there and explore. It makes my heart happy.

seven.

I cheated and asked Mason to come up #7. I asked him what he would say if someone asked him to tell them about his mom. He said he would say:

"She's nice. She loves me and she always takes care of me."

There you have it. 7 very random things about me.

I nominate:

Beth @ Our Pretty Little Girls
Liz @ Chasin' Mason
Amy @ Keepin' Up With The Smiths
Desiree @ Macke Monologues
Sarah @ Foxy's Domestic Side
Nina @ The Joni Journey
Sara @ Crazy Cozads
Sara @ Running From The Law
Meghan @ The Adventure Starts Here

{Five on Friday // Polar Express // Grinch's Lair // Pajama Party Linkup }

Happy Friday!!! I am ecstatic that it's the weekend. We have a fun one planned {hints below}. Time for Five on Friday...

{O N E}

Posts from this week....

Monday >> Canvas Giveaway!! Did you enter?
Tuesday >> It's the Little Things // Helping Daddy
Wednesday >> Favorite Fall Quotes
Thursday >> Guys Behind the Blog // November Edition

{T W O}

This weekend we are heading southeast a bit for a festive-filled weekend. I can't wait! I think this will kick off our holidays with a bang!!! First item on our agenda...Riding the Polar Express...

via

{T H R E E}

And then we will be visiting the Grinch's Lair!!! It's at an old {and supposedly haunted} jailhouse.

via

{F O U R}

I can't wait to decorate for Christmas!! I plan on doing it next week while Mason is out for Thanksgiving. We might have to wait until after Thanksgiving to get a tree since they never put them out until then {real ones}. I've been stockpiling some Christmas decorations from the Target dollar spot and from Hobby Lobby that I am in love with.



{F I V E}

*** ANNOUNCEMENT ***

Myself and several of my favorite bloggers will be hosting a Christmas pajama party link-up!! You can use hashtag #Christmasjamparty15




Have a great weekend everyone!

{Guys behind the blog // November edition}

 1. What sports did you participate in as a child? What sports did you watch growing up? 

Baseball from 3 years old, soccer from 4 years old and football when I was 14.   I watched football and baseball all the time when I was growing up and still do.

2. If you could line up your ideal Super Bowl, who would be facing off, where would they play and who would you pick to win?  

85 Bears and 95 Cowboys - Cowboys would win by a field goal in OT in Dallas.

3. Do you prefer the summer or winter Olympics? If you could participate in one Olympic sport, what would it be? 

I would say summer Olympics, because my hammies do not like the cold and I would pull one in the cool temps.  I would probably compete for team USA in baseball if they ever brought it back.

4. What is your favorite food to eat at a sports party (ex: World Series, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, etc.)? 

Probably chips and dips or wings.  Not really a fan of sports parties because I actually like to watch the game and not listen to everyone gripe about this or that.

5. Who is your all time favorite athlete and why? 

I have several but I would say Ken Griffey Jr. or Chipper Jones.  Both guys played the game how it should be played and were exceptional athletes without being jerks.

For our other Guys Behind The Blog Posts:

April // May // June // July // August // September // October

{Favorite Fall Quotes}

I am trying my hardest over here to not give up on Fall completely and skip on over to Winter & Christmas!! I absolutely LOVE Fall. Love it. But, the stores around here are killing me with all of the festive and beautiful Christmas stuff. I'm so ready to decorate for Christmas. BUT...it is still technically Fall. And I need to respect the bird. So, I thought I would share some of my favorite Fall quotes.

Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall. 

F. Scott Fitzgerald

---

Autumn the year's last loveliest smile.

William Cullen Bryant

---

Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.

Lauren DeStefano

---

Autumn, the season that teaches us that change can be beautiful.

unknown

---

Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all other seasons.

Jim Bishop

---

Anyone to who thinks fallen leaves are dead has never watched them dancing on a windy day.

Shira Tamir

---

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

Albert Camus

{It's the little things // helping daddy}

This past weekend when we were out in the shop DIY'ing Mason wanted to help his daddy disassemble the pallet. So, Nate let him help. Mason was so excited to actually use a crowbar! I love that Nate is patient enough to stop and let Mason help even if it takes triple as long to get it done. Something so little made such a big impact on Mason. I could see it in his sweet little face. He felt so big.

He's building a good foundation in that one...

{CanvasPop}

*I was given a product in exchange for a review. All opinions are of my own.

A few weeks ago CanvasPop contacted me to see if I would be interested in a free 16x24 canvas print. I couldn't say yes quick enough. I have a bad habit of taking thousands of pictures each month and never getting them printed. I need to change that, stat. And what better way is there than with a canvas print?

The hardest part of this entire process was deciding which photo I wanted to get printed on the canvas. I was racking my brain trying to thing of a good photo {that's what happens when you take too many pictures} and then Nate reminded me of these that I had taken back in the summer.  Perfect!! 

Working with my rep at CanvasPop was a breeze! I sent him my picture, he sent me a link to review it on canvas, I approved, he ordered and it was on my doorstep in less than a week. Easy, right? So dang easy.

It was like Christmas when the canvas arrived on my doorstep. I couldn't wait to rip that package open!! It was packaged so nice and had tons of bubble wrap around the canvas to keep it protected while shipping. You guys....when I opened the box my jaw literally dropped! The quality of the canvas is amazing and I was so, so happy with it!!!! I couldn't wait to take pictures of it and share with you all. But, I have to say...pictures do it no justice!

And, I have to tell you all that I took a huge gamble on this one. That picture I had printed was straight from my iPhone and not my big camera. You never know how an iPhone picture will print so I was a little nervous. But, CanvasPop's quality is so amazing that you can't even tell that it was an iPhone picture!! They knocked it out of the park!!

They also sent all of the hardware you would need to hang the canvas attached the back. How awesome is that?

I can't say enough about this amazing company and my beautiful canvas! And I can't wait to get this gorgeous canvas on my wall!!

CanvasPop offers canvas prints, text on your print, collage & mosaics, and also Triptych canvas prints! And they make it so easy that you can upload straight from your computer, Facebook or Instagram!

I am so happy that I get to give away a canvas print to one of you! See below for details:

Hall Around Texas + CanvasPop Giveaway

One lucky Hall Around Texas reader will win a free canvas art print, sized at 16x24" with 0.75" deep wrap, supplied & shipped for free by CanvasPop.

Contest ends November 29, 2015 at 11:59PM PT. 

Open to residents of the US, Canada and the European Union.

click image below to be taken to the giveaway

Also, use the discount code below for 35% off of your CanvasPop order!!!

MASONSMAMA35

It is valid until Midnight pacific time on December 11th which. It cannot be combined with any other promotions or discounts, and it it is not applicable to shipping or gift cards.

Happy entering, friends!!

{Five on Friday // Best Friends // TimeHop // DIY Project}

Happy Friday friends!! This week was a doozy! Mason and I were suffering from allergies and Nate ended up with a sinus infection. I love, love, love a change of season, but always forget what it does to our sinus' & allergies. Whew! I do have to say, I am much enjoying the cooler weather though. It's finally starting to feel like fall in Texas. I love it. I am so ready to pull out all of our Christmas decorations. The only thing holding me back is that I want a real Christmas tree. And, well, those don't come out until after Thanksgiving. I may start with the decorations, though.

Time for Five on Friday. And if I am being honest....all posts this week were drafts I had sitting in my blogger. I've been too busy drafting Christmas related posts! {#cantstopwontstop}. I just felt like it may be a tad too early to post them, though. Buuuuuuuuuttttt, we go on the Polar Express the 21st and after that I think it's fair game. I'm just so excited and ready for the season.

{O N E}

In case you missed...posts from this week.

Monday >> I'm lame and didn't post
Tuesday >> He said what? Just some of the things Mason has said lately.
Wednesday >> A fall park date
Thursday >> The five w's of Hall Around Texas



{T W O}

These two boys have gotten to spend a lot of time together lately. They will proudly tell anyone and everyone around them that they have been friends since they were just 1 years old. It's so cute. They call each other cousins at times and then at other times they are brothers that live in different houses. I love it. And of course they bicker like siblings too. But, I am so thankful for both of them. And for their friendship. And I pray that when they are 18 or order they will still be friends and that they will still proudly tell of their lifelong friendship.


{T H R E E}

Timehop killed me this week. I mean....



Between sweet little baby Mason and one of my best friends having a baby this week I have baby fever like crazy. PS - why do they have to grow so dang fast?

{F O U R}

Speaking of this sweet boy...he brought me home a rock from school this week. He said it looked like a heart and that it reminded him of me. So he put it in his pocket to bring to me. Oh, I melted. So blessed to be his mama. And what I think I loved most about this is that it's not even a perfectly shaped heart, but he saw it as a heart nonetheless.


{F I V E}

This! I will be making this soon. I think it would look adorable on our front porch. I can't wait.




That's all I've got. How was your week? Any plans for the weekend?

{The Five W's of Hall Around Texas}

My sweet friend Stephanie at Wife Mommy Me blogged about her five W's and I loved the idea. I asked her if I could copy. ;) Here's a bit about us.

WHO || Nathan, Crystal & Mason. Nathan and I are high school sweethearts and will celebrate our 19th year together this November the 1st. Nathan works in the defense industry and I am a senior account manager for a marketing firm. I am blessed to work from home full time. So blessed. In 2010 we welcomed our first {and only so far} little boy named Mason. Now he's a big ol' 5 year old Kindergartener. He's so witty and too smart for his own good. He makes our world go 'round and we love him so. 

For more about our love story click here 

WHAT || This blog is our family scrapbook, so most posts are what we have been up to lately. We are always on the go. We love to camp and travel throughout Texas and I love to share about it on the blog. We have also been DIY'ing a lot lately and sharing our projects here. Also, this is where I keep up with all things Mason.

WHEN || I started blogging when we found out we were pregnant with Mason. We were going to wait 12 weeks to announce to everyone, but I wanted to tell my closest aunts first. And, I wanted a way where they could all see it at once. So I whipped up that "We are pregnant" post and then emailed them all to check out the link. I am not sure what made me go the "blogging" route, though. I could have just emailed them all at once, too. ha. Next it because my pregnancy journal...then baby blog...and now it's just about our life.

WHERE || T E X A S!!!!! I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. We are about 35 miles South of Dallas in a little rural country town and we adore it. Such a great place to raise a family. 

WHY || Mostly because I enjoy it. Taking pictures is an obsession and passion of mine and where better to share those photos than on my blog? And I love having a place where our family members and friends from different states can go to catch up on us and what we have been up to. And also because of the amazing community that I have found in blogging. I have met the sweetest ladies and feel so blessed to call them friends.

Of course this is the sweet and condensed version. Have any questions? Just let me know!

{Fall park date}

Is it just me or are park dates just so much more enjoyable in the Fall? After our Nature Scavenger Hunt we ventured over to the park to play. We had the greatest time! And...we didn't melt. That's a major win in Texas. Unfortunately, it's still quite warm in October/November here. So sad for my Fall loving heart.



I can't wait for more Fall park dates!!

{He said what?! // Things Mason says}

Documenting the things Mason says over the years has been one of my most favorite things ever. I love to go back and read all of the hilarious antics of this witty child. He never fails to make us laugh. He is always so quick to reply with something so funny we laugh until our sides hurt or so dang smart that we just sit there for a second with our jaws dropped until we can process what he has said. Conversation with Mason is always interesting and always fun.

So, for another edition of says...





:: Hey Dad, I have an idea...let's me and you paint the house, okay? - {I have a feeling he will not be offering this when he's 16.}

:: {Talking about his stuffed Monkey that a sweet cast member at Disney gave him} - Mama, that was so kind of her. She must love Jesus.

:: {Mason has had some rough days at school and got grounded from his electronics - mainly  his iPad...after school he asked me if he could sit on the couch and watch tv. I agreed...}

Oh Mama are you giving me grace?

:: Hey Mama does mama dogs lay eggs and that's how baby puppies are born?

:: Guess what Mama? I finally got to the point where I can tell my teacher I love her.

:: Mama there is no A in ketchup, right? So why do some people say catch-up instead of ketchup?

:: {We were taking the backroads to school one morning and on this road there are no less than 15 dogs that just roam and run out in front of you. This particular day was worse than normal with dogs just laying in the middle of the road and not moving for anything. Mason says...

Mom, I know this road may be difficult, but you should be happy in your heart that these dogs get to get out of their house for a little bit.

:: Mama I know how to spell dynamite!

You do?

Yep, T-N-T

:: {I was asking Mason what shoes he wanted to wear for his school pictures at school the next day...}

Wait, I have pictures tomorrow? Can I wear my tuxedo?

And some of my favorite past Mason quotes from the good ol Timehop' app....

And just because this one melts me completely.