The big move

Did I mention that we moved to Amarillo?? 

Well, on January 4th, we packed up the van with the rest of the stuff the movers didn't pack, and Dave, Crew, Halle and I headed on the road. William and Hudson stayed behind with my parents for a few extra days. It gave them some concentrated time with Mimi and Papa, and gave me some time to get the house set up.

This is how Halle feels about moving:

And this is what it looks like between Fort Worth and Amarillo:

Crew was pooped after a day of "helping" me unpack boxes:

One big bonus of moving: the movers ruined our 10yr old refrigerator, so we totally banked and got this nice, new, fancy fridge.  

We have a guest bed! Come visit! But don't bring your large family... :-)

Before unpacking for the day, I had to snuggle with this peanut and get warm....it was 9 degrees the first morning we were there!

Crew was a little needy...

and a little destructive:

The boys' room:

Master (photo bomb: sleeping baby):

Crew helping me with Taco Soup for dinner.  We've been eating a lot of soup around here this winter!

So, by the time the big boys got here with Mimi and Papa, I had gotten a large chunk of the house unpacked and mostly organized.  My mom helped me for 2 days hanging things and forcing me to get the whole house ready to go. It's a tiny house, but we like it, and we like the character of it.  And one of the biggest reasons we got it: it's 2 houses down from a HUGE park with a splash pad, basketball courts, tennis courts, Amarillo College (which, the boys LOVE to ride their scooters over to and explore), and a "rose garden".  

Christmas in the Hill Country

The day the boys got out of school, we headed straight to Houston for Garrett's graduation from the University of Houston. It was a fun weekend of celebration-- and lots of family and friends to see and introduce to Halle.

After celebrating with Garrett, we headed to a house that we rented in the Hill Country with all of the Hudson family. Being that it was only about 45 minutes from Sea World, we decided that we should take a day trip.  It was a FUN day, even though there were a lot of shows that weren't going on because of the cooler temps.  But, it made for SHORT lines on the rides!

There were some great places to hike near the house, and it was great! The kids loved it, and thankfully, we had amazing weather the whole time.

and we hit up the AMAZING BBQ joint Salt Lick:

Halle enjoyed her first Christmas with all her Hudson cousins.

The Talkingtons drove 2.5hrs from Houston for Christmas dinner. So fun to spend time with them!!

All the cousins (with a baby sister on the way for Mailey!)

So blessed to spend a week with these people.

End of the Semester

Normally, I'm excited at the end of first semester...a few weeks to sleep in and have fun.  But I was particularly sad at the end of first semester this year since the boys wouldn't be going back because of our move.  We have loved CCA so much- the boys have made such great friends, and we have loved ALL of their teachers.  It was one of the hardest parts of moving away.

Hudson's class had a little Christmas story play as part of their class party. Hudson was one of the shepherds, and he did such a great job.

William also had a class party, and he was so sad to leave his classmates. We have loved the 2.5 years we've been at Covenant, and we pray that one day (hopefully soon) we'll be back!

One month old

Halle's first month was a busy month! We had Thanksgiving, end of school activities, church activities, etc.  Halle was such a trooper, and we all just can't get enough...