For our work Christmas gathering this year, we chose to go to Board and Brush again. This was our fourth consecutive year having our party here. I personally love it because it's a fun time and you get to bring home a piece that you'll actually use! I love any chance to work on some crafts.
I've been meaning to take and share these photos for a while! I recently shared our home's exterior decorated for Christmas, so today I am sharing some of my favorite spots inside of our home. If I am being honest, my heart is getting sad knowing that this is all about to come down soon! I love this season so much! Does anyone else feel like their home looks so bare after the holidays? I sure will miss these twinkling lights.
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is to drive around and look at lights. After we visited Santa's Country Christmas, we dropped off my in-laws at home and then drove around some nearby neighborhoods' Christmas lights. Then we drove to see our downtown area all light up! I love where we live so much!
We tried out a new Christmas light drive-through this year. Nate's mom had seen it on Facebook and it looked so neat. And, it was! It was a "Country" Christmas type of place so there were animals galore, along with lights and buildings with Christmas exhibits. It was so pretty and I loved the variety it offered.
I mentioned in my post about Nate's work party that we had a pretty close-knit group of friends. It's been so beautiful to see these friendships form and deepen over the last year. We are really like one big family just doing life together. All of the guys work together and the wives have become the best of friends. And as a bonus, all of our kids get along so well and are friends. We had a "Friendsmas" and it was one of my favorite nights with some of my favorite people.
For the last several years, I have taken off on a Friday in December so that we could go to the Gaylord Ice exhibit and tool around Grapevine. I know I say this about all of our Christmas traditions, but this is one of my favorites. This year's ICE theme was the Polar Express. Nate and I agreed that it was one of the best ones yet!
Every year Nate's work friends gather for a Christmas celebration. There's really nothing Christmas-y about it except for the fact that it's always in the evening after their Christmas luncheon at work! However, it's such a good time just hanging out with all of his work friends. For the last two years, we've gone to Fat Daddy's. It's a great location for this crew!
I've shared on here before but every year all the ladies on my mom's side of the family gather for a baking party. While it is a baking party, it really is so much more. We bake treats, play games, eat some delicious food, drink some festive drinks, do a white elephant gift exchange, and so much more. My aunt chooses a theme each year and then that's what all the decorations/games/gifts are based off of.
Nate came home from work a couple Thursdays ago and asked Mason and me if we'd like to go to the Stars game! That was an immediate "yes" from Mase and me. We love the Stars game and will take any opportunity we can to go watch them!!
The Polar Express looked a little different for us this year. Mason opted to not ride, which meant that Nate and I wouldn't be riding either. Ty & Michelle opted out as well. It made my heart sad even though I knew this time was coming. Mason's getting older and these days are fleeting. However, there was a last-minute change in plans and I was able to go on the Polar Express. PawPaw gave me his tickets because Nana wanted me to come and take pictures.
No trip to Palestine is complete without visiting the Grinch's Lair!! Ever since I captured this photo of Mason and the Grinch, they've had a pretty great bond! Over the years we have gotten to know the owners and love to see them each Christmas season! Mason even got to play a part in the Grinch's Lair one year!
We have been traveling to Palestine, TX since 2015 for a weekend full of Christmas fun! We camp (in the camper), shop the antique stores, have lunch at the same restaurant, visit the Grinch, and ride the Polar Express! Each year brings new memories and fun. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year.
A couple weeks ago, we went to the Dallas Stars game with our group of friends (guys from Nate's work + their spouses) and we had so much fun! There were 20-something of us, taking up three rows in section 330!
Let me preface this by saying that Mason is still a believer. I'm holding on as long as I can and will do everything in my power to be a magic maker for him! With that being said, I've shared on the blog before about how we do the Elf on the Shelf around here. Our elves are used to encourage good behavior, help bring extra magic to the season, teach random acts of kindness, etc., all while pointing Mason back to Jesus and the reason for the season. Sure, our elves may get a little silly at times but they are not here to make messes and bring mischief. They are used as a tool to spread light and love throughout the Christmas season.
On Saturday, we decided to head to the shops downtown in Branson. I wanted to see a specific area I had seen in pictures. I later realized that we weren't even in the right spot. That's okay, we still enjoyed our time/day.
Next up on our Branson trip was Silver Dollar City!! We've read that no trip to Branson (during Christmas time) was complete without a stop to Silver Dollar City! And after seeing so many photos, I knew they had to be right. Over 6.5 million Christmas lights? Yes, please!! We loaded up in our vehicles and headed to SDC, which was just a few miles away. As we are approaching we see signs that say "all parking lots full - come back after 6:30 pm," Excuse me? What???? We had just purchased almost $300 in tickets for the park for that specific day...
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to visit Branson at Christmas time. I've always seen pictures of how beautiful everything looks around this time of year and it looked like a place I needed to experience. Christmas is so special to my heart and my favorite time of year. So, this year we made that happen!!
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Last month I shared some goals on the blog for probably the first time. Well, the first time in a long time. I think I might keep this up! Here's a look at both what I accomplished/didn't as well as new goals for the month of December.
We had a lovely Thanksgiving this year. We celebrated the holiday at Nate's parent's house with his entire family, aunt, and Grandmother. It was a sweet day filled with precious moments. I didn't get to see my parents & siblings this year and while that made me a bit sad, I knew they were exactly where they needed to be. My dad was in Tennessee celebrating Thanksgiving with his dad. I know that filled his heart to the brim and so my heart was happy for them. We weren't able to travel to Tennessee this year due to work. I had to work Mon-Wednesday and then had to work 3-4 hours on Thanksgiving morning. My heart was there in spirit!
Nenaw & her boys
Christmas lights just make my heart so happy! I love pulling up to the house in the evening and seeing it all lit up! This year we opted to buy new Christmas lights for the exterior of the house. I think we have been using the same set of lights since we bought the house (in 2007). It was time! While I love looking at all lights, I love all white for our home. Nate was so kind to get them up before Thanksgiving so that I could enjoy them longer!!
Linking up with Jennifer for the "currently" series. For December, we are sharing what we are currently loving, gifting, wrapping, hoping, and attending.
Advent to the Christian family is a time to prepare our hearts for the celebration of the birth of Christ. It reminds us to set aside some time during the busyness of the season and to reflect on the miracle that is Jesus. He is the reason for the season.
If I am being honest, we do many different types of Advent calendars around here. There's something special about counting down to Christmas in different ways that make my heart so incredibly happy! Of course, the most important is a scripture calendar. We do several of those along with a Lego Advent, candy advent, and sometimes a book advent. Here's a look at our Advent calendars for 2022 and how we do the Advent season.
It's the most wonderful time of the year!!
I am really looking forward to the holidays this year. Christmas time is my favorite time of the year. There's just nothing that compares to the magic and the spirit of Christmas. I am in love with all of our traditions this time of year. Here's a look at everything on our list.
Happy Thursday and Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope you have the most beautiful day with the ones you love. Here are five things I am thankful for this week.
Last week, Mason, Nate, and I were blessed to go to Nate's Grandmother's Thanksgiving dinner at her assisted living. They only allowed 4 guests per resident, but because Nate's mom is a volunteer there, we were able to bring Mason as well. He started not feeling well though and ended up going out to the Jeep to lie down. We know now that he was getting a cold. Anyhow, the dinner and the evening was just wonderful. I love any chance we get to have family time.
If you're anything like my family, Christmas movies are fair game come November!! We love Christmas movies so incredibly much. Yesterday I was out and about and found the absolute cutest t-shirts at Five Below. They say "Wanted" and has a picture of Harry and Marv and says "Wet Bandits". I had to get one for both Mason and myself. Home Alone is one of our favorites! Anyhow, that got my wheels turning about Christmas movies!! I wanted to make a list so that we make sure not to miss any of our favorites this year.
Happy Thankful Thursday!! Another beautiful day to reflect on five things I am grateful for this week!
We checked off all of the things on our Halloween Bucketlist for 2022. And, we had so much fun doing so! I love the month of October and this season and all of the fun things we do together as a family. I just wish Texas would get the "hey it's fall" memo and cool the temps for us. It just doesn't feel right doing all the fall things in the 90-degree weather! We made the most of it, though! Here's a look at the last two items on our Halloween bucket list.
Many of you already know that I love a good "post by the numbers"! I'm not sure why...I guess it's the nerd inside of me! ha. Anyhow, I wanted to share the numbers from the Mavs vs Nets game we went to! There were too many numbers involved to not post about them! ha
This is probably going to be the most boring weekend wrap-up post ever, seeing as I didn't take any pictures. Why is it always the good weekends that we fail to take pictures of? I guess I was too busy being present to even think about documenting it! Anyhow, here's a look at our weekend.
I posted here how we pulled off a pretty great surprise for Mason with tickets to the Dallas Mavericks vs the Brooklyn Nets basketball game. We went to the game on Monday, November 7th, and had the most amazing time!! Everything about the night was just perfect!!
Happy Thankful Thursday!! Time to share five things that I am thankful for this week.
Mason has really gotten into basketball over the years. One of his favorite teams is the Brooklyn Nets due to many of his favorite players being on that team. Well, we saw that the Nets were playing the Mavericks here in Dallas and knew we had to get tickets. We wanted to surprise him! Nate and I actually pulled off the most epic surprise.
Lately, I have been sharing posts on Instagram and Facebook during my quiet/Bible study time. Usually, I will share a photo of my Bible wherever I am reading from and include a scripture (and sometimes a short devotional). I have gotten so many messages from friends asking questions like what Bible I have, what I use for Bible study, how to get started, etc. I thought I would make a post sharing the apps I use and how I use them.
Linking up with Jennifer for the "currently" series. This month we are sharing what we are currently borrowing, buying, planning, prepping, and reading. Here's a look at what I am currently up to.
Immediately following our Trick or Treat on the Square event, we went to Nathan's Grandmother's assisted living for a Halloween party!! It was so precious and fun. They had the place decorated so cute, candy for the residents to pass out to the kiddos, games, popcorn, treats, punch, etc. It was a beautiful time with the family!!
Happy "Thankful Thursday", y'all! I am going to take Thursdays this month to list 5 things I am grateful for this week!
Every year our town puts on a trick-or-treat event on the town square. Most of the businesses on the square, the city hall, local businesses not on the square, the police/sheriff dept, etc. all set up tables around the square and pass out candy to the kiddos. It's such a fun time with the most beautiful setting. I may be biased, but I truly believe we have one of the cutest town squares and an amazing old courthouse! It truly is a beautiful thing to see all of these businesses come together for the kids. They pass out so much candy. Mason had a fairly large bag and it was filled to the brim!!
I thought I'd try something different on the blog and list some goals for the month of November. Something to help keep me accountable and to see if I can accomplish what I set my mind to. Of course, I will give myself some grace on the things I don't accomplish - because who needs that kind of stress?
Our Halloween Spooktacular camping weekend at Great Escapes was such a blast! It was the best of both worlds for me because I had my in-laws, my parents, and my sister & her family there! I love it when we can get both sides of the family together. We were able to get campsites right next to each other and it made my heart so happy! We've definitely got to do this more often. Here's a look at our spooktacular weekend...
Anytime we go on a trip I like to document the trip by numbers. I'm not sure why, but these posts always intrigue me. Here's a look at our Halloween Spooktacular camping trip in numbers.
A couple of weeks ago we visited Shadow Creek pumpkin patch with some of our dearest friends. Most of these friends are friends of Nate (from work) and their families. It's pretty awesome because not only do the husbands all get along, but the wives have become great friends and the kids all get along and like each other as well. What a blessing that is! We were missing a couple families on this day, sadly!
We finally found Mason's costume for this Halloween!! We had been looking online for a couple of weeks and everywhere was sold out of his size with no signs of it coming back in stock. We were starting to get worried. I mean, if you can't find something on Amazon it's basically non-existent, right?!?! We saw online that this particular costume was available in some Spirit Halloween stores, so we went out on the search! I'm so happy to report that after searching a couple of Spirit stores we found it, and in his size!!
Introducing Mason's 2022 Halloween costume...
Making Boo Baskets/Bags each Halloween season brings me so much joy! I love creating little bags or baskets of all things Halloween to surprise our favorite people with. I started putting together some Boo Baskets recently and I am loving how they are coming out. I can't wait to pass these out.
I know we're still a few weeks away from Halloween, but we've already put a good dent in our Halloween Bucketlist for 2022! It has been such a fun and sweet season so far! I'm soaking up these moments with my boy before he's too "big" for all these Halloween and fall traditions! I pray I still have a few more years of this!
Happy finally Friday!! These October days seem to be flying by at the speed of lightning! It makes me sad because October is one of my favorite months. We got a cold front on Sunday, so the weather here has been glorious all week. Here's a look at our week...or five random things from our week.
Mason and I decided to get up super early on Wednesday (like when Nate did at 4:30am), but for good reason. It was pumpkin patch day!! We hung out at home for a bit, he ate breakfast, and I did some chores. Then went to get coffee and head over to the pumpkin patch! Mason and I have been visiting this sweet little pumpkin patch (put on by a church in a nearby town) for 5 or so years now! It's such a special time with just he and I. We learned from the last couple of years that going around lunchtime was 1.) really hot, 2.) the sun is too bright for pictures, and 3.) it's way too crowded, so we opted to go super early this year! Best decision ever!
This little Hocus Pocus tradition that Mason and I have has easily become one of my favorite nights in October! I always look forward to it and he tells me that he does too! We got a bonus Hocus Pocus night this year and we're not mad about it! We love it so much!! Of course, ours was much more low-key!
Hi!! I am Crystal. Daughter of the One True King, wife to my high-school sweetheart Nathan and Mama to a 13 year old boy named Mason. We're the Halls and we love to travel around Texas {or anywhere, really}. I blog about our daily life, traveling, DIY'ing, and everything in between. Welcome and thank you for stopping by!
