Merry Christmas!!!!

yes! it's finally here! waited three hundred and something days for this! i'm excited, i hope you're having an awesome day as well. 

just wanted to drop by and say here is this years holiday card i sent out to friends and family. the first one without gary and me. i kinda wish we were in it, but better planning next year! i still love it though. 

and remember, 

"The beauty of Christmas is not in the presents but in His presence." Matthew 1:23

Here are years past cards :) Enjoy!
2013
2012
2011

christmas buddies

oh my gosh. i love my little family. i love my little tree. i love my camera for letting me capture these moments. {i love you camera!} i am forever grateful and thankful that these two are in my life. they are my everything (along with the other two that are always missing from my viewfinder). 

i love how they love each other. how it's just them two for brief moments. 

i can't wait until she starts bothering him for everything. where he will have to learn to be patient and understanding and more caring towards her. i can't wait to see how he will lose his patience when she mangles his carefully built Lego contraption. or how she will look up at wonder at him and follow his every step. ask to play with him to just be rejected because she's his little sister. 

i can't wait. i can't wait! 

Oh my heart, be still. i know why i was put on this earth--to be these two little people's mom! to enjoy these little moments. to cherish each little child. i am forever thankful. and blessed and fulfilled. 

i think that was deep enough, don't you? have a very merry blessed week!

bubbles at bath time

my youngest two, LOVE to take baths. and if baths have bubbles it's even better! 

jonah stays in there as long as he can, until he starts turning all pruney and his skin feels like it's going to fall off. he's my little fish.

and elena is my little explorer. my little daredevil. she see's what she can get into and then tests it to see if she can get away with whatever it is she's doing. 

but you know what i love most of bathtime? 

how much he loves her and how much she loves him. 

they're the same. and my heart just melts and ooooh's and ahhhhh's and melts some more. 

i love bathtime just because of them. 

happy winter solstice!!! 

a humble little tree - Christmas 2014

our tree has been up for a while now. well, i should clarify and say since the beginning of december. we're not those weird people that put it up before thanksgiving, because come on, we're not that desperate. 

the boys have their own little tree they put up in their room and jonah was so into that tree that he neglected the big tree that we put up in the living room. i kept having to tell him he has to do the big tree first. 

this will be Elena's first Christmas and as usual, she was getting into everything.

my little ham, always knows how to put that smile into gear but never looks at that camera...the boys did so amazing with decorating the tree. i would give them their ornament and they would hang it. they pretty much got bored after 10 minutes and then...

...the crazies showed up. 

brothers being brothers and killing each other in front of the camera. 

elena loves to watch them fight. she only wishes she could join. 

do you know how hard it is to take a picture with a timer of the whole family? without a button for the shutter release? oh my....we've practiced (a lot) throughout the years but this time it was super challenging because, hello!? getting on the floor and have ALL of us looking at the camera is super hard. so, you're welcome for these photos. last year's are here, and pssst, i was 7 months prego. 

gary mentioned that we need a bigger tree. i was like uhhh, no. our little tree is perfect. 

it's bare in spots and fits in our living room just fine. 

although a real one seems really nice for the coming years....we'll see, but for now, this one's perfect. 

i've been collecting ornaments and it's quickly becoming such a fun thing for me. when i made gary's ugly christmas sweater one year, i was able to score some really cute vintage ornaments (you know, those made out of wood and hand-painted?) and a the velvet deer---and let's not forget the felt skulls i received as a gift last year--only me. we have added a few new handmade ornaments this year....super cute, huh? 

It's been a productive morning. #isitchristmasyet?

A photo posted by Mrs. Witty (@sanlynet) on Nov 11, 2014 at 9:50am PST

ohhh i love my little, humble tree. what are your favorite ornaments? do you get the kids to help you decorate or are you one of those freaks who has to do it all yourself? yeah....i know your type ;) 

right now, that star is getting on my nerves for not being perfectly straight! 

have a great weekend!

santa came to town

We had a nice surprise at the library the other day, Santa came to see all the kids during our Christmas Party. He read them a story and did Santa-y stuff...

I wasn't too sure how Elena would handle the big jolly fella but after a minor freak out moment, she realized Mommy was there (a total mommy's girl, by the way) and then everything was alright. 

Jonah loved him. He still believes and had that sparkle in his eye as he told Santa all about his Lego Monster truck and Hot Wheels track. Santa listened intently and wanted to know how big he should make his monster truck. 

Then, I snapped their photo, he gave Jonah a tiny candy cane and prepared for the next kid in line....oh to be a kid. 

I was pretty heartbroken that Andrew didn't get his picture taken (he was at school) so when we saw Santa again at Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX, I had to get a photo of him. 

Unfortunately things went by so fast I didn't get Andrew with Santa all by himself. But this will do. 

Maybe next year I'll make sure to do pictures with Old St. Nick a bit more organized.... 

PS: Did you see the story about the family that has taken over 60 years of pictures with Santa on MSN.com? Incredible!

time for some basketball

the boys started basketball a few weeks ago. it has been an adventure to say the least. i'll never forget how my son could literally not hold still for more than a few seconds at his first practice, jumping up and down like a grasshopper on Ritalin...the excitement in his body said it all--he loved the sport. 

to me, this little group of 4, 5, and 6 year olds is more than i can possibly handle so i'm glad another human being is taking care of that part. they're here to have fun, and that's what they're doing. 

the boys were so excited when they got their uniforms too, i made them pose for some pics before their first game (which by the way, was pure chaos).

i love my little cheeseballs....

i asked them to give me their favorite basketball pose and this is what they came up with: jonah dribbling the ball, and Andrew with some ninja block.

i think andrew handled the chaos quite well, excelling in the hyper and the dribbling and taking the ball away department while jonah felt like he was a little overwhelmed. all the shouting and little tiny bodies going in every which way was, i feel, a little too much for my little boy. 

but oh my gosh, my heart was so full just seeing him out there running and those shorts all the way down to his ankles.

coach witty (dad) was a great big help to the team. it's not easy coaching 11 little bodies a new sport, but they sure are trying. 

me and elena are just eye candy on the sidelines ;)

just kidding, we're cheerleading eye candy. 

there.

that's better.

are you a fan of your kids during their games? i hope we get more chances for the boys to try out different sports in the area like soccer or teeball. i'm not too sure about football though.... (don't hate me, husband!) i couldn't stand it if my baby got hurt!

practices have improved a little but games are still pure chaos. it does make for one entertaining (and very overwhelming) hour though.